In praise of the Leica M7

never had any issues with mine, I had 3 over the years, without any problems. down to 1 now. which is my main user leica, very convenient camera to use, the battery last forever, and i like the subtle shutter sound too.

I'd look out for a late serial MP-'findered' and 'new dx reader' one.
 
I had trouble warming up to the M7. I even sold my first one and later bought another. Lately it has become my go-to film Leica. I can use aperture priority for fast, casual shooting, or manual for more considered work. Best of both worlds. No reliability issues.
 
Bought my Leica M7 about 4 years ago, and it is easily my favourite Leica to date. The AE fits my shooting style perfectly, and I love the "snick" of the shutter which I find more quiet than any of my other Leicas. I did not encounter any electronic gremlins yet, although the more frequent battery change (compared to the M6 and MP) can be a bit of a bother occasionally. It's also fast to use with its canted rewind knob, and I'm not that bothered by the little blinking displays. The choice of M models is a very personal one, just as some people just cannot warm up to rangefinders in general. It's great there're so many camera choices out there - there's certainly one with your name on it!
 
robert blu said:
I like to use my m7 (0,58) the only point where I'm not sure is that at least once a year I have to realign the rangefinder. Of course if shooting landscape with a 35mm lens at f 8 it would be not necessary but I do not like when the RF images are not correctly aligned. No other problems with this camera. Maybe I should learn not to care so much...
robert
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Reading again this thread years after my previous post I can only say I'm "envious" of who never experience problems with the M7 !

I still have to check and calibrate the RF very oft, which doesn't happen with my old and humble Bessa! I even sent the camera to Leica in Germany to be sure the technician is able to do it properly but no difference, after a short time again off...

Having said this I do not plan to sell the M7 simply because it is a pleasure to use.

robert
 
I've had my M7 since 2005. The DX reader was an issue once or twice but I've had no problems after I started setting the ISO manually. However, I effectively stopped using the camera after Kodachrome was discontinued. 5 years later, I loaded some Portra 400 and shot in tungsten light with a KB3 filter. It was a joy to use.
 
Still have those two M7s I mentioned. Neither has had much in the way of wiggy readouts for a while now. The .72 had a loose top-plate about two years ago which NJ put right for free. The .58 was in my lap when my car, going 70mph, collided with a moose on the interstate in April of 2012. Camera was found on the floor, the lenshood full of window glass. There was one small scratch on the advance lever, but no other damage, the rangefinder remained aligned. I continue to shoot it.
 
I had a customer who was on the fence about the M7 or an MP. I gave him the pros and cons of each one and said my preference was the MP because of the more reliable shutter and the fact that it's mechanical. He wanted an M7 and was willing to sacrifice the battery and shutter problems. I demo'd two M7s and they both broke on the spot. He walked out with an MP and came in a few months later saying how much he enjoys it. I'm sure what happened was a freak accident but, it happens. I just don't see the point of owning an M that is 100% mechanical. That's most of the point of having a film M.
 
I just received one I bought one off the classifieds here. My first non-CL, non-Zeiss Ikon M body in a dozen years of using M-mount lenses.

It's not as heavy as I thought it'd be. Which is good. Is that what they were thinking when they designed so much aluminium and plastic into it?
 
Biggles said:
I just received one I bought one off the classifieds here. My first non-CL, non-Zeiss Ikon M body in a dozen years of using M-mount lenses.

It's not as heavy as I thought it'd be. Which is good. Is that what they were thinking when they designed so much aluminium and plastic into it?
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What aluminum and plastic? The ISO dial is plastic, and the tip covering the film winder.
 
Nelson Tan said:
Bought my Leica M7 about 4 years ago... I did not encounter any electronic gremlins yet...and I'm not that bothered by the little blinking displays.
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Nelson, those little blinking displays are the electronic gremlins.

LKSC said:
I've had my M7 since 2005. The DX reader was an issue once or twice but I've had no problems after I started setting the ISO manually.
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So the DX reader is having issues, but you set the ISO manually and then just ignore the little blinking light.

What this thread shows is that there is actually a very large percentage of owners that do have electrical issues. We just deal with it, which for better or worse is kinda ridiculous given the cost of the camera. I;m guilty too, because the camera is just so good to shoot.
 
Biggles said:
Battery hatch cover and frame preview lever also plastic. Bottom plate, top housing, and rewind knob assembly certainly aren't brass.
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Bottom plate and top housing are brass. Scratch them and see.
😀

Not sure about the rewind knob, but it is metal. Frame preview lever is metal. The tiny battery cover is plastic. I guess that is what you mean by so much of the camera is made of plastic.
 
Have had mine for 3 or 4 years. No issues. Had the opportunity to send it in for the dx update, use it manually anyway, so left the old one in. Not even sure if it's malfunctioning correctly. I enjoy the blinking lights anyway, it's like a little party in my viewfinder. 🙂
 
Well, the black chrome on mine's bottom plate is (honorably) scuffed enough that I don't need to scratch it further to see cold white metal peeking through. But it may not in fact be aluminium; an old speaker magnet on my fridge says the bottom plate is mildly magnetic. Stainless steel?
 
Biggles said:
Well, the black chrome on mine's bottom plate is (honorably) scuffed enough that I don't need to scratch it further to see cold white metal peeking through. But it may not in fact be aluminium; an old speaker magnet on my fridge says the bottom cover is mildly magnetic. Stainless steel?
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That is the nickel layer below the black chrome layer. Leica went back using brass for the top-plate with the M6TTL millennium and LHSA editions, which were black paint. The M7 was the first camera after the M5 with brass top and black chrome and early models had a very easy to scratch chrome layer where you can literally rub the chrome layer off.
 
There is a nickel layer between the brass and chrome, as mentioned above. I'm not sure how much aluminum is in this camera, but it doesn't seem to be much. There are the few plastic bits, as mentioned above - tip of wind lever, battery cover, film take up tulip.

For me, I had a Nikon F3 for over a quarter century before I obtained the M7. The M7 is as easy to shoot as the F3. The big plus which nobody has discussed so far is TTL flash control. This takes out a lot of mental calculation with guide numbers (still the most reliable way to determine flash exposure).

Further, the M7 can fire just before the second curtain moves (second curtain synch), offers strobe capability (multiple flashes per exposure), and high speed flash synch with SCA 3502 flash units. I can also dial in exposure compensation into the flash unit, and have multiunit TTL control through the Metz system.
 
finguanzo said:
I enjoy the blinking lights anyway, it's like a little party in my viewfinder. 🙂
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🙂
But unfortunately yet another 'defective' one..

How can Olympus (for example) get the DX to work on my craplastic Stylus that is worth $10, but Leica can't on a $5000 camera?
 
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