Which Japanese make comes closest to Leica...

[PRJ]

I think a lot of people fetishize the Nikon rangefinders, just like the Contax rangefinders and the Barnack Leicas. They are ok, but as a photo tool they were surpassed not long after they were made. If you are looking for a cheap Leica, then the Canon 7 is the best you are going to get. They are fantastic cameras and no one fetishizes them, so combined with their numbers, they sell for cheap. Only downside to them is the screwmount, but even then you can get modern lenses from Voigtlander if that is what you want. And of course you could even put Leica lenses on it. Lots of choices for lenses.

I had a Canon 7 years ago and sold it. It is one of the few cameras that I missed after it was gone. A year or so ago I bought another one with the 50 1.4 on it for $200. I was going to sell the 1.4, but after using it a bit, I decided to keep it and my plan to get a Summilux faded. The 7 I have has the smoothest wind of any camera I've ever used. Much smoother than my M3 even. Really is nice to use. The rangefinder on the M3 is crisper and probably more accurate. The Canon though has a meter. And the Canon loads from the back without a stupid spool to drop into your coffee while you are trying not to bite down on the baseplate and ruin your teeth... Lol. Easy to load. I think it is safe to say that if the Canon 7 had an m mount it would sell for about what a M2 would sell for. They really are nice cameras. They are a little bigger than Leicas. I think they are the perfect size for my mitts. That is a personal thing. And don't forget, you can't burn the shutter in the Canon since it is metal. Nothing like seeing your Leica with smoke coming out if it to realize how dumb of a design that was. In other words, more plusses than minuses to owning a Canon 7. I think it is safe to say that at some point the Canon 7 will be "discovered" and the price will shoot way up. With the price of Leicas these days it is probably way overdue.

 

[splitimageview]

Features are one thing, but the topic is about build quality and optics.

The Canon 7 and later certainly had many nice features. But they did lack an accessory shoe making anything wider than 35mm somewhat challenging.

 

[Swift1]

I bought a Canon 7 on a whim in early 2018 and was really surprised by how much I liked the camera. Using it all that year led me to buy a Leica M2.
The Leica definitely has better fit and finish, and the Leica finder is a thing of beauty, but the Canon 7 is no slouch. It's built like a tank, and has a few nice features that the Leica doesn't.
Having used both cameras, as a photographic tool I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Canon 7.

 

[David Murphy]

As for for screw mount Leica copies, the early Nicca and Leotax models come close in form and function, but fall just a shade short perhaps in reliability (although they are pretty darn good). My Leotax DIV with a collapsible 50mm F3.5 Simlar seems to work exactly like a Leica III with an Elmar, even using the same closeup accessories and so forth. I also have a Chiyotax IIIf - very close to the Leica III series. The Canon bottom loaders are all great, but there are some differences in small details of the body structure, finders, and so forth.

None of the more advanced LTM bodies with easier loading and improved finders made in Japan quite equal the M2 or M3 in terms of quality IMO. The Yashica (Nicca) YF, the Canon P, or the Canon VIL are still very good 35mm film cameras, rugged and reliable. I think Canon regressed a little bit with the 7 series.

 

[Goody]

"....it's only fault is that the VF is very nearsighted to most people with normal vision and was only corrected on the last made Canon 7s .. called by many as the Canon 7sz ."

The eyepiece unscrews and one can always replace the glass lens in it.