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I just got my dream camera and today, I'd like to share with you brand new black paint Leica M6 TTL Dragon 2000 millennium edition.
This camera was originally made for the millennium year of 2000 and this year happens to coincide with the year of the dragon when considering the Chinese calendar. Once you know that, it’s pretty obvious how this camera got it’s name and concept.
There were 500 made in total and as you’ve probably seen, my particular camera is number 123. One thing to remember when buying cameras that are numbered is that some are more valuable than others simply because of the number. Number 1 will likely be the most valuable no matter the edition and another standout will be the last camera of a particular run so in this case, number 500 would be desirable. Then you have interesting numbers like my Dragon 2000. Again, mine is number 123. The sellers felt the need to mark the price on this addition up by $200 simply because the numbers are in order. My seller also had 299 and 377 but those are pretty much just random numbers to me so I had to get 123. I didn’t pay the upcharge though.
Since this is a special edition, there are a few things that set this camera apart from other Leica M6s or M6 TTLs.
First, this camera features some design cues that are more similar to the M3. This includes the solid metal one piece film advance lever versus the two-piece design of a tradition M6 and the flat twist style film rewind versus the angle film rewind crank. Another little thing that would be appealing to Leica enthusiast is the reintroduction of the Leica script logo on the top plate.
One complaint that many diehard Leica users have about the original M6 is that it was made from zinc instead of brass like previous cameras. Many consider the zinc to be a cheaper alternative. This is another difference with the Dragon 2000 M6 as both the top and bottom plate are made from brass. The addition of brass has also enabled Leica to produce a camera with a black paint finish.
For those who are not very familiar with the M6, they traditionally come in either silver chrome or black chrome. Again, the Dragon 2000 features a black paint finish. The chrome finishes are much more durable than black paint. They do not wear off as easily and hold up for much longer. So what is the appeal of a black paint camera?
When I said that this was a dream camera of mine, I did not necessarily mean this exact model, but just a black paint Leica M6. The M6 is my favorite Leica M camera and black paint is my personal favorite finish from Leica, so a black paint Leica M6 has always been a dream camera of mine.
The way I see it, there are really only two reasons to buy a black paint camera. One is for collector purposes because they tend to hold their value and sell for much more than a chrome counterpart. I did not buy this camera for that purpose because I tend to use this camera. I want a black paint camera so that I can wear the paint off myself and this is the other reason to buy a black paint camera. It allows you to use the camera and have it patina in a way that no other camera will. As you use a black paint camera, you create something truly unique to you and that is what I love about black paint Leicas. Some people may not like the patina brassing look, but I personally love it.
If you are also interested in a black paint M6, cameras made in the year 2000 is where you will want to first look at because I can think of 5 different black paint M6 made for this year alone. You have the Leica M6 Millennium edition, the Millennium NSH, the LHSA, the Oresundsbron and of course the Dragon 2000. These various models will feature minor differences but all will have the brass top/bottom plate and of course the black paint finish.
You may be wondering why I chose the Dragon 2000 over the other models. Well, I knew that I wanted an M6 with M3 controls so the LHSA and Oresunbrun were out of the question even though they were cheaper. The Millennium and Millennium NSH are the same except the regular Millennium had 2000 made while there were only 400 of the Millennium NSH so as you can imagine, the NSH will cost quite a bit more. This was actually the model that I wanted not only because it is the rarest and most sought after, but because the millennium models had more black paint parts. If you are observant, you’d notice that the strap lugs on the Dragon 2000 are silver. The Millennium editions actually have these black painted. Whether or not this is worth costing another $1500 is up to the buyer. For me as someone who intends to wear the paint off anyways, I didn’t think it was worth it even though the impulsive buyer in me was screaming for the NSH Millennium edition. Apart from that and of course the Dragon 2000 branding, the two models are pretty much identical. If you don’t mind the differences and don’t intend to buy these cameras for a collection or resale, the Dragon 2000 is definitely the better deal.
Another important thing to consider between these different black paint models is the viewfinder magnification. All 500 Dragon 2000 cameras featured a 0.85 magnification viewfinder and this is pretty standard across the board on all of these black paint M6s. They all offer a 0.85 magnification viewfinder except for the Millennium and LHSA models which also feature a 0.72 option. This is of course up to personal preference. Both my M6 and M7 have a 0.72 viewfinder so I don’t mind trying something different at all.
In conclusion, if you are interested in a black paint M6, there are a few to choose from. I’m happy to have gotten mine and plan to use this thing to the ground. I’ve never had a black paint Leica before so it will be fun to see how long it will take to actually wear this paint off.
If you guys are interested in picking up a black paint M6 for yourself, I’ll include some links in the below to help lead you in the right direction.
