[LRFlex] Re: R8 Winder problem?

David and I wrote in part:

Alex Hurst (who also owns a Nikon F3-HP) gloated:

Anybody have a better idea?

Yep - get yourself a Nikon MD-4 motor drive (99.9% reliable), and a Nikon F3..... :-)

It's true, the Nikon F3-HP with MD-4 (its HUGE!) motor is probably the most reliable motorized camera out there.

Me? Gloat? It's a great , but heavy, combo. But IMHO the SL2 is still the best SLR ever made, despite the fact that it's not a true system camera. I won't be getting a winder for it either...... :-)


Seriously folks, Leica always seem to have problems with winders.

Not entirely true...The Winder-R on either the R5 or R6 seems totally reliable. Never hiccuped for a moment.

Having used your F3 HP, Alex, I sometimes think that selling the Leicas and going back to Nikon might be an option. The ability to see the entire viewfinder, while wearing glasses, is superior to anything Leica can offer.

But the brilliance of the F3-High Eyepoint finder is more similar to the R3 & R4s. (the R5 & later were a bit brighter). And the silky smoothness of the Leica simply isn't there.

I tend to agree - if you wear glasses. It's the first Nikon v/f which begins to approach the brilliance of the SL and SL2 'flexes. Not quite as good, but within a whisker. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the metering cell is no longer in the finder head, but in the body as it is on the 'flexes.


I admit, my R8 has given my more trouble than any camera I've ever owned. However, the camera is such a joy to use. The mechanism is so smooth, nothing Nikon has ever made comes close. Its metering is the equal of the F5 (vastly superior to the F3) and the lenses.... ah yes... the lenses...

Nikon bodies are tough and well-engineered. Leica bodies are equally tough and the ultimate in precision engineering in cameras. None of my Nikons comes anywhere near the 'flex feel.

Don't get me wrong... some of the Nikon glass is very, very good. But I've never seen glass like Leica's. That's what took me away from Nikon, in the 80's, and that's what has kept me in Leica ever since. The 80~200/f4 Vario Elmar is superior (sharpness & contrast) to any Nikon prime lens I've ever used. (That's not supposed to be possible with a zoom!)

Leica glass is amazingly consistent., which Nikon glass certainly isn't. It's not just a question of sharpness, but the 'plastic' 3D quality which most Leica glass seems to have.

The brand new one I bought for my R3 either ran away with film or didn't work at all. It is now in my junk cupboard (closet?) 

Sadly, the R3 wasn't much better than it's winder. :(  At least, mine 
wasn't!

OTOH, with its' motor mounted, the R3 makes a nice anchor for a small boat. ;-)


The R3 makes a nice entry-level R camera - if you like Minoltas. Mine feels nothing like a Leica, and its v/f is not a patch on the F3's - or even the F2's. If I inadvertently lost it overboard, I wouldn't grieve too much - which I certainly would if one of my SL2s ended up in the drink.

Best

Alex


--
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