Plenty of rarities make their way to Camera West, but it’s not every day that we come into possession of two of the same limited edition items in quick succession from different sources. However, in the case of our SoHo store, we just came into possession of not one, but two Leica M6 TTL 0.72 Black Paint LHSA bodies, so I’m taking it as a sign to talk about these beauties.
Whether it’s the M3, M2, M4, MP or beyond, the Black Paint M-bodies have always felt special, largely because they comprise just a small fraction of the larger production run, making them more rare. But a big part of their appeal also stems from the fact that, subjectively, the more the cameras are handled, the more the look is improved. Everyday wear and tear eventually strips the glossy enamel off the surface to reveal the rich golden-brown of the brass underneath. To many, a distinct patina of this nature adds to a camera’s mystique, and chronicles the visible history of the item, making Black Paint cameras, lenses, and accessories highly sought after.
To my eye, even before the patina sets in, Black Paint gear looks spectacular when mint, and these two M6 bodies are nothing short of that.
The M6 Black Paint LHSA was released in October of 2,000—not much after Leica dropped the M6 TTL Millennium Edition (Model 10442) earlier in the year. The M6 Millennium Edition commemorated 75 years of Leica cameras, the beginning of a new millennium, and was limited to 2,000 pieces. It was also a Black Paint, but featured M3-style advance and wind levers.
Originally, the Leica Historical Society of America had been asking Leica to create a Black Paint body all the way back in 1997, so the development of both special editions happened concurrently. LHSA had the M4 in mind as the base of the special edition because that had been the last body to get the Black Paint treatment, but that wasn’t really viable, so the then-current M6 TTL body served as the model instead. But bringing Black Paint cameras back into production was not going to be an easy task.
There were indeed several challenges in making these special editions. First of all, the top and bottom plates had to be custom-machined out of solid brass, which Leica wasn’t using anymore—the M6 bodies were made of zinc and magnesium alloys. Similarly, it had been nearly 30 years since they’d used this particular paint process, so they had to retrofit their facilities and basically relearn how to achieve results that would pass their stringent quality control.
Even the classic Leica script logo on the top plate was problematic. Allegedly, Leica Microsystems owned the rights to the script at the time, and it had to be licensed for use. Speaking of the top plate script, this camera was the first to use “SOLMS GERMANY” on the engraving, since Leica Camera AG had moved from Wetzlar to Solms in the mid-to-late eighties.
Considering all the challenges, it’s a wonder that the M6 LHSA came to fruition, and what we got is something truly special.
In total, 650 bodies with 0.72 magnification viewfinders were produced, and 500 more with the 0.85 viewfinder. Coincidentally, at the time of this writing, there’s an 0.85 M6 LHSA in stock at our San Francisco Leica Store, and our Palm Springs location has a Millennium Edition.
The two bodies currently in SoHo are only four serial numbers away from each other, so it’s been a joy to see them reunited, even for what will surely be a short time—unless some good soul wants to step up and rehouse these two together.