I am thinking of getting another M body for my 90mm summicron lens. I am having trouble deciding wheather to purchase an M6HM pluse 1.25 magnifier or to purchase an M3. Has anyone ever compare these two set ups side by side? How do they feel in terms of focusing accuracy and ease of use? Thanks,

-- Edward Yu (fallot@ms2.hinet.net), November 29, 2001

Answers

Ease of use: well the M6 has an internal meter and the M3 does... some think this is part of ease of use. Also a M6HM plus 1.25X has much more magnification then an M3... the M6 .72 plus 1.25x is about the same as an M3.

-- Matthew Geddert (geddert@yahoo.com), November 29, 2001.

Of course that should be "and the M3 does NOT"

-- Matthew Geddert (geddert@yahoo.com), November 29, 2001.

I have never used the magnifier, but I have both an M6 and an M3. It really depends on what you are doing. Now, the M6 has a meter and TTL. It helps for some kinds of work [although I have no idea why you would choose an M6 for flash work]. The M3 has a, vastly, superior finder. That helps for other kinds of work. As to the quality of design and construction; let us say about the M3; this sort of thing won’t come our way again in our lifetimes.

On a more practical note: by comparison to the M6, the M3 would represent a sort of self-flagellation. But then, why does anyone use an M series camera; the pain is compensated for by the quality. ;o)

Depends on what you want to do.

Art

-- Art (AKarr90975@aol.com), November 29, 2001.

Art, perhaps it has to do with my shooting style (always use handheld meter and manually focus), but I think Ms are a joy to use, especially the M3. Mirror slap, shutter lag, trying to figure out how to set the bloody shutter speed, or going through MENUS on a tiny LCD to make the damn thing do what I want--these things are a pain!

Edward, I haven't made the comparison you mention, but the M3 is quite capable of accurately focusing the 90 Summicron, even at minimum focusing distance. Either setup is sufficiently accurate; make your decision based on other factors.

-- Mike Dixon (mike@mikedixonphotography.com), November 30, 2001.

I have an M3 I have used for 30 years. Two of the favorite pictures I have had published were with the M3 90 combination. I won't get rid of my M3 but if I were going out to buy a camera to use a 90 with I would buy the .85 TTL M6. It is 35/40 years newer and has the metering. No contest. I have been thru a bunch of 90s over the years. Recently I sold a beautiful Tele Elmarit and a pre aspheric Summicron. I am currently using the new Elmarit but I miss both of those lenses I sold - they both did things the Elmarit doesn't. If I can just have one though I'm content with the current Elmarit. I have the same lens for my R system. Just like to keep it simple I guess. Good luck.

-- Don (wgpinc@yahoo.com), November 30, 2001.

Mike:

I have been doing this stuff for 4 decades; and you know what, I agree with everything you said [for me personally]. I have had a lot of cameras [still have many of them] and have some of the newer ones. Still over time, I have developed favorites. If I had to choose two favorite 35's, they would be the M3 and the FE2. Meter doesn't mean much to me; I use a spot meter most of the time, anyway.

I'm just not sure that my experience translates to other users. ;o).

Art

-- Art (AKarr90975@aol.com), November 30, 2001.