M7 ... MP ... your thoughts?

The big issue is auto exposure - if you like it there is no choice to make. Otherwise, the MP handles better (it really is smoother and slicker to operate so there must be some truth in the talk of finer tolerances, and the brass gears probably help). I sold two M7s and replaced them with two MPs.

AE, flash TTL, DX detection, quartz controlled shutter but battery depending, although two shutter times 1/60 and 1/125 will always work.
The M7 will work a bit faster due to above features.
The MP is 100% mechanically and battery independend.
It's just what you prefer. I like the AE feature and TTL-flash so I have the M7. I do not think it's a problem to have two spare 1/3CN batteries in the photo bag.

I have an M6 and recently got an MP. On the M6 you turn the shutter speed dial in the direction of the arrow to get a good exposure. On the MP you turn it in the opposite direction. Why is that? If they did it that way because it was like that on the original MP, it is understandable but a little silly. Overall, I do prefer the MP.

Bruce, the problem lies in your M6 TTL , not in the MP.

I'm a little confused. Why is the M6 TTL so often maligned? Isn't it just a halfway step between the M6 and the M7? Why do folks deride it so much? It's a Leica rangefinder, just like the rest of the M line. What makes it so undesirable?

Best,
-Tim

Well.. from the M3 until the M4-P the shutter speed dial turn direction didn't really play a role because there was no light meter thus no red arrows in the viewfinder. Then M6 classic came along with the light meter... and people noticed that the dial is turning in the wrong direction. So they corrected it with the M6 TTL. It's that simple.

The M6 and the MP have the same type of shutterspeed dial... and it's a small one that moves from right to left (I believe it's like the one in previous unmetered bodies). The M6TTL and the M7 have a larger, Alka-Seltzer sized shutterspeed dial that moves from left to right... and coincides with the arrows visible in the VF that indicate over- or underexposure.

I was on the same fence a while ago: I wanted to sell one of my M6TTL bodies and snag an MP. When a wise MP user mentioned this circumstance (the shutterspeed dial difference), I chose to keep my M6TTL bodies and don't even dream of an MP.

BTW, I have an M3 and also an M4-2, and I try not to use them together... although, to be quite honest, I only make exposure adjustments when I use my metered bodies. With the unmetered ones, I usually take a meter reading and shoot away with occasional bracketing.

So, Carl... now you know. Take care!

Even with the M6 Classic the direction of the metering arrows is only 'wrong' if you consider how the front of the shutter speed dial (nearest the lens) is moving. The back of the dial (nearest the eyepiece) is of course moving in the opposite direction (which matches the arrows). Think of it as a thumbwheel (you're probably using thumb and finger to rotate it) and everything makes perfect sense! I guess this is rather less intuitive with the TTL, where the larger dial is easier to spin with the forefinger alone - perhaps this is why they changed? In any case, I wonder why they changed the direction of rotation they'd been using since the 1920s rather than just swapping the LEDs..?