Got my a la Carte M7

S

StuartR

Guest
Some of you may remember that I posted a thread about 6 weeks ago about ordering an a la carte M7. Well, it has been ready for several weeks, but I was unable to pick it up because I was in Europe (I was actually supposed to pick it up at Solms, but they screwed up and shipped it to Northvale right before I left, so I could neither get it in the US before I left, nor in Solms). Well, I finally picked it up yesterday. I am extremely pleased with it. Everything feels tight and responsive and I am working on my first roll.

It actually seems a little quieter than the MP to me, but I could be imagining things. I only have a digital point and shoot, but I took some pictures of it to post. I will get around to shooting some better shots soon. I am particularly pleased with the AE lock and the shutter release...it is much easier to positively depress the shutter halfway and engage the AE lock than it is on other cameras (particularly the Hexar RF, which is very finicky in this manner). It also shows a little red dot in the viewfinder to let you know when AE lock is engaged. Also, the blinking non DX rating LED problem is way overblown. The dot is the size of a period and is not bothersome at all (at least not to me). The shutter speed dial is excellent too. It is not a chrome colored version of the wheel on the regular M7, but it is actually just a larger version of the MP's metal with the same knurling. The one thing that I noticed that was a little bit of a worry was that it takes about a second or two to turn on. If you need to have immediate response, you will need to leave it on. No word yet on battery use, but I have heard it uses them up quickly.

The specs: M7 with MP style buttons, classic engraving, .85 viewfinder, blue leather.

m7-a-la-carte3.jpg


m7-a-la-carte.jpg


m7-a-la-carte2.jpg


m7-a-la-carte5.jpg
 
Congratulations Stuart, from the look of that beauty it was worth all those little snags that you went through. Blue certainly adds that touch of elegance.
 
Gorgeous! Congratulations! Yeah, the knurling on both the shutter speed dial and the on/off switch is different. The classic engraving is a nice touch. I like the unadorned face (no 'M7', or Leica Dot). A beaut! :)


:)
 
Congratulations Stuart. You have a very smart example of the M7(p). I really like the MP style, also the battery cover outer chrome works well. Mine is a black plastic bayonet type.
 
What a beaut! Congratulations Stuart. You are right about the non-DX speed LED blinking being way overblown, you can hardly notice it. Also I see the body serial numbers have gone over the 3 million mark... :)

 
backalley photo said:
that camera is prettier than some girls i dated in my yoot!
congrats.
joe
Click to expand...

HAHAHAHAHA! I suppose that might go for me too....we will see, though, how the female photo students here react to it. I have actually had a number of girls comment on my MP, but I have a feeling this might arouse even more interest. BUT, let me state for the record that I do not need a camera to get a date, NOR do I need to date a camera.
 
Nice work -- distinctive yet tasteful. I was afraid the a la carte program would result in some "Pimp My Leica" mutants, but this one is quite elegant.
 
I've got to admit, your a la carte is much prettier than my two off-the-shelf M6 classics. But in fairness they cost me an avg of $875 each and I spend a lot more time looking through them than at them.
 
Stuart,
Nice, the chrome and blue is different, Congrulations. If I had the $6K CDn burning a hole in my pocket it would be a brand spankin' new MP tastefully pimped up good. Brown leather and chrome would be nice and leave in the Leica red dot. Mate that up with a 50/1.5 Summilux and I am good to go.

Bill
 
Stuart that is a very fine looking camera, and it's interesting to see some material upgrades here and there on the rig. The blue is very distinctive!
 
As much as I love aperture priority auto, I wouldn't want a camera that relies on batteries ever again to use as a main camera. This makes me hope that Leica never discontinues the MP because I hope to eventually be able to afford one. I also hope they don't discontinue the A La Carte program because I want one with an M7 crank rewind, .85 finder, and red leather.
 
Ben Z said:
I've got to admit, your a la carte is much prettier than my two off-the-shelf M6 classics. But in fairness they cost me an avg of $875 each and I spend a lot more time looking through them than at them.
Click to expand...


Ben -- obviously the functionality of the camera is not much greater than your M6 classics (though it does have AE, TTL and so on). That does not mean that I will not use it. On the contrary, I will use it all the time. Just because I am spending more for aesthetics does not mean that I will spend more time looking at the camera than using it. Frankly, if I couldn't afford it, I wouldn't do it. But let's be honest with ourselves, if our concerns were 100% practical, we wouldn't be using Leicas at all, but Nikon F5's, Canon EOS-3s, 1v's, 20Ds and so on. I am happy to spend the extra money to get a camera that I find distinctive and unique, particularly when I will be using it so often. I don't mean to really target this response at you, but I get defensive about combining utility and aesthetics -- life is not entirely utilitarian; we need a little spice.

Anyway, in the spirit of photography, here are some images that I scanned today that I took with that other impractical camera, the MP:


horsefarm-ruins1.jpg


horsefarm-ruins3.jpg


sejlandfoss-shed.jpg


vatnajokull-rivers.jpg


skaftafell-airport.jpg


kristen-window-portrait.jpg
 
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