Leica M6: One of the Best 35mm Film Cameras of All Time
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Loading... - Alexandra Romero
- 18 Oct 2022
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Many photographers are nostalgic for film. It might be the smell of the darkroom as you wait for your print to develop, the physically mechanical nature of shooting photos, or the skill required to bring home a decent photo.
However, not all cameras are created equal and while we might have a soft spot for the model we used to hone our craft, it’s possibly not the camera we’d choose to shoot with or just feel is an extension of our body. So why then is the Leica M6 35mm rangefinder from 1984 so universally loved?
A Brief History of Leica
Before we can understand the M6, we need to understand Leica. Leica, originally an optical company, was formed in 1849 by Ernst Leitz, but it was the creation of the prototype Ur-Leica (a portable unit designed to test motion picture film speed) by Leitz engineer Oscar Barnack in 1913 that proved to be a defining moment.
Barnack subsequently recognized that the advent of small, fast, lenses presented an opportunity to also develop a small camera. The innovation – besides recognizing this fact – was in taking 35mm reel film from the motion picture industry and passing it horizontally (rather than vertically) through a stills camera, matching the small film to a small lens. The revolutionary move away from plates and sheets had begun. Read More...
