So you have decided that you want to buy a film Leica rangefinder. You have a lot of choices. This guide is designed to help with those choices. It is based on the feature set, current market prices, ergonomics, and quality. None of the cameras in this list are bad, but some are better than others, and some are better for some shooting styles and needs than others. All price ranges are vague, but reasonably accurate for the USA in the summer of 2016.
The first thing you need to know is that no matter what camera you buy, you need to budget an extra $200 or so to immediately send it off for a CLA (cleaning, lubrication and adjustment), unless you are buying it from one of the small handful of trusted specialist Leica dealers. If you buy from one of them, you will be paying a premium compared to the individual seller market, so it is pretty much a wash.
You need to ask yourself an important question: Do you need an internal light meter? The answer is no, but you might decide that you really want one, and that is totally fine. It is your camera, after all, and you should have whatever features you want. We will start by looking at the cameras with internal meters.
Leica cameras with internal light meters:
M7: This is the most feature-rich Leica film body. It is the only one that features Aperture Priority exposure mode. Personally, I feel that it is the best metered Leica (controversial, I know), and the second best Leica overall. It gets criticized because it is a camera that doesn’t function without a battery, but let’s be honest- it is utterly trivial to keep an extra battery or two in your camera bag. It takes up less space than an extra roll of film. Decent M7s start at around $1500, and there is no need to spend much more than $2000 for one.
M6: This is the most popular metered film Leica. There are two versions- the M6 “classic” and the M6 TTL. The TTL only adds better flash sync, a larger shutter speed dial, an ‘off’ position for the meter on the shutter speed dial, and a couple hundred bucks to the price. If you don’t use a flash, stick with the non-TTL M6 unless you just get a phenomenal deal on a TTL. The M6 is a full manual mechanical camera. The light meter is the only electronic bit. If you don’t care about Aperture Priority mode, this is the metered Leica to get. Prices start a bit north of $1000 bucks, around $1200 or so. There’s no need to spend more than $1500 or $1600 for one.
MP: Skip this one. It is basically an M6 that is styled to look like an old M2. Prices start at around $3000 dollars or so used (you can get a good used M9 for those prices, and not have to ever pay for film). This is a camera that was made more for showing off and looking cool than it was for regular use. It uses the old style knurled film rewind knob which is more difficult to use than the more modern one with the little flip out lever that gives you mechanical advantage (yes, I know that there are some people out there that really like the knurled knob. Sorry to those folks ;P). On black paint models, the paint is apparently deliberately applied too thin, so it wears prematurely. It is a perfectly capable camera, but it is the closest to ‘style over substance’ that you will find in the Leica lineup.
There is one other thing to choose when it comes to metered Leicas: viewfinder magnification. You have the choice between the ‘normal’ 0.72 magnification, as well as 0.58 which is the choice for those who wear glasses and/or those who prefer using wide angle lenses almost exclusively, and the 0.85 which is good for those who pretty much never go wider than a 50mm lens. For most people, the 0.72 is probably the best choice.
So you have decided that you want to buy a film Leica rangefinder. You have a lot of choices. This guide is designed to help with those choices. It is based on the feature set, current market prices, ergonomics, and quality. None of the cameras in this list are bad, but some are better than others, and some are better for some shooting styles and needs than others. All price ranges are vague, but reasonably accurate for the USA in the summer of 2016.
The first thing you need to know is that no matter what camera you buy, you need to budget an extra $200 or so to immediately send it off for a CLA (cleaning, lubrication and adjustment), unless you are buying it from one of the small handful of trusted specialist Leica dealers. If you buy from one of them, you will be paying a premium compared to the individual seller market, so it is pretty much a wash.
You need to ask yourself an important question: Do you need an internal light meter? The answer is no, but you might decide that you really want one, and that is totally fine. It is your camera, after all, and you should have whatever features you want. We will start by looking at the cameras with internal meters.
Leica cameras with internal light meters:
M7: This is the most feature-rich Leica film body. It is the only one that features Aperture Priority exposure mode. Personally, I feel that it is the best metered Leica (controversial, I know), and the second best Leica overall. It gets criticized because it is a camera that doesn’t function without a battery, but let’s be honest- it is utterly trivial to keep an extra battery or two in your camera bag. It takes up less space than an extra roll of film. Decent M7s start at around $1500, and there is no need to spend much more than $2000 for one.
M6: This is the most popular metered film Leica. There are two versions- the M6 “classic” and the M6 TTL. The TTL only adds better flash sync, a larger shutter speed dial, an ‘off’ position for the meter on the shutter speed dial, and a couple hundred bucks to the price. If you don’t use a flash, stick with the non-TTL M6 unless you just get a phenomenal deal on a TTL. The M6 is a full manual mechanical camera. The light meter is the only electronic bit. If you don’t care about Aperture Priority mode, this is the metered Leica to get. Prices start a bit north of $1000 bucks, around $1200 or so. There’s no need to spend more than $1500 or $1600 for one.
MP: Skip this one. It is basically an M6 that is styled to look like an old M2. Prices start at around $3000 dollars or so used (you can get a good used M9 for those prices, and not have to ever pay for film). This is a camera that was made more for showing off and looking cool than it was for regular use. It uses the old style knurled film rewind knob which is more difficult to use than the more modern one with the little flip out lever that gives you mechanical advantage (yes, I know that there are some people out there that really like the knurled knob. Sorry to those folks ;P). On black paint models, the paint is apparently deliberately applied too thin, so it wears prematurely. It is a perfectly capable camera, but it is the closest to ‘style over substance’ that you will find in the Leica lineup.
There is one other thing to choose when it comes to metered Leicas: viewfinder magnification. You have the choice between the ‘normal’ 0.72 magnification, as well as 0.58 which is the choice for those who wear glasses and/or those who prefer using wide angle lenses almost exclusively, and the 0.85 which is good for those who pretty much never go wider than a 50mm lens. For most people, the 0.72 is probably the best choice.
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