R series bodies

[darcy_lorimer]

After reviewing a lot of the posts here, I am getting a bit paranoid

about my R4. I have never had a problem with it, and it works

flawlessly to this day. I have noticed a very small amount of paint

crinkling, but it is over 25 years old.

 

I love the lenses I have, and was considering the purchase of another

R body to supplement/replace my R4. I have considered the R8, but do

not like the size and shape compared to the lighter weight R3-7

series. The digital capability is nice, but outrageously priced.

Plus, all of my current lenses are not ROM equipped, so their utility

on the R8 is a bit limited and reduces the capabilities of the R8.

Plus, I can use my motor drive with the R3-7 series, but not the R8.

The only plus is that almost new condition R8s sell for the same

price or less than R6's and R6.2s.

 

But I am confused over the myriad of descriptions folks have used on

this forum in describing the R3-7 bodies. I am refering

to "mechanical" vs electronic. The R6 is often described as

mechanical, but it clearly has electronic exposure measurement.The R4

and R5 are electronic by the R6 is mechanical? Is there a source I

can go to get a feature/spec summary of the R3-R7 series?

[colin_elliott]

The R6 is mechanical in that all operations are battery independent.

The only purpose of the battery is to make the built in exposure meter work, together with TTL flash confirmation.If you were to use a hand held meter, you wouldn't need a battery in the R6 to make it fully functional. Similar to an M6

The R3-R7 are totally electronic and do not operate without a battery.

Try "Googling" all the models you want specs on.

[fotografz]

The R8 and 9 have much faster maximum shutter speeds than previous R cameras. This

allows use of fast aperture glass wide open in bright light (Head and shoulders outdoor

portrait using a R-85/1.4 @ f/1.4 for example). I believe the R-8 introduced Evaluative TTL

flash control also (someone correct me if I'm wrong on this please).

 

Over the years I've owned many R series cameras including my wife's R4, my R6.2 and R7,

and suffered none of the reliability issues others have. The R glass has it's stars, and

produces it's own signature look and feel IMO. An adapter made for the Canon EOS mount

assures these delightful lenses can be used for digital work at a cost far less than a DMR.

[malcolm_tentt]

Actually the delayed action/self-timer of the R6 is functional only with battery power, and the R5-7 shutters operate at a fixed speed of 1/100 without batteries, but of course one would have to have actually used the cameras to know that, as opposed to feigning knowledge based upon speculation.

[doug herr]

If your R4 body is working well there's no reason it won't keep working as longas it's not abused and gets regular service. Your R4's motor won't work on the R3, BTW. Regarding ROM lenses, the added features the ROM provides on the R8 and R9 is minimal. 3-cam lenses work fine on the R8 and R9.

[joseph_barbano]

Get an R8. I owned R3-7 and really appreciated the ergonomics of the R8 after awhile. It takes some time to grow on you.

[colin_elliott]

Malcolm, May I be the first to congratulate you on picking up my errors and omissions. Congratulations!

 

However, I would point out one error and assumption in your response.

I was not "feigning knowledge based upon speculation" but rather on previous ownership of R3's to R6's. My comments and observations were to point out that the R6 can be used without a battery and offer all aperture and shutter speed combinations. For a camera to operate only at 1/100th sec. hardly makes it a viable photographic tool.

 

As it has been a few years since I owned "R" gear, these 2 "options" had escaped my mind. But with 50 years of Leica experience, I probably have forgotten more them than some posters on this site will ever learn. I will, however,never assume that just because someone makes a mistake, that they have not actually "used the camera" or that they are "speculating".