[Leica] Loose Top Plate on M7

[Don Lawrence <DLawrence@fkp.com>]

Hi Tom, 
Just got a M7 myself. It was a demo model sold with a one year Leica
warranty.
Purchased it mail order from NY (not B&H).
The first time I handled the camera I was surprised to note some play in the
on/off switch.
When you push it to turn off the camera it has two distinct clicks and the
shutter
release button seems to move slightly as it locks in place.
Needless to say I was disappointed that such an expensive camera would
exhibit what
seems to be poor manufacturing. 
However since it was a demo model, I was quite willing to believe that it
had experienced a lot of 
handled resulting in the switch getting loose.

I intend to send it to Leica for repair but want to use it for a while to
make sure
nothing else goes wrong before it goes.

Now after reading about your experience, I am wondering if the camera left
the factory
with play in the on/off switch.
Does anyone have a similar problem with their M7?

Don Lawrence
(also in Houston, TX)

>I rarely post on this list being an amateur, but have a question that I
>could not find any specific discussion on in the archives.

>I purchased a new M7 last week from B&H (USA version to be politically
>correct) and unpacked it this weekend with great anticipation.

>To my horror and utter disappointment, I found that the top plate was
loose.
>The right side of the plate where the advance lever is was so loose that I
>could move it up and down about 3mm and also front to back about 2mm. There
>was no indication at all that it had been roughly handled or damaged in
>transit. All original packaging looked good.

>I was shocked. I also own several other M cameras and have never seen this,
>much less on a brand new one.

>I immediately called B&H and got an RMA # and sent it back today for
>exchange. I enclosed a note asking that they show it to Henri as I think
>this is unusual and Leica needs to know about it.

>I don't know if I am over-reacting on this or not, but I did consider just
>sending it in to Leica USA under warranty even though I had not run a
single
>roll of film through it.

>Can anyone tell me how serious a flaw this is or if I was right to just
(snip)
>Tom Henson
>Houston, Tx.


- --
To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html