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User comments btil June 2003

> [Hi Craig

Fully endorse your "upgrade" advice to an M3! I had my old Chrome M3 DS not only upgraded, but fully CLA with complete change of vulcanite and black painted.

It came back as a shining black beauty, with its viewfinder resilvered incorporating the DOF markings!

Suffice to say the piece is fully retrofitted and I intend to enjoy it again. It cost me but for an old Leica it is worth every penny.

Joseph Low
 
I recently got my first Leica, an M6 ttl, as a birthday present from my wife. She bought a used (sales demo) model with a one year warranty from an authorized Leica dealer in New York City. It was listed as mint condition and arrived wrapped in plastic, having just come back from inspection at the Leica factory.

This M6 is in perfect mechanical condition, but there is a small dent (approximately 3 mm in length and not deep) on the back of the body - diagonally up and to the right from the "Made in Germany" engraving. Aside from this, the camera is virtually spotless. Based on my first roll of film, the shutterspeeds, rangefinder and metering are all working correctly.

When I contacted the dealer and told him about the dent, he seemed surprised and apologized for not having caught it. In fact, he offered to let me swap for another M6 ttl body. The only issue is that the body he's offering - though mint - isn't covered under warranty (apparently demos are difficult to find) and he wants to do an even trade.

Aside from the fact that the camera was incorrectly listed as mint along w/mint price, I'm concerned that the dent will devalue the body should I ever want to sell it.

Before anyone pegs me as a collector, let me say I'm a photographer pure and simple. The Leica suits the way I work. In fact, I don't give a tinker's damn about the dent as long as the camera works properly. I'm sure I'll put my own marks on the body in due time. I just don't want to think that we got a bad deal. All opinions - cantankerous as well as thoughtful - are welcome. You can also email me: hiottb@newschool.edu
 
It is always best to put all the dents on a camera yourself, because that gives you a record of sorts. You didn't say exactly where the dent is, or how serious it is, but my advice (unless it just bugs you too much to ignore) is to take pictures and forget about it.

If you concern yourself with resale value instead of what the camera can do, you'll always be reluctant to take it out into the world where the best pictures are made.

That said, protect it from sand at the beach!

Have a great time with your new camera.

SonC http://www.sonc.com
 
no cantankerous folk at this Forum Brian.

Things like your little ding can take the gloss off having a nice brand new camera, but I suspect after a few rolls it will soon be all but forgotten.

Why is it that only Americans get M6s for their birthday. Should I emmigrate and marry a local.

BTW I like collectors as they help keep Leica in the black which means I can keep using their stuff.

craig
 
I believe that it was Kyle Cassidy (of the PLUG) who mentioned= that you should place a new Leica in a dryer on heavy load cycle= with a few ball bearings in order to break them in so that you= don't obsess about not scratching them. I know that I do't love= my M4.P any less because it has a few dings on the top plate.= The images are just as nice and I don't worry that it is too= collectable to use. (I can't see owning a camera that I was= afraid to shoot with.) Michael E. Berube www.GoodPhotos.com
 
Michael,

Yes, Kyle did suggest putting another dent in my M6 body, and I'm considering a philips head screw driver as my instrument of choice - although I must admit the dryer spin cyle w/ball bearings isn't a bad idea. It adds an element of randomness that would probably do me some good.

My drama over the camera body is most likely much ado about nothing. I bang up or spill coffee on most things I own. So I've decided to keep the camera body I have. After Kyle (PLUG) and Sonny and Craig (of this forum) replied, I went out and had a fine time shooting.
 
A banged up leica is a much loved Leica. They build em tough and we pay good money for that. So it is obviously a false economy not to use this to our full advantage. Look at the prices being paid for "much loved" Vietnam War vintage M2s. Dings on your M6 are just beginning of an investment in the future collectors market. You're lucky that yours already has a history.

Regards Craig
 
Hi Bryan,

> I recently got my first Leica, an M6 ttl, as a birthday present from > my wife. She bought a used (sales demo) model with a one year > warranty > from an authorized Leica dealer in New York City. It was listed as > near mint condition and arrived wrapped in plastic, having just come > back from inspection at the Leica factory. but there is a small dent (approximately 3 mm in length and not deep) on the back of the body - diagonally up and to the right from the "Made in Germany" engraving.

> When I contacted the dealer and told him about the dent, he seemed > surprised and apologized for not having caught it.

The small dent, to me is not mint or near mint. The dealer seems to recognize his oversight. Therefore, I think all will agree you shouldn't have been charged mint, mint- price.

>>>>>>>>> In fact, he > offered to let me swap for another M6 ttl body. The only issue is that the > body he's offering - though mint - isn't covered under warranty Obviously, if and when you sell your M6TTL, the dent will bring less. Assuming you keep the camera a year, either camera will be without a warranty. If you're thinking of selling, and you get some kind of warranty from the dealer, or you just would rather have a dent-less unit, make the trade. Of course, if you don't care about the dent, and will keep the M6TTL, that's another story and your choice.
 
Macro,

Thanks for your comments about Leica lenses. I agree with you that the pre-asph. 35mm would be a good choice for a 2nd lens. At f/2 it's fast enough for me and 1/2 the price of a summilux 1.4. I'd really have little use for the extra aperture.

This may be heresy in a Leica forum, but I'd have to give wide angle voigtlander lenses a look. I haven't used them, but I keep hearing good things about them.
 
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