For those of you who are fortunate to own a M7 (and have owned a M6 in the past). Are you happy with its operation? Have you had any major problems? Would you buy it again if you had the choice? Thanks!

-- Karl Yik (karl.yik@dk.com), May 28, 2002

Answers

I've had my M7 for two months. Traded my M6 for it. I love it. No problem whatsoever so far. M6 in every way, only better. Even quieter shutter, if you can believe it. Now, I'm not saying the honeymoon will last forever. After all, when you buy the first release of a new model of anything that intricate, you'r bound to have a few surprises. But then again, it can prove to be THE best M ever. What I don't like? Not much. The plastic battery cover that clicks in place a quarter turn, and that I know I'll lose one day. The blinking red dot you get in the viewfinder when you set a different ISO than the DX code or when you compensate. Not having the aperture show in the vf in manual mode.That's all. Would I buy it again? Definitely.

-- Olivier (olreiche@videotron.ca), May 28, 2002.

Karl, Great question! I have one and like it. The best thing for me is the flare VF and the lock. I just traded my M6 Wetzler to get a .58 VF M6 ttl(I really missed the .58 VF and the more sensitive metering of the TTL). I used the M6ttl yesterday. Wow I must admit I missed it! I tend to leave my M7 on auto and find myself always adjusting the apeture anyhow. With the M6, I usually just leave it on a fast shutter speed and do the arrow thing. I suppose I would have never bothered with the M6ttl if I had waited for a M7 .58. Anyhow its great having both. If you have the spare cash go for the M7. Just make sure you get a VF your confortable with. If you want a killer deal on M6ttl, NOW is the time to get one!

-- John Abela (jamriman@yahoo.com), May 28, 2002.

only improvements desired: (1) no blinking to indicate compensation set & actually show amount of comp; (2) asa range beyond 6400 (25.6K much better) AND SEPARATE ASA AND COMP DIAL INTO SEPARATE DIALS (comp dial moved to top deck around release??) (3) better spread of mechanical speeds (the fm3a costs $500 and has them all), say 30-500; (4) default to 1/500th when bottom plate is off so you don't get 32 sec surprise when set to auto; (5) include two spare battery covers (and make them insulated meal instead of plastic); (6) make it harder to switch camera off accidentally.

-- roger michel (michel@tcn.org), May 28, 2002.

Happy? Yes, absolutely. Problems? No. Buy again? Yes. I like the much more silent electronic shutter of the M7 in comparison to the noisy mechanical shutter of the M6 or M4-P. The main advantage however is its automatic exposure. You can react very quickly; thanks to AE taking a pic increases a lot. That's important for snapshots and situation that last only a few seconds. No doubt, the M7 is the best (means: most comfortable) M ever. I'm bit disappointed by the viewfinder coating. It has not cured the old Leica viewfinder disease. I don't see much difference to the viewfinder of the M6 or M4-P.

-- Frank (Thoma2811@aol.com), May 28, 2002.

Absolutely!

Allows me to be less flustered (with the AE), and also to be more considered (in manual mode) - best of both worlds

-- Gregory Goh (GregoryGoh@hotmail.com), May 28, 2002.

I tried one (one of a few in the UK!!) a few days ago and was immediately impressed with the AE, quieter shutter and shutter lock, however hearing some of the stories on this forum, I am still wondering if I should try and get one now or wait a while before any bugs have been ironed out first. Keep that feedback coming in!

-- Karl Yik (karl.yik@dk.com), May 28, 2002.

Here's another utterly happy M7 owner. Besides the improvements everyone else has noticed, I find it to be much more fluid in use with the AE. Only having to make one setting (aperture) makes a big difference to me in how much attention I can concentrate on the subject. I've added a Motor-M, and that really puts the icing on the cake. I have a .58 M7 on order, and when that comes in there will be yet more used M6's on the market.

-- Paul Chefurka (paul@chefurka.com), May 28, 2002.

Using it with a motor-m and it is a formidable shooting machine!! Maybe not for the hardcore M-purist but it is just such a pleasure taking pictures with it - never been happier.

-- John (johnlktan@yahoo.com), May 28, 2002.

Absolutely happy. Only problem I seem to have is removing the film cartridge easily when unloading. It no longer just drops out because of the spring loaded DX contacts and I find myself having to pull at the cartridge spindle to get it out. (Anything suggestions here?)

As someone mentioned above, it would be nice if there was some way to not have the lower display point light when you manually set the ISO value such that it is different than the DX code. I understand why it does this, but maybe some sequence like pressing the shutter to AE lock five times in a row after you load a new roll of film to let it know you've set the ASA correctly would be good to add.

-- Mark Rinella (markrinella@earthlink.net), May 28, 2002.

My M7 functions as described in the manual. I have had no problems. I agree with Roger, the only things I would really like to see is "Read my lips, no new plastic" (use of metal, insulated if necessary, for battery cover and meter switch). Also, too many red dots. They could make the manual exposure confirmation dot green (indicating go ahead and shoot) instead of red.

But in my opinion, it is the most capable M so far, because of AE, more accurate shutter speeds, and more accurate exposure due to intermediate nearly stepless speeds.

-- Eliot (erosen@lij.edu), May 28, 2002.

I purchased an M7 on March 23, it was perfect until last week. I mounted the SF20 and when I turned it on the LCD displayed ISO 125, I had Provia 160 loaded. I turned the M7 off, removed the SF20 and turned the M7 back on. The LED in the viewfinder displayed 125 for 2 seconds. I re-loaded the same film cartridge and it still shows 125, I tried a Provia 50 cartridge and the LED now showed 100 (these are factory loaded cartridges with DX coding). Installed two new batteries and the M7 still showed the wrong ISO. I took it back to my local dealer who offered to send it to Leica for repairs. I told them I was very disappointed after paying $2350 for a camera that needed to be repaired so soon, I asked for a replacement camera. They called Leica in N.J. and they said they would replace it with a brand new one but I'd have to wait because they are out of stock. I asked for a refund and they gave it to me, I’m glad I kept my M6- TTL. By the way, I did experience some VF flare on the M7 while shooting in a dark room with the subject in front of a bright window (strong backlight).

-- Amauri Nunes (amauri@attglobal.net), May 28, 2002.

Paul Chefurka wrote: ...when that comes in there will be yet more used M6's on the market

That's true IMO, I went to some shops today and discovered quite a few used classic M6's. Prices for a nice classic M6 are lower than I expected BTW. I saw a very nice chrome classic M6 for EUR 1400 (US$ 1288) and a nice Wetzlar M6 for EUR 1350 (US$ 1241).

-- Bert Keuken (treb@operamail.com), May 28, 2002.

Mark, to remove the exposed cartridge, what I do is place my left hand (I'm right handed) under the cartridge , ready to receive it, and I tap the camera ever so gently with my right hand against my left hand. It does the trick. The cartridge just drops half an inch or so and I can pull it out easily. I think I read in the M7 manual, BTW.

-- Olivier (olreiche@videotron.ca), May 28, 2002.

Have had M7 for 2ish months, or so. Shot 5 weddings with it so far ( another this coming Saturday), as well as some personal work. Pros: Totally M6 like in feel. Very nice to be able to select AE when you want it. Auto selects 1/50 when flash is mounted. Cons: Experienced an electronic freeze up a couple of times. View finder still flares. Unloading is slower, especially under pressure. The flash fires when cocking the manual shutter ( but not with the motor doing the winding ???). Use it now as first choice BUT always have a M6 with me as back-up . I do not trust it as a solo camera yet.

-- Marc Williams (mwilliams111313MI@comcast.net), May 28, 2002.

Marc,

What is different about the unloading compared with the M6. I thought they were identical in that respect.

-- David Enzel (dhenzel@vei.net), May 28, 2002.

David. Marc's point is correct. Removing the film cannister is a lttle more difficult with the M7 because of the contacts that detect the DX code (which take up some space). Thus there is a tighter fit for the film cannister. Well there is only so much space available without making a larger body. BTW, my camera does detect and set the correct ISO of the film loaded.

-- Eliot (erosen@lij.edu), May 28, 2002.

I don't think the unloading friction is a matter of space within the cassette well. Rather, it's from the fact that the DX contacts are spring-loaded. They need to be sprung to ensure good contact with the canister. In cameras with flip-open backs these contacts are on the back itself and withdraw from the canister when the back is opened. In the M7 they have to stay permanently mounted in the cassete well, so their friction interferes with getting the film out.

I agree that it's a bit of a drag...

-- Paul Chefurka (paul@chefurka.com), May 28, 2002.

Olivier,

I tried the tapping as the manual suggested, but 1) it made me nervous because the thin plate on the bottom of the camera under the base plate seemed somewhat flexible and I was worried about damaging the mechanism under it, and 2) I was expecting the canister to drop out all the way and tapping the camera sufficiently to do this seemed very likely to break something.

Having tried the method as you suggested, I now realize that you really only need to move the roll down about 1/4"-1/2" and then it becomes much easier to remove it by just pulling it out with your fingers. Very gentle tapping is all that is required. So I am all set now. Thank you.

Thanks

-- Mark Rinella (markrinella@earthlink.net), May 28, 2002.