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M7 Longevity - Next 30 Years


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I would guess an M7 has as good a chance, if not better, lasting 30 or even 40 years as any Nikon/Canon/Minolta/Pentax, etc film SLR from the 1970's has, at this point probably going on at least a decade or more since electronic replacement components have being available to service them.

 

Beyond some time period, an amount of luck is going to be involved as there will be those odd-bodies that give up sooner than others, but there are thousands of film SLR's available today that are decades old and in just as good a shooting condition as the day they rolled off the assembly line.

 

Chances are, an M7 is going to outlast your enjoyment of it, if not outlasting you, literally...

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I would worry about 30 years from now. 

 

But if you are scared about electronic issues, buy a M-A no electronics at all) and shoot sunny 16 or/and buy a cheap light meter. I use a Sekonic L-398A is a classic analog self-powered incident/reflected meter. I also use the Sekonic L-358 and the Sekonic L-608, but the L-398A is more liberating

 

I shoot with a M-A & a M7, both are perfect and i think that if you are not feeling confident about the M7 in the next 30 years, then buy something else. I own 3 different M7 bodies and i don't care. 

 

It's your choice.

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I would go for the M6 classic, pre TTL version if you can't live without an integrated light meter or an M4 / M3 if you are ok with using an external or an attached light meter.

I very much doubt that an M7 would work for 20 years let alone more. Plus it is likely that the batteries would be obsolete in a decade or two.

My mechanical Leica iii from early 1951 and an M3 from 1959 works like a charm and is still a looker! I am sure it could be serviced in 50 years without many issues.

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@hallam0012,

 

Since Leica's alleged guarantee of parts availability seems to have shrunken from 30 years down to a mere 10, I would suggest sending your M7 off to Sherry Krauter or DAG for an overhaul when it is 9 1/2 years old.  Parts will still be available (in theory) and having the camera serviced will bring it back to new specs and reset the longevity clock for your M7. 

 

You could also do some research to find out what parts most commonly fail in an M7 and stockpile those parts for future repairs when parts are no longer available; some would consider that over the top, though.

 

Also keep in mind that sometimes Leica repair people will stockpile parts or have cameras that are no longer operational that they scavenge parts from.  

 

Nothing will last forever, but your M7 should have a long and productive life, particularly if you exercise some common sense precautions when using it.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just to remind everyone there has been no official discontinuation notice from Leica

 

Leica guarantees digital cameras parts 10 years after production cease OR an assisted upgrade (which happened with M8 coffee screens)

 

No doubt film camera parts would continue further into the future

 

The circuit board in the M7 is very simple and I am sure they could be made in perpetuity on demand in flexifab

 

rgds

Edited by colonel
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  • 3 months later...
  • 2 months later...
On 7/17/2018 at 4:52 AM, Paul Verrips said:

Nice.

Why do you need 3?

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34 minutes ago, TG14 said:

Nice.

Why do you need 3?

i don't need 3. Just felt in love a few times because of the different look of these 3.

I started with the chrome one, which Leica converted for me in Ostrich leather with M6 millenium style.
Then i bought the flag as a collection item, but also used it. Later on i bought a cheap black chrome M7 which Leica converted for me in this BP version with M6 millenium style.

Nowadays i work with my M-A and sometimes i take the BP M7. 

Edited by Paul Verrips
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Horses for courses but you seem incredibly OCD cautious to me, even with the added consideration of the type of VF as a hedge against your eyes deteriorating.

I don't think you are approaching this the right way.  

If the M7 is in good working order it should definitely give you lots of years of enjoyment.  Considering you can get them now for between $1200 and $1500, even 5 good years of use translates into a dollar a day cost.  And it's not even that b/c even if you hit a snag it will have some kind of floor value.  Let's say that is $500 just for discussion purposes.  That is only $700-$500 of cost to you in the 5 years of usage.  That is pennies a day.   It should last you even longer than that which makes your per day usage even more infinitesimal.

My bottom line question is why you are being such an old lady?  Just buy one and have fun!

Edited by A miller
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57 minutes ago, A miller said:

Horses for courses but you seem incredibly OCD cautious to me, even with the added consideration of the type of VF as a hedge against your eyes deteriorating

A tender point, but realistic.

 

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1 hour ago, A miller said:

Horses for courses but you seem incredibly OCD cautious to me, even with the added consideration of the type of VF as a hedge against your eyes deteriorating.

I don't think you are approaching this the right way.  

If the M7 is in good working order it should definitely give you lots of years of enjoyment.  Considering you can get them now for between $1200 and $1500, even 5 good years of use translates into a dollar a day cost.  And it's not even that b/c even if you hit a snag it will have some kind of floor value.  Let's say that is $500 just for discussion purposes.  That is only $700-$500 of cost to you in the 5 years of usage.  That is pennies a day.   It should last you even longer than that which makes your per day usage even more infinitesimal.

My bottom line question is why you are being such an old lady?  Just buy one and have fun!

Why not read the whole thread first??

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