Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/04/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Hi Tom, Great to have the update on the M7, but I'm holding off on purchasing until the price comes down, more cameras are in use and any potential R8 like electrical gremlin's are shaken out. Incidentally, I did have a look at Leica's offerings at the local road show a week and a half ago where I met some of the Lisle-Kelco people and Kai Anderson of Leica Germany. When I asked Kai about the (well known here) flare problem with Leica M's, Kai promptly professed to "know nothing about a "range finder flare problem - never heard of such thing". (Gee and I didn't even mention the war!) I am looking forward to reading a future review of the Bessa R2 (my daughter's is in the mail). I hope the R2 arrives when Melissa's at school so I can check it out just to make sure every thing works well! Regards, Greg PS: I'm not in Vancouver this weekend so I don't think you'll be needing the Tri-X. TTAbrahams@aol.com wrote: > I have put about 35 rolls through the M7 in the last 4 weeks and I am >getting a bit of a feel for the camera. It has been left on the "Auto" >setting for the majority of the shots, except for a couple of forays into >"compensation mode" to accommodate excess sky and specular highlights on the >subject. So far so good. Battery drain seems negligible and apart from my >initial impression of the chintzy battery cover (has come off twice!) and the >reverse "dot" on the On/Off button, the camera has performed well. The >battery cover problem is particularly noticeable when you swing the camera >into a vertical position. The natural grip is to have your hand gripping the >body on the right side and it is very easy to allow a finger to rest on the >cover. As it only needs a quarter turn to come off, it is too easy to apply >pressure on the cover and when you swing the camera, the finger turns the >cover and suddenly it is loose! > One interesting benefit of using the M7 is that old lenses like the 50/3,5 >Elmar and variations of that design are highly workable. You no longer need >to stick your finger on the front-element to change apertures. Just leave the >lens at optimum aperture and blast away. This might make me go back to a >Summarex 85 at some time or any old lens with rotating aperture mount. Would >be a great combo with a Nikkor 105/2,5 for portraits too. > Using slower lenses and films does bring about a risk of camera-shake >though. If you do not watch the display, you can suddenly find yourself at >"shaky" speeds 1/12,1/20 s quicker than you thought. It is also a camera that >occasionally brings out the fact that the M's only has a 1/1000 top-speed. >More than once have I seen the flashing 1/1000 s indicator while using my >Elmar 50/3,5 wide-open. This could also be a result from not being used to >that big overhead lightsource that has been absent for quite a while here in >the Northwest. Well, spring has at last sprung and 100 ASA and slower are now >exposable, even with handheld cameras. > I have been shooting side by side with the M7 and the Bessa R2 and >admittedly, more film has gone through the R2 than the M7. I particularly >like the bright viewfinder of the R2 and it allows me to use 35's without >having to "hunt" for framelines. The M7 is a 0,72 and even the 35 lines are >close to what you can see with glasses. The magnification on the R2 is the >same (0,70) but the eye-relief is greater. > Is the M7 worth the (currently) almost extra $ 400-450 over the M6 TTL. Not >really. I feel that it should be the same or within $100 of the TTL and I >hope that it will drop down to that level soon enough and then I might even >get a 0,58 version of one to round out the "user" cameras. > The sun is shining and 100 ASA ACROS is loaded in the M7 so it is time to go >forth and try out my Shanghai 58 50/3,5 against the Elmar 50/3,5 and the Fed >50/3,5 as well as the 50/3,5 Heliar. >The R2 will have its usual load of Tri-X and the 50/2,5 on it, just in case >the clouds roll in. >Tom A > >Tom Abrahamsson >Vancouver, BC >Canada >rapidwinder.com >-- >To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html > - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html