[Leica] Loose Top Plate on M7

[Tom.Henson@bakerbotts.com]

Hello to all!

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
return it?

I assume that any gap in the top plate would allow dust and moisture into
the rangefinder mechanism which I understand to be quite delicate.

I don't know how the top plate attaches, but previous discussions on the LUG
have lead me to believe that the fit can be quite tight.

Does anyone think it is possible that the metal just contracted from the
cold and thus the brass top plate became loose, being of a different metal
than the shell?

I am at a loss to understand how or why Leica would even ship an M7 with
such a flaw.

Oh, and by the way, they enclosed a nice quality assurance card signed by
the inspector attesting to the rigorous testing and inspection by
professionals.

Tom Henson
Houston, Tx.
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