Leica M6 Technique When I first purchased my Leica M6 Classic, I had a bit of trouble sorting things out. While the camera is pretty straightforward, here are a couple tips that might assist the virgin M6 user: 1. Learn the Zone system. The meter on the M6 is approximately a 10 degree spot meter. That means if you point it at a white wall, the meter is going to want to underexpose things, and your white wall will turn out gray. Depending on how white the wall is, you'll need to compensate by overexposing from the meter reading by a few stops. Knowing the zone system and experience will help you determine exactly how many stops to increase exposure. Also, buy a gray card and learn to identify objects that have the same reflectance. When I'm out shooting on the street, I typically meter off dark pavement, which is much closer to middle gray than a cement sidewalk. Again, experience and knowledge of the Zone system will be your guides. 2. Film loading. It's always talked about with the Leica, but it really isn't difficult. Here are the steps I use: first, remove the baseplate, and keep it somewhere handy (I find my mouth works pretty well). Second, keep the back door closed, and insert the film spool halfway, so that you can still pull on the film leader. With the roll of film sitting in this halfway loaded position, pull the leader over to the film takeup reel and position it exactly as the diagram on the back of the camera indicates. Now, drop the film all the way in, keeping the back door closed. This helps position the film correctly. Now open up the back door and make sure everything looks jolly. Replace the bottom plate, give the film advance a couple winds and you're good to go. I can do this in about a minute... it really is easier than it sounds. Honestly, that's about all I can think of that's peculiar to the Leica. The main stumbling block was the metering pattern for me. Read your manual and understand exactly what area of coverage that 10 degree spot is. The rest is easy! Want to read some of my other Technical Articles?