I've had it with my M7.

[seb v.]

I am sick of my M7 and that damn blinking led in the viewfinder. This is my

third M7 and all but the first have had this problem (wish I hadn't swapped it

for an MP) Sent it back to Leica and because the fault is intermittent it always

comes back 'no fault found'.

I have since realised that the blinking is activated when my nose presses

against the ISO dial on the back, which is a very boring design fault on a 2200

GBP camera. Because I am vat registered I can sell the camera at my local shop

on commission and recoup most of my dough.

Which is what I did. While there, I ordered my final ever film camera - an a la

Carte MP!<div></div>

[horea_feier]

A 0.85?

[seb v.]

Actually, it's a .72 so I can use my 28. But the 50mm frameline comes up on it's own.

[g-man1]

Final Every Film Camera? I wish I had that kind of self confidence!

[seb v.]

Gary

 

I meant final for the year! Maybe definitely.

[pc_b]

Hm, I would have had it modified to accept an M6 back. But that's just me: I love the off-

switch, TTL, HS TTL, quartz-timed shutter, and comfy film winding lever. (All film burning

M3/M2 owners know why Winogrand switched so fast to a couple of M4s!...)

[asher]

Uh... have you tried shooting with your right eye? I have a big nose, and I shot with my left

eye only for about 20 years. Then I just tried the right eye. It was so much easier, especially

for the M's...

[frederick_muller]

There's a lot to be said for a clean viewfinder. That's why I like shooting with M2's and M4's. There's even the odd time I've taken the batteries out of one of my M6's just to shoot pure.

[seb v.]

Asher

 

I gave tried many times to shoot with right eye but have never succeeded. My left eye seems to be too dominant. Also, I have grown used to setting my own shutter speed in the MP - using the led dot as a guide and then over or under exposing as I see fit and the manual mode on the M7 doesn't feel as instinctive as it does with the MP. Yes, I know about the exposure lock function on the M7 but that is dependant on what light is available.

[Rob F.]

The M7 is a mixed bag. I don't like the blinking comma when I set the dial to an EI different from the box speed. Very Distracting. I do like the ability to get shutter speeds in-between the usual standard ones. I like the off switch. I don't like the feel of the shutter release. I do like the quietness of the shutter. Like Seb, I find the LED dots more than adequate on my M6 or MP.

 

Bottom line, I often reach for an M6TTL or my MP before I think of using the M7.

[john falkenstine]

For a serious Leica Fan, NOSE surgery would have been the real solution.

[andrew1]

Irritating, isn't it? If I wanted an auto exposure M camera, I'm afraid I'd go for a CV Bessa RxA or a Zeiss Ikon, or maybe try to find a good Hexar RF. Leica is at their best when they are sticking to lens designs and mechanical cameras, IMO. The MP is a masterpiece; I'd buy one if I could- as much to show support for Leica as to have such a fine camera. But this is the reason I fear for Leica's future; after years of using a few different Leicas, I have settled on shooting with a couple of 40+ year old M3's. Leica got it right in the 1950's, and their cameras since just haven't improved on these, for me. The M3 is just about perfect. Meanwhile, the M7 represents the height of 1970's camera technology- a manual focus camera with simple aperture priority and DX coding as the only extra features. Ok, that's fine, and frankly that's all I'd need; but this wasn't introduced until 2002 (?!?) and they still can't seem to make it work right all the time. Even if they could, a blinking light in the finder all the time just because I set a different E.I. than box speed would be unacceptable to me. Frankly, any lights in the finder don't add anything to my shooting experience- they are just distracting. So I love and use the old bodies, and they are perfect for me. Plus, after the finder in the M3, it's all been downhill. So even if I could afford it, I wouldn't buy much new Leica gear. I already have a range of lenses and a couple of bodies, and they still work just fine. Good for me; bad for Leica. But what's worse is that, as I said at the outset, if I wanted AE in an M body, I'd start by looking at a Cosina-built body. As for Leica's digital gear, well, let's just say that if digital floated my boat, I don't think I'd be too hot to buy a camera from a company that made it's reputation with great mechanical gear, but seems to have so much trouble with electronics.

[seb v.]

Just to add...I took this oportunity to clean out my collection and have my desert island Leica outfit. I am now left with an MP, a 50ASPH and a 28 summicron. I think I will be quite happy with these.

 

Seb

[watts]

<i>Because I am vat registered I can sell the camera at my local shop on commission and

recoup most of my dough</i><p>If you do your books properly, the VAT is irrelevant. I'm

VAT registered too but when I sell an item I've previously run through the books I am

expected to account for the VAT <b>on the sale</b> as well. Something tells me you didn't

bother raising an invoice when you sold the M7?

[seb v.]

Ian

 

True, but the vat on the selling price is less than on the new purchase price (I think) But the vat thing was more self-justification rather than any hard financial facts. I will take a hit on the sale whatever way I look at it.

[steven_moseley1]

...is it about time Leica employed someone who actually knows what ergonomics are?

[shawn_rahman]

Sorry to hear that you are so fed up with your M7. Please rid yourself of it by sending it to me. Thank you.