Canon LTM Canon 7 as first rangefinder?

Canon M39 M39 screw mount bodies/lenses
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Another Canon alternative is the Canon L1. Cloth shutter - a bit quieter than the P/7's. Only a 50 and 35 frame in the finder. I have a small cahe of Canon's (L1/P/7 etc) and unless I am using anything other than a 35 or 50 - I use the L1.
As for lenses, go for the Color Skopar 35mm f2.5 - sharp (rivals a Summicron 35), nice contrast - a bit higher than the older Canon 35's. The Canon 35f2 is very good, extremely compact - but the prices are getting up there.
Another problem with the Canon 7 is that there is no provision for using an external finder (unless you want to chase down the rather clumsy adapter that bolts on to the camera). Might not be a problem initially, but when the "wideitis" sets in and you start looking for 21/25/28 mm lenses - it could become a one.
 
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Frontman said:
. . . Of the cameras mentioned so far in this thread, the Canon 7 is the closest thing you will find to a Leica M, unless you find one of the very rare Yashica/Nicca YL rangefinders.
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Bizarre story here: I bought a Yashica/Nicca YL some 30-35 years ago, from a camera store, with a guarantee. It jammed, so I took it back. They gave me another one... I can only assume that someone had sold them a 2-body outfit. I've not seen one for sale in a shop since.

Nice cameras, but I think I'd prefer a Canon 7 (I didn't have both at the same time so I couldn't compare 'em directly.)

Cheers,

R.
 
There seems to be a rip in the curtain? In the description it says it's working though...?[/QUOTE said:
It's not a tear in the shutter, but a bit of oil. There seems to be a tendency for the shutter roller lube to move onto the curtain in this position. t's not really a problem, but if it bothers you it can be removed with some solvent such as lacquer thinner on a Q-tip. You will need to do this many times as it will reappear each time the shutter is fired until you get it all. The wrinkles in the shutter curtain are a non-issue. The curtains are made of extremely thin anodized stainless steel and they will show any impact that ever happens to them. The camera looks quite good, and the price is decent. If the meter is close to accurate, there are some fairly easy adjustments you can make to it.

At some point, you will presumably be looking for a 50mm lens for it. There are lots of choices- probably the best value for the money is a FSU Jupiter 8. Probably the best available lens for it is the Canon 1.4, but they tend to be quite expensive. The black-barrel 1.8 is the lens most often found with these cameras, but beware any lens with internal fog. It is often impossible to clean these, as they used a lubricant/coating combination which often leads to a corroded and uncleanable coating on the surfaces close to the diaphragm.

Cheers,
Dez
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Yeaaah. Just pulled the trigger. Didn't even think about it. I just clicked it and boom! It was mine. With that the plans on getting a new strobe are off the table but I honestly couldn't give a **** at the moment, haha.
Super happy! It'll probably arrive in two days too. YEAAAAH!
 
I recently traded away my Canon 7. I found that the viewfinder made my eyes water -- it is just enough out of focus for my eyeglasses prescription that it makes focusing with the RF patch difficult. Same thing applies to my 7s, but I have no such problems with the P.

I think the P is a really nice camera -- only three framelines, but then that's all the M2 has. All the Canon rangefinder cameras are beautifully made, every bit as good as their Leica, Nikon, Contax contemporaries.
 
My 7sz had the brightest viewfinder and framelines of any camera I've used. It's got a brightline finder, after all. The viewport was huge.
 
Tijmendal said:
I've read about issues with weak framelines; I only plan on using a 35mm on it, so not too worried as that is pretty much the view from the viewfinder anyway (right?)
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Weak framelines are sometimes found in canons that use a reflective frameline approach, but the canon 7 uses projected framelines, which are almost always bright and clear. Taking the top off to clean the finder system is easier than it looks, if it comes to that, but it probably won't. Congratulations on your new camera, and I hope you have a lot of fun with it!

Cheers,
Dez
 
Dez said:
Weak framelines are sometimes found in canons that use a reflective frameline approach, but the canon 7 uses projected framelines, which are almost always bright and clear. Taking the top off to clean the finder system is easier than it looks, if it comes to that, but it probably won't. Congratulations on your new camera, and I hope you have a lot of fun with it!

Cheers,
Dez
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I definitely will! Thanks for all the advice. I've been researching where to get the cheapest for the last two hours. Not being very productive for my two papers i have to hand in tomorrow, haha.
 
Tijmendal said:
I've read about issues with weak framelines; I only plan on using a 35mm on it, so not too worried as that is pretty much the view from the viewfinder anyway (right?)
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I hope you enjoy the New Canon 7! I recently sold mine on here and the buyer is very happy also. 35mm frameline on the 7 is actually much less than the whole finder so you would have no problem seeing it with glasses on also.
Post some images of and with the camera when it gets there!
 
Classique said:
I hope you enjoy the New Canon 7! I recently sold mine on here and the buyer is very happy also. 35mm frameline on the 7 is actually much less than the whole finder so you would have no problem seeing it with glasses on also.
Post some images of and with the camera when it gets there!
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I will! I'm so incredibly excited for it too arrive; never thought I'd be this anxious for something to arrive at my doorstep. I'm never like this. Normally I can keep my **** together but it's all I can think about. WHAAA!
 
You'll enjoy it, the Canon 7 is one of my favorite 35mm rangefinders. The viewfinder is a joy to use, and since the magnification is 0.8, it's possible to keep both eyes open as you look through the eyepiece. I also like the little touch of making the focal length of each frame that is selected visible in the viewfinder.

The 7 is just a quality camera all the way through. That and the 7s, to me, are the best of the Canon rangefinders.

Jim B.
 
It just arrived! Extremely happy with it!
I have a few questions for the more experienced Canon 7 users.

- The RF patch is really quite small; is that normal? Kinda hard to focus compared to a Leica, haha.
- The viewfinder is rather blue, is that common?

For the rest it's a LOVELY camera I think. Extremely with it. I still have to figure out what everything does and how the lightmeter works, but I'm sure that doens't take too long
 
I've owned the P, the 7S, and the 7. All are -great- to use.

The 35mm F2.8 Canon is also sa-weet. You will enjoy it. Similar to the 35mm F2.8 Leica Summaron (which I have also owned) and every bit as good. Yes the viewfinder patch is smaller and not as distinct as Leicas. But it works just fine. Blue is normal. In some respects it has advantages over Leica.

Not a bad price for the combo in my opinion. Google and download the instruction book.
 
Hope you're enjoying your Canon 7! For me 2012 was an experiment to compare two cameras: the Leica M4-P and the Canon 7. I bought the Canon 7 shortly after I was robbed in November 2011 and I bought the Leica after the insurance money came through. I have to say that even though the Leica cost 5 times the Canon it's not 5 times the camera. I have picked up the Leica more times when given a choice but I think that's because it's black and more compact🙄 The Canon 7 has a great viewfinder and feels like a quality piece of equipment. It's definitely a good starter rangefinder. I'm looking for a 35mm for the Canon and a 28mm for the Leica.
 
As a long-time Canon 7 user I have all to recommend this indestructible tank of a camera.
However the viewfinder cannot touch a Leica M for clarity of the rangefinder patch. The 7 viewfinder is often plagued by a halo around the rfdr patch which is bothersome when you are trying to nail the focus. The fuzzy edged patch doesn't help. Until the advent of the Bessa series Japanese rangefinder technology had simply fallen behind. But the camera is solid and coupled with a 35mm a great street camera.
 
DavidC said:
As a long-time Canon 7 user I have all to recommend this indestructible tank of a camera.
However the viewfinder cannot touch a Leica M for clarity of the rangefinder patch. The 7 viewfinder is often plagued by a halo around the rfdr patch which is bothersome when you are trying to nail the focus. The fuzzy edged patch doesn't help. Until the advent of the Bessa series Japanese rangefinder technology had simply fallen behind. But the camera is solid and coupled with a 35mm a great street camera.
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one of the reason for that is because it uses a cheap mirror in place of a prism 😱😱😱 very much like the yashicas 🙄

it's not a bad camera and i enjoyed overhauling it but you have to be careful with the frameline window and the viewfinder window. make sure you don't poke them too hard as they will pop back inside. this is true with the plastic window. the finder window doesn't have a protector glass so what you see at the front is actually part of the optics and its only glued as far as i can remember. it was such a pity because these could have been better with a little bit more money added into production but they didn't do it. probably aiming for a different price point...
 
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