Canon P, Canon 7 Viewfinders

hks3sgte

hks3sgte

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How do the 2 compare? I'm in between choosing one of the two for about a year now. Unfortunately, I do not have access to either so I can't test for my own. What I'm looking for is which one has the bigger, brighter viewfinder? I know the P has "all in one" framelines, that is not an issue for me. Thanks!
 
Bigger & brighter is the 7. It also has more focal lengths (85 & 135) and at .8 magnification can still be easily shot with both eyes open as well as see all of the 35 frame line while wearing my glasses. My 28mm was quite usable by using the whole of the finder area as well. Just a wonderful finder as far as I was concerned.

William
 
I have both canon p and 7. The canon P viewfinder is by far much clearer, easier to focus and just a pleasure to look through. The 7 is not bad but nothing special either. There is really no comparison. Now if you dont want to see the 50/35 lines then go with the 7.
 
I preferred the simpler P finder. The 7's is larger and brighter, but feels too complicated...a lot of reflective surfaces in there, and flarey distractions.

I ended up unloading my P in favor of an M2, which has a better finder still!
 
I have a P, and I used a 7 for a day.

When I first got my P, the view was a little murky. After a CLA, the view is quite bright. The view is 1:1, and you can shoot with both eyes open. The focus spot is a relatively large circle, so when the area inside this circle is not aligned for focus, this has a murky effect, which clears up largely upon focusing.

The rangefinder patch of the 7 is much smaller and crisper, I thought much more like that in an M Leica. And as mentioned above, the 35mm frames in the 7 are visible even for a glasses wearer—wow!

With the P, the 50 frames are quite visible.

In fine fiddle, either camera is a dandy. I think the 7 feels a bit more serious and it is certainly larger though handy. The P seems a bit more simple and carefree.
 
ibid.

The 7 is a great camera, and I like that you have a choice of frame lines, but the P is the better feeling one. Just a tad more solid.
 
Al Kaplan said:
We're always talking about Nikon S3 and SP reissues and what it would cost to re-intoduce the M2. Who'd like to see a re-issue of a Canon P or 7?
Click to expand...

Why re-issue when there is tons of good P's out there at unbelievably cheap prices. The re-issue would probably cost 4 times the current P price.
 
What focal lengths do you plan on using?

If you use mostly 50mm and 100mm lenses, the Canon P is great.

If you use a 35mm lens, 85mm lens, and even 135 lens, the Canon 7 is better.
 
Adding to what Brian mentioned earlier, the P has 35, 50, and 100 framelines. The 35 framelines are visible but its a stretch to see everything without moving around.
Still I keep my 35 on the P and shoot with both eyes open. Makes seeing the 35 lines easier for me that way.
 
Who'd like to see a re-issue of a Canon P or 7?
Click to expand...
hey! you stole my idea...
I think Canon lacks the fan club to sell alot of them... didn't the Nikon S3- 2000 cost like $3000 or something outrageous?
it would be cool... but I couldn't afford it... no way.

uh, a similar question...
how does the Canon 7 finder compare to a Leica M4-p finder? I got to try one of those... and I am starting to wonder if I should get a Canon 7 instead of an M2...

cheers!
 
Brian Sweeney said:
What focal lengths do you plan on using?

If you use mostly 50mm and 100mm lenses, the Canon P is great.

If you use a 35mm lens, 85mm lens, and even 135 lens, the Canon 7 is better.
Click to expand...

I think Brian poses exactly the right question. I have a P, and had a 7 too. The P's finder is excellent for 50 and 100, as Brian says, but I find the 35 framelines on the P hard to see (I wear glasses). The Canon 7's vf is .85, IIRC, which makes the 35 framelines much more usable. BTW, I shot w/ a friend's M4 while I still had my 7, and I came away thinking that the 7's vf and framelines were just as good as those of the M4. Heresy, I know, but there you are.

The 7 is bigger than the P, and definitely feels bigger. Both are superb rfs, though. Very durable camera bodies.
 
Bingley said:
I think Brian poses exactly the right question. I have a P, and had a 7 too. The P's finder is excellent for 50 and 100, as Brian says, but I find the 35 framelines on the P hard to see (I wear glasses). The Canon 7's vf is .85, IIRC, which makes the 35 framelines much more usable. BTW, I shot w/ a friend's M4 while I still had my 7, and I came away thinking that the 7's vf and framelines were just as good as those of the M4. Heresy, I know, but there you are.

The 7 is bigger than the P, and definitely feels bigger. Both are superb rfs, though. Very durable camera bodies.
Click to expand...

Weirdly, Dante Stella has written that the 7 feels SMALLER than a Leica, because it's thinner front-to-back. But I think he's smokin' vulcanite. They seem the same size front-to-back to me, and the 7 feels way bigger than my M2.

It's a pretty sweet camera, though. If I had unlimited space and money, I'd still have a P, as well as a 7 and IVSb. I become more and more impressed with Canon RFs.
 
I experienced both and I prefered the Canon7 VF. The Canon P felt cluttered with framelines and the RF patch wasn't as crisp.
I did prefer the Canon P body though, if it had Canon 7 VF that would be a perfect camera for me : )
 
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