Leica M6 titanisiert

 

This is the Leica M6 in its most stylish incarnation - titanium with a black calf leather body cover in emu-style. This version was produced from 1992 till 1998 when the M6 was replaced by the M6 TTL. The camera has the classic 0.72 viewfinder, the most useful and versatile one in my opinion. Together with the titanium finish lenses, this version was a low-volume production item and commanded a higher price than the standard Leica M6. Its Leica catalog number is 10412.
When it was brought to market in 1992, it was offered together with the Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 titanium (catalog number 11860). The latter was succeeded by the high-performance Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH titanium (catalog item 11859) in 1994. In 1996, the Summilux-M 50mm f/1.4 (catalog number 11869) was made available in titanium finish. Finally, at Photokina 1998 the Elmarit-M 90mm f/2.8 (catalog item 11899) was introduced in titanium finish but the lens was only available in 1999 (500 pieces), in fact after production of the M6 titanium body had already been seized.

The M6 titanium legend lived on in the M6 TTL titanium special edition set that was introduced in 2001, consisting of the M6 TTL 0.72 body (catalog item 10435) together with three lenses that had never before been available in titanium finish: the Summicron-M 35mm f/2.0 ASPH (catalog number 11609), the Summicron-M 50mm f/2.0 (catalog number 11624) and the Apo-Summicron-M 90mm f/2.0 ASPH (catalog number 11632). The M6 TTL titanium body is covered with brown buffalo leather. Only 500 pieces of each lens (1,000 of the body) have been made.

Since titanium items are quite rare, they are sure to become collector's items.

Two very special sets were made available in 2004 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Leica M system. Both sets contain the Leica M7 titanium. In contrast to the previous M6 and M6 TTL titanium models where the cameras were only given a titanium finish, all metal parts have been replaced by titanium ones, which is a very laborious and expensive process given the particular characteristics of titanium. The top cover, the bottom cover and all operation elements are made out of massive titanium. As a result, the camera weighs less.
The first set contains of a Leica M7 with the latest Summilux-M 50/1.4 ASPH (500 pieces), the second one contains the Leica M7 with the Summilux-M 50/1.4 ASPH, the Summicron-M 28/2.0 ASPH and the Summicron-M 90/2.0 ASPH (50 pieces). The cameras in both sets bear the engraving "1954-2004 50 Jahre M-System". The serial numbers start at 3.000.000 up to 3.000.050 for the second set (one camera per year, the year is additionally engraved on the camera top - the lenses bear the serial number consisting of the appropriate year), and from 3.000.050 to 3.000.550 for the first set (the last three digits of the serial number on the lens match the last three digits of the body). These sets were not given, the recommended sales price for the first set was 10.000 euro, and 20.000 euro for the second set. Obviously, these sets were collector's items from the very moment they appeared on the market. See this special page for detailed information.


A good user review of the M6 camera.

See the M6 profile on the CameraQuest page.

Erwin Puts' guide to choosing an M camera.