Customer Reviews

Leica M7 10546 35mm Rangefinder Camera with 0.72 Viewfinder and 50mm f/2.0 Lens (Black)

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This starter kit is aimed for the well-heeled amateur photographer who is interested in the finest 35mm camera available. Although Leica purists may say that the Leica MP is the finest, I disagree since the Leica M7 has more features, most notably aperture priority automation and TTL (Through The Lens) flash, for the same price as the all mechanical MP. Unfortunately, the bad news is that unlike the MP, this rangefinder camera is virtually dead except for two shutter speeds if your batteries die out. And yet despite this inconvenience, the Leica M7 is the quietest, best handling Leica M rangefinder camera I've come across. It comes with a 50mm f2 Summicron-M lens which may not be the best 50mm lens currently available, but is still a fine performer, capable of taking fine photographs even under low light conditions with fast color or black and white film. Both the Leica M7 and 50mm f2 Summicron-M lens comprise an excellent introduction to the Leica M rangefinder system and 35mm rangefinder photography.

Is the Leica M7 a 35mm camera for everyone? Of course the answer is no, since a rangefinder camera, unlike a single lens reflex (SLR) camera, has a very limited range of lenses. It is superb with wide angle and normal lenses since it is often easier to focus with a rangefinder than a SLR, and can be as fast, if not faster, than the latest autofocus SLRs. The Leica truly excels as the ideal tool for discrete documentary photography, producing what the late Henri Cartier-Bresson referred to as the "decisive moment" photograph. So if you care deeply about making great documentary photography images, then perhaps either the Leica M7 or MP should be your camera.

The Leica M is not recommendable for beginners. It lacks all the bells and whistles (no autofocus, no zoom lenses, etc.)that popular advertisement wants to make you believe are mandatory. You buy a Leica if you want to be in control of picture composition and creation and of course you buy a Leica M if you want to take pictures in low light situations. The rangefinder is significantly brighter than an SLR viewfinder. Finally and probably the most important reason to buy a Leica M is the lens quality. The quality, contrast and sharpness all the way out to the edges of the image are unsurpassed. I have not been using filters to enhance contrast, which I routinely did with my Canon SLR. A Leica M is also quite liberating, because all focal lengths are fixed - no more zooming around. What you have is what you get. And you get a lot.