[Leica] the best M body ...

[rlbunting at lucent.com (Bunting, Roger L (Roger))]

I like what Frank said! My M3 was superb but I eventually had the strobe 
contacts replaced when I had Leitz replace the jammed shutter - also had the 
DS converted to SS at that time. Then the shutter brake problems started. 
The M3 spent almost 6 months in NJ, no one should have to spend that much 
time in NJ. What I really liked was peering around the VF to guess at the 
approximate 35mm frame lines. After a while of doing that, I found an 
excellent 35mm Summicron with the bug eyes. What a classic combo. However, 
it only made sense when it broke down in front of Notre Dame (in Paris on my 
vacation of a lifetime) with loose screws inside the shutter cavity (that 
Leitz forgot to tighten) that I should lower my sights and pick something 
other than the perfect body. Before doing that, Sherry took pity on my 
plight and finally fixed everything, including the shutter brake, after 
Leitz botched it three times in a row.

I finally bought the M6 Classic (0.72x) and found it didn't have nearly the 
mechanical smoothness of the M3. So now I have three jaw-breaker sized ball 
bearings in my camera bag and I roll them together when every I want a good 
classic mechanical feel. Kind of a Caine Mutiny/Queeg thing. The meter in 
the M6 was an excellent addition. I was convinced that I didn't need a 
meter, sort of a Leica-Man, dialing apertures as I went from light to 
shadow. No stinking meter needed here. But from the technical viewpoint the 
numbers of keeper per roll went from 0-1 to about 35.

After a few years of *!@?!@#* about the rangefinder patch flare, I had DAG 
put in the MP kit and now there's almost nothing to complain about.

I'm still trying to decide on where the Leitz or Leica should be engraved. 
I'm hoping the next bodies have enough ferrous material so I can have some 
of the little Leica magnetic signs made and I can put it where I want it. 
Little sticky red/black dots would be helpful also. I'm sure I'm not alone 
in that respect, surely there others who would like to put them where they 
want them - they might be more versatile if there's an adhesive backed 
version so we can all put them where we want. We could have a party and put 
them on each other....

I now have a RapidGrip on my M6. I'm amazed at how the RG has cleaned up my 
VF. The VF window was always smeared with finger prints and black-tape 
residue because I had such a tough time gripping that little body. The 
black-tape is really handy in covering up the red dots and bright white 
Leica/Leitz lettering.The RG really improves my handling of the camera. BTW: 
I do have a battery in my meter and a spare in my RG, maybe even two. After 
getting all that stuff off my RF window it could be I'll discover I didn't 
need the MP modification.

Now for a RapidWinder and an even better hold of the camera. I guess if I'm 
going to add to the body with a RW, I shouldn't be so upset about the 2mm of 
the TTL. Those 2mm just break the perfection of the tradition and the 
addition of TTL with 1/60 sych is really isn't a deal-breaker for what I do. 
I just don't need a powerful main light that much. I could add an 8x ND with 
slow film and a humongous flash and do daylight fill. That would be cool, 
but at the expense of 2mm, just not sure. The extra LED would be slick, but 
I think it's really challenging to balance the brightness of the dual LEDs 
in the M6 when using broad daylight. It's really why they invented the sunny 
16 rule, just in case you can't see the subtle differences in the 
brightness. The LEDs are really better at night anyway - the Leica niche is 
not for high f-stops and bright light. You really need to use it wide open, 
narrow DOF. You know the Bokeh is going to isolate the subject - just focus 
on the nearest e!
 ye and art will follow.

Anyway, the RG is making it really difficult to pry this camera out of my 
hands. I'm still breathing, that contributes to the difficulty. But give me 
an M6 classic any day.

Now where are those ball bearings.

Regards,
Roger /leica35@yahoo.com
http://gallery.leica-users.org/Leica35