luigi bertolotti Posted May 25, 2018 Share #21 Posted May 25, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) It'll be also interesting to know, now that production is officially stopped, how many they have built in those 15/16 years : my speculation is that they haven't reached 50.000 items… the various M6s went globally over 200.000, iirc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted May 25, 2018 Posted May 25, 2018 Hi luigi bertolotti, Take a look here Leica M7 now discontinued. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
earleygallery Posted May 25, 2018 Share #22 Posted May 25, 2018 Does anyone know how serviceable the M7 will be in the future ? Are the electronics going to be a problem ? At some point, they definitely will. I had an R3 from new which developed a shutter fault. After trying a few independent repairers with no joy I visited Leica Mayfair. Even Leica wouldn't touch it citing parts as an issue. As the camera has sentimental value I suggested I could source a working R3 and provide it for them to use for any necessary parts but even that was a no-go. Apparently replacing the shutter involves a lot of recalibration of the speeds and metering. I guess at Leica's rates even if they could do it I'd be looking at an astronomical bill! Meanwhile working R3's can be bought for anything from about £80 up depending on condition. I just bought another in nice condition for £100. As for the M7, my guess is that shutter faults will be a problem in the future and as with the R3, it will make more economical sense to buy another working example than trying to repair a faulty one. Maybe Leica will release some kind of statement in respect of their plans for service support for the M7. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
01af Posted May 25, 2018 Share #23 Posted May 25, 2018 ... now that production is officially stopped ... Why do you believe production was "officially stopped"? Just because leicarumors.com says so? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
indergaard Posted May 25, 2018 Share #24 Posted May 25, 2018 It is gone from Leica Mayfair’s web site, so I can only assume that the rumor is true. This is very very bad from my perspective. The M7 is the most capable M-series film body that Leica has made, and it is my primary workhorse. If Leica is no longer making - and presumably supporting - them, then my main rationale for shooting Leica goes out of the window. I also really dislike the way that this has been (non) announced. If there had been notice of a final product run, I would have ordered at least one additional body. It also raises the question as to how much longer the two remaining film bodies will be supported. Presumably the issue is a lack of components and insufficient demand to justify designing/building modern replacements. In the recent Luminous Landscape interviews at Leica, it was even stated by Leica themselves that they only have ONE person assembling and servicing analog cameras in Wetzlar, because it takes a special skillset that almost nobody has. So if that one person is hit by the buss, or decides to get a different job, or retires, then... Well. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ko.Fe. Posted May 25, 2018 Share #25 Posted May 25, 2018 BH now shows silver M7 as discontinued. Anyone is willing to call BH as fake ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
01af Posted May 25, 2018 Share #26 Posted May 25, 2018 The M7 is the most capable M-series film body that Leica has made, and it is my primary workhorse. If Leica is no longer making—and presumably supporting—them, then my main rationale for shooting Leica goes out of the window. Don't be silly! Thousands of Leica shooters today are selling, acquiring, and using M3, M2, M4, M6 etc. cameras and have them serviced on a regular basis. So even if the M7 really was discontinued now, how would the situation for M7 shooters be any different from those who are happily using M models discontinued decades ago? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted May 25, 2018 Share #27 Posted May 25, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) This is very very bad from my perspective. The M7 is the most capable M-series film body that Leica has made, and it is my primary workhorse. If Leica is no longer making - and presumably supporting - them, then my main rationale for shooting Leica goes out of the window. Well there's no need to panic, there's probably a fair amount of new M7's sitting on dealers shelves so you could buy a couple to store for future use, or should you need another M7 down the line, buy secondhand. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pgk Posted May 25, 2018 Share #28 Posted May 25, 2018 I had an R3 from new which developed a shutter fault. After trying a few independent repairers with no joy I visited Leica Mayfair. Even Leica wouldn't touch it citing parts as an issue. Meanwhile working R3's can be bought for anything from about £80 up depending on condition. I just bought another in nice condition for £100. The R3 is around 40 years old now so I'd say that those that are working are a pretty good advertisement for old electronic cameras. I see no reason for an M7 to fail faster than an R3 unless the circuitry fitted really is substantially more complex and less robust. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted May 25, 2018 Share #29 Posted May 25, 2018 Ah this really sucks. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted May 25, 2018 Share #30 Posted May 25, 2018 (edited) BH now shows silver M7 as discontinued. Anyone is willing to call BH as fake ? The black model is not listed as discontinued, so maybe we have a half-truth, an evolving situation. Edited May 25, 2018 by pico Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted May 25, 2018 Share #31 Posted May 25, 2018 The black model is not listed as discontinued, so maybe we have a half-truth, an evolving situation. That probably just means they have black M7's left in stock. Any word from HQ? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pedaes Posted May 25, 2018 Share #32 Posted May 25, 2018 Article from David Farkus here https://www.reddotforum.com/content/2018/05/leica-m7-film-camera-discontinued/ which is as good as a word from HQ. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith (M) Posted May 25, 2018 Share #33 Posted May 25, 2018 Well, hopefully my youthful (not something I can say of myself) black M7 will continue to serve me well and when I'm no longer around, ditto for one of my sons! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anbaric Posted May 25, 2018 Share #34 Posted May 25, 2018 Don't be silly! Thousands of Leica shooters today are selling, acquiring, and using M3, M2, M4, M6 etc. cameras and have them serviced on a regular basis. So even if the M7 really was discontinued now, how would the situation for M7 shooters be any different from those who are happily using M models discontinued decades ago? The R3 is around 40 years old now so I'd say that those that are working are a pretty good advertisement for old electronic cameras. I see no reason for an M7 to fail faster than an R3 unless the circuitry fitted really is substantially more complex and less robust. The difference is serviceable life. An M7 might well work for 40 years with no problems. But if you're unlucky, the electronics might die after 15 years (about the age of a now unserviceable M6 TTL light meter) with no repair available - it's not as if every M7 has been trouble-free up to now. I'd bet more money on my IIIa being repairable on its centenary in 2036 than on an M7 having the same option. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utz Nagal Posted May 25, 2018 Share #35 Posted May 25, 2018 We can always watch "Eurotrip". 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anbaric Posted May 25, 2018 Share #36 Posted May 25, 2018 We can always watch "Eurotrip". Good point. Never mind the service life thing - live in the moment! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianman Posted May 25, 2018 Share #37 Posted May 25, 2018 In the recent Luminous Landscape interviews at Leica, it was even stated by Leica themselves that they only have ONE person assembling and servicing analog cameras in Wetzlar, because it takes a special skillset that almost nobody has. So if that one person is hit by the buss, or decides to get a different job, or retires, then... Well. I could be wrong, but I saw the interview and didn't understand what was said in the way you do. I understood it as though many people are involved in the assembly of a digital camera, a film camera is assembled by one person from start to finish. They didn't mention that there is only one person assembling film cameras. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianman Posted May 25, 2018 Share #38 Posted May 25, 2018 The recent panic over M6 TTL meter repairs are an example of this. The components needed to build the metering circuit are no longer available, ... I thought the M6 meter is exactly the same as the MP meter and they are certainly still available. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted May 25, 2018 Share #39 Posted May 25, 2018 (edited) The difference is serviceable life. An M7 might well work for 40 years with no problems. But if you're unlucky, the electronics might die after 15 years (about the age of a now unserviceable M6 TTL light meter) with no repair available - it's not as if every M7 has been trouble-free up to now. I'd bet more money on my IIIa being repairable on its centenary in 2036 than on an M7 having the same option. The electronics concern me. Even if the camera stays in storage with the batteries removed, age can take its toll. I do not understand the issue thoroughly; there were mentions that manufacturers had to move from leaded solder to something that 'whiskers', degrades in time. Perhaps one of our more informed members can clarify that. Edited May 25, 2018 by pico Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted May 25, 2018 Share #40 Posted May 25, 2018 The difference is serviceable life. An M7 might well work for 40 years with no problems. But if you're unlucky, the electronics might die after 15 years (about the age of a now unserviceable M6 TTL light meter) with no repair available - it's not as if every M7 has been trouble-free up to now. I'd bet more money on my IIIa being repairable on its centenary in 2036 than on an M7 having the same option. You reminded me of something the guy at Leica told me. Apparently the R3 is generally very reliable because they used ceramic pcb's in the circuitry, which are more robust than the type used in the R4 and subsequent models which deteriorate over time, causing connections to fail. I'm not at all knowledgable about this just passing on what I was told. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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