Leica starter system MP or M7

[murchu]

> [Fuji have cracked this problem via a diopric adjustment wheel on their most recent digital cameras. Leitz, in their highly conservative environment, will probably have done so in around 3 - 5 years hence. I, for one, await their deliberations.]

 

[missmiw]

They've done it on the Digilux 2. Ajustable +/- 4 D.

niels

 

[dmchadderton]

Update ....

Finally got around to ordering a Leica etc after 6-8 mths of stalling and other projects ...

I ordered;

M7, 0.72
Tri-Elmar
Voigtlander CH 75/f2.5
Billingham Combo M bag
(all in black)

Total cost so far was around £3700 from Robert Whites in Dorset.

I intend to buy a faster lens when I figure out which focal length I need to be fast - I still wnat the new 50/1.4, but rumours abound that the CV 40/1.4 is a very good lens for the considerably lower price ... I'd also kind of like the 35/1.4, but then again, I guess most of these are on all your wishlists too.

(P.S. I can't recommend Robert Whites enough - the service so far has been outstanding!)

 

[agp]

THis is just a personal view, but I have had both. I sold the M7 (at a considerable loss) and bought an MP.
The M7 felt a little flaky, and it used a lot of battery. It didn't feel like a Leica. Bought the MP, and it seemed to me like an M2 (my favourite camera) made even better. Never regretted the MP, and it is a joy to use. Ironically the most significant 'problem' is the meter. Bought a 3f recently, and used the sunny 16 rule to guess the exposure. Excellent pictures, by guesswork.

Tempted with the MP to meter too much. Would be necessary for transparency film, but I now guess exposures more with that as well.
Hated the M7.

Someone else has mentioned bags. I have sold most of mine since I bought a new Domke f2. Best bag I have ever used. Looks nothing special, tough, shove it in the washing machine when dirty. A bag I USE happily, without fussing about it.

 

[mattinasi]

> Funny, I'm the opposite. I had an M2 and loved it, but hated the > external meter. I could only use it for B&W negative films. I > traded it for an M6 and had great luck with that, excellent meter, > nice camera. Then I upgraded to an M7 and really got going! The > Aperture Priority mode just worked - nearly all the time, with my > favorite slide films. And I shot the heck out of it for three years > on only two sets of batteries - never a single problem. I wish I > still had the M7, now I'm back to a more humble economy and an > older SM body and lens, really wishing I had an M7 and Summilux again.

It's all a matter of taste, they are all great cameras. I like the freedom of aperture priority, and the reliability was never a problem. I hate having to worry about fiddling with shutter speeds when I'm shooting fast in changing light - the camera does the work, I just decide how much I want in focus. But, some folks obviously have no problems with metering by hand (or by eye) and hate worrying about batteries.

I'm seriously looking at the CV R3a lately - surely not an MP or M7 in terms of smoothness, quietness, or price, but a nice way to get back to using Leica glass with aperture priority.

Cheers! - marc