Back from a week shooting with the M7, a Ricoh GR1v, a Fuji GA645, and Bessa R4M. Given that I rarely use a lens over 50mm the M7 was left feeling rather neglected alongside my R4M, and it was relegated to second and sometimes third body status. Now this is purely down to it having the .85 finder, simply doesn't suit my shooting style.
What I liked about it was the shutter noise, build, and the winder (so smooth). Loading it in the field was a little fiddlier but not too bad. The AE was very useful when I was working quickly although I am very used to manual exposure setting on the R4M.
The one thing I hated about it was the frameline selection. Would be bearable if they were numbered but I just don't get the groupings (surely it would be more sensible to have a single 50mm frameline than pairing it with the 75?). I'd also rather make a manual selection for lenses that don't match a frameline length (e.g. the 40m - personally I'd shoot that using the 50 rather than the 35 so I can crop if required - measure twice, cut once as the saying goes). Given that my most used lenses were 12, 25, 40, and 50 you can see why it ended up feeling a little neglected.
Ultimately though I can see a 0.58 M6 or M7 (or MP?) being added but certainly not at the expense of my R4M, unless I stop using the 25mm lens I use so regularly at the moment.
Ultimately a fun experience that didn't quite meet expectations, a bit like finally taking that hot girl out you've been meaning to ask for ages only to find out the reality doesn't quite meet the fantasy 🙂
