Is the M7 "fragile"?

kshapero

kshapero

South Florida Man
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Because of the added electronics and such, does that make the M7 more prone to repairs, etc. then other M's like the M6 or MP?
 
Not in my experience. I'm sure others will say differently. Remember, the electronics in the M7 are on par or are more basic than what has been offered in many cameras for 30 years. And definitely more basic than what's in your run of the mill watch or coffee maker nowadays.
 
Or my experience either. There are lots and lots of M7 users who have had stellar performance, and I'm one of them. I used two for 3 or 4 years and never had a problem. One of them was new and Leica updated the VF and installed an optical DX reader under warranty so I got wonderful service from the company. I sold them both but only because I seem to get better results using a manual body (I'm lazy & stupid :eek:).

Despite my own good experience, I'm still not sure that Leica and reliable electronics go together. As Tim says above, the electronics are pretty basic but you do however wonder about the execution. There are repeated threads here and over on the LUF about the M7 and the M8 seems to have been a horror show. I had no interest in the M8 but can see an M9 in my future, but not for a year or two until it settles down.

I'm back to using manual bodies out of choice but I must admit that when I pack my bag for a trip now I have no little pinpricks of anxiety, or feel the need to take a Canonet as backup as I did once.
 
David_Manning said:
Sherry Krauter told me on the phone the M7 was much more susceptible to failure because of the electronically-controlled shutter. She said it was the weak link.

That info drove me towards an M6 classic instead of an M7.

http://www.sherrykrauter.com/
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So I've been told....I bought a titan m6 working also without batteries(that's more in leica m style,I Think......................):D
 
I've also read (from DAG, I think) that the M7 shutter should be more reliable since its electronically controlled. Less to go out of whack.

I've not read that many horror stories about the M7. M8, yes. The most frequent 2 complaints about the M7 I've seen are fault DX reading, which the upgraded reader takes care of, and battery drain. I haven't seen much about the battery drain recently. If you do get an M7, either send it in for the DX reader replacement, which might still be free, or buy one that has the upgraded reader. I think most of the problems have been worked out.
 
kshapero said:
Because of the added electronics and such, does that make the M7 more prone to repairs, etc. then other M's like the M6 or MP?
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Yes, simply because it has one more thing, relative to purely mechanical M bodies, that might need to be repaired. However, it's a reliable camera and its weakest link in terms of fragility, which is the case with all Leica RF bodies, is the VF, not the electronics, which are relatively simple. I'd be more worried about an impact throwing the VF out of alignment than the electronics being broken or degrading.
 
I don't know about the long-term reliability of the electronics (don't think anyone really does since they haven't been made for very long), but I can say that mechanical/electronic functions on mine survived a 10-foot fall that was hard enough to loosen the top plate (I was attached to it @ the time & survived nicely as well). I did send it to Leica NJ for a checkup & to get the top re-tightened, but the RF/VF, AE, etc. worked fine & Leica didn't find any other internal problems, either.
 
I let my M7+Summilux fall on the marble floor from 1.5 meters, and everything worked fine afterwards, even the RF did not go out of alignment - maybe I was just lucky. As to the electronics, I think it is so primitive, that there is not a whole lot to break down. For me a street Leica without the AE is pure nonsense. I keep an M4 for slow 35mm photography, and it is very enjoyable, but for different purposes.
 
J J Kapsberger said:
Yes, simply because it has one more thing, relative to purely mechanical M bodies, that might need to be repaired.
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I think that's a point that is sometimes missed. While it does have electronics that other Ms don't have, the shutter mechanism is simplified to have less mechanical parts. In a sense, less to go wrong. Or so I'm told :D
 
I used one for about three years and had no problems with reliability. I sold it because I was just not using the AE feature. In retrospect, given the way I work, an MP would have made more sense. Now I use an M6, which I have had for 10+ years and on which I have had to have Sherry replace the metering circuit board and an M6TTL 0.85, which I bought 5 years ago and which works just fine. I don't have much to say about the larger theoretical issue, except that the only electronic cameras I have had a problem with have been Leicas (M6, mentioned above and an R4). My Nikons, Canons, Contax G and other mechanical marvels have been just fine.

Ben Marks
 
I don't the internals of the M7 and neither do I worry about it. Why? Just my
experience with my M7.

In the desert here it goes over 50c, inside the arctic circle up in sweden and norway it gets way way below freezing with blizzards at times, in yellow knife up in the canadian north it was below -50c, in the katmundu valley it was hot, humid, pollution, while up in the himalyas at kala pathar it was freezing freezing cold. Dubai is very hot and humidity often exceeds 90%. It is worse on the beach!

the sandstorms here have been such that visibility was less than 2 mts.
In malaysia and singapore, i got caught up in a tropical rainstorm.

The batteries on my M7 and the film gave way. The batteries on my M8 discharged fast..fast. The cameras have frozen, have been covered with
dust and water.

Other than that my M7 and M8 have sung along without a hitch.

maybe you have something more strenuous in mind. I have not taken the M7 or M8 under water...and neither shall I.

Enjoy your M7. It is very well made. If it fails, it could have happened to
any machine, however expensive. It gets repaired.

Best.
 
My M7 is in repair at NJ. First time in 37 years of photoing that I have had a repair, excluding throwing one time disposable Kodak cameras against a wall, hard. So I guess I have been lucky.
 
I have the M7 .58 VF and its a heck of a camera. I shoot it both in manual (occasionally) or AE. As an electronic camera I believe its on par with its MP counterpart. The hidden value is that the M7 can be gotten used heavily discounted. This makes it an exceptional bargain IMHO. Add 35 Summicron and you've a street camera that is hard to beat.
 
35mmdelux said:
I have the M7 .58 VF and its a heck of a camera. I shoot it both in manual (occasionally) or AE. As an electronic camera I believe its on par with its MP counterpart. The hidden value is that the M7 can be gotten used heavily discounted. This makes it an exceptional bargain IMHO. Add 35 Summicron and you've a street camera that is hard to beat.
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Well, I certainly agree. Mine is a .85 mated to the CV 35/1.2. That 0.85 finder allows for ever so smooth focusing when wide open. A dream.
 
I've had more trouble from one of my MPs than any other Leica. They're all individuals, so one can get a dud of any M body.

I don't hesitate to reach for an M7 whenever I head out for the day- and use them interchangeably with MP's without thought of reliability.
 
Well, I have used both cameras, an MP (sold long-time ago) and an M7. The shutter of my M7 broke one month ago, after shooting 70 rolls of film (and it is now for repair at Leica USA) and the shutter of my MP got faulty and need to be replaced (Leica Japan). So from my experience.... both are not reliable cameras. :p;)
 
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