I got to put my hands on an M7 today (Friday) - I happened into a store while the Leica rep was there.

It's an M-camera - despite the 350 different parts it feels just like shooting with my M4-P. The differences are in the minutiae - otherwise it's just one more Leica rangefinder.

Some small observations of things I haven't seen mentioned before - but maybe I'm just behind the curve.

Shutter speed dial no longer has a 'stop' between low-end and high-end speeds - you can dial directly from 'B" to "AUTO" to "1000" and just keep turning around and around and around...

The battery loading I hadn't caught onto before - you stick the batteries in SIDEWAYS (think "square peg in a round hole") - pushing the first one up inside the body to make room for the second. The cap bayonets into place instead of screwing - but you probably knew that.

Red dots galore! There is a red dot under the on-off switch that is counterintuitive: When it's visible the camera is "off" (and the shutter button is actually locked so that it doesn't move - not just disconnected electrically) and when the dot is NOT visible then the camera is on. This is sort of backward to how most other m'facturers do it.

There are also two tiny red dots in the viewfinder auto LED display (and I mean tiny - pinpricks compared to the center dot in the M6 meter. One flashes if there is exposure compensation set, and the other flashes if there is no film in the camera in DX mode (they may have other meanings as well).

The M7 shutter IS very slightly quieter than most other Ms I've owned/used. It's most noticeable, of course, at 1/30 and below, but is also quieter at higher speeds. Either they've revamped the curtain mechanism slightly - brakes, rails, etc. - or the 'clockwork' in mechanical bodies contributes more noise even at higher speeds than we've given it credit for.

What else - DX is easy to ignore if you don't want to use it. As is the AE - keep the shutter dial off AUTO (and batteries loaded!) and you won't know it's there.

Price will be $2350 at this store, which is exactly $400 more than the M6s. I can't remember what the 'premium' was for an FE2 over and FM2 back when both were available - but 20% doesn't sound outlandish.

Black cameras will be available in all three viewfinder magnifications more or less right away - the chrome bodies will be ONLY .72 for the foreseeable future. The rep sez this is because with the M6, people who want the .58 or .85 bodies usualy choose black anyway - so their just playing to the market.

-- Andy Piper (apidens@denver.infi.net), March 22, 2002

Answers

Thanks, Andy - interesting addendum to the M7 information.

-- (pd100@hotmail.com), March 22, 2002.

Thanks for the updates Andy! Good insights.

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), March 22, 2002.

I Leica it!...ughhh, sorry...long week!

-- Anam Alpenia (aalpenia@dasar.com), March 22, 2002.

Andy,

I didn't think to look when I handled one a couple of weeks back but the new battery arrangement begs a couple of questions.

Does the new battery arrangement permit easy cleaning of the contacts by the owner?

And due to the new arrangement, is one limited to using the lithium cells only, as the configuration arrangement will not permit 4 silver oxides of the "button" type?

Speaking of silver, I suspect there will be some demand for 0.58s and 0.85s in that finish and they'll relent and produce them. At least in 0.58. I'd be less certain about the 0.85. If the new 1.25x magnifier works as well and easily as reported (and their scarcity would indicate they are selling well), demand for an 0.85 in any finish may be significantly reduced. Easier and cheaper to carry the magnifier than another body.

Thanks,

Jerry

-- Jerome R. Pfile, Jr. (JerryPfile@msn.com), March 22, 2002.

Andy. A few minor observations. The battery cover (which you mentioned bayonets on/off) is now plastic. I don't have a TTL, but the battery cover on my early Wetzlar M6 is metal. They seem to have added a little more plastic here and there, and this camera with its overly large "M7" on the front has a more "industrial" look to it than say, an M4-P. But the shutter seems to work quite well; and the operation of the AE function is very rapid, with no perceptible delay, as compared with other M cameras. Overall, it has a look and feel typical of other Ms. The only difference is that you may actually have to look at the manual once or twice to fully appreciate its operation (never had to do this with an M6).

-- Eliot (erosen@lij.edu), March 22, 2002.

Eliot: Actually, I always thought my M4-2/Ps had a pretty 'industrial' look themselves - no pretty red dots and 20 years of wear on the black chrome. 8^)

But I agree the single big number gives the same impression.

The camera felt fairly intuitive - but yes, we'll need to read the book to nail down some details like the red dots in the finder.

The finder readout had a fairly 'industrial' minimalist, pragmatic look to it - it's sort of like aircraft altitude or airspeed gauges - if you're a practiced pilot you can read it at a glance and know what all the obscure color codings and markings mean (like "at this speed the wings fall off") but a novice may not have a clue until he HAS read the book.

Speaking of the instruction book - I didn't see that. So, Jerry, I don't know if 4 -76 batteries will work. I think you could get a Q-tip up to the 'hidden' battery contact, but the traditional pencil eraser might be less likely.

-- Andy Piper (apidens@denver.infi.net), March 23, 2002.