Glass Bodies a variant-level encyclopedia of vintage lenses and cameras by iwillpat

Leica R7

Leica · Leica R mount · 24×36mm on 35mm film · 1992

Also known as: Leica R7 · Leitz R7 · Leitz Leica R7 · ライカ R7 · ライカR7 · Leica R-7

Variants & identification

Variant Mount Years Serial ranges Production
Leica R7 black (10068) Leica R 1992–1996 1908501–1912000 (2 Dec 1991)
1920001–1923000 (28 Jul 1992)
1933001–1935000, 1938151–1941000 (1993)
1998001–1999000 (8 Dec 1993)
2011001–2013000 (22 Nov 1994)
2166001–2167000, 2173001–2174000, 2177251–2177750, 2181001–2184000 (1995)
2238501–2239000, 2240001–2241000 (Mar 1996)
2281401–2282400 (12 Jul 1996), the last R7 block 		22,350 numbers in the blocks Gandy's list marks R7 Black, December 1991 to July 1996. The Leica Wiki's table calls the same blocks Schwz and tags four of the 1995 blocks PAD (see table_notes).
Leica R7 silver chrome Leica R 1992–1996 1919021–1920000 (28 Jul 1992)
1924001–1926000 (12 Aug 1992)
1999001–1999998 (3 Feb 1994)
2008001–2009000 (2 Nov 1994)
2065001–2066000 (30 Jan 1995)
2236501–2237500 (20 Feb 1996) 		6,978 numbers in the six blocks Gandy's list marks R7 Chrome; Apotelyt says about 7,000 of the R7s made were chrome. The Leica Wiki's table calls these blocks Hell.
Leica R7 Urushi (Nihon Siber Hegner) Leica R 1995–1995 2171001–2171200 (8 Jun 1995) 200 (Gandy's factory list; Leica Wiki; Apotelyt)
  1. Lens cams. The R7 reads the third, stepped R-cam and nothing else. It takes and meters at full aperture with 3-cam lenses (the two Leicaflex cams plus the R-cam), R-only lenses and the later ROM lenses, which keep the R-cam; Apotelyt says ROM lenses mount and work but the R7 cannot use their contacts, which it predates. 1-cam and 2-cam Leicaflex lenses have no R-cam. The R7 manual says not to fit them, "to avoid damaging your LEICA R7", and that Leica could fit them with the cam, after which they still work on every Leicaflex. English Wikipedia's R bayonet article says such lenses can be used on R3–R7 bodies with stop-down metering. Leica's R9 instructions say the cam must be fitted before use on any R camera from the R3; follow the manual and check the back of the mount for the stepped cam before trying one.
  2. The manual adds two lens exceptions: the Elmarit-R 180mm f/2.8 up to no. 2939700 and the Telyt-R 250mm f/4 up to no. 3050600 work only in the aperture-priority and manual modes. Lenses and accessories with no automatic diaphragm meter at working aperture; Leica M lenses that suit the Visoflex fit through adapter 14167 and meter the same way.
  3. Partner-Aktion Deutschland (PAD). The Leica Wiki lists a PAD edition "with German map on top" and tags black serial blocks as PAD; Apotelyt adds that these cameras were lent by German Leica dealers to prospective buyers, that the map is engraved on the viewfinder housing, and gives order number 10203. The Leica Wiki calls it a 1996 edition, but the serial blocks it tags were all assigned in 1995. Neither source shows an example or cites a Leica document, so it is not listed as a variant; a top plate with a map of Germany is the thing to look for.
  4. Production is about 30,000 whichever source is used: 30,000 (Puts), about 30,000 with some 7,000 chrome (Apotelyt), 29,629 (the Leica Wiki's printed total). The blocks in Gandy's list, the Urushi block and the WWF camera included, add up to 29,529, and the Leica Wiki's table holds the same blocks, so its printed total is 100 too high.
  5. No launch list price is cited here. Advertised mail-order dealer prices, which do not say whether tax is included: US$1,889 in a Popular Photography advertisement of November 1993; in Outdoor Photographer of November 1995, US$1,985 in Cambridge Camera Exchange's advertisement and US$2,695 in Adorama's "authorized Leica dealer" list, with the R6.2 at US$2,795 beside it. Outdoor Photographer's report of May 1996 gives US$2,695 as "the average selling price of the Leica R7". Apotelyt calls the mechanical R6.2, sold alongside it throughout, the more expensive camera.
  6. Camera-wiki says the R7's shutter, metering and modes are unchanged from the R5, but the hand-set range differs: 1/2s–1/2000 on the R5 (R5 manual; Puts), 4s–1/2000 in half steps on the R7 (R7 manual; camera-wiki's own table), and the R7's integral metering reaches one stop lower (Puts). Camera-wiki names Seiko as the maker of the R4's shutter but names no maker for the R7's.
  7. Apotelyt's FAQ says the R7 has no major known flaws but reports two: some users find the "shutter preview lever" (the depth-of-field lever) becomes sticky or hard to work, and the rubber seal that keeps light out of the film compartment can turn brittle and need replacing. Leica no longer services R-system cameras and refers owners to Paepke-Fototechnik in Düsseldorf (Apotelyt).
  8. No Leica R body was made in Canada. The R7 was assembled in Solms, where camera-wiki and English Wikipedia place the final assembly of the R-E and every later R body, with Leica's Portuguese factory still making sub-assemblies and accessories (English Wikipedia).
How to tell them apart (expand)
  • R7 on the front plate; the only R4–R7 body with a seven-segment shutter-speed readout in the finder
  • Visibly deeper baseplate than an R5 or R6 (English Wikipedia; Apotelyt)
  • DX position at the end of the film-speed scale beside 12800, with a small LED next to the film-speed dial that blinks when a non-DX film is loaded (manual)
  • Shutter-speed dial with an OFF position: the dial is the on/off switch (manual)
  • Socket beside the lens mount for the separate mirror-release cable (manual; Apotelyt names it the Mirror Lock-up Release R, 14087)

Leica R7 black (10068):

  • Black top and base plates; R7 on the front plate on the shutter-release side, red Leica emblem on the rewind side, the German-assembly layout camera-wiki describes (visible on the Commons photograph)
  • Base about 10.7mm deeper than the R5's to hold the extra circuitry (Apotelyt), so the body stands taller than an R4, R5 or R6 beside it (English Wikipedia; camera-wiki)
  • Serial on the baseplate (manual) between 1908501 and 2282400
  • Order number 10068 (Leica Wiki; Apotelyt)

Leica R7 silver chrome:

  • Silver top and base plates with black leatherette; the manual's "silver chrome" finish
  • Serial inside one of the six chrome blocks; a chrome body numbered outside them deserves a second look

Leica R7 Urushi (Nihon Siber Hegner):

  • Dark green Urushi lacquer finish instead of black or chrome (Apotelyt)
  • Serial 2171001–2171200
  • Sold as a set with a Summicron 50mm (Apotelyt)

Serial-range notes

1908501–2282400
The R7's range from first block to last (Gandy; Puts), interleaved with R6.2 blocks throughout. Every R7 block in Gandy's list is R7-only: unlike the R5, R6 and R-E, the R7 was never numbered in mixed batches.
2000001
A single camera Gandy lists as "R7 for WWF", assigned 1 March 1994. The Leica Wiki gives the number as 2000000. Nothing else is recorded about it: no finish, engraving or recipient.
2173001–2174000, 2181576–2184000
Blocks the Leica Wiki tags PAD, the Partner-Aktion Deutschland dealer edition; the last of them, 2183001–2184000, is marked "Schwz+(PAD)", black and PAD mixed. Gandy's list calls all of them plain R7 Black, assigned 26 June, 18 and 27 October and 30 November 1995.

Specifications

Format
24×36mm on 35mm film
Finder
fixed pentaprism; five interchangeable focusing screens, the standard one with a split-image centre in a microprism ring; dioptre correction from +2 to −2 and a built-in eyepiece shutter (manual) · 0.8× magnification · 92% coverage
Shutter
electronically controlled vertical-travel metal-blade focal plane · 16s–1/2000 stepless in the automatic modes (A and P); 4s–1/2000 in half steps when set by hand (m and T); B and an orange 100 (1/100) both mechanical, and the only settings that work without batteries (manual) · flash sync 1/100 (X); hot shoe with dedicated contacts and a coaxial X socket beside the prism. With SCA 300 or 500 system flash units and the SCA 351 or 551 adapter the camera meters the flash through the lens off the film, ISO 12–3200, and in program switches on its own between full flash, fill flash and no flash (manual; camera-wiki) · self-timer
Film advance
single-stroke lever, 130° throw; coupling in the base for the Motor-Winder R and Motor-Drive R
Back
hinged, with a right-hand thumb rest and a cartridge window with magnifier; replaceable by the DB 2 data back (manual)
Meter
Silicon photodiode in the base of the mirror box, read off a semi-transparent main mirror through a Fresnel reflector, with a second photodiode beside it for TTL flash (manual). Two patterns tied to the mode: selective, a 7mm circle (about 4.5% of the frame) marked on every screen, EV 2–20; and full-field centre-weighted integral, EV 0–20, both at ISO 100 with an f/1.4 lens (manual; Apotelyt instead describes the integral pattern as unweighted; Puts gives EV 0–20 as the R7's gain over the R5). Five modes on one selector: P (shiftable program, integral), T (shutter priority, integral), A (aperture priority, integral), a (aperture priority, selective, with the reading held at the release's second pressure point) and m (manual, selective). Film speed ISO 6–12800 by hand or ISO 25–5000 from the DX code, the hand setting winning when they differ; override ±3 EV in half stops. Power is 6 volts, from two 3V lithium cells or four SR44 silver-oxide cells, against 3 volts on the earlier R bodies (manual; Apotelyt); a BC symbol warns of low batteries, and the release locks when they are too weak.
Motor drive
Leica Winder R4, Leica Motor Drive R4, Leica Motor-Winder R, Leica Motor-Drive R — The Motor-Winder R (14208) gives up to 2 frames a second, the Motor-Drive R (14310) single frames, 2 or 4 a second; the manual adds that the R7 itself still draws only on its own cells with either fitted. Camera-wiki and English Wikipedia say the deeper base needed a new, taller hand-grip for the winder and motor; the manual lists handgrip 14317. Camera-wiki says any winder or motor drive of the R4–R7 series fits any body of the series. The hand-grip changed from a mechanical to an electrical connection, grips and drives of the two kinds are not cross-compatible, and the R7's deeper base needs its own taller grip.
Weight
670 g
Dimensions
138.5 × 94.8 × 62.2 (width × height × depth, body only; manual and Puts). Apotelyt prints 98.8mm for the height mm
Country
Germany (final assembly in Solms)
Accessories
Motor-Winder R (14208) and Motor-Drive R (14310), with the taller R7 hand-grip (14317) · DB 2 data back · SCA 300 and SCA 500 system flash units with the SCA 351 or 551 adapter · Mirror-release cable (Mirror Lock-up Release R, 14087) · Five interchangeable focusing screens · Adapter 14167 for Visoflex-suited Leica M lenses

0.8× at 0 dioptres with a 50mm lens; the visible field is 23×34.6mm, 92% of the frame (manual). Below the image a seven-segment LED readout shows the set or computed shutter speed with the mode symbol, and the set aperture is mirrored in from the lens; on the right a light-balance scale of +2 to −2 EV in manual and the computed aperture in shutter priority and program (camera-wiki; manual). The LEDs adjust their own brightness, and a supplementary lamp lights the aperture scale (manual). Camera-wiki and Apotelyt both name the digital shutter-speed readout as new on the R7.

Figures we worked out rather than found: No R body was made in Canada: camera-wiki places R3–R7 manufacture at Wetzlar (the first R3s), Vila Nova de Famalicão in Portugal and Solms, and English Wikipedia puts final assembly of the R-E and every later R body in Solms · The 22,350, 6,978 and 29,529 totals are this page's sums of the block ranges in Gandy's list · That every R7 block is R7-only is read from Gandy's list, which marks mixed R5/R6/R-E and R-E/R6.2 blocks as such and has none for the R7

Where sources disagree

Last
  • 1996: last serial block assigned 12 July 1996 (Gandy); Leica Wiki production era 1992–1996; camera-wiki; English Wikipedia's R bayonet article
  • 1997: Apotelyt; English Wikipedia's R4–R7 article has the series made until 1997
  • 1998: Erwin Puts, Leica Chronicle

Better supported: 1996

1996 is the last factory block; later dates are probably when the last bodies were sold, alongside the R8 that replaced it in 1996.

Dimensions (mm)
  • Height 94.8mm (R7 manual; Puts)
  • Height 98.8mm (Apotelyt)

Better supported: 94.8mm

Order numbers 10202 and 10203
  • 10202 chrome, 10203 PAD (Apotelyt)
  • "10 068-black, 10 202 + 10 203 PAD" (Leica Wiki), which can be read as both being PAD numbers
WWF camera serial
  • 2000001 (Gandy's list from Leica's factory data)
  • 2000000 (Leica Wiki)

Better supported: 2000001

Mounting 1-cam and 2-cam Leicaflex lenses
  • Do not mount; have the R-cam fitted (R7 manual; the Leica R9 instructions say the cam must be fitted for use on any R camera from the R3)
  • Usable on R3–R7 bodies with stop-down metering (English Wikipedia, Leica R bayonet)

Better supported: Leica's instructions: have the R-cam fitted first

What reviewers say

History

The R7 is the last of the seven bodies Leica built on one chassis between 1980 and 1996, from the R4 to the R7. Under Leitz’s co-operation agreement with Minolta, which camera-wiki dates to 1972 and English Wikipedia’s Leicaflex article to 1971, the R4 of 1980 was based on the Minolta XD (XD-7 in Europe, XD-11 in the United States) with Leitz’s own mirror box, metering and body, and camera-wiki says that body and chassis served every R model through the R7. The R7 keeps the R5’s shutter, metering and five modes and adds a microprocessor, Leica’s first, to run them. That brought a digital shutter-speed readout in the finder, DX film-speed setting with a manual override, and full flash automation: with an SCA 300 or 500 flash, program mode chooses full flash, fill flash or none by itself. The extra circuitry needed a base about 10.7mm deeper, which makes the R7 easy to tell from an R5 or R6 and needs its own taller grip for the winder and motor. The first serial block was assigned on 2 December 1991 and the camera went on sale in 1992.

It was assembled in Solms, Germany, and no R body was made in Canada. It sold alongside the mechanical R6.2, which cost more. The last block was assigned in July 1996, just before the first numbers of the R8, Leica’s own design with no Minolta connection, though Apotelyt and Puts have the R7 on sale into 1997 or 1998. About 30,000 were made, some 7,000 of them in silver chrome and the rest black. The only special edition in Stephen Gandy’s list of Leica’s factory serial data, published on CameraQuest is a set of 200 bodies in dark green Urushi lacquer, nos. 2171001–2171200 of 1995, sold as a set with a Summicron 50mm, which Apotelyt says marked the 130th anniversary of Leica’s Japanese dealer Nihon Siber Hegner. There is also a single camera listed “for WWF” in 1994. The Leica Wiki and Apotelyt describe a Partner-Aktion Deutschland edition with a map of Germany on the top, which Apotelyt says German dealers lent to prospective buyers; the Leica Wiki calls it a 1996 edition, though the black blocks it tags were all assigned in 1995, and Gandy’s list does not mark them.

The buyer’s question for any R body is the lens cams, and on the R7 the answer is the R-cam. It takes and meters at full aperture with 3-cam, R-only and ROM lenses, and ignores the ROM contacts. The manual warns against mounting 1-cam and 2-cam Leicaflex lenses that have no R-cam, to avoid damaging the camera, and says Leica could fit the cam to them. Leica’s R9 instructions say the same for every R camera from the R3 on, while English Wikipedia’s article on the R bayonet says such lenses mount and meter stopped down. Check for the stepped third cam before fitting an old Leicaflex lens. Two lenses, the early Elmarit-R 180mm f/2.8 and the Telyt-R 250mm f/4, work only in the aperture-priority and manual modes.

When buying, test the electronics, because they run almost everything: without batteries only B and the mechanical 1/100 work. The R7 runs on 6 volts, two 3V lithium cells or four SR44s, where the earlier bodies took two cells. Check that the finder readout lights in every mode. Nathan Jones’s R7 lost its lower display for a time, and he cannot wholeheartedly recommend the camera, partly because its electronics are prone to failure and, he says, cannot be repaired. Apotelyt mentions a sticky depth-of-field lever and a film-compartment seal that turns brittle. Leica no longer services R bodies. A winder or motor from the R4–R7 series fits, but it needs the R7’s own hand-grip.

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This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.

Photographs

Leica R7
Leica R7, black — Daft racer, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Live listings

Buying from Yahoo! Auctions outside Japan. It is a domestic marketplace: sellers ship within Japan, and most will not register an overseas buyer. A proxy service bids on your behalf, receives the item and forwards it, for a fee and a wait. Buyee, Jauce and ZenMarket each accept a Yahoo auction number directly. Listed alphabetically for information — none is recommended over another, and none of these is an affiliate link.

Listings updated 2026-11-09. Links go to the shop or marketplace that carries the item.

Related: Leica R5 · Leica R6 · Leica R6.2 · Leica R8

Lenses for this body: Angénieux Zoom 45-90mm f/2.8 · APO-Elmarit-R 180mm f/2.8 · APO-Macro-Elmarit-R 100mm f/2.8 · APO-Summicron-R 180mm f/2 · APO-Summicron-R 90mm f/2 ASPH. · APO-Telyt-R 180mm f/3.4 · APO-Telyt-R 280mm f/2.8 · APO-Telyt-R 280mm f/4 · APO-Telyt-R 400mm f/2.8 · APO-Telyt-R Module System 280-800mm · Elmar-R 180mm f/4 · Elmarit-R 135mm f/2.8 (I) · Elmarit-R 135mm f/2.8 (II) · Elmarit-R 180mm f/2.8 (I) · Elmarit-R 180mm f/2.8 (II) · Elmarit-R 19mm f/2.8 (I) · Elmarit-R 19mm f/2.8 (II) · Elmarit-R 24mm f/2.8 · Elmarit-R 28mm f/2.8 (I) · Elmarit-R 28mm f/2.8 (II) · Elmarit-R 35mm f/2.8 (I) · Elmarit-R 35mm f/2.8 (II) · Elmarit-R 35mm f/2.8 (III) · Elmarit-R 90mm f/2.8 (I) · Elmarit-R 90mm f/2.8 (II) · Fisheye-Elmarit-R 16mm f/2.8 · Macro-Elmar-R 100mm f/4 · Macro-Elmarit-R 60mm f/2.8 · MR-Telyt-R 500mm f/8 · PA-Curtagon-R 35mm f/4 · PC-Super-Angulon-R 28mm f/2.8 · Summicron-R 35mm f/2 (I) · Summicron-R 35mm f/2 (II) · Summicron-R 50mm f/2 (I) · Summicron-R 50mm f/2 (II) · Summicron-R 90mm f/2 · Summilux-R 35mm f/1.4 · Summilux-R 50mm f/1.4 (I) · Summilux-R 50mm f/1.4 (II, E60) · Summilux-R 80mm f/1.4 · Super-Angulon-R 21mm f/4 · Super-Elmar-R 15mm f/3.5 · Super-Elmarit-R 15mm f/2.8 ASPH. · Telyt-R 250mm f/4 (I) · Telyt-R 250mm f/4 (II) · Telyt-R 350mm f/4.8 · Telyt-R 400mm f/6.8 · Telyt-R 560mm f/6.8 · Telyt-S 800mm f/6.3 · Vario-APO-Elmarit-R 70-180mm f/2.8 · Vario-Elmar-R 105-280mm f/4.2 · Vario-Elmar-R 21-35mm f/3.5-4 ASPH. · Vario-Elmar-R 28-70mm f/3.5-4.5 · Vario-Elmar-R 35-70mm f/3.5 · Vario-Elmar-R 35-70mm f/4 · Vario-Elmar-R 70-210mm f/4 · Vario-Elmar-R 75-200mm f/4.5 · Vario-Elmar-R 80-200mm f/4 · Vario-Elmar-R 80-200mm f/4.5 · Vario-Elmarit-R 28-90mm f/2.8-4.5 ASPH. · Vario-Elmarit-R 35-70mm f/2.8 ASPH.

Sources (15)

Every page here is assembled from public sources, and the gaps are real ones. If you own this camera, know a serial number I'm missing, or can see where I have it wrong, tell me — corrections, serials and sample photos are all worth having.