Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc (from 3 to 45%). Zinc as such is too brittle for many manufacturing processes, but as Prestal, (78% zinc and 22% aluminium), it is almost as strong as steel but is as malleable as plastic. Most zinc, however, is in the form of alloys of the metal, with small amounts of copper, aluminium and/or magnesium. Physical metallurgy is an involved subject and small differences in either of these alloy compositions confer different properties to the cast and/or stamped and machined part.Speaking of the top plates and bottom plates of cameras as zinc or even as brass (a wide range of copper-zinc alloys with sometimes other doped elements) is unimportant, unless we know what qualities are intended/desired.I'm with Colin on this one - I just rifled through my Leica literature and in the 2002 edition (the very tail end of production for the M6 TTL), the M6 TTL camera body is characterised as thus:.
' Cover 0.8mm diecast zinc, base cover 0.8mm brass.' So, for the Leica M6 TTL, top plate zinc, bottom plate brass.Interestingly, the same configuration applies to the R8 and R6.2 from the same period. For some reason, I erroneously assumed the superlative R6.2's top plate was brass. All beautiful functional tools, nevertheless. A few of the last M6 TTLs were made with the same brass top-plate as those used on the M7. Here's a copy of Leica's official announcement in late 2002:Information No.: 61/2002An alle Vertretungen / To all agencies'Die letzten 999 M6' / The last 999 M6Jean-Jacques Viau / Product Manager Business Unit Systems /Tel. # 418 / Fax # 360 /Dear colleagues,We now would like to make things official: from the end of December 2002 on, we will stop delivering the LEICA M6 TTL!
From January 2003, 1st on, the products with the order number 10436, 10466, 10474 and 10475 will not be available anymore. We will than be able to concentrate the capacity that we have on the very successful M7 cameras in order to best serve the orders that we have.We would like to pay homage to the M6 myth by making a special series of the very last M6, which will leave Solms.' Die letzten 999 M6' is a limited series of 999 M6 TTL bearing a special print 'LEICA M6 1984 - 2002'. The cameras will have a special serial number of the form 001/999. They will be delivered in a luxury wooden box with a black silk inlay and packaged in the new silver cardboard packaging. Each camera will come with a hand-signed certificate of both Mr.
Coenen.The following version are available:- 10542 M6 TTL 'Die letzten 999 M6' black 0,58- 10543 M6 TTL 'Die letzten 999 M6' chrome 0,58- 10544 M6 TTL 'Die letzten 999 M6' black 0,85- 10545 M6 TTL 'Die letzten 999 M6' chrome 0,85A google search will reveal that they are by no means the ONLY ones made with brass top plates - but I haven't found a reference as to when the use of brass top plates started. 'Seeing as you have over 6000 posts on this forum, mostly focusing on irrelevant technical details.' Kommode, that may be the result of your rigorous analysis, but in none of those 6000 attempts to exchange useful photographic information with other members did I see even one of your comments on my contributions or receipt of information from others. Except here of course, where I hinted at the fact that it is silly for non metallurgical or non mechanical engineers to engage in a discussion that relates to the merits of brass versus zinc alloy construction.
Perhaps in some future post we will have the benefits of your insight into the comparative chemistry of optical glass compositions?My own qualifications, apart from art and photography, are as a metallurgical engineer. I did the usual courses in physical metallurgy during my bachelor engineering degree before completing a PhD at Imperial College, London, in high temperature chemistry and metallurgy. I think that allows me to offer some information that you designate (with unknown authority) as an 'absurd comment about 'pot' metals'. Hey, Kommode,as you address everybody as son, I reckon you are an elder. So,.IF. you were into using (your) cameras (for decades), you should know that the top plates are not where the biggest impacts happen. So what's your real worry?Fact one:The oh-so potty zinc tops of thousands of M6s (non-TTL) have been used by an equal number of world-travelling journalists - for a decades, usually.
Leica simply did not deem it necessary to produce a stronger top plate: probably because they just did not have to supply more than a handfull of replacement top plates in all those years.Almost-fact two:I guess I have found/hit/had repaired almost all of the Ms structural weak points: front windows breaking on M2s and M4s, exposed rewind mechanism (M4/6/7), brittle alloy of the flash shoe (M7). A top plate, however, was not amongst them. I 'tried' several times and it always was something else giving away before the top plate even got dented. It always was a matter of the G-forces working the innards and never a crushing effect.Fact three for those who are into male jewellery (and still reading):My two black chrome M7s have become 'less-than-black' overall and some greyish metal is shining through at the corners/edges - after 9 years of rather intensive use.
Extremely ugly. Must have missed.dozens. of great flings because of my non-brassy cameras.Now. What was your question again? Hey, PC B,I don't have any real worries.
I just happen to know that brass top cameras have a higher resale value.Partly because they cost more to make, but also because they will not suffer from zinc-rot; which is a pain. Anyway, I findit amusing enough to ask, and thanks for your insight.As for actually using cameras:This argument always comes up in a non-photographic debate. I find it hilarious that people buying into a luxury brandcamera feel the need to indirectly tell people they are righteous users, because they only care about the essence ofphotography, not the camera. Go get a cheap Pentax for that. Accusing others of not taking pictures is not something onecan prove, nor is it relevant to the question at hand.
Leica M-series rangefinder cameras are considered, by many, to be the quintessential camera. They are exquisitely designed, they’re hand assembled from the finest materials, and because Leica produces what are arguably the best lenses made, they’re capable of taking outstanding photographs. Still, it’s taken me close to 50 years to get my head wrapped around the idea of going out and taking pictures using a camera that doesn’t allow me to see exactly what the lens is seeing.
Having a penchant for tight compositions, this drives me nuts, despite the fact I know Leica frame lines are deadly accurate.It also drives me nuts that rangefinder cameras do not focus close enough to take the types of pictures I enjoy taking without the aid of add-on close-up attachments. Lastly, rangefinder cameras do not allow for depth-of-field preview, which can make selective, wide-aperture focusing difficult, which further aggravates me.However, I recently purchased my second Leica M camera. Because there’s something about Leicas that makes me want to snatch a roll of film out of my freezer, load it up, and go take pictures. I don’t know if it’s the heft of the camera’s brass-and-metal alloy body, the simplicity of the camera’s design and functionality, or the fact it simply feels right in the hand.
Used Leica M6
1967 Leica M4 with Zeiss 35mm f/2 Biogon ZM. Leica M4s were available in chromium-plated brass or harder-to-find black paint. An earlier owner of this camera had it refinished with an olive paint job, which sets it apart from the crowd. A Quick History of Leica M CamerasThe original Leica M camera, the Leica M3 (1954-1966), which featured an all-new bayonet mount and a coupled rangefinder with frame lines for 50mm, 90mm, and 135mm lenses, proved to be a worthy successor to Leica’s original screw mount cameras. The M3 was soon followed by a progression of simplified, less expensive models that included the Leica M2 (1958-1967), M1 (1959-1964), Leica MD (1964-1966), and MDa (1966-1976).Bucking logic, Leica M model numbers aren’t chronological, but rather reflect the number of frame lines visible in the camera’s viewfinder, except when this rule doesn’t hold true, as in the case of the M2, M1, MD, and MDa.
In the case of the Leica M6 and M7 however, this frame-line rule does, in fact, hold true.The Leica M2 was like the M3, albeit it featured a lower-magnification viewfinder (0.72x versus 0.90x) for accommodating frame lines for wider-angle lenses. (The M3 had frame lines for 50mm, 90mm, and 135mm lenses versus 35mm, 50mm, and 90mm on the M2.) Other improvements included an external, manual frame reset counter, and a fresnel rangefinder lens, which improved the light-gathering qualities of the camera’s rangefinder system. A few later models also had self-timers.The M2 was followed by the M1, which had frame lines for 35mm and 50mm lenses, but lacked a coupled rangefinder focusing system. Focusing choices were guesstimating or focusing through the optional Visoflex reflex viewing system. The Leica MD (1964-1966) and MDa (1966-1976), which were designed for use with microscopes and technical instruments, lacked viewing and focusing systems altogether. Because they had accessory shoes that accept optical viewfinders, these cameras have proved popular among wide-angle shooters who bypass the lack of in-camera focusing in favor of hyper-focal focusing and stopping down to f/8 or f/11.One additional camera produced during this time was the original Leica MP (1956-1957), which featured steel gearing instead of brass and an external frame counter.
Leica M6 Classic Brass Top Plate For Sale
Approximately 500 MPs were made, which makes them worthy collectibles these days. The Leica M4The M4, introduced in November 1966, resolved some of the less popular aspects of the M3, including slow, effort-intensive film-loading and rewind systems. Other improvements included frame lines for 35mm, 50mm, 90mm, and 135mm lenses, a redesigned, plastic-tipped film advance (which some people liked, and others disliked), and a frame counter that automatically reset itself (which everybody liked). Other improvements included a redesigned self-timer and frame-selection levers, and a hot shoe in place of an accessory shoe. Leica M4 with Zeiss 21mm f/4.5 Biogon ZM, Kodak Professional Portra 400The M4 was also the last of the M-series cameras that, up until the introduction of the radical Leica M5, were mostly hand-assembled using Leica’s legendary “adjust and fit,” in Germany. The M5 was the first M camera with a built-in light meter. It was also universally panned by consumers.In a bid to save face, money, and the future of the company, Leica moved its manufacturing facilities to Canada, streamlined, simplified, and in some opinions, undermined the quality of Leica products during this period in the company’s storied history.
Building details: Leica M4 with Zeiss 21mm f/4.5 Biogon ZM (left), Zeiss 35mm f/2 Biogon ZM (right), Kodak Professional Portra 400Cameras produced in Midland, Ontario, include the M4-2 and M4-P, which featured aluminum-and-zinc-alloy construction (no brass), more plastic internal parts, a simplified rangefinder system that was prone to flair compared to earlier models, and a few other cost-saving measures. Despite the jeers of Leica elitists, the M4-2 and M4-P are fine cameras that deliver the Leica experience for notably less expense than more desirable Leica M cameras. As for the Leica M5, just as the Ford Edsel has become a collectable among automotive enthusiasts, Leica’s M5 has also seen its value rise with the passage of time.The original M4 was available with a chrome or black chrome finish, or the rarer and more desirable black enamel paint finish. Leica M4 with Zeiss 21mm f/4.5 Biogon ZM (left), Zeiss 35mm f/2 Biogon ZM (right), Kodak Tri-X 400Unlike the M4-2 and M4-P, which have zinc-alloy top and bottom plates, the M4 featured brass top and bottom plates that, with time (and ample rubbing), would begin to peek through the edges of the camera’s chromium or paint finish. Just as a good pair of jeans get that impossible-to-fake worn look over time, “brassing” is something that personalizes a camera to the owner—it’s a testament to its use.Until the introduction of the in 2004, the M4 was also the last M camera with an engraved script Leica logo on the top plate.
The M4-2, M4-P, M6, and M7 had stamped logos, which were more cost effective than engraving, a practice that resumed with the introduction of the MP, which along with the, remains the only film camera manufactured by Leica. Loading FilmLoading film into an M-series camera is a bit more involved than most 35mm film cameras. Rather than a hinged door that swings open with a twist of a latch, which is how most film cameras are designed, you first must remove the bottom the bottom plate of an M to load and unload film. (When you remove the base plate, you automatically reset the frame counter.) You then must lift the film pressure plate door and feed a few inches of leader film across the film track and tuck the end into the three-pronged take-up spool on the opposite side.
After advancing the film far enough to ensure it’s loaded properly, you replace the bottom plate and advance to frame one. Loading film into a Leica M requires you to remove the bottom plate, lift the pressure-plate door, and hand-feed the film across the film plane and into the three-pronged take-up spool. It’s easier than it sounds.Once loaded with film, it’s simply a matter of taking a light reading and opening one’s eyes to the world around us. The experience is totally analog in that you must make conscious decisions every step of the way.
You must take a meter reading, set the aperture and shutter speed, focus, and compose the image before tripping the shutter. You then advance the film and repeat as desired. Loading docks, Leica M4 with Zeiss 21mm f/4.5 Biogon ZM, Kodak Professional Portra 400M cameras are sensual in that there is a very tactile look, feel, and sound to them. The film advance system is smooth and positive and, when you trigger the shutter, the “click” sound you hear is unlike the shutter sound of other camera types. Better yet, unlike digital cameras and smartphones, the sound you hear is the sound of a real shutter taking a picture.
To focus the lens, you peer through the viewfinder and rotate the lens’s focus ring until the two split images overlap. It’s easy to get the hang of focusing rangefinder cameras, and they are far easier to focus when shooting under low lighting conditions compared to reflex viewing cameras. A Leica guy, since I bought a screw thread Leica II in 1965, moving later to an M3, an M2, an M4 and an M6. Currently I use two M2s and an M3. I have always done my own home processing which is far simpler than people believe, and 70 years of developer and fixer have never given me skin problems; but with clean darkroom technique it should not be on your skin anyway.
A Leitz Valloy II and an El-Nikor lens, and it takes me an hour to print a film and clean up the debris. I had a Focomat but it is so big.Why do I love them? They are quiet, inconspicuous, and reliable.
If they break, mechanics can fix them; Digital cameras sooner or later end in landfill. Leicas never do - Gus Lazzari is currently cleaning my Leica I that dates from 1928. They teach you photography and many, who don't like them, can't be bothered to learn. If you haven't the motivation to find out about exposure, or the energy to focus a lens without a motor to help you, you are not likely to become a great photographer.Taking 36 photos, each visualised through the best viewfinder ever made, and that one has thought through, is better than taking hundreds of crap ones just because it costs nothing. Pouring over prints, tells me what I got right and what I got wrong; without learning self-criticism one does not improve.
Because So many other firms copied the Leica, there are vast numbers of good lenses with screw threads, just waiting for an adapter and to be mounted on a Leica; I love the Canon ones in particular like the great 35mm, 50mms and 100mm.So my Leicas will see out my lifetime, with 400 ISO film from the Great Yellow Father. I have used M3, Ms, M4, M4-P and a couple M6 for a total of 40 years, still use together with digital M. You got some details wrong.
ALL M have a bottom lid in brass. M4-2 and early M4-P had same top covers in brass, but later M4-P were in zink. M4-P was produced parallell to M6 until 1986, M6 started 1984. I have a general feeling that the early M4-P are of higher quality than the later, and also than the M6. Some introductory problems with M4-2 were corrected in M4-P, which are excellent cameras! Like you, I have used Leica cameras for a very long time.
My first was a M2R which I purchased in 1969. Followed by a M4 in 1970. The M4 was a daily shooter until I sold it in 2010 to partially fund a M9.
The M4 was a wonderful camera, probably the best non-metering Leica ever made. Probably should have kept this camera but just don't shoot film anymore. I shoot with a M10 now which comes as close to the soul of a M4 as any digital Leica.Analog shooters should look at the earlier German versions of the M4 and not the lower quality later versions.
Leica M6 TTL MelleniumLeica M6 TTL Millennium Black PaintTTLThe special retro edition M6 Black PaintTTL is based on the.72 M6 TTL body. 2000 were made for the newMillennium, released in January 2000. Note the regular serial number on thetop plate, and the special serial number 0422/2000 on the accessory shoe in the top pic.Quite simply, is it a beautiful camera which is sure to quickly sell out.Noteworthy features include:.The return of a black paint M finish.This is a really big deal to many long term Leica owners like myself, who havealways disliked the black chrome finish. The top plate is brass, instead of zinclike the standard M6.The return of the Leica Script top plateengraving. Again, this is a very big thing to many long term Leica lovers wholoathe the non-engraved top plates of the standard M6.Retro M3 style features: rewindknob complete with red index marks, all metal advance lever, black paint strap lugs, norubber strap inserts, engraved open/close marking on baseplate.Thankfully M6 type film loading wasretained, not M3 style film loading.The retro style current production 50/2.8 Collapsible Elmarlooks right at home here, but is not special issue. Baseplate is shown with adhesiveprotective covering.One of the biggest questions before the camera arrived was'How Good is the Finish?' Vampire the masquerade bloodlines download completo portugues.
After all, it has been decades since Leicaproduced a black paint camera. The new black finish is bit shinier thanthe old, but this probably makes little difference one way or the other. To myeyes it's an excellent and well done finish, but not quite up to the standards ofthe old M. Toughness and durability may well be a differentmatter. I have no info about the paint used, but hopefully modern improvements havemade it much tougher than the older finishes, which were not tough at all. Skyrim lore friendly weapons.
Back tothe paint's surface shine, or patina. If you look very closely as light is reflectedoff the paint surface, from some angles you can occasionally see faint marks below thepaint. The question is whether this is from a thin paint job, or machining marks onthe brass top, or both.
If anyone cares to lend me their M6 Black Paint and theirblack paint M4, I will scratch both of them in the name of curiosity to measure thepaint thickness, and get to the bottom of it.The classic M3 style closing lock reborn. The extra 2 mmheight of the TTL bodies to accommodate flash circuitry results in noticeably squarerlines on the top plate compared to previous M's. Shutter dials of all TTL M6's aremuch larger and easier to turn than the non-TTL, and rotate in the opposite direction ofearlier M's. This allows the TTL shutter dial movement to correspond todirection of the plus or minus finder LEDs, which in turn correspond to the direction ofthe lens f/stops.The M6 TTL Millennium comes in a special red velvet lined box,with a special 'M6 TTL Black Paint' brochure, and a certificate ofauthenticity signed by Hanns-Peter Cohn and Burkard Kiesel. It is oftenreferred to as the M6 Millennium, though the official title is 'M6 TTL BlackPaint' judging from the brochure.Unlike many Leica commemoratives ofquestionable heritage, this camera is about something worth commemorating - lookingforward to the new Millennium while revering Leica heritage.
In my opinion, the M6Millennium is sure to be one of the important Leica collectibles in the years to come.Revised:November 06, 2004. Copyright © 2000 StephenGandy. All rights reserved. This means you may NOT copy andre-use the text or the pictures in ANY other internet or printed publication ofANY kind. Information in this document is subject to change withoutnotice.
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