Leica M6 Instruction Manual
Contents
1. Alphabetical index eis LEICA M lenses Enlarger Projectors Binoculars Replacement parts ERE IE ER DERE EE Bhd d OB EZ AAA SJT TT TETT TT 12 C BEE ne Sa J Les if wd tah t3 s kul mall Ta EU ep al takla M 1 The LEICA M 6 mm c f 22 MR Battery compartment Bavonet lens mount release button Red spot for lens alignment Film rewind lever Automatic frame counter Shutter release button with thread tor cable release 10 oue 10 11 12 11 ANE Ar 12 TL uw UL sid Lu E FI B 16 NU 18 Single stroke rapid advance lever can also be multi stroked Rangefinder window Shutter speed dial Hotshoe Bright line frame illumination window Rewind lever 13 14 15 15 17 18 Viewfinder window with mirrored strip lor LED visibility in bright light Eyelets for carrying strap Depth ol field scale Distance scale Aperture ring Frame preselector level 19 20 21 22 23 Base plate catch Range viewlinder eyepiece Synchronisation socket for flash units with cable SO film speed dial Tripod bushing Carrying strap The strap is supplied with its steel connection hooks locked To attach first pull back the plastic locking slide and remove the connector entirely Mount con2. ISO speed indexes in ASA and DIN are shown on the horizontal scale at the top as Sv speed yalues and the vertical scale in the center gives EV exposure value numbers The working range of the LEICA M 6 shutter is indicated schematically by the hatched ver tical scale at the extreme left hand side of the drawing with the empty B space represent ing the range of exposures longer than one second Example A shows the correlation between a film speed of ISO 100 21 a typical daytime brightness of 4 000 cd m a lens aperture of f 11 and a shutter speed of sosec The exposure value of EV 15 can be read at the intersection of the A diagonal with the central EV scale Example B indicates that in case of candle light and a speed of film of ISO 400 27 1 cd m one should take photos with a diaphragm of 1 4 and 1 15 s In case the lens is used i e with diaphragm 1l the appropriate exposure time of 4 s cannot be adjusted any more when using the time adjusting knob As the maxi mum exposure time that can be adjusted with this knob is I s only without causing the LED s to flash an exact measuring is not possible any more either Therefore in order to obtain the exact exposure time one can only convert or use this diagramme General notes on exposure metering Most scenes contain an even distribution of bright and dark subject details and the major ity of sunlighted subjects have an average re flectance of 18 Th
3. Leica Instructions LEICA M6 We hope that your new LEICA will give you a great deal of pleasure and wish you many years of successful photography with it This instruction booklet was printed on paper bleached without chlorine an expensive pro cess that preserves the environment especially natural water resources Leica Academy Bui Leica not only makes high performance products for everything from observation to reproduction A special service available to you is the Leica Academy For many years this internationally famous facility teaches photographic know how in ap plication oriented seminars and training cour ses t meets the needs of keen photographers both beginners and advanced students for special training in demanding areas of 35 mm photography projection and enlargement Up to date well equipped classrooms at our Solms headquarters are available for these courses which are held by experienced in structors with svllabuses ranging from general photography to specialized fields of interest They provide a wealth of practical suggestions help and advice Further information and details of seminars are available from Leica Camera GmbH Leica Academy Oskar Barnack Strasse 11 6336 Solms Germany Telephone 49 0 64 42 208 421 Contents The LEICA M 6 Carrying strap EEE NTT EE oi aO EG Ritus Removing the lens Rapid wind
4. Light from this spot is reflected to photo diode with collecting lens which can be seen at about 11 o clock inside the open mount The lens f stop and shutter speed for correct expo sure are indicated by the appearance of two triangular LEDs 4 which appear in the viewfinder with equal brightness If the shut ter speed is set first it is easy to adjust correct exposure with the lens aperture ring as the arrows also indicate the direction of needed rotation Switching the exposure meter on The exposure meter is switched on by light pressure on the shutter release button 6 providing that the shutter is tensioned and is not set to B After finger pressure has been removed the exposure meter remains on for about 12 seconds When the shutter is re leased the meter is switched off and the LEDs go out If the film is immediately wound on as when using the LEICA WINDER the expo sure meter is reactivated and the LEDs light up again If even one of the two LEDs light up this indicates that the light meter is operational 99 When the shutter is released or set to B the meter is switched off At very low light levells or with very small lens apertures at the threshold of the light meter ing range the LEDs may take about one full second to light up Setting shutter speed lens aperture combinations for correct exposure For correct exposure metering the shutter speed dial must be set at a marke
5. Metering KL i L I SLITTE TE 39 24 Metering diagram ssssuresssenzzenenensensosnsesnsonea 20 EN LG Re ER 37 construction 3 cJ interchangeable lenses 42 use of existing lenses 2 37 Rangefinder sse ANT EROR 16 PE Gi 12 Rapid wind lever 8 Shutter release 8 Shutter speed aperture a combination PU Shutter speed dial Tips on the care of camera and lenses Winder M PTE I EEE ETTE TT TET TT TEEN TTS SZENE EZ DZ 0 LEICA M lenses The LEICA M system offers a basis for rapid inconspicuous photography in poor light such as in church or at concerts The lens range reaches from 2 to 135 mm with maximum apertures of f 1 4 and even f 1 Enlargers When you use a superb camera like the LEI CA M 6 the reproduction equipment should match the camera s quality and performance The LEICA FOCOMAT V 35 autofocus en larger is the perfect complement to your LEI CA M 6 Projectors For your LEICA M 6 slides there is a comprc hensive range of versatile easy to use projec tors with a large choice of options The LEI CA P 2000 PRADOVIT and the LEICA P 150 LEICA P 155 and LEICA P 255 offer total user convenience and a versatile range of optional modules Superb optical performance in combination with traditional Leica pr
6. Unscrew the cover plate 1 and note battery profile symbols and marking at top when inserting the cell or cells Handle cells only by their sides never touching the top or bottom surfaces When in doubt wipe carefully with a clean cloth When two silveroxide cells are used make sure that both are equally fresh and from the same batch A set of fresh batteries will last for about 20 hours if the exposure meter is switched on continuously Assuming IS second measur 18 ments in normal use this means sufficient en ergy lor 4 800 exposures Batteries should be exchanged when the LEDs begin to appear weaker than normal although the exposure meter will continue to read accurately as long as they light up at all If the cells are unable to supplv the minimum operating voltage the LED display will not appear The electrical circuit can be broken bv oxida tion of the battery surfaces and the LEDSs will not appear If this is the case the batteries camera contacts and cap should be carefully rubbed with a clean cloth Avoid using any chemically impregnated cloth a clean but not new handkerehief is ideal Silver oxide cells The following can be used in the LEICA M 6 Type No and principal area of application Ucar Duracell Varta Eveready National Ray o vac Maxell Sony Philips Lithium batteries The following can be used in the LEICA M 6 Duracell Varta Ucar Philips EPX 76 D 357 10 L 14
7. V 76 PX EPX 76 SR 44 Panas 357 SR 44 SR 44 357 DL N CR N 2 L 76 CR 3 N Battery care and use Store batteries in a cool dry place New and used batteries or batteries of different makes should not be used together Because battery shelf life is often similar to inuse life a spare set should be purchased at least some months la ter The batteries listed here are not recharge able Batteries can be tested only with a proper professional test instrument having the correct adjustable load characteristic Dispose of batteries carefully never in a fire If battery disposal depots exist where vou live we re commend that you use them Note If the camera is to be stored away for a long period of time always remove the batteries Shutter speed dial Shutter speeds from 1 to 1 1000 sec are on the speed selector dial 9 which is firmly click stopped at all of the engraved speeds Interme diate speeds can not be set When the dial is set to B the shutter remains open as long as the release button is pressed and the light meter is switched off The symbol 4 1 50 sec is the synchronizing speed for electronic flash units Longer exposure times can also be used when special effects are wanted Film speed The ISO film speed dial of the LEICA M 6 22 is calibrated in DIN degrees above and ASA indexes below In current ISO practice 20 the film speed setting shown in the i
8. If the light level improves during this time e g if the picture framing is changed or the aperture opened the LEDs change from flashing to uninter rupted display Switching off the Exposure Meter If the camera is stored in a bag or left unused for while the shutter speed setting ring should bc set to B The exposure meter is now switched off LEICA M 6 metering fields The metering held covers approximately 23 of the viewfinder field corresponding to the lens being used Metering fields for the seven focal lenghts have not been marked in order to preserve an uncluttered viewfinder The fol lowing reference value applies for all lens focal lengths The diameter of the circular measuring field 1s approximately of the short side of the ap propriate bright line frame This also applies to lenses with integral viewfinder attachments such as the ELMARIT M 135 mm 2 8 90 mm 21 mm 28 mm 24 135 mm 75 mm 35 mm 50 mm 25 Metering diagram 175000 cd m NM an NAS NN AN andi SSN NNNNSNNSSNSNS SN VN AAN ao NNNNNNNNNN 1 AG NNN VAGN 09 NANSANA ANSA KN N KE AEA N A NA MEN NN NN VNNNNNANN NANNA GR 15 1000 v The light measuring range is shown on the right hand side of the diagram in cd m can dela per square meter aka NIT Shutter speeds and f stops are shown at the left as Tv time values and Av aperture val ues
9. bright beach of Acapulco the exposure value was de termined by panning the camera to the right and measuring outside the range of the subject area In this area there were reed huts palm trees deckchairs and people i e an even dis tribution of light and dark details If such sub stitute measurements are not possible expo sure measurement should be carried out on the light details for example the light sand on the beach or in the desert the whitewashed walls ina Greek village or the snow on the run of a ski slope and the value then corrected accordingly Opening up the diaphragm by two stops corrects the exposure value for purely white details i e multiplying the shutter speed by 4 e g 125 sec instead of sec For light coloured details such as sand one stop is suf ficient or twice the shutter speed In sunny snowscapes the correct exposure for the areas of sunlight can be determined by measuring the shade In this case no correction must be made For photos of spotlighted subjects when many details of the subject are in the shadows or for predominantly dark subjects such as steam engines or black fields of lava there are usually small portions of the picture area with a good distribution of light and dark details which can be measured using spot metering In this pic ture taken at the ballet the area for measurc ment was at the far right partly outside the picture area If there are no suitable
10. film image In the center of the viewfinder is a somewhat paler rectangle this is the LEICA rangefinder which permits both coincidence the merging of two images of the same object or split image the connecting of a broken subject line that runs through the rangetinder patch focusing methods All LEICA M lenses with focal lengths from 21 to 135 mm couple to the rangefinder Lenses from 28 to 135 mm automatically actuate the appropriate combination of bright line frames 28 90 mm 35 135 mm 50 75 mm Through the lens TTL light metering is in dicated by triangular LEDs which appear when the meter is turned on by light finger pressure on the release button F 7 a Y AJR git ee Pee WA si M od ua A a a r y u f E kat ae P 4 Qr or Mi JA mm bri ght l ine frame iP Fii ai Wig EE Ml TT 8 ia s rw Ar ia 1 i S I SP 1 Se St AU g d a s LA a jal gt budt 1 a 1 2 r T x 135 mm Rangefinder bright line field frame Exposure meter LED gt med d i ta ol LS Lond t ow taq 13 Frame presclector lever LEICA M lenses automatically actuate their own bright line viewfinder frames but this ts not always the right lens for the picture at hand The frame preselector lever 18 lets you test the composition for the other focal lengths The three preselector positions are Lever o
11. left hand supports the lens from below always ready for quick refocusing and presses the camera against the forehead An important advantage of this holding me thod is that vertical pictures can be made merely rotating the camera without changing the position of either hand Note For sake of clarity we have shown the LEICA without a lenshood Properly designed lenshoods are provided for all of the LEICA lenses except those with built in hoods These prevent stray light from entering the lens and are especially valuable with strong side or back lighting 11 LEICA M 6 range viewfinder The LEICA M 6 range viewfinder is highly accurate lens coupled rangefinder with lens actuated bright line frames for six different focal lengths from 28 to 135 mm Everything within the frame will be recorded on the film These frames correspond to an image field of 23 x 35 mm slide mount format at the closest focusing distance for each lens At longer dis tances the image will contain a somewhat larger subject field than that shown within the bright line frames The bayonet of each lensmount automatically actuates the correct frame for its focal length and these frames are coupled to the focusing mechanism so that parallax the framing dif ference caused by the displacement of the camera lens and the viewfinder is automati cally compensated for as the lens is focused 1 dem and the bright line frame corresponds to the
12. able dioptres spherical 0 5 1 1 5 4 2 3 0 5 1 1 5 2 3 40 LEICA WINDER M Either of the LEICA WINDER M 4 P or M 4 2 from Serial No 10350 can be attached to the LEICA M 6 for automatic film transport and resetting of the shutter for single expo sures and series up to three frames per second The winder is mounted on the camera in place of the base plate and is suitable for all shutter speeds from 1 to how sec including B When the winder ts switched off or if the batteries are dead the film can still be wound on manually as normal Remote release is possible via the cable release connection Care of the LEICA M 6 and lenses A lens works as a burning glass when it is aimend at the sun I e if the sun shines directly through the lens onto the shutter it burns a hole into the shutter curtain The camera in side must therefore be protected by using the lens cap keeping the camera in its case and leaving it in the shade Every lens has in addi tion to its name a personal serial number This as well as the camera number which is engraved on the hotshoe of the LEICA M 6 should be noted down in case the camera is lost or stolen Dust should be removed from the outer lens elements using a soft haired brush or with care a soft clean dry cotton cloth The special cleaning cloths for spectacles are not recom mended as they are impregnated with chemi cals which could attack optical glass opti
13. areas exposure Measurement must be carried out on 33 the dark details and a correction made result ing in shorter shutter speed Stopping down by half a stop in extreme cases a whole stop Is enough If there is a very great contrast between light and dark parts of the image the exposure range of the films is not sufficient to register all the nuances in brightness of the subject either in the light or in the shade The photo grapher can decide for himself where he wants the more detail For example a person can appear as a black silhouette under exposed in front of a correctly exposed landscape or correctly exposed in front of a bleached background over exposed Measurement of 3 light and shade and the consequent expo sure value usually leads to unsatisfactory re sults because delicate differences in bright ness are lost both in the light and the dark areas The landscape photo was taken after measuring in the lower right part of the picture shadow of the tree on the grass and the horse For fast moving subjects there is often no time for exposure measurement In such cases ex posure measurement is carried out before hand In this example measurement was done in the top left hand corner as the tapes bor dering the racetrack provided light and dark details Deliberate over or under exposure often en hances the character of picture and can used as good composit
14. cal glass for high performance lenses has a differ ent composition to glass for spectacles n poor condition e g at the seaside in tropi cal regions etc a colourless UVa filter can be used to protect the front lens element against salt water spray sand and similar However any additional glass surface placed before the lens 1 e a filter can cause undesirable flare or reflections in particular when shooting against the light or in situations with great contrast The lens hood is equally good pro tection against fingermarks and rain 41 Alphabetical Index Page 5 STG oe Bags and cases nn ann 39 Battery 18 Bright line frame selector lever i Sdn 9 Carrection Lua ser Customer SETVICS su 43 Depth of field scale i Exposure metering 50 21 general hints on exposure metering ss ne 20 meter sensitivity PIN 28 switching on the exposure meter 22 tips Macte very low light levels akk 29 FID ika a ir va v vae DERE AIR RR ERR 8 insertig the film rre rewinding and removing setting film speed ER 25a 10 sae 20 Flash 0 E Focusing TET Holding the camera Lent 1
15. d may call for decreasing the expo sure to prevent the effect of reading mainly the dark background and thereby overexposing the important subject Positive color slide film possess far less expo sure latitude and their brightness recording ranges are much shorter than those of either b amp w or color negative films Three golden rules are 2 3 Expose color slide films for the highlights and let the shadows fall where they may Expose color negative films for important middle tone areas and never fear overexposure Expose b amp w films for the sha dows and develop for the high lights Exposure metering tips The two pictures above are very dilferent but they share common problem very bright backgrounds that might have led the meter to underexpose their important foreground are as For the landscape the solution was to aim the LEICA M 6 selective meter downward so as to measure practically only the foreground area The portrait was metered by moving very close to the child in order to take a reading from the face alone then using this exposure for subse quent pictures made from a greater distance Incidentally you can take accurate LEICA M 30 s r 6 meter readings from distances closer than the lens can focus In the Bavarian beer tent at right bare light bulbs could easily have led to underexposure even a silhouette of the Kapellmeister To avoid this the
16. d speed Intermediate settings will cause the LEDs to light up but exposure readings may not be correct Alter a speed has been set touch the release button rightly and rotate the lens aperture ring until both LEDs light up equally brightly When only one LED appears turn the lens aperture ring in the direction indicated The triangular LEDs indicate over or under exposure as well as the direction of rotation of the lens aperture ring needed for correct expo sure Under exposure of at least one f stop Turn lens aperture ring to the right gt 4 Under exposure of stop Turn lens aperture ring to the right Correct exposure 4 Over exposure ot stop Turn lens aperture ring to the left A Over exposure of at least on f stop Turn lens aperture ring to the left Leica M 6 meter sensitivity The light metering range begins at 0 063 cd m The working range at ISO 100 21 is from Ev 1 to Ev 20 or 2 sec shutter speed dial position B at f 1 to 1 1000 sec at f 32 Refer to dia gram page 26 Very low light levels If the light level is below the threshold of the exposure meter the LEDs will flash Since exposure metering occurs at working aperture the LEDs may also flash when stop ping down In spite of a light level below the threshold sensitivity the exposure meter remains swiched on as usual that is for 12 seconds after finger pressure has been remo ved from the release buttom
17. ecision mechanics are the common denominator of all LEICA pro jectors Binoculars Superb optics are the most outstanding single feature of all LEICA binoculars Thev are made of the same high grade optical glass as the world famous LEICA lenses Their bril liant optical performance and exceptional resolution ensure that you obtain a vivid three dimensional image even in poor light Customer Service For the maintenance and in the unlikely case of damage repairs to your lens please consult the Customer Service of Leica Camera GmbH or the Customer Service of any national Leica Ca mera agency see warranty card for address list Ask your authorized dealer or specialist for ad vice 2 Registered Trademark Lilustrations descriptions and technical data are not binding and may be changed without notice Trademark of The Leica Camera Group Leica Camera GmbH Oskar Barnack Strafie 11 D 5336 Solms Telefon 06442 208 0 Tel fax 06442 208 333 Telex 482610 leica d engl 930275 di 930274 frz 930276 Printed in Germany VII 92 CX L
18. eld range Aperture ring The aperture figures are internationally fixed They are so designed that the amount of light reaching the film is always halved when one stops down from aperture to aperture One stop corresponds to one setting on the shutter speed dial 9 The aperture ring ts click stopped at cach full stop for most lenses also half stops in a simi lar fashton to the shutter speed dial After a e K 2 28 4 66 8 WM little practice the apertures can also be set in the dark Depth of field scale The plane which is reproduced the sharpest 1s that on which the lens is focused I his greatest sharpness decreases gradually in front of and behind this plane so that a certain range exists within which the image Is to the eye repro duced sharply The depth of field is dependent upon the focus setting the focal length of the lens and the aperture Stopping down increas es depth of field widening the aperture de creases it The depth of field scale indicates the range of sharpness at the set focus dis tance For example using the SUMMILUX M 50 mm f 1 4 lens focused on 5 metres the depth 38 of field at f 4 ranges from 4 8 metres approxi mately Stopping down to fil however in creascs the range to 3 20 metres Lens hoods Each LEICA lens is supplied with an indivi dually designed lens hood Some of them can be attached in the reversed position Telephoto lenses have built in hoods which pul
19. ional aid In this landscape photo exposure measurement was done on the tir trees and mountain ridges on the left of the picture without the sky and the value was then reduced by two stops 35 5 es MEN S a v ai 1 j S Tu A LEIGA ta MIL Se MERA BH dr ua zi m RENE TA Flash synchronization All currently available flash units can be con nected to the LEICA M 6 via thc interna tionally standardized hot shoe 10 and a PC cord socket 21 We recommend the use of modern thyristor controlled electronic flash units Electronic flash units can be synchronized at ie so sec or at all longer exposure times down to B when special effects are wanted Two flash units can be connected by using both the PC socket and hotshoe 36 Use of older LEICA M lenses All LEICA M lenses can be used without re striction However the exposure metering system does not function with the following HOLOGON 15 mm 8 SUPER ANGULON M 21 mm f 4 SUPER ANGULON M 21 mm f 3 4 ELMARIT M 28 mm f 2 8 up to Serial No 2314921 Electronic flash 1 4 49 B AG 3B Flashcubes PF1B XM1B M3 PFC 4 Flashbulbs Lens design LEICA lenses all have a fixed ring with depth of field scale 15 a rotatable focusing ring 16 and an aperture setting ring 17 Focusing ring The focus ring 16 shows the distance set and in combination with the scale 15 the depth ot fi
20. is means that 18 of the light that falls upon these subjects will be re flected toward the camera lens and this 18 reflectance corresponds to an average gray tone for which exposure meters are calibrated Subjects that are themselves very bright or which have very bright background areas such as snow sand or water reflect more light toward the exposure meter which will tend to indicate underexposures Dark subjects such as black fur slate roofs and navy blue uniforms reflect much less light and meters tend to indicate overexposures For such special cases the exposure is best measured selectively by including only a por tion containing a representative sampling of the most important subject details For exam ple the bride s face should be measured and not the whiteness of her gown And a land scape made with a wideangle lens should be metered pointing downward to exclude a good part of the bright sky When no such metering alternative is available or the photographer simply has no time to 28 make specialized readings compensation factor of 2x or 4x can be used opening or closing the lens aperture by one or two f stops or increasing or decreasing the exposure time White snow under a clear sky with bright sun light often calls for an exposure increase of 4x or plus two f stops if subjects of normal rc flectance are to be properly exposed Similar ly a normal subject against dark forest backgroun
21. l out tele scopically The lens hoods should always be used as they provide on the one hand shade from side lighting or glare and on the other protection against rain drops or finger marks Bags and cases The ever ready case Order No 14 505 is re commended for use of the LEICA M 6 with one lens from 21 50 mm apart from the 50 mm 1 1 The front part is removable if the button on the rear is pushed upwards In ad dition the Combi Bag Order No 14 840 is available for a camera plus up to three lenses whilst the Universal Bag Order No 14 827 accommodates a camera with up to five lenses 39 Filters All LEICA M lenses have standard size filter threads The excepton is the SUMMILUX M 35 mm f 1 4 which accepts Series 7 filters in serted into the unscrewable lens hood When metering the exposure through the lens any reduction in light caused by a filter 18 au tomatically taken into account However films have different sensitivities in the individual spectral regions meaning that the more ex treme fillers could cause deviations from the correct exposure For example orange filters generally need one stop more exposure red on average two stops more A universally valid correction factor is not possible as the red sensitivity of black and white films varies con siderably Eyesight correction lenses For optimal matching of the viewfinder to the eye correction lenses in the following strengths are avail
22. lens was pointed toward the lower left hand corner of this picture to obtain an accurate meter reading for the bandstand area This is the advantage of selective light meter ing with the LEICA M 6 you measure what you want and know what you re measuring When looking for the ideal picture area the camera is usually panned even for quick snap shots At the same time this helps the pho tographer to determine if there is sufficiently even distribution of dark and light details A striking detail in the subject is also necessary for focusing If this does not happen to be in the centre of an interesting picture area the camera again has to be panned whereby dark light distribution can be checked at the same time The two pictures above were taken in this way Left Focusing and exposure measurement on the boy on the right in the left window pan the camera back to desired picture area no 32 change exposure value shoot Right Fo cusing and exposure measurement on the young lady in the left of the picture pan back to the desired picture area considerable change in exposure value as now predomi nantly white details are being registered from the measuring field of the exposure meter therefore exposure measurement Is carried out again by pointing the camera downwards to the far left part of the measuring field is even underneath the picture section back to correct picture area shoot On the
23. lever hutter release T Film insertion Film rewinding Holding the camera sa BR TT ST TET TT EEE 111 2 r d aa EI Bright line frame selector haa d nr hake E E E 5 xd n Erna SJ EE B E Viewfinder bat da O rar NG Battier sann FIM SES asses Shutter speed dial Exposure metering SETTET TT ETT ee LO switching on the meter n 22 switching off the meter u Setting the correct shutter speed aperture combination 22 Meter repe ndi NER 09 3 30 23 Mete ring SEIL umge 50100 id 24 Metering diagram a General notes on exposure metering Tips for exposure metering hes synchronisation Lise of older LEICA M lenses Le ns desien EN Focusing ring hae a PRPETTUTG FINE ae Depth ol field scale Lens hoods m Bags and cases Filters va m Bw rz mm IN EE 20 ETTE TT EEE eee II Eyesight correction lenses ann LEICA WINDER M 4 P PRR RC EEE 5 EORR RR BAR SJ EE SJT TE RE OE EE EE Wok amp kh na TETT PB P R Pon dnm bon EEE x od h SJETTE ETE 5 5 BEES x Care ol the LEICA M 6 and lenses
24. llustration above is either ISO 100 215 or simply ISO 100 To set the index for the film being used press the spoked center of the setting disc and rotate to align either of the two arrows Upon release the disc will spring back to the same level as the surrounding ring if it has been properly set Film speeds from ISO 6 9 to ISO 6400 39 can be set see table of intermediate values at right ISO is the international standards or ganization The following settings are possible Scale Sensitivity Scale sensitivity ISO ASA DIN ISO ASA DIN 6j 9 6j 9 2 10 24 200 24 S 10 250 25 11 320 26 12 12 12 12 400 27 400 27 16 18 00 28 20 14 6350 29 25 15 25 15 8010 20 800 20 32 16 1000 31 401 17 1250 32 50 18 50 18 1600 33 1600 33 64 19 2000 34 80 20 a 2500 35 100 21 100 21 2200 36 3200 36 125 22 40060 37 5000738 FOU 39 160 21 5100 39 Exposure metering xposures are metered through the lens at the working aperture The reading is selective by light reflected from a white spot on the center of the focal plane shutter when tensioned The unevenness of the white coating does not mean that the manufacture has been at fault but rather that thick complete coating can not be applied to the rubberized cloth shutter curtain without the shutter performance being influenced The irregular structure of the me tering spot in no way affects the meter reading
25. nd dry Film rewinding Turn rewind lever 4 to R unfold rewind crank and turn clockwise in arrow direction until resistance of pulling film end from take up posts is felt and overcome Alternatively some LEICA photographers prefer to rewind the film end completely into the cartridge to prerent accidental reloading of an exposed film Note Some brands of film are not taped to the cartridge core and may be separated from the core by stroking the advance lever forcefully after the last frame has been exposed To res cue such film to a photographic darkroom or use a lighttight black cloth film changing bag and remove the M 6 baseplate Hold the camera with the open bottom facing down and slowly stroke the advance lever and release the shutter a number of times The film which is completely wound around the three post as sembly will slowly spiral downward until it can be grasped with two fingers and pulled free This is a seldom encountered problem today because most films are firmly taped to the cartridge core but should it happen to you the remedy is remarkable simple Holding the LEICA The two pictures above show what our LEICA School believes is the best way to hold the LEICA in order to ensure firm support The right hand holds the camera body with index linger on the release button and thumb up apainst the plastic end of the advance lever in its working stand off position The
26. nector onto the camera eyelet 14 and reinsert strap into upper halfcircle Make sure that the hooks are the right way round sce diagram Now push slide back to lock connector Mounting the lens Grasp lens near base align red dot on lens 3 with red dot on camera bayonet 2 insert and lock by turning to the right until an audible click 18 heard Removing the lens Grasp lens by fixed ring near base hold down release button 2 rotate lens to the left and remove Avoid direct sunlight in open camera lens mount using the shade of your body 1 ppt I B 462 26 Bli I Rapid wind lever The rapid wind lever 7 has a 30 ready posi tion and can be operated without taking the LEICA from vour eye Instead of using sin gle stroke some LEICA experts prefer to give two or three short strokes exactly locates the focal plane Shutter release The shutter release button 6 is threaded to accept standard cable releases Film loading The LEICA M 6 has one of the fastest and easiest film loading systems ever developed but please read through these instructions be fore loading film Always start by making sure that there is no film in the camera by turning the rewind crank 6 gently Any resistance indicates film in the camera see rewinding instructions on page 10 Begin by stroking the wind lever and pressing the release button Now invert camera lift up baseplate latch 19 remove baseplate and o
27. pen hinged back as shown above Hold the film cartridge in the left hand and insert it part way into the empty chamber at the same time pulling out just enough film leader to reach the three pointed posts of the take up chamber as shown by the camera dia gram Under ordinary conditions it does not matter if the film end extends through this three post assembly but in extremely cold dry weather the end might break off and it is best to follow the drawing exactly Finally push the film cartridge into the cam era press the leader level with the posts and replace the baseplate by hooking the end with protruding tab over the external mounting post on the camera body Only after replacing the baseplate test for correct loading by gently tensing the rewind crank and slowly stroking the advance lever Backward turning of the rewind is proof of proper film transport Wind on and fire twice to bring the frame counter to number I Tip Don t be too fussy in loading vour LEICA M 6 and don t waste time trying to align the leader perfectly The inner wheel on the base plate will do this for you and after bit of practice you will find loading safe and simple Note The open camera back will reveal two sets of gold plated electrical contacts which are part of the light meter circuit These are corrosion free and relatively insensitive to dirt and dust Even so treat them with respect don t touch them and keep them clean a
28. utside 35 135 mm frames Lever centered 50 75 mm frames Lever inward 28 90 mm frames 14 Rangefinder The rangefinder field is the pale rectangle in the center of the viewlinder field If the view finder window 13 is covered only the bright line frames and the rangefinder patch remain visible The bright sharply masked rangefin der patch permits the use ol either coincidence or split image rangefinder focusing Coincidence double image focusing In most cases and particulary for pictures of people the coincidence or double image fo cusing method is preferable because it re quires no straight lines in the subject Simply cover the most important part of the subject with the rangefinder patch turn the lens until the double image appears as one and recom pose if necessary to make the exposure Split image focusing For pictures of buildings or other subjects con taining straight vertical lines place the range finder patch so that some line runs right through it Now turn the lens to make the line continuous On theoretical grounds split im age focusing gives the greatest accuracy and this is an important focusing option for the LEICA M 6 Double image out of focus Broken line out of focus Coincident image in focus Continuous line in focus Batteries The LEICA M 6 exposure meter can be po wered by two 1 55 volt silveroxide button cells or by one 3 volt lithium cell
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