I find Thorsten to be the embodiment of the Leica photographer, I always come to this channel if I need deep insight into the Leica system.

I really love the film process. From loading, taking the photos, developing, scanning and processing. I no longer have the ability for a darkroom although that is a great process also although I prefer the "flexibility" of digital darkroom. I still shoot a lot of film with my Leica and my Canon A2e for 35mm. I also still shoot medium and large format. Yet sometimes I just feel like digital. It is really great that at least for the Leica universe they offer both digital and film. The M6 (basically a German version of the Canadian M4-P with a meter). I think the M6 was the peak of the mechanical film camera; super that Leica brought it back.

TTL refers specifically flash metering. The M5, M6 (pre-TTL) and M7 all measure 'through the lens'. 👌♡ I have really enjoyed this presentation. Thank you Thorsten. .. Actually, only now I am considering getting an M8. I use a couple of other digital cameras: old 4/3 ELP3, Canon EOS APSC and an A7Rii for technical uses, but for the 'work with passion', I have seven Leica film cameras from the 1930s up to M7. They are always loaded and ready to grab & go. The M7 is my Kodak Portra camera. The M3 and M2 bodies are B&W. etc etc. I process mostly myself, 35mm, rollfilm and 4x5 and bigger. Yes, I am a glutton for punishment, providing I can spend the minimum amount of time in front of a computer. Sadly, colour needs to be digitised for printing now, but B&W remains blissfully my 'P.F.Z.' Pixel Free Zone. That said, I love everything you have done for the photography world. You contribute to the pulse of photography, and I love it.

Just as a final comment after finishing the video. Thank you very much for the free downloads! Also, I loved your images that you included as illustrations. They were really great in terms of look and emotion.

thank you Thorsten. this In Depth review of the M6 and of film workflow in general was extremely interesting. I have just purchased a 1985 M6, (which cost me 3 months of savings!) and your tips will help me to work better with it! Best regards from Australia

What i can also recommend is getting an add-in called Negative lab pro and Scan with a Digicam (Leica SL for example) you can get amazing results and be in control of the color workflow.

So glad I bought my m6 many yrs ago and I love it to death. It’s so simple to use, so predictable and stealth.

Great video. I am glad Leica made this step, this will boost film shooting and I hope film brands will continue or even develop new films. When that new M6 came out I was under the assumption that used M6 cameras would drop in price. However, that is not the case, because this camera made film shooting more interesting so people who don't want to spend so much money on a new M6 will search for mint used M6's I even have watched some interviews with M6 street shooters, wether they were in the market to buy a new M6 and most of them said they rather buy 2 used M6 cameras. Anyways, the future looks bright for film and Leica. Thanks for sharing and happy holidays in advance !

I very much appreciate your thoughts at 28 minutes, where you comment on your feelings of the light in New York.

Nice fountain pen: Montblanc - Great Characters - Miles Davis - Special Edition. And yes: Love the cameras too! 😀

A lot of people miss a point that you do not need to scan negatives and make them digital. You still have option to shoot slide film and project it. You can shoot b/w film, develop yourself and use optical enlarger to print in a darkroom. Color negative film in 135 format is useless - that is true.

thank you Thorsten for sharing your thoughts, one great vlog again...

Great stuff Overgaard. There was I, about to sell my Leitz M6 and then Leica went and brought out an identical reissue, to make me realise I wouldn't be happy if I sold it. However I will not be using a M11 as a light meter !!🙃

my solution to the issue of wanting to change film in the middle of the roll is simple ,but not for everyone (I develop my own film) - I bulk load most of my 35mm into reusable canisters in smaller 16 exposures lengths. it's easy to use that up walking about, and if I really need to change types early, I wouldn't lose much. This does use up a little extra film as leaders but with the lower cost of bulk film, I at least break even not still gaining a little savings. I do load some full length rolls for times I know I will shoot a lot and know I won't be changing during the session.

The equivalent of 'sketching' for paintings is 'working' a subject for film or digital photography. 'Working' a subject is taking multiple pictures of the subject from different perspectives (angles, positions, etc.), getting different 'sketches' of the subject. This is not always possible for 'street photography' of course, but when it is possible it will increase your number of 'keepers'.

This video made me want to get the new Leica M6 and start film photography again after some 20 years of not doing so!

Yes, M’s are TTL, but the M6TTL added TTL flash metering. You also missed the major improvement on the M6TTL was the shutter speed dial, which was bigger to make it more easy to manipulate, and more importantly reversed the direction of the shutter speeds to match the direction of the arrows in the viewfinder.

Excellent..especially as it reflects my own thoughts on using film, the misgivings, the 'awkwardness' of it, the uncertainty. More than once have I picked up a film camera on my way out and then put it back and taken a digital camera instead. But using film feels like 'real photography' again, like when I first started in my early teens. Yes, I use a digital camera, I enjoy the flexibility, I like the ability to review immediately etc etc but there's nothing like the experience of using film and a beautifully engineered (of whatever make) film camera. And then you talk about vinyl, with you on that one too. Still have some LPs from my younger days, fortunately, just out of long-term storage but had to buy a 'record player. Again, there's nothing like the experience of putting a record on the turntable and listening to it properly, they are too short to do anything else :-) I am probably preaching to the converted, so apologies for this and the slice of nostalgia.

analog M’s have a soul.. you buy them and know they’ll be lifelong companions.. I can’t say the same for my dead M10 😅

This is bringing back so many memories, from-as you mentioned-the smell of the film, to the sound and sensation of advancing the film, and that wonderful sound of the shutter release. I had mostly Nikon film cameras, only moving to Leica when the M7 appeared, and later to a pair of MP bodies (partly as backup for workshops and usually with color slide film in one and B&W negative film in the other). Like many, I eventually sold the film bodies but kept the other gear (loupe and light table, Nikon Coolscan, and seldom used development equipment). I happened to catch Leica’s announcement of the M6 release and put in an order immediately, purely based on nostalgia and as a vote of support for Leica’s move. I did have that “Oh, now I remember” moment about how much work it is after the fun of shooting, but, as I am retired and definitely in no hurry, the extra steps in dealing with the film actually sounds like fun. And of course there is no shortage of interesting videos (T. Hopper’s channel is wonderful) for inspiration and education.) I cannot wait to receive the M6, and I really appreciate this video as well as your written work.

A handheld (spot)meter for a Leica M rangefinder camera is rather amusing. What did I do wrong with my Leica M3 since 1965? Robert Capa, HCB and Kiyoichi Sawada had no spotmeter or an invercone on their lightmeters. I printed all my negatives by a Agfa Variomat For me just a simple Weston Master lightmeter. Sometimes reading the leaflet or checking the cartoons, added to the film by the film manufacturer. By checking the location, the sunshine, the clouds, the shadow, the time of day, the speed of the film and the shutterspeed you will find to know the right aperture value. Which will most of the time be between f/2 and f/16. I do not like little DOF; it is applied to camoulage lack of craftmanship. It is ridiculous to make a photo portrait with just one sharp eye. Painters like Van Gogh, Picasso, Rembrandt and Hockney can not paint unsharp eyes.

Outstanding video! 📸👍

Hello, May I ask a question please ? Since I waer glasses and I like 28mm lens. Do you think I should use some external viewfinder for 28mm ? and which external viewfinder you would recommend. Thank you so much.

Am I blessed to own a M6 Classic bought new in 1994 and a 2002 M6 TTL bought 2nd hand in order to shoot colour with TTL flash and B/W film without flash. Thanks for this video.

...nice video, Thorsten. Re: film photography and "The Exposure Triangle", I do not see ISO as a variable when selecting parameters for the correct exposure. Rather, ISO is set permanently for each roll of film before use and, as we all know, shutter speed and aperture are the variables.

There always will be huge differences between a 50 x 60 cm analog print of a Kodak Tri-X film and a digital print made by a sensor at 400 ISO. I disgust deep frost pizzas, prepared in a microwave oven; they all have a digital taste. I like the smell of developer, stopbath ant fixer. Even the smell of Forte Photo paper makes me happy.

Actually, film SLRs (e.g. Nikon FM2) are significantly smaller and lighter than film Leica M cameras. Everyone always talks about the "tiny" M film cameras but actually they are not 'tiny' compared to many Nikon, Canon, Minolta, etc., film cameras.

Hello , thoroughly enjoyed this video thankyou. Film is still alive, fantastic. Yes digital is convenient, but film is an artform....I'm saving up for a couple of Leica cameras, one film and one digital. I have found and totally believe if it's made in Germany then the Quality and workmanship is of the highest Quality. I can buy anything German with total confidence.

FABULOUS COMMENTARY BLESS YOU. THANK YOU.

Can you look inside the camera where the film goes in. I'm curious how the DX code is read. Is it contact pins or like a optical reader?

Good for you Thorsten, you can play while working.😉 My hobby, however, is cooking and I would submit to you that, at least when i am hungry, my motivation and inspiration are off the charts. I am dying to get my art done, savour it and internalize it in large amounts. As opposed to your photo, in my hobby nobody's asking: what food processor did you use: manual or electric? The evanescent end product is the only thing that really counts. Godt nytår fra Nordsjælland from Jack Schularick

The results of film are amazing if you know what you’re doing.

Carmencita in Valencia (HQ), Lisbon and wherever they opened in addition, do that. And it shows, it makes no sense to establish ilford presets on digital, just find your digital setting in ignorance of film. Film gives a much much different vibe that digital doesn’t provide without major tweaks, or unless you make your pictures on purpose look identical or make “digital vibe” pictures with film.

With your self-designed camera strap, why didn’t you attach a patch of leather to prevent the strap ring from chafing the top edges of your camera?

Would love to see some scans that come out of it in the future Thorsten, enjoy your m6 and the process.

Wonderful discussion. Thank you...

Thanks a lot. That was really great. One thing, though, are your sure that Kodak knows that "film is not dead"? Today, I don't believe you could find a single roll of Kodak Portra 160 film for sale in all of San Diego, California. Kodak needs to step up.

Heard that Pentax might bring out a film camera.

Am I the only one who misses the self-timer? I bought my M-A thinking - without thinking - that in buying the M-A I was actually buying a "brand new" M3. But the M3 had a self-timer.

Felicitaciones, espero que canon vuelva a producir la EOS 5 film camera.

Will the labs cut the film rolls for contact sheet & or archive storage?

Never scan a film exposed with a Leica. You should enlarge the negatives in your dark room. I did it in 1965. I do it today. I will do it tomorrow.

The most beatiful b&w film for me is Foma 200. It has fantastic grain and makes great pictures.

I'm surprised how grainy some of the pictures are. I'm curious what speed the film was for them. If ASA 400, then I'd be really surprised because ASA 400 never comes out that grainy for me - unless over processed in Lightroom, PhotoShop, etc.

I shoot Leica M3 with the 400 mm and 600 mm lenses. Sometimes with the bellows plus a macro lens. I think I am getting unique. Maybe I am wrong?

The battery gives nothing to the sync contact. It is simply a switch inside the camera that works without a power source.

When you talk about film photography, we are talking about "old school photography", or "back in the day" film shooting when photography and darkroom usage was normal. Many of learned after taking a course as a high school elective and fell in lone with the film camera. The introduction of the 2022 M6 will be a hard sell for current day photography buffs... its like riding a bike, once you learn to ride, you never forget, todays its all about e-bike riding and the like... film photography is about carrying cans of extra film...instead of a 32mb digital card for 100s of pictures, you are limited with the amount of frames one can shoot with film...its a whole new type of photography, its literally going backwards and thats the hard sell for the younger generation, film photography is selective photography and maybe as a backup expensive "fun camera".... i had a hard time converting back to manual photography, since digital introduced automatic shooting and focusing. I love the Leica image and lighter cameras compared to DSLR usage.... so i opted for the Vario-x, Q and currently M240....will i take out my retro M6 again????

I think both digital and film are good for different reasons and uses

Not selling my old silver M6, but the new ones look great too :-)

i am lucky, because we have a new top lab in the city, they work 35mm, 120, even 4x5 and they have top scanners, i never stopped shooting with film...🙂.. the new M6 is my next thing..greets BM

Would you pick up an M6 new or MP?

I recommend pushing the lever just a bit when the camera is open for the film loading to ensure that the mechanism catches the film.

Limits really make certain experiences more worth while especially in music.

I still have my Nikon F2as with motor drive. There is nothing like listening to the Beatles on vinyl in mono!

I am so happy film had made such a come back. But I see a lot of bad scans and flat images online. It seems no one is taught the basics of film calibration anymore. it takes a lot of testing to match your film of choice, to your developer of choice, for best enlargement results in the darkroom. This is why we stuck to one film and one developer. We didn’t switch every week. This is how: 1. Find a scene with with a good range of tones 2. Using the box speed, meter the darkest area in which you wish to retain shadow detail 3. Move the camera so that you are only photographing this shadow area 4. From the meter's reading close down the aperture by 2 stops or increase the shutter speed by two stops and then expose 6 frames at: the given exposure then +1 stop, +2 stops, -1 stop, -2 stops and -3 stops less than the meter has indicated 5. Process the film 6. Using the frame that was exposed at -3 stops less than the meter indicated (which should be practically clear but will have received lens flair and fogging - i.e a real world maximum black rather than an exposed piece of film that has processing fog)and do a test strip to find out what is the minimum exposure to achieve maximum black - Print must be fully dry before assessing this 7. Do another test strip with the first exposure being what you have selected for achieving maximum black minus your dry-down compensation then plus 1 second, 2 seconds, etc 8. The time that achieves full black inclusive of compensation for dry-down is you minimum exposure to achieve maximum black for all future printing sessions - print must be fully dry before assessing 9 You now know the minimum time to achieve full black inclusive of exposure reduction to accommodate dry-down 10. Using this minimum exposure to achieve maximum black exposure time, expose all of the other test frames. 11. The test print that has good shadow detail indicates which exposure will render good shadow detail and achieve maximum black and provides you with your personal EI for the tested film/developer combination 12 If the negative exposed at the meter reading gives good shadows, your EI is (when metering shadows where you wish to retain good detail) the box speed (i.e. for 400 film you need to set your meter at 400) 13. If the negative exposed at +1 stop more than the meter reading gives good shadows, your EI is (when metering shadows where you wish to retain good detail) 1/2 the box speed (i.e. for 400 film you need to set your meter at 200) 14. If the negative exposed at +2 stops more than the meter reading gives good shadows, you EI is (when metering shadows where you wish to retain good detail) 1/4 box speed (i.e. for 400 film you need to set your meter at 100) 15. If the negative exposed at -1 stop less than the meter reading gives good shadows, you EI is (when metering shadows where you wish to retain good detail) double the box speed (i.e. for 400 film you need to set your meter at 800) 16. If the negative exposed at -2 stop less than the meter reading gives good shadows, you EI is (when metering shadows where you wish to retain good detail) 4x the box speed (i.e. for 400 film you need to set your meter at 1600) You have now fixed your personal EI but there is one more testing stage to go. 1. Find a scene with with a good range of tones 2. Using your EI, meter the brightest area in which you wish to retain highlight detail (but not the sky) 3. Move the camera so that you are only photographing this highlight area 4. From the meter's reading open up the aperture by 3 stops or decrease the shutter speed by three stops 5. Expose the whole roll at this setting 6. In the darkroom, process one third of the film for recommended development time 7. When dry put negative in the enlarger and make a three section test strip exposing for half the minimum black time established earlier, for the established minimum black time and for double the minimum black time. 8. Process print and dry it. 9. If the section of the test strip exposed for 1/2 the minimum black time gives bright highlights with a trace of detail then the film requires 20% more development 10. If the section of the test strip exposed for the minimum black time gives bright highlights with a trace of detail then the film is correctly developed 11. If the section of the test strip exposed for double the minimum black time gives bright highlights with a trace of detail then the film requires 20% less development 12. You can use the rest of the exposed highlight test film to fine tune the development time You run this test on a condenser enlarger with a #2 contrast or a #3 on a diffuser enlarger

Sadly, in Berlin it takes rather 10 days to get the download link 😅 Still searching for the right lab… or need to do it myself 😢? On the edge of buying an M6 mk2 😂

Well done, Overgaard 👍

would be interesting, to you have also a M5 ?

With film, you can also release it, arm for the next shoot, and unreleased. This way, you can superimpose two shots on the same photo (you need to expose 2x1/2 to get good exposure). Just funny trick to have yourself shot on the same photo 😉

Preordered the M6. I do the same, ship mine to a lab and dload.

The new Leica M6's top plate is still made of zinc instead of brass - this could cause bubbling on the paint surface.

I noticed the viewer glass is broken on the M6 😡

A Leica M11 using as a Pola back is quite decadent. The developing time of Polaroid professional films and photos are at least one minute. It all depends on temperature, age of the emulsion and the kind of art you are creating. Do you wave your Leica M11 to dry the sensor, like all amateurs do? Nikon F had a Pola back with an optic in it, made by Arca Swiss in the late Sities.

The whole part on metering in this video: I thought the M6 had a meter built in. Why would you use a separate meter?

I'm with the great Steve McCurry. He said it was the best thing to ever happen when film was superseded by digital. I had decades of film, dragging around canisters, sending stuff off to be developed and printed, waiting all the time. Why on earth would I want to go back to that now? Besides, film and processing costs an arm and leg now here in Australia. I breathed a sigh of relief when digital came and it made my life a whole lot easier. I shoot two FF Nikons for all my paid gigs and would never go back to film!

Nobody can forget the time he was shooting film. Seeing a nice sunset at my left, while driving my car, it makes me always think of shooting Kodachrome film; once I drove on the motorway from Paris up north in 1972. Still remeber my 1966 Leica M3 portraits, Adox KB 14 in Promicrol, printed on Forte Bromofort 50x60 paper in Agfa Neutol NE developer. My 4 x 8 m darkroom was well equiped with Durst Laborator and HiFi audio.

Daylight is 5500 Kelvin

I think the M-A and the MP are electronically based. The M6 has the older and long lasting mechanical construction. First the mechanical appears to last longer and be more easily repairable. Then they tend to last longer. I have my leica M4-P which is about 50 years old.

"The principal is the same". That is correct; all camera types are outdatet. The large format camera, the pinhole camera. the single lens reflex camera, the instant camera, the single use camera, thw twin lens reflex, the stereo camera are very old fashioned. So are cinematography and graffiti.

Film is not for enthusiasts who is looking for convenient fast results. You shoot film for the experience, process and look that it gives 😂

Do not waste a 135-36 exp film in a Leica; never stop somewhere in the middle of the film. Get a 35 mm SLR or a 35 mm rangefinder film camera with interchangable backs. Like the Adox 300, Mamiya 35, Zeiss Ikon, Rollei or Olympus. May be a Leica M6 mark II with an interchangable back. That will be the day, a M6 mark II.

I got a friend of mine who got the ORIGINAL Leica M6 Model from 1984 designs Black body who want to sale it to me to £1.000 and is not been used at all

I totally do not understand the concept of shooting film and then scanning it. Digital is much easier if you want a digital image - which is what a scan produces. Either shoot film and produce darkroom prints or shoot digital and process digitally.

When you go for a Leica film camera, you've got to go for the process of developing your own films as well, from the perspective of quality (control), costs and speed - under 50 cents per film, and scanning within 1,5 hour. I fear that Thorsten has become a little lazy. (developing and printing my own films and prints sinds 1965}.

I’ll give you a month before you’ll be done shooting analogue film… it gets old having to scan and develop and even when sent off you have to wait too long and it’s too expensive.

The250 digital exposures are not for testing and then choose one shot. Such a photographerseems to be a little insecure on his skills. He will not make 250 exp. when shooting LF 4x5 inch film. The 250 digital exposures are not for testing and choose one shot. A photographer wo does so, seems to be insecure on his skills. He will not make 250 exp. when shooting LF 4x5 inch film. On a display the quality of the photo can not be checked. Photography can never be compared to painting, Painting is an art, pressing the button is a craft.

Impossible to get one without problems you mean

Ehhhh… I’ll give you a month before you go back to digital…

The biggest problem with shooting film is not the cost (although film is not cheap). The biggest problem is the scanners. They are terrible. They exaggerate grain and some of them don't have ICE. The only proper scanners are cine scanners. Look at a scan of a S16mm frame and you will be amazed at how good it looks, given how small it is. A photographic scanner, like a Pakon or an Epson flatbed, will never come close. Camera scanning can be a huge problem, too. The only desktop photographic scanner that has any worth is the FlexTight. However, it's slow and expensive. I wonder if Leica can solve this problem - give us a scanner that is good and fast, even if it costs a bit. Who wants to spend even one second cleaning dust and hair on a scan? No, thank you.

People are very sensitive to pictures taken with cameras

Why my negative comment? Thorsten with due thought, you have tried to scare away the new Film shooters! They, the Film Revivalists don't use the avalailable tools, in a quest as we did! None of 'US' really liked Large Format. We needed images, we used small cameras, The SLR, with sliced bread, sliced cheese,McD, were all part of Our culture. We were required to frame well, Expose correctly, Kodachrome a serious challenge! The Leica M's were way too expensive, full of needed knowledge. I was one of 1st, to own one of 300 Spotmatics, to land in South Africa! My 1st shoot, had me thinking, of my choice about dumb Rangefinder, added meter. My NEW Pentax SP was simple, move the needle to a position. Depth of field very visible, in dark viewfinder! I still prefer the SLR! The word Analog is silly! It means similar. Similar to what? Digital can make a better photographer sooner. You shoot, you see! Revivalits are NOT interested in all the codswollop you released! They are mostly young, making their Art! Out of date film, bad or terrible lenses and cameras, are a Plus! End of film, 1/2 exposed to light are miracles! Lighten up! When I taught Photography ( Documentary) to mostly Black kids, for a new South Africa, I was not happy teaching the theory! There were simple cameras, new compact point and shoots! The students wanted to record their lives, the poverty, inequality. It was Paid for by Dept of Manpower (Govt) for Change! My way was against, what i was supposed to teach. I had better results and better students! If You are one of the new explorers, using 'Real cameras, it's easy! Film has latitude for errors and mishaps. Learn f16 rule,f16 at ISO as shutter speed. 400 ISO is 1/400 at f16! No 400th, use closest 500th! Big numbers916,8) on aperture, mean lots sharp, in scene. Small numbers f2, f2,8 mean less areas in focus! Go for it! You are not going to be tested! Enjoy! Totally enjoy!

One main reason in my opinion is the fact that digital photo's have no real value... with film it is different. Film costs money, developing and scanning costs money. So with film you got some more sense of Pride Of Ownership. And if you do it all your self, developing and printing, it is all yours... you don't have to thank Adobe or Leica for the editing and colour. Especially with black and white... it was all you!

Perhaps film is best for archival purposes. The vast majority of digital images will be lost to time and technological change. Film, if properly archived, we now know can last at least 150 years and potentially much longer.

Been there, done that, and not for me anymore

It needs much enthusiasm to pay 5.000€+ for a camera, which delivers results worse than a current mid-class smartphone. Nevertheless a very nice mechanical toy…

Your free preset promise is not available.

The hit rate will always rise, when the negative format is getting bigger (as photo amateurs might try) In 1500 cc developer 5 films of 36 exp can be processed = 180 exp ( 24 x 36 mm) In 1500 cc developer 3 rolls of 120 film can be processed = 36 exp ( 60 x 60 cm ) In 1500 cc developer 6 sheets of 4 x 5 inch can be processed = 6 exp ( 100 x 125 mm)