[LRflex] Re: New Member/ S/H R-bodies

Na then Chris lad,
even though tha's a Lancastrian (and a Mancunian to boot), I'l let you 
hear what I think the "problem" with R bodies is.
If we leave out the early idiosyncratic Leicaflexes, and the SL series, 
which seem to have and maintain their own price bracket, even though 
they use obsolete, in fact banned, batteries for metering whatever the 
model, we could start with the R3/R3mot electronic.
Actually quite a decent camera  - it's just that a lot of people think 
there's too much Minolta and Portugal in it, hence the very low prices.
The R4 - it got off to a bad start with electronics problems - a lot of 
people don't trust R4 bodies at all, but above a certain serial no. the 
R4, R4s and R4 mod2 are reliable enough, then again, purists don't like 
the fact that it says Made in Portugal on them.
The R5, an excellent electronic everything camera, with a manual option 
too, one advantage, it'll run off the batteries in the winder/drive if 
you mount one, well worth the price too. Ones made in Portugal command 
lower prices, the way to recognise a German one is that the red dot and 
the model name have switched sides since production moved back to 
Germany (looking at it from the front, where the lens is, the red dot is 
on the right, the later models have the model name in a cut-out in the 
top cover, older ones have it stamped/cast/engraved into the cover.
The R-E is an R5 with fewer exposure modes.
The R6 /R6.2 are purely mechanical and not dependent on batteries ( you 
need them only for metering) but the camera will still work perfectly 
through all shutter speeds without the batteries. Pure German precision 
engineering and very expensive at the time, which is still reflected in 
S/H pricing, The R6 will have a lower price than the R6.2 which has an 
extended shutter speed range..
The R7, last of the classic R series has the whole range of 
metering/exposure options as the R5, the metering range is increased, 
you have a mirror lock-up option, and the ergonomics of the shutter 
speed wheel is different (which also means you need a different hand-grip).
Improved flash control too, fill-in flash is now a lot easier with an R7.
R8s are probably to be had for a relatively low price due to a couple of 
reasons,  it also suffered from a few bugs at the start of production, 
like scratched films - this is not a myth, I was in the factory in Solms 
when Leica admitted it - and some electronic bugs still exist in some 
models that cause problems with the DMR. The ergonomics are excellent, 
it's just a shame that the size of it makes it about as easy to handle 
as two house bricks, add to that (IMO)that it's also as ugly as sin 
makes it  not a very popular S/H option, it is also quite suspicious 
that the R9 was introduced only a (for Leica) short time after the R8.
R9 bodies just suffer from the usual instant depreciation of analogue 
cameras since digital SLRs became affordable.

Welcome to the bunch, our SL expert is Doug Herr, David Young, Ted Grant 
and others can say more about R8/R9s and quite a few of the members 
already have DMRs too.
Cheers
Douglas



Chris Birchenhall wrote:
> Hello 
>
>  At the moment I am contemplating a Leica R
> body as that will give me more choices when hunting for lenses. Here I face
> a puzzle: I do not understand the prices asked for R bodies. The R6.2 seems
> to command a premium and R8s can be bought for relatively low prices. Is the
> R6.2 a superior camera in use to the R8 - or the R7 for that matter - or has
> this model become a focus for collectors? Are their R8 "lemons" out there
> spoiling that market? If so how do I spot them? The R8 seems a natural
> companion to the SL2 in that it opens up the option of R and ROM lenses and
> maybe, just maybe, a DMR! 
> Chris Birchenhall
> Manchester, UK
>
>
> -
>   
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