As I've said in my previous post, I've been looking for an M7 body to substitute my M6 (which I sold in two days). In doing the research, I've learned a few things about buying an M7 and I thought there would be many people who'd like to hear what I've learned.
Two versions of the viewfinder
First, the original viewfinder for the M7 had the same 'white-out' problem that the M6 has. When you are pointing to a bright scene, your focusing patch turns white (bright) which makes it impossible to focus at all. Leica fixed the problem by installing the MP finder some time around 2003 and they've been providing upgrade at varying cost (I was recently offered to upgrade free of charge).
I've been trying to find out how I can tell whether a M7 body has an MP finder or not, and there are many different theories. One thing for sure is that you can't really tell by just looking at the body from the outside. Some people say if the body has a serial number higher than 288xxx, it is an upgraded version, but there are conflicting proofs. In fact, when I asked the seller this question, he made a call to Leica and was told that there is no way to know this just by looking at the serial number. Another theory is that the MP finder has different coating with different colorcast (orange or purple), which also has conflicting reports so its useless. Therefore, the best way to find this out is to look into the viewfinder and see if it whites out. I've got a tip from Dennis Cheng, who says you can find this out by doing the following:
Special versions: Flag models and the "Betriebsk" edition
There are perhaps many other models, but these two special models caught my attention because they were available in the market and were sometimes quite affordable. The flag versions have a national flag on top of the camera. They come in different countries with different availability. 100 US version is said to have been sold to the public and it is relatively easy to get. They were meant to be used as a demo unit, but apparantly some dealers wanted to promote them as collector's items. I learned, through the hard way, that they don't come with the MP finder. The US version has the "Test Camera USA" engraving above the flag.
The Betriebsk edition was also produced as the demo unit for dealers, and has the word "Betriebsk" on the top plate. I don't know how they are different from the regular versions, but I heard that there is a good chance that it comes with a MP finder. Here is what B&H says about the Betriebsk.
This camera is the special edition "Betriebsk." version. The term Betriebsk. refers to a test camera or factory camera. In the past, Betriebsk. cameras were highly sought after by collectors because of the very limited number of cameras available with this designation. Produced in a very limited quantity, this camera is brand new, unused, with full warranty.
Here are some links to the discussions related to this model: Photo.net Leica Forum
After all the research, I've decided to get a 'standard' version with MP finder. I don't know if I'm gonna have any real problem with the original finder, but I know that it will affect the resale price. I just felt 'safe' to buy what every one else is buying, I guess.
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After all the research, I've decided to get a 'standard' version with MP finder. I don't know if I'm gonna have any real problem with the original finder, but I know that it will affect the resale price. I just felt 'safe' to buy what every one else is buying, I guess.
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First, the original viewfinder for the M7 had the same 'white-out' problem that the M6 has. When you are pointing to a bright scene, your focusing patch turns white (bright) which makes it impossible to focus at all. Leica fixed the problem by installing the MP finder some time around 2003 and they've been providing upgrade at varying cost (I was recently offered to upgrade free of charge).
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