Leica M6: A Camera I Could Come Home To

I mean as a fine art photographer you’re meant to really want a Leica…aren’t you?

The thing is, I just wasn’t sure if I ever really aspired to own a Leica.

A while back i’d looked at Leica owners facebook groups and felt really underwhelmed by the quality of the images. Lots of people out taking pictures of randoms on their mobile phones or just straight up awkward pics of the homeless.

Obviously Leica is associated with some phenomenal talents in photography, but I just couldn’t help but feel that maybe it was a luxury item for people that could afford it, dentists, directors of marketing agencies and Seal (google him if you don’t know).

I fully appreciated that this initial negative opinion wasn’t necessarily based on proper research so certainly when Paul offered to lend me one, I jumped at the chance. Putting aside my casual feelings about the brand, I was comfortable in knowing that whatever happens, I was going to get a premium experience.

Paul lent me a Leica M6 and JP (@shotsbyjp___) kindly lent me a 50mm Leica Summicron (V3).

The lens will get a separate review so I guess you could say this is part one.

This particular Leica M6 is in black and has a blacked out dial and blacked out lettering. Very sexy.

Upon holding it in my unworthy hands for the first time what struck me was how hefty it felt.

It’s a solid piece of kit.

Eddie loaded the roll of Ilford FP4 for me and I was away. He actually showed me very carefully how to load it, clearly my mind was thinking about dinner, as will be explained further down the line.

For the roll of FP4 I ended up splitting it down the middle with a trip to Hever Castle and a mooch round Brighton.

There’s something about walking round with a Leica in your hand taking pics. You kind of feel proper.

I am a shameless fashion victim and there is no doubt that the presence of a Leica M6 did kind of complement my style, I’m not even joking when I say that.

All being well me and you will never meet but if we do, feel free to take the piss out of me for that last paragraph.

So let's get down to brass tacks. The experience of using this camera is frankly wonderful.

It feels like a beautifully machined precision instrument and took me a while not to get a little rush of dopamine when winding film on to the next frame.

Clicking the shutter button felt quite honestly…divine.

The Leica M6 is a rangefinder and I am in a lot of cases a true sucker for a rangefinder.

There is something quite satisfying about peering through that little window and lining those little patches up.

I have an inability to tell if an image is in focus or not just by eye alone. I’ve spent many a time staring down the barrel of a TLR agonising about whether or not to move the focus point along a little bit more or a little bit less.

Matching up those little patches couldn't be simpler though and is a lot lot faster than focusing through a prism finder like the Nikon F3.

You can see why it’s the street photographer's weapon of choice, not only does it look amazing next to an oat milk matcha latte on your instagram stories but also when it comes to finding focus quickly, it’s spot on.

The viewfinder is also bright and clear but this is of course to be expected.

Then came a change of film. Changing the film in a Leica M6 is actually very straightforward and intuitive, unless you are El Foolio here. Somehow I completely messed this up. One roll of film ruined and an informative youtube video later, I managed to correct my error.

I’m not going to lie, whilst in my ownership I adored using this camera.
If I were younger and a wealthy ninety-year-old Russian baroness offered me either a Leica M6 or an uncut diamond of questionable origin in exchange for a night of passion, I’d definitely choose the Leica.
As it stands, I’m middle-aged and can’t remember the last time an opportunity like that came my way.
Unfortunately, back in the real world, I would struggle to justify actually buying one.

If it came purely down to image quality, I mean how good does it have to be?

I for example have a couple of Zeiss Milvus lenses slapped in front of a Nikon F3. I mean those babies take pretty damn good images.

So why do I still want it?

I want it because the whole experience of using it was outstanding.

I want it because every time I held it up to my eye that little sequence of focusing the camera, taking the picture and winding on the film felt like a dream.

Sometimes using a camera is more than just a good photo, It’s about the experience and for me the experience was stunning.

I was talking to Paul recently about using this camera and as he talked to me everything went quiet. Over his shoulder, the M6 in the cabinet winked at me and sang sweetly, like a siren drawing a sailor into the deep deep sea.

I snapped out of it quickly though, only to hear Paul say that after using a Leica M6, returning to it feels like coming home.

I have yet to hold one in my hand again but I have a sneaky suspicion, he will be right.

Part two is coming soon.