Another M7 thread (you may want to read this one)

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For those interested...

M7 changes:

AE Aperture Priority 1/1000th to 4sec on dial 1/1000th to 32sec in AE mode On/off switch on shutter release mount DX coding w/manual overide and exposure compensation +/-2 Flash sync at 1/50 (any flash) Flash sync to 1/1000 with Metz unit Top plate is Brass, not Zinc No Leica script on top plate 1/60 and 1/125 without batteries Shutter readout in finder when in AE mode 2 3v Lithium cells power everything No change in dimensions from M6TTL

** The shutter is quieter than the M6 and M6 TTL -- hard to believe...

-- Withheld... (anonymous@email.com), February 16, 2002

Answers

Sorry it ran together

-- Withheld... (anonymous@email.com), February 16, 2002.

Since you appear to be "in the know", I have a few questions:

Is the AE "stepless"? ie; do we get 1/467 shutter speed if that is what the meter calls for, or do we get the closest whole speed of 1/500?

How much quieter is the shutter? I have noticed the black-paint M6TTL's are a bit quieter than the standard models, and have always assumed this was due to the brass top plate vs zinc. Can you clarify and quantify?

I assume effective flash output power is greatly reduced as shutter speed increases over 1/50th -- Correct?

Thanks!

-- Jack Flesher (jbflesher@msn.com), February 16, 2002.


Shutter is stepless... I have seen the viewfinder display change, but it is probably only in 1/4 or 1/2 stops.

Shutter is quieter than M6, but I cannot verify next to a black paint body. Sound is distinctly different.

Flash output is electronically controlled, which would decrease or increase when called for.

-- Withheld... (anonymous@email.com), February 16, 2002.


Very nice if true, but I must withhold judgment, as we have recently had people just make up things out of the ether on this forum.

-- Eliot (erosen@lij.edu), February 16, 2002.

Hmmm, lots of mysterious things going on in Leica land....New R camera due at year's end, said to have built in motor and pop-up flash...

Why can't you people just give us you real name.....

-- deepthroat (nixon@spiro.net), February 16, 2002.



Personally, I won't believe anything until I see it. DX coding sure seems real unlikely given where the film canister is held in an m6.

-- Tristan Tom (tt@tristan.net), February 16, 2002.

Withheld,

you wrote "For those interested...". It is nice to know that you seem to have informed yourself, so that you can inform others too, but I myself am not interested in an M7. Maybe one, or two or three years after the thingy ever appears on the market, but not now.

Mike

-- Michael Kastner (kastner@zedat.fu-berlin.de), February 16, 2002.


Withheld--

I appreciate the info. Please excuse the snarling from the Leica cubs. They all woke up on the wrong side of the bed today. Their mother will come in & give them all a good kick soon enough.

Your observations sound genuine, & plausible. The flash sync w/ Metz to 1/1000 is an important leap. No change in dimensions sounds typical recent Leica (remember the disaster w/ the larger M5?) DX coding seems least likely, but if the internal works have been redesigned, why not? All welcome changes, 15 years behind the curve. I'll hang on to my TTL, but new buyers won't argue with these changes, if real...

-- Patrick (pg@patrickgarner.com), February 16, 2002.


How about a real advancement like a fater shutter, maybe up to at least 1/2000 sec. That would be a practical improvement rather that AE for those who can't use manual or are too slow. AE in an M6 will then have everyone own a Leica- who can afford one.......do we want this.....no.....go buy Canon! .....Oh shit I'm becomming a Leica snob.

I am just sick of stopping down in daylight with my 35/1.4.

-- Kristian (leicashot@hotmail.com), February 16, 2002.


Do you know what the readout will look like in the finder? How will we know what the shutter speed is in aperature prioity?

-- jay goldman (goldman@math.umn.edu), February 16, 2002.


The only item of interest is the quieter shutter.

-- Bob Haight (rhaigh5748@aol.com), February 16, 2002.

We owned two CLE's, but sold them because of the relatively non-compatible viewfinder masks and smaller-magnification viewfinder. Just think: a CLE-type stepless AE shutter in an M6.x or "M7" body. What could be nicer?

Yes, we can hear the screams from the people who will complain about the shutter going bonkers if the battery fails - - but, a couple of those extra little silver batteries won't weigh that much in your shirt pocket. We'll agree that if you're going to climb Mt. Ranier, Mt McKinley or Everest, that a purely mechanical, sturdy shutter is a must; however, if you're going to use a camera in those conditions, IOHO, AE would really be a secondary issue, and your present M2, M3, M4, M5 or M6 should make that trip!

We really loved our CLE's, as they permitted us to get the DOF we wanted - - and the AE shutter did the rest.

Just our two c ents

George and Pat

-- George C. Berger (gberger@his.com), February 16, 2002.


Okay, as a Leica cub, I've got a question. Is the M-7 as big a battery eater as the M-6 and, especially, the M-6 TTL.

I want one anyone but want to know.

-- Alex Shishin (shishin@pp.iij4-u.or.jp), February 16, 2002.


Alex, I'm sure you already know this, but just in case any brand new readers don't...

My M6 TTL is now battery eater. I do use it often, and do turn it off, but only when I carry it anywhere (in a bag, or around my neck w or w/o half-case, or in my backpack).

-- Michael Kastner (kastner@zedat.fu-berlin.de), February 17, 2002.


after three months of daily use with very seldom on the off-position it's still the same battery for my m6ttl. not bad, isn't it?

-- stefan randlkofer (geesbert@yahoo.com), February 17, 2002.


I think the 'battery drain' on the M6 TTL is a bit of a myth, conjured up by people who still think 'B' is 'OFF'. But I wonder what 32 sec exposures will do to the battery in the M7, surely they would need beefing up to cope?

-- Steve Barnett (barnet@globalnet.co.uk), February 17, 2002.

I'm still with the battery my M6 TTL came with after more than a year and approx. 2 rolls/month. I use the off switch if I am not using it for longer time.

--Bernd

-- Bernd Kunze (bkunze@gmx.net), February 17, 2002.


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