Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/04/04

[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]

Subject: Re: [Leica] M7 heaven! :-) UPDATE.
From: TTAbrahams@aol.com
Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2002 23:45:44 EST

Ted,
 I too have been pleasantly surprised by the M7. It feels like a true M and 
the exposure system is dead-on 99% of the time. Using 21/15/12 mm lenses does 
require that you do a ground reading otherwise the sky throws it a bit. What 
is truly nifty is the AE setting during long exposures. It will do up to 32 
seconds and you can watch the countdown in the viewfinder. I still find the 
release a bit "notchy" compared to the M6 and other M's. You can feel the 
various "switches" for the meter and AE-lock and it seems that the travel of 
the release is a bit longer than on the M6. It might loosen up with some more 
rolls going through it. So far I haven't taken it off the AE setting and the 
10-12 rolls shot with it have been exposed right on. One minor beef though -  
the battery-cover is prone to coming undone and I must admit that I would 
expect a bit better material in the that part. It feels a bit fragile and 
flimsy as it is made out of some plastic. The "lock" on the camera is a good 
idea. No way you will get those "interior shots of camerabag" anymore and it 
will probably save a lot of battery waste too. I also dread a leak in a 
battery as it would make the second battery almost impossible to get out if 
there was any kind of corrosion around it. It is also a very quiet M, less 
shutter-sound than the M6, almost like an old well used M2 or M3. As for 
longevity it remains to be seen. I suspect that the new shutter control 
system is a bit more complex than the old one, but one can always hope that 
it has been thoroughly tested prior to introduction. Well, at least every 18 
years  they do come up with a new camera for us to try out.
 Earlier this week I also got my Bessa R2 from Voigtlander/Cosina. This is a 
modern M2 as it has a meter built in and a very good viewfinder as well as 
M-mount. Comes in black and olive green. A bit noisier shutter than the M, 
but 1/125 flash synch speed and 1/2000 top speed. 35/50/75/90 frame lines 
with manual switching (like an old Canon V and VI). Of course for what you 
pay for a M7 you can get a couple of Bessa R2's and 15/25/50/75 or 90 mm 
lenses. No more plastic either, all metal body in diecast magnesium. - All 
this camera testing is hard work but somebody got to do it!
All the best and good shooting Ted!
 Tom A

Tom Abrahamsson
Vancouver, BC
Canada
rapidwinder.com
- --
To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html

Replies: Reply from Feliciano di Giorgio <feli@d2.com> (Re: [Leica] M7 heaven! :-) UPDATE.)
Reply from Ted Grant <tedgrant@shaw.ca> (Re: [Leica] M7 heaven! :-) UPDATE.)