Leica M6 TTL Millennium NSH Special Edition Review by Ebb Bayarsaikhan
Ebb Bayarsaikhan bought a rare camera and has decided to share with us a little bit about it. There is little information available about this camera, so thanks to Ebb for sharing.
In the year 2000, Leica released a special edition M6 to commemorate the turn of the millennia. Leica had made quite the number of special edition M6’s in the past (many of them ridiculous), but this one was different.
These M6’s are known as the Millennium versions, and only 2000 models were made. They had black paint finish with brass plating rather than zinc like the standard M6, which would brass over time. Leica brought back many of the original parts from the classic M3, like the rewind knob and the film advance, but kept it’s M6 features like metering, the quicker loading take up spool, and the large shutter speed dial. This made it a very sexy camera indeed. But not only is the one I have here a Millennium version, it’s a NSH limited edition model.
The Millennium and the NSH versions brought back some of the retro stylings of the classic M3, such as the all metal film advance lever, the flat rewind knob with the red index markings, and of course the Leica engraving on the top plate. This makes the camera look very identical to the M3, but it is an entirely different beast. This camera has retained it’s M6 style film loading, TTL metering and hotshoe, and with a larger shutter speed dial for easy adjusting. This makes it the perfect camera for people who want the classic Leica body but also want the advanced features of the standard M6. The flat rewind knob in my opinion looks better and it makes the camera streamlined, so I don’t mind if it takes longer to wind my film back. I’ve also always liked the all metal film advance better than the two piece with the plastic end, it feels sturdier and doesn’t feel as flimsy.
The NSH model is almost identical to the regular millennium version, the only difference is that this model was manufactured only for the japanese market and that there is a limited quantity of only 400 produced. This NSH version also doesn’t have a serial number engraving on the top plate above the hotshoe (which in my opinion looks better). On the millennium versions, there will be a engraved number on the hotshoe rails that says xxxx/2000, but with the NSH as you can see has the engraving HSxxx/400. The one I have is the 204th, which is also verified by a certificate that comes with the camera. The HS stands for SiberHegner, a international trading and marketing group in switzerland, which on it’s 100th anniversary incorporated Japan into it’s company as Nihon SiberHegner which is what NSH stands for.
However, this is still a camera I think it should be put to use rather than collect dust on a shelf. It is a collectors item, and some people may buy it for collecting’s sake but I want to use it until it’s shiny gold. There’s very little information about this camera (in english anyway) so I’m glad I got to share this awesome camera.
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Thanks for sharing your info about this camera. I have seen one or two of these about in Japan. In fact I know where there is still one available. They are very beautiful pieces and it is nice to see it being used.
Thanks
Japancamerahunter
Hi Bellamy..
Lucky you!! I think I saw this beast on ebay a few weeks ago..I was looking for a millenium M6 and this one came with a good price..I remember it because it has my wed anniversary (68) and birthday date (0704) on its hot shoe..So, i was thinking that this must be the perfect one! ..but I still hold my bid, because I need to sell my M6 first..I never thought that you’d also interested T__T
Oh my god! What a beauty! Thanks for sharing!
I meant lucky for Ebb!
What a beauty! Thanks for sharing some info and I hope to see a Leica glass on it soon:)
What an amazing Leica. It really takes everything I love about my M3 (metal film lever, rewind, brass), and adds everything I want from the M6 or MP (film loading, 35mm framelines, metering).
Thank you for sharing.
Awesome camera!
And that kid is only 17? Man…
I have #1307/2000 and I love it. I recently got back into film and even bought a bikkuri-like case (sorry I forget the name) for film storage. I also developed the film and home, scanned it and posted images to Facebook. I started the dev work at 5pm and by the time I was done scanning and posting images it was after 11pm. Such a wonderful camera and honestly, Bellamy, I have never felt this “close” to my images.
p.s. loving the MS Optical lenses. Thank you.