Well built, typical Leica performance

Retrieving film was a joke!!!

This is an updated review of the one that I wrote in July of '02. I sold this camera after I handled the MP at a photo show. It was either get an MP or another M6. The 7 had to guy. One reason and only one, I got tired of trying to retrieve the film cartridge from the camera. It was always getting stuck, a problem Leica acknowledges. I could not see shaking and/or tapping a $2500. piece of photo equipment in order for the film cannister to pop out of the d*** camera. Other than that it delivered typical Leica performance, outstanding. The film problem however was totally unnaceptable. I'm giving it all ones now because this problem should not exist for a Leica camera.

Customer Service

Have not used. The film retrieval is a design problem. The price you pay for automation.

Similar Products Used:

M6, MP

It's a fast tool and it is the photographer who controls it, no autofocus which decides what to photograph - you make deceisions. The lenses is great and in low light you still know what you are pointing at.

After 100 rolls of film, I have theses problems: Shutter runs uneven at 1/1000 DX decoding unstable Always warning for +/- exposure Sometimes - one frame pr. film - I get an overexposure of 5 f stops. If high degree of moisture, then I get underexposed films 80% = 2 stops underexposures

A very good camera - maybe the best at all. But not as robust as you think.

Customer Service

Reparations takes 8 weeks

Similar Products Used:

M6 and M4P

After owning the M6TTL for a short time, upgraded to the M7 and am very pleased. Couple of irritating points to mention--first, when using the motor drive the shutter button vibrates a bit too much for my liking. Feels like it is pushing my finger upwards. I am used to the loud, but ultra smooth MD-4 on the F3HP. Any thoughts Leica people? Secondly, the film loading is painful but appears to be the best way to have contact with the pressure plate---getting the film out is the challenge and likely due to the DX encoding mechanism. After many attempts, failed and others partially sucessful---I offer this method. I carry a set of 4 inch surgical needle holders, basically small hemostats that one can rotate the film canister in the camera, lock the jaws and yank it out gracefully. Since using this method, life is good. Basic hemostats can be purchased at any place that sells anatomy supplies for medical students etc. Input on the motor drive thing would be appreciated.

Great photos unobtrusive taken. Most peple don't realize I have a camera in my hands.

The leica lesson: when you think you've loaded your film correctly watch your rewind crank - if it doesn't move your film is not loaded. I shot three rolls of phantom film before I learned that lesson.

I love this camera. I also loved the 6 but sometimes the Ae is a real plus. like when your trying not to draw attention to your self in low light street shooting. I don't know what the reviewer was talking about with the more plastic it is just not so. Also I ran low on batteries in Richmond, Va and the first place I walked had them. Also traveling in the russian far east last summer I was suprised to see batteries (I brought plenty but I was still supridsed to see them)

Customer Service

No problems yet.

Similar Products Used:

Leica M6, M5, M3

Build Quality, Smoooth operation, the best in class in every way. AE is excellent addition

Price

The ultimate rangefinder. A significant upgrade from the M6TTL despite what many may say. The AE is a great addition leaving you to expend your time and energy on focus and aperature. Beautiful build quality with the quietest shutter you will ever not hear. Not for everyone as rangefinder design poses unique issues in and of itself. If you are looking for a rangefinder there is none better. The lens's seal the deal. Unquestionably unique and nothing I have ever shot meets the results you will get with the Leica Lenses.

Customer Service

Not needed

Similar Products Used:

M6TTL

ALL METAL, you just can't go back after having owned the camera that thinks its an anvil. Lovely looks, easy use after you get over the initial rangefinder adaptation.

Not as quick as some proclaim, autofocus does have an advantage in good light and "easy scenes". Here the user can traing on rangefinder focusing, looking for vertical lines, areas of contrast etc. but still...

Previously an SLR user, Canon mostly, i had great difficulty adjusting to the "rangefinder way". However after about a forthnight of use, things startet to feel right. now after 3 months i carry it everywhere! It brought the joy back in photography, and i find myself more and more ofthen going "manual only". Increasingly getting correct (a matter of personal judgment) exposures from the centerweighted metering. Find the camera quick, specially after purchasing the Leica Motor M. The combination leica M7 and motor is a dream to handle. Pity about the expensive lenses, although the constant lookout for fine used examples is fun and enjoyable... I do however still feel it was worth the buck.

Customer Service

not needed.

Similar Products Used:

Tested M6 before purchasing

Lenses Build quality Portability I'll mention the 'click' of the shutter - it's not silent but but pretty quiet.

This camera was purchased for the reasons outlined above. The only weakness is me and my inability to save money.

Firstly, previous to my M7, I have never owned a rangefinder nor a Leica for that matter. I started with Nikon, progressed with Nikon and then went autofocus with Nikon. Over a period of time, I found auto-everything dulled my photography to the extent that I became completely dissatisfied with it. Don't worry, this is not my biography...and it is going somewhere. Not wanting to bin photography, I thought I'd change format and traded a lot of gear for a new Mamiya RZ67 and few lenses. What can I say. Wow! This camera has changed the way I photograph - it has slowed the whole process down. Lighting, shutter speed, focusing are things that I decide and this makes the experience so much more satisfying when you get great shots. However, it's not the most portable camera. I mainly use it handheld (and now have Popeye's forearms) but it's certainly not something inconspicuous that I can put in my coat pocket. So, a few months ago, after trawling through magazine reviews, internet reviews, rangefinder forums and camera shops, I made the decision to go with a Leica M7. The other two choices on the cards were a Mamiya 7 and Leica M6. "Yes...but why the M7?" I hear you cry. I've never sworn by Leicas nor lived by Leicas and it's been quite an eye-opener to see the reverence with which these holy grail-esque cameras are held. I wanted to remain with a quality camera, keep to manual focus and have portability. The Mamiya 7 was still pretty big and after I'd handled the 35mm rangefinders, I knew I'd probably stick with 35mm as my sidekick. At first I liked the idea of the Contax G series but they are autofocus - they say they have manual override but they certainly do not shine in this mode. That left Konica and the Leica series. The Konica is a great camera with a few auto bits that the Leica could learn from. The lenses for the Leica swayed me. I have read that auto-exposure will send the M7 to da**ation. Whatever.... I have been completely happy with the camera's choice of shutter speed with my choices of aperture. I have heard a lot of noise about incessant blinking red dots in the viewfinder burning holes in your retina or the ISO dial being knocked constantly knocked out of place. The people who complain are far too gadget conscious to the extreme that they are looking for faults - a lot of people making judgements don't ev

Customer Service

I hope I never have to use them

Similar Products Used:

None

the camera's strength are all of those associated with the m series generally: great build quality, great reliability, highly accurate RF focusing, extremely quiet shutter for candid work or for work in environments where shutter noise is not tolerated, and access to the truly wonderful leica lenses. every lens leica ever made, dating back to 1931 will fit the current m7, either directly or by using a chaep, readily available (now from cosina and bower) adapter ring. even nikon only has back compatability to 1959. the heft of the camera, combines with the low mass and quiet movement of the shutter (together with the obvious absence of a moving mirror) make use of very slow speeds possible handheld. another strength worth mentioning is the totally unexpected explosion in the number new non-leica (i.e. cheaper) but truly excellent lenses from mfrs like cosina/voigtlander, ricoh, kobalux, lux industries, and konica.

inevitably high price, lack of fast speeds, lack of spot metering, slow rewind and load, and lack of ability to use lenses (without adding a separate visoflex reflex housing) longer than 135mm.

i am writing just to correct some inaccuracies in the earlier reviews. i don't want potential customers to be misled. in the first instance, there is most certainly an AE lock. depress the shutter release halfway and the exposure is locked. an LED glows in the VF to confirm lock. further, as for battery availability, the camera takes either 2 3V lithium cells OR 4 of the very common 1.5V button cells (silver or lithium or alkaline or anything else). the latter type has been used in thousands of cameras and can be purchased at just about any pharmacy, grocery store, hardware store or camera store anywhere in the world. they are cheap and plentiful.

Customer Service

top notch. the warranty is actually a 3-5 year (depending on the deal you get -- there is a two year extension of the basic 3 year warranty out there if you haggle) insurance policy. whatever happens

Similar Products Used:

nikon s3, sp, leica m3, m6ttl, m6, and m2.

Built like a tank - solid German construction; New improved viewfinder glass featuring multi-coating to prevent white-out of the brightline frames; An on-off switch which also locks the shutter to prevent accidental exposures; the same accurate, centre-weighted meter as the M6 that has me using the camera on the new aperture priority mode more that I care to admit - about 80 per cent of the time! The DX-coding allows changing films with different speeds on the fly without having to worry about changing that old dial manually; It does have exposure lock in AE mode contrary to another other review - just press the shutter button halfway and a small dot appears at the base of the numbers - that is exposure lock; another innovation - that same dot will flash if a roll of film is not loaded, if the ISO is set differently than a loaded roll''s designated speed, and if the exposure compensation dial is set to anything except 0! Small point but worth noting to prevent accidental exposures.

One point to note - some folks MAY find this a weakness but I dont - when switching the camera on with the shutter dial set to AUTO expsore, the shutter cannot fire for about 3 seconds - but you can fire straight away in manual setting. Dont know why - but hey guys and girls, if u are ready to shoot a picture why have u turned the camera off in the first place - and also it takes longer than three seconds for most of use to turn the camera on, put it to your eye, focus, compose and shoot. So dont see this delay in being ready to fire a big deal. Some folks also say that the film loading is difficult. I am not doing anything more than the little diagram at the base of the camera shows and I have not miss-loaded a roll yet. For the new user it may take one or two attempts the first time, but as long as that film leader goes a decent way into the take-up spool, it will load correctly every time. The easy way to tell if its loaded properly is to watch the film rewind lever rotate anti-clock-wise when u wind on the film. If it dont rotate, u didnt load properly! The camera is expensive but you get what you pay for. You are buying into a system that has a cult following and some leica-p

The M7 is a wonderful evolution of the M camera series. It handles the same as an M6 which will please the purists, still has the classic leica feel and now with a couple of concessions to modern photography, makes the M system more user-friendly than ever before. I have used the camera for two months, putting over 100 rolls of film through it and have not needed to change the batteries yet. Yes the shutter is now battery-dependant (except mechanical settings 1/60th and 1/125th sec) but the batteries last a long time and with one set of spares handy should have it shooting for the longest of assignments - read months.

Customer Service

With or without a warranty, from my recent experience servicing a 10 year old M6 classic, customer service with Leica is first class.

Similar Products Used:

M6, M6TTL

Since we shoot chromes almost exclusively, the stepless shutter in automatic provides better exposure than the spring-driven shutters of our M4 or M6. The whiteout in the viewfinder appears to be more-or-less tamed. QWe really like that shutter - - and the on-off switch saves battery power. After almost 40 tears of using an M series, the M7 "looks like a Leica, feels like a Leica, shoous like a Leica, and the chromes have that Leica lens look." Superb

The batteries can''t be located in any store outside the center of a major metropolitan area, on either the East or West coast. We had to get extra batteries through web page mail order (PhotoVillage and/or the Battery Guys).

I started with a IIIc in 1945, graduated to an M4 in the late ''60s and to one of the first "classic" M6s. To both of us (my wife is an accomplished M user), the M7 finally fills out the Leica promise. We can use it in a complete manual mode, setting both apature and shutter speed from an incident meter: use it in a semi-automatic manual mode, setting shutter speed and rotating the apature ring until the little red dot lights up; or, use it in Auto, where we use the quasi-spot meter to home in on a Zone V, lock in, compose and shoot. It''s really a wonderful three-way camera.

Customer Service

Leica USA used on M4 and M6. Excellent. I don''t expect service on the M) will be any different. After Passport runs out, I may use either DAG or Sherry Krauter..

Similar Products Used:

M4, M6 "Classic."®