help with an M7 decision please

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I expected to buy a new M7, 0.85, black today and use the $500 gift certificate toward a 50/1.4 asph. Turns out the store made an honest mistake, this M7 was used, but mint, appeared to not have been shot. They made a good offer of $2250 for it, plus a 1 year store guarantee serviced at Leica. They even said that if the viewer flared, they would pay all but $100 toward upgrading it. Or, they have a 0.72, chrome, new.

I did want the 0.85 as I shoot 50/75/90 much more than wider. I kind of wanted black but I'm trying to factor this out, I have a chrome M8. So the advantages of the 0.85 are the lower cost and the finder I wanted.

The advantages of the chrome are 3 year passport warranty, which perhaps is doubled using Am Ex. and despite $1250 more up front, $500 back toward the lens. I have a 1.25 magnifier I don't use, so I can convert the 0.72 into a 0.90 when needed and pop it off and have 28mm lines and a much easier 35mm lines which I will use more. I guess I'm mostly asking for your opinion on the 0.72 vs the 0.85, but other words of wisdom are welcome. I'm pulling the trigger in the morning. Best....Peter
 
If you have the 1.25 mag, I'd be tempted to go for the .72 and use it for the 50, 75 and 90. At least then in the future you could take it off and as you say the 28 lines will work. If you wear glasses as I do most of the time the 28 lines are very hard to see however the 35 lines are fine. With a .85 I'd have a problem seeing the 35 lines. As the 35 is my lens of choice most of the time that would seal it for me.
 
man- For one thing, when I brought up the issue of flaring finders with the store, they looked into what Leica does regarding upgrades, called them, and reported that Leica said the M7 finders are fine, that the M6TTL had some problems, and that specifically the MP finders in M7s were a problem, yet this seller makes this a selling point! agghh! Also it's a 0.72, but the price is great! best...Peter

Oh, I just noticed it's yours. Why don't we talk? I'll e-mail or pm my #.....Peter
 
Fred said:
If you have the 1.25 mag, I'd be tempted to go for the .72 and use it for the 50, 75 and 90. At least then in the future you could take it off and as you say the 28 lines will work. If you wear glasses as I do most of the time the 28 lines are very hard to see however the 35 lines are fine. With a .85 I'd have a problem seeing the 35 lines. As the 35 is my lens of choice most of the time that would seal it for me.
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I do wear glasses and your comments are consistent with me experience. I actually just special made a thin monocle with my prescription that MAY work very nicely in terms of getting close enough to see the widest frame. If I got an .85, I'd buy a 28mm viewfinder and still might if a get the 72 for better viewing. best...Peter
 
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From Leica FAQ
http://nemeng.com/leica/002bb.shtml




"Focus Patch flare finally fixed in the M7?
To help cut down on rangefinder patch flare, all M7 viewfinder windows have a new anti-reflective coating, which gives them a distinctive purple/blue colour when viewed from from the front. In practice the new coating only partially solves the patch-flare problem, with "white-out" still possible under extreme conditions.

To silence the whiners, in Sept 2003 Leica started to incorporate the MP "flare-fix" into its M7 production run. According to Logan Reinwood and Leica Switzerland, the new flare-free finders can be found in M7s from serial # 2 885 000 onwards. See this Oct 2003 post at <LUG - v25/msg14704.html> to read Mr Reinwood's exact remarks."

Also note:

Subject: Re: [Leica] New Leica RF: as of M7 #2885000
From: Seth Rosner <sethrosner@XXecway.com>
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 12:34:41 -0400
References: <Law10-F43H6SkcDkkVt0000d0fa@hotmail.com>

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks, Logan. I am informed by Ernst Hartmann of Leica USA that it is not
the entire rangefinder that is replaced, rather the viewfinder is modified
to reduce or eliminate flare.
 
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Peter FWIW I have both 0.72 and 0.85 mag M7 bodies and a 1.25x magnifier. I much prefer the 0.85 mag for lenses >=50mm.
 
peter_n said:
Peter FWIW I have both 0.72 and 0.85 mag M7 bodies and a 1.25x magnifier. I much prefer the 0.85 mag for lenses >=50mm.
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It's worth a lot, thanks Peter. Do you ever use the 1.25 with the 0.85 for a 1.5? I bet you do, I know I would using the noctilux and 75 lux for sure.....Peter
 
Yes I do! :) I think the effective mag is 1.06 on the M7. I have a Noctilux and a Leica 75/2 and I was using both with the 1.25x on the 0.85 mag body last weekend.
 
I'm pretty much a die hard 50mm fan, using a 35 for closer personal work. I have an m7 with a 0.72 finder and really wish it was 0.85. I don't wear eye glasses though.
FWIW, my favourite camera is the M3 with it's 0.92 finder and large focus patch.
Go the 0.85 black M7.
 
I also use my 35mm quite a bit and generally it is on the 0.72mag body. But I also find it quite usable on the 0.85mag camera as well. However people with glasses might not...
 
$2250 is not out of line. If its the .85 you really want, I'd go for it. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

The .72 isn't what you wanted in the first place nor the chrome. Why compromise?
 
That's around what I paid for my 0.85 M7 about 18 months ago and it had three rolls through it and was mint. If you want a new 0.85 now you have to go a la carte.
 
Reporting in. I got the new 0.72 chrome M7, and used the $500 gift certificate toward a 50/1.4 asph (black). Why? In the final analysis, I wanted the shooting experience of my M8 and M7 to be as close as possible. I intend to shoot them together. The 0.72 is closer to the 0.67 M8, and I know that with a 1.33 magnifier/diopter, I have no trouble using my longer lenses, so the 1.25 on the M7 will serve well. I also decided that a roomy 35 frame is very important to me, and adding a cramped 28 frame doesn't hurt. Finally, the 3 year passport warranty becomes 6 years when you buy with AM EX, (I checked with Am EX), and 6 years of such complete coverage including accidents is more than worth the extra money for a new body.

Enough of this...I'm thrilled, and promise to post images soon! Thanks very much for the help folks. best...Peter
 
I have M7 with 0.85 finder and absolutely love it with 50/1.4 pre-asph and 35/2 Hexanon-M. I do not intend to buy any other lenses, since I am happy with these two.

Regards,
 
Here's my advice when it comes to buying Leica. Don't use your right brain. You can't think about it too much. It's not an issue of logic. Get the one that turns you on at an emotional level. In the long run, you'll be happy. So just ask -- "Which would I rather have: A black 0.85 or a Silver 0.72?" Follow your gut instincts in this regard.

By the way, your choice of a 50mm Summilix ASPH is good. That is a spectacular lens.
 
Alex Krasotkin said:
I have M7 with 0.85 finder and absolutely love it with 50/1.4 pre-asph and 35/2 Hexanon-M. I do not intend to buy any other lenses, since I am happy with these two.

Regards,
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one camera, two lens, and no intention to buy any other lens .... I'll keep this in mind ...:rolleyes:
 
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