[Leica] PMA'd out and the M7

[TTAbrahams@aol.com]

We are back after 9 days on the "road". The trip included 4 days at the Nikon 
Historical Society's biannual meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona and after that 4 
days at PMA in Orlando, Florida. It was my first trip since I got sick so it 
was much anticipated. Too much time had passed without meeting with friends 
and discussing important subjects like cameras, where to eat, more cameras, 
and where to eat after that! Part of the reason for going to PMA was to see 
the new M7, although most of it was to meet with Bill Rosauer, Dick Gladden 
(LHSA President), Ed Schwartzreich, Sal DiMarco, John Barnabas, and friends 
from Leica Germany and USA. I had seen the M7 in a variety of disguises and 
as drawings and parts in Solms. My feeling was lukewarm as the idea of an AE 
M camera really did not turn my crank and I went to PMA with the feeling that 
this would be the end result. I was handed a black M7 and spent the better 
part of two days shooting with it and came away with a certain admiration for 
the camera. It is still a Leica M at heart; it feels like a TTL and behaves 
like one too. Once I got it in my hands I quickly substituted the regular 
baseplate for a Rapidwinder and set the camera to Auto function. In its 
manual mode it is another TTL so my mission was to see how well the AE 
function operated. I am happy to report that I like it! The AE function makes 
it usable as a street shooter's camera; just set the aperture and go forth 
shooting.
Amazingly enough the M7 feels quieter than the M6TTL, almost at the sound 
level of a well run-in double stroke M3. Finders and controls are logical to 
a long term M-user, nothing new there and Leica claims that they have solved 
the glare-problem that has been dogging the M6TTL's. I saw no flare in use so 
maybe they did it and I will give them the benefit of doubt. The "tester" was 
a 0,72 version and I have never had much of a problem with flare in that 
version anyway. The finder display of the shutterspeed was a tad too bright 
for my taste, but the camera I used was a very early one (# 47) and Stefan 
Daniel (Leica, Solms) assured me that it has been adjusted in the production 
models. I did not have an instruction book as Bill Rosauer had left that in 
his jacket at the hotel so throughout the 48 hours I suffered from the 
misunderstanding that the M7 did not have an AE-lock. Upon returning the 
camera, I asked Stefan about this omission and he promptly showed me the 
AE-lock function. You depress the shutterspeed dial slightly further than at 
"reading mode" and it will freeze the setting. Nice touch! Oh, the M7 works 
very well with the Softrelease too. In fact, I think it needs it, as the 
release is slightly "notchy" in feel. This stems from the fact that the 
downward pressure on the release engages contacts that switches on the meter 
and also engages the AE-lock. Leica even had made a small batch of their own 
Softreleases, not as nice as mine (so I am biased) as it has a smaller 
diameter "head" on it, thus negating the benefit of "2nd finger joint 
release" action. It can be said though that the Leica M7 Softrelease works 
very well on the Bessa R and T.
 The On/Off switch under the advance lever is a long awaited feature, should 
have been on the M6/M6TTL from day one! Unfortunately, it is somewhat 
confusing as it shows a red dot in locked position but no indicator dot in 
"live" mode. I prefer indicators to show active functions rather than a 
"non-function".  It is also difficult to see the red dot on a black body in 
low light, although that is a minor beef as a quick glance in the viewfinder 
will confirm if the camera is on or not. When you switch it on it will 
display the ASA setting of the film (at least if the camera is in DX mode) 
for about 2 seconds after which the shutterspeed display takes over.
 In short, I have only a couple of niggling negatives about the M7. The 
On/Off switch and the "over" bright display among them and in the display 
case, it has been fixed in production models. Now the other question is: is 
this a revolutionary camera? No, I do not think so; it is more of an 
alternative to any M6 out there. It offers some features that are welcome, 
but as a whole, it is not as big a deal as Leica has made it. It is well 
built with a proper top-plate in brass (which offers up possibilities of a 
rainbow of coloured M7's in the future!). It is amazingly quiet, the exposure 
system is convenient to use, and quite precise (particularly if one figures 
out the AE-lock, which is no fault of Leica's by any means). It seems that 
the price is going to be around $2,300 or so in US$. Not cheap by any means, 
but Leica never really catered to low-cost cameras anyway. Would I buy one? 
In fact, I have ordered one and according to Leica USA shipments should be 
prompt. Let's see about that. I would also suggest that prospective buyers 
buy Leica USA "sanctioned" M7's as I assume that the 3-year warranty applies 
to these cameras. This is a relatively new technology (for Leica at least) 
and I would prefer to have the security of being able to send it to Leica USA 
for a repair or quick fix if needed. At least I have already been "trained" 
to carry spare batteries with the M6TTL as the M7 defaults to 1/60 and 1/125 
of a second when the batteries die!
  There were more things at PMA. I had the opportunity to try out the Bessa 
R2 (the Bessa with M-mount). This is the new Bessa and it is a great camera. 
For about US$525-550 you get a M2 with a built in meter and all metal body 
(Magnesium top-plate/base and backdoor) and for another $100 you get it in 
Olive Green too. The camera feels rock solid, almost like an old Contax 
II/III. I will do a separate write up on that camera and some of the new 
lenses for it. I did try out the Konica 21-35 M-mount lens on the M7 and will 
let you know how that one worked once I get those films processed.
 It was great to travel again, and in spite of having my shoes X-rayed in 
Phoenix, it was a smooth trip. 
All the best,
Tom A

Tom Abrahamsson
Vancouver, BC
Canada
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