In praise of the Leica M7

I've had my M7 (.72) since about a year after it came out. Mine is a very early one and I had the condenser upgrade added to the RF to fix the viewfinder flare. The first two batches were missing the condenser and Leica added it later on. Mine also has the original style DX reader and that has also never given me a problem. Cartridges come out without a problem and I've never had one get stuck.

I've put a few hundred rolls through mine and it's seen extensive travel. The camera has been used heavily, but not abused and it's never given me a problem.

I had a routine maintenance performed after the first 5 years, but that was purely preventive maintenance. The technician found nothing wrong with it except a little dirt and changed the lubricants.

Its a great camera. Very silent and just feels really nice in hand. AE comes in handy at times. The worst I can say about the M7 is that it has the post M4-P .7 meter frame lines, which means the 50mm markings are closer to a 60mm. But they work fine with the 28 and 35.
 
Huss said:
🙂
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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It seems like a big piece of it is the bottom loading. The cassette needs to be loose enough to move in and out, but that seems to be problematic for a consistent read of the dx. Most cameras have some sort of clip or spring type means of keeping the film very tightly held. An early modification was an extra washer for the cassette end of the bottom plate, to prevent up and down movement within the camera. Not always enough. Hmmm, I may try an additional shim in one...

The newer reader is a good improvement, I rarely have any blinks unrelated to battery life or a well used reloadable cassette with wear to the Dx Code.
 
A leica shooter should be able to set properly iso when loading the film and wouldn't need a dx reader 🙂 of course just joking, I understand that if there is a reader it should work without problems! But I always set iso manually!
robert
PS: and yes, the shutter sound is delicious...
 
Well I just got my new to me M7. Second time around. Paid a bit more but got it from KEH who are very good at backing up their sale plus providing a 6 month repair warranty. Yehaa!!


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I've had two early M7s, with the electrical DX film speed reader. Both gave me episodes of wierd ISO readings. Sometimes I had to set the film speed manually to get on with shooting.

I had both changed to the optical film speed reader, and also had the MP finder fix at the same time. The first was perfect upon return from Leica NJ. The second one went wonky and kept saying ISO 5000, even when I tried to set the film speed manually. I returned it to Leica NJ, and they changed the circuit board associated with the optical film speed reader, under warranty. Since then, it has worked fine.

I think that the electronics will either act up right away, or they never will. I had a Nikon F3 for 28 years, and the circuitry works fine today. As long as you don't use ancient electronic flashes with 600V on the terminals, or give your camera a bath in seawater, you should be fine with reasonable care.
 
robert blu said:
A leica shooter should be able to set properly iso when loading the film and wouldn't need a dx reader 🙂 of course just joking, I understand that if there is a reader it should work without problems! But I always set iso manually!
robert
PS: and yes, the shutter sound is delicious...
Click to expand...

I do wish they never bothered with the DX reader. It would have saved them money, saved us grief, and they could have spun it as a purer experience. I wouldn't have even cared if it cost the same!
 
The oft maligned film speed reader is very helpful to me. I just shot a roll of Rollei 25 thinking that it was Cinestill 50, in my M4-2. I had to have the darkroom folks push it 1 stop.

At least with the M7, I can look at the film speed when I turn the camera on, and have an idea of what film I have in there.
 
Robert Lai said:
At least with the M7, I can look at the film speed when I turn the camera on, and have an idea of what film I have in there.
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Not if it is blinking 100. Or 5000..

I got the 5000 message shooting Cinestill 800. Cinestill film is not DX coded, but I guess the markings on the canister cause confusion. But while it gave the 5000 message, it set the exposure correctly via my manually set ISO dial.
 
I've had an M7 for about 6 years now, it is over all my favorite Leica.
The shutter dial is nearly perfect.
The viewfinder/light meter is nearly perfect too.

I did have an electrical/shutter problem with mine about 4 years ago and it went to DAG, no problems since then.
 
kshapero said:
Well I just my new to me M7. Second time around. Paid a bit more but got it from KEH who are very good at backing up their sale plus providing a 6 month repair warranty. Yehaa!!


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Congrats! Now...the pictures !
robert
PS: which lens? Just curious...
 
It seems to me that there is an awful lot of M7 bashing going on in this "In praise of the Leica M7" thread. I, for one, still enjoy using mine, which was purchased new in 2004. Yes, the electrical DX reader failed after 10 years of use, but Leica repaired it with no charge. How many manufactures would repair a 10 year old product, much less at no charge, these days?

Every other "issue" brought up here is a matter of opinion. I prefer that the camera has a warning "blinking light" when not set to DX or the box speed. I prefer to have aperture priority automation, TTL flash and an electronic shutter, all of which require batteries. Carrying spare batteries and needing to change them once a year or so is a small price to pay for the automation.
 
i have a weird M7 question and didn't know where to post it.

does the M7 being electronic, need to be checked for shutter speed accuracy like the other mechanical sisters or is it always spot on?

thanks 🙂
 
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