Hi.

I'm weighing up the pros and cons of buying an M6. I already have one mega rangefinder, the Mamiya 7, so size, discretion and weight are my motivating factors (quality is of course very important, but I think that the 6x7 Mamiya would have the edge for most things, so I would seek smaller or faster lenses over ultra quality in the M6).

Reading through this forum, I have noticed that some of you tape over the Leica dot - is there a particular technical reason you do this, or is it to avoid attention?

From my Mamiya experiences, I find the RF looks unusual but doesn't attract the attention of the 'layman' as much as the EOS system, with its big 28-70. I would have expected the M6 to fall into the lower profile category, but maybe I am wrong - is there a problem with unwanted attention, or are people taping it up for other reasons?

Just curious,

John

-- John Clark (john@my-roots.com), July 03, 2001

Answers

People tend to tape over it if they are self conscious about using a Leica and do not wish to advertise, or if they perceive that thieves will recognise the emblem from 500 metres and home in.....or maybe I am just cynical. The only people who recognise mine are either already passionate about it, or are being bored to death by me expounding the virtues...overall it is a bit heavy but small and perfectly formed, and for the majority of those being photographed looks considerably more 'Micky Mouse' than an EOS etc. Also don't forget it is also very quiet [read discrete

-- Richard (richard@designblue.co.uk), July 03, 2001.

If you really want more information on this than you'll ever want, have a look at LUG's archives: http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica- users/ Some people got very passionate on this. More than one flame war was started by this thread. Great fun to read.

-- Xavier (xcolmant@powerir.com), July 03, 2001.

No technical reason to cover the dot, just so that the camera is less noticeable. I don't cover the dot on the black M6. I have been shooting with the camera 6 months now, and no one has ever noticed the camera as being extra ordinary. Not once. On the other hand, I shot with a Mamiya 7 for a couple of years and most every time I used it, someone would comment about it (and it is a great camera!).

-- Dan Brown (brpatent@swbell.net), July 03, 2001.

History of Leica Red dot

The Leitz red dot first appeared on 1976 R3, one the left side (looking into the lens )

• 1980 black M4-P red dot on left of lens, covered up by eveready case
• 1983 chrome M4-P, same position
• 1987 R5, red dot moved to the right side
• R6, R7,RE, R6.2 red dot on the right
• M6 (1984) Leitz red dot on top center, not covered up by the eveready case.
• R8 (1996) Leica red dot moved to the left again.

My everready case covers up the red dot entirely, expose the R5 on left

There is a red dot on the top right of my eveready case, people from front does not see it; another Leica eveready case for R camera plus Vario Elmar 28-70 lens has a big red dot, people can see from afar, I dont use it much.

People who tape over the red dot on M6, probably wants the dot covered up like the M4-P or R5,6,7, covered by the eveready case

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), July 03, 2001.

i do put black tape over both the red dot and the leica insignia. i figure, even though most won't notice nor pay attention that the camera is a leica, why spell it out for them in black and white?

-- tristan tom (tristan@tristantom.com), July 03, 2001.

I once saw in a Japanese magazine that a "practical" photog has painted black the red dot and the LEICA M6 lettering. I am going to do the same thing when my M6 turns into user condition.

You will often attract attention as you bring your camera to eye level. People nowadays are very aware of photographers. The difference between Leica and the SLR, is that people think Leica is just a P&S, and the SLRs are for pro photogs who wants to make a buck out of someone's misfortune. Does it matter? Yes. People tend to be more comfortable in front of a non-pro-like cameras.

I once brought a test roll to an one-hour lab. My M6 is hanging around my neck when I was picking up the photos. The lab owner asked me if I have taken the pictures with that camera. Yes. Is it a plastic lens, or a glass lens? Plastic. What do you think about my pictures? The backgrounds are out of focus, very blurry. Not nice. You should buy a camera with a glass lens. Costs a few hundred bucks, it won't give you these blurry pictures. They can zoom too. (I was testing the bokeh of my 35 Summicron). It gives you an idea of who is running the local hour lab.

-- Jackson Loi (jsloi@hotmail.com), July 03, 2001.

The Leica red dot is actually a small metal disk with red background and silver color 'Leica" in relief.

It is hard to think of any other suitable color for the small Leica red disk. If it is in silver, it would not stand out from silver chrome body, if it is black, then the dot disappears in back camera body, it cannot be yellow, as it has little contrast with gold body, there were even green bodies, so the disk cannot be green.. Since there is no red Leica body, red disk remains the only option.

-- martin tai (martin.tai@capcanada.com), July 03, 2001.

I think the magic of RF cameras as people cameras has little to do with silence or red dot/no red dot. It is the fact that the camera only covers a quarter of your face, leaving one eye, your mouth and most of your expression muscles visible to your subjects.

People trust you (or not) based on what they can read in your face. If all you show them is two hands, a lens and a pentaprism, they just won't trust you as much.

Stand in front a mirror with a Leica (or G2 or V'lander or Mamiya 6/7) up to your face, and again with your favorite flavor of SLR. Who would you trust more, the human with the rangefinder, or "Borg" photographer with an SLR for a head?

My M4-2 has no dot, my shooting hand covers the dot on the M4-P ;^)

-- Andy Piper (apidens@denver.infi.net), July 03, 2001.

None of my M4Pīs has the red dot (1,548,xxx and 1,588,xxx), I used to tape all the letters, but who cares, even pros in mexico donīt know what kind of camera Iīm holding; now I only tape the white letters around the lens shade, they are a lot of distracting when watching f stops.

-- r watson (al1231234@hotmail.com), July 03, 2001.

I use the red dot for infrared focussing - that's what I thought it was for.

Gail

-- Gail Hammer (gail@hammerphotogaphy.com), July 04, 2001.

Jupiter has a red dot but I ran out of tape.

-- rob (rob@robertappleby.com), July 06, 2001.

The red dot is like the scab on your hand if you use it sooner or later it will fall off. Leica makes there beer money selling replacment.

-- Al Henry (J Henry@provide.net), August 27, 2001.

I would rather they had stayed with the traditional engraving on top of the camera, and skipped the red dot. It covers the adjustment screw for the rangefinder alignment. Why do that?

-- Bob Fleischmantrade the red dot (RFXMAIL@prodigy.net), September 01, 2001.

I usually tape this over when I'm out on vacation among a lot of people in order to stop worrying about theft. (Real Leica lovers identify it anyways but haven't stolen it yet.) FWIW: as Martin pointed out above, the red dot is actually a small metal disk with red background, and I'd say that those of us who definitely need/want to get rid of that thing completely can simply just pry it out with a small sharp knife and then throw it away. In any case, I did this with the two red disks which used to be on my nice wide Leica neoprene carrying strap (42162), so that tape here is superfluous. Mike

-- Michael Kastner (kastner@zedat.fu-berlin.de), September 03, 2001.