Lots of 7-series ramblings from new guy...
Lots of 7-series ramblings from new guy...
Hello, I'm new and have been looking for a good spot for my first post -- guess this is it! Anyway...
...It looks as if the Australian 7sz went for about US$620 -- actually a pretty good price, I think, if its condition is really as nice as it appeared. I was considering placing a last-minute bid, but then decided that since I've already got a nice 7s, I shouldn't be a 'Canon hog'!
About the viewfinder: A friend in Japan who bought a 7sz there took it to a repair shop for a CLA, and the technician was nice enough to let him snap a few digital pix of it while apart. He sent me the pix so I could compare the finder optics to those of the regular 7/7s; I've always wondered what the difference was.
Turns out that the main difference seems to be the method of adjusting the vertical position of the rangefinder image. If you've ever done this on a 7/7s, you know that it's VERY touchy!... the mirror is mounted on a stainless-steel spring, and you have to turn a tiny jackscrew to raise or lower it. The image jiggles madly as you adjust, making it hard to tell when you've hit the right spot. Once it's put, it tends to STAY put, but it's pretty tricky to get it there!
The 7sz, on the other hand, appears to have a cylindrical rotary prism between the RF mirror and the main RF body. I'm guessing you adjust the vertical position by turning the body of the cylinder, via its toothed outside edge. The Nikon S2, of which I used to own one, used a similar adjustment, and it's very smooth and easy to adjust. I'd guess this is the biggest improvement on the 7sz -- worthwhile, certainly, but (to me) not a big enough deal that I'd give up my 7s and pay extra money to get one! In other words, it's the kind of improvement that made sense for Canon to make as a running change (to improve serviceability) but not one that obsoleted the previous design -- probably why they didn't give it a new official model designation!
Incidentally, just so y'all will know that I'm (at least occasionally) a Canon RF
user and not just a pedant, here's a link to something I shot a couple of years ago with my 7s and 50/0.95:
Midnight drags essay
Will look forward to hearing lots of Canon RF gossip! Regards to all...