Leica M7 Battery - on/off switch question

[jdrhyne]

Hello All,

I recently purchased a used M7 from B&H and I'm trying to decide whether I need to return the camera or not. It's a 278#### serial number for reference and seems to be in mint shape with the viewfinder being upgraded to the MP.

When I first turned on the camera, the batteries seemed to be drained/dead. It had 4 smaller batteries instead of two CR 1/3N batteries. I ran out to my local battery store bought 6 CR 1/3N batteries and installed 2 of them. M7 lit up and I took a few shots on it. I left it on my kitchen counter with it turned on so I'm fairly certain there wasn't anything pushing on the shutter button.

Went to shoot some more pictures the next night and the new batteries were completely drained. Installed one of the new CR 1/3N batteries and kept one of the dead/just installed the night before batteries and got the battery check light. I put another new one in and it's been working now for 2 nights fine but with me basically turning the on/off switch off anytime I'm not actively shooting.

Long story short, it left me with a few questions:

- does the on/off switch not turn off automatically if left on?
- If the VF was upgraded to MP, would they of not fixed any battery drain problem if it was part of the early batch that had these problems?
- Should I return this bad boy and wait for another used one?

First time poster and new, I appreciate all the time and help. Thanks for reading! 🙂

 

[benmacphoto]

I had an M7 on loan before for a while and shot several rolls of film through it.
Never had an issue with a battery draining overnight with it left on and out.
To me it seems like an electrical issue like that could be expensive down the road, I would return it.

 

[:: Mark]

Never mix drained and fresh batteries!

The M7 needs two new CR 1/3N batteries. The camera will not work otherwise, and in the worst case it could cause a battery leak. I am currently using Duracell 1/3Ns and get about a year of use per pair (approximately 100 films).

I am pretty lax with the power switch. I turn the M7 on when I go out, and off when I finish for the day. Sometimes I forget to turn it off for a couple of days, but this does not seem to be have any drastic affect on the battery life...

 

[maddoc]

From the M7 operating manual, the light meter switches off 14s after activation and/or in case the shutter dial is set to "B", the film is not advanced to the next frame, the main switch is set to off.

The batteries should not drain that quickly, about 80 135-36 rolls of film are normal. I haven`t changed the batteries in my camera since about one and a half year.

Make sure to get fresh CN 1/3 and always change as a pair. I had at least one time a set of batteries of that type that was dead right from the beginning despite not being expired.

 

[sepiareverb]

... I had at least one time a set of batteries of that type that was dead right from the beginning despite not being expired.

I have had DOA or extremely short battery life as the OP describes with the Varta 1/3N batteries, tho not in a long while now since switching to Duracell. I get the Duracell via Amazon as 1/3N's are unheard of in these parts.

 

[jdrhyne]

Thank you all for the responses and help! I'm going to test out leaving the camera on again tonight and see if the batteries drain again. Maybe then, I'll know if it was the camera or the set of batteries.

 

[jdrhyne]

Just an update - left the M7 on with a manual shutter of 1/30th of second and the light meter never turned off after 30 minutes even though it was sitting on a counter. Going to return it as I assume there's something faulty that's not turning off the light meter as it should according to the user manual.