Leica M7 Rangefinder 35mm Camera

Leica's M7 35mm compact rangefinder camera has been historically renowned for its build quality and outstanding performance, as field-tested by the most demanding photojournalists and avant-garde artists. The lens is built with the Leica M design and has a focal length of 21 to 135mm. All manual operations continue to be present, but this newest update now sports electronic control and operation with an on/off switch that starts it all.

You can now make automatic exposures with the stepless electronic shutter speed control with metered value storage. The cloth focal plane shutter has turned electronic, controlling exposure time silently and accurately. An unusual but undoubtedly useful feature is the viewfinder with LED display, a total of 33 different readings are visible to keep you on top of all the information.

With an additional flash unit installed, the second shutter curtain can trigger the flash. The two film-speed settings, manual and automatic, eliminate bad exposures that come from setting the wrong film speeds. Film loading, advance, and rewind remain manual for greater control.

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Also available in Silver

 

Product Specifications
  • Camera Type: Compact 35 mm rangefinder system camera with electronically controlled shutter plus two mechanically controlled shutter speeds
  • Lenses: Leica M lenses with focal lengths from 21 to 135 mm
  • Viewfinder Principle: Large, bright combined range- and viewfinder with bright-line frames and automatic parallax compensation. Eyepiece corrected for -0.5 diopter. Correction lenses from -3 to +3 diopters are available
  • Parallax Compensation: The horizontal and the vertical differences between the views covered by the lens and by the viewfinder are automatically corrected as the lens is focused, i.e. the bright-line frame in the viewfinder covers the same segment of the subject that the lens does
  • Large Base Rangefinder: Split-image and coincident-image rangefinder within a bright field in the center of the viewfinder image
  • Effective Measurement Base: LEICA M7 0.58: 40.2 mm /LEICA M7 0.72: 49.9 mm /LEICA M7 0.85: 58.9 mm
  • Exposure Metering: Selective through-the-lens (TTL) exposure metering at working aperture. Center-weighted integral TTL metering for flash exposures with dedicated SCA 3000 standard flash units.
  • Measurement Principle: The camera measures the light reflected by a white spot in the center of the first shutter curtain. That spot has a diameter of 12 mm and it covers approx. 13% of the full film format.
  • Metering Range (at ISO 100/21 Degrees and f/1): From 0.03 cd/qm to 125000 cd/qm. In terms of exposure values, his corresponds to EV-2 to EV-20 or 4 seconds at f/1 to 1/1000 second at f/32. The left triangular LED of the light balance in the viewfinder blinks when the reflected brightness is below the camera's metering range.
  • Film Speed Range: Choice of automatic film speed setting with DX-coded film cartridges from ISO 25/15 degrees to ISO 5000/38 degrees or manual setting from ISO 6/9 degrees to ISO 25000/45 degrees. By means of the exposure over-ride (+/- 2 EV), films with speeds ranging from ISO 1.5/3 degrees to ISO 25000/45 degrees can be used.
  • Exposure Modes: Choice of automatic control of the shutter speed - with corresponding viewfinder display - at a pre-selected f-stop (aperture-preferred automatic exposure), or manual setting of shutter speed and f-stop in accordance with the LED light balance in the viewfinder.
  • Flash Unit Connection : By means of the accessory shoe with central and control contacts (hot shoe) or via the standard flash connector socket. Synchronization: Can be triggered by the first or the second shutter curtain (with an appropriate flash unit and a SCA-3502 Adapter).
  • Flash Synch Speed: 1/50 second, set automatically in the AUTO mode; slower shutter speeds can be used with manual settings; faster shutter speeds (1/250 s, 1/500 s, 1/1000 s) can be used with manual settings if the flash unit being used offers the "High Speed Synchronization" function with an SCA-3502 Adapter.
  • Flash Exposure Metering: (with an SCA-3501/3502 Adapter, or a standard SCA-3000 flash unit such as the LEICA SF20) TTL control with center-weighted integral metering.
  • Film Speed Range for TTL Flash Exposure Metering: ISO 12/12 degrees to ISO 3200/36 degreess
  • Flash LED: Displays when flash is being used. Readiness : The flash symbol LED in the viewfinder remains lit. Flash confirmation: The LED remains lit or it temporarily blinks rapidly after the exposure. Under-exposure is indicated by a temporary extinction of the LED.
  • Viewfinder Displays Along its Lower Edge: LED symbol for flash status; four-digit, seven-segment LED digital display; display brightness adjusts automatically to ambient brightness; decimal point as well as a point above it for the indication of film speed; exposure correction warnings; the automatically generated shutter speed in the automatic mode; indication of the use of a stored exposure setting; warnings of brightness readings below or above the camera's measuring range in the automatic shutter speed mode and of exposure times longer than 2 seconds. LED light balance with two triangular and a central round LED in the manual exposure control mode.
  • Shutter: Horizontally running, rubberized cloth focal plane shutter. Extremely quiet. Controlled electronically, plus two mechanically-set shutter speeds : 1/60 s and 1/125 s.
  • Shutter Speeds: Stepless from 32 s to 1/1000 s in the 'AUTO' automatic shutter speed control mode. In the manual mode, from 4 s to 1/1000 s in full steps, plus 'B' for time exposures of any length. Flash synch speed 1/50 s.
  • Shutter Release: Three stages: energizing - metered exposure value storage - release. Release button has an integrated thread for standard cable releases.
  • Film Advancing: Manually with quick wind lever or motorized using LEICA MOTOR-M.
  • Film Rewinding: Manually with rewind lever after turning the lever to "R" on the front of the camera.
  • Film Frame Counter: On the top of the camera. Resets automatically on removal of base plate.
  • Camera Body: Enclosed all-metal body with foldable rear panel. Brass top plate and base plate, both chromium plated in black or silver.
  • Tripod Thread: A 1/4 (1/4")DIN in base plate.
  • Operating Voltage: 6 V
  • Power Supply: 2 lithium cells, type "DL 1/3 N". Battery check shown by flashing of the LEDs in the digital display or the light balance or by illumination of the display "bc" or the LEDs going out.
  • Dimensions (W x H x D): 138 x 79,5 x 38 mm
  • Weight: 610 g (without batteries)