R6.2 reliability

[marc3]

I have a R4 but have to send for servicing frequently, and I am kind of fret up with this camera. The servcing man told me that all R-series are not very reliable.

 

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I am wonder if the R6.2 any better? I also have M-series and love it. Are the R6.2 comparable to M-series in term of reliablity?

[preston_merchant]

Sebastiao Salgado seems to get the most out of his R6.2.

[jeremyt1]

i use an r6.2 and love it. in my opinion, its more reliable than any

M or R leica, built to sustain the toughest conditions. if you have

the opportunity, buy with confidence; you will not regret the

decision!

 

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ps, many of the r's have been notorious for electronic

malfunction; i have rarely heard reports of such for the r6, r6.2, or

r7.

 

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jeremyT

www.lifeiblue.com

[andrew n.bra hrefhttp]

My 1992 R6.2 has been to the bottom of Australia and back with no

problems - <A HREF="http://4020.net/secape">4020.net/secape</A>. The

viewfinder eyepeice is starting too fill up with dust though, so will

have to send it for a CLA soon(ish).

[gary_yeowell]

I have had 4 R6 cameras go wrong in 10 years, one just jammed the

mirror up, the other two both lost the spring tension that stops the

lens down and the last died when the shutter release/speed dial just

fell apart. A friend of mine also had 2 R6,s go wrong again with the

same spring tension problem and funnily enough Leica service said "

Ah we have never seen that happen before" Sadly I no longer have

faith in 'R' bodies and hence only use M6's which have never gone

wrong in the same period. I did have a try with the R8 which also

developed an electronic problem very early on and thus gave up, shame

because some of my old 'R' lenses were sensational and completely

reliable. I wish Leica had gotten together with someone like Nikon

and had an F3 derivative made instead of using a cheap Minolta XD7

body as its basis. Lastly as regards 'Salgado' he may have 3 R6's

with him at all times but I bet he has at least 3 more back at his

hotel.

[sparkie]

The way they [Leica] describe the R6.2 on their 2000/2001 'Leica the

Programme' brochure, is that the R6.2 is built like a hammer. It just

keeps going and going and going. They have a picture an oil extraction

on an off-sea rigg shot by Salgado. Its supposed to be built solid and

reliable as the taxman and death itself. But, er, this is a sales

brochure, and anything with moving parts is prone to need servicing at

*some* point. But all that said, it is of the old construction style

and all-mecahnical. The last of the the all mechanical R's. Pity they

discontinued it, I think there is a market for this camera still.

[anon_terry]

I have had two new in box R6.2s fail on me very early. The first one

had its mirror detach from the assembly during its first shoot,

second one's film advance jammed about 6 shots after taking it out of

the box. Both fixed/replaced under Passport Warranty, both sold in a

hurry, albeit at substantial loss.

[rolo]

Bought a new, USA Passport R6.2 early last year. Within weeks

the TTL flash circuit failed. It was fixed and returned by Leica NJ

within 10 days. Toward the end of the year the advance

mechanism jammed. Again Leica NJ fixed it and returned it

within 10 days, this time assuring me that the camera had been

gone over thoroughly. Works fine now, though the self-timer is

intermittent, which makes me wonder about the stability of the

electronics (and the thoroughness of Leica's inspection). Nice

camera to use when it's working. ;-)

[jason]

i read a interview with Salgado,who mainly uses the 6.2 rather than

the M's.It also mentioned how "rough" he is on equipment and requiring

Leica backup to maintain his cameras.I gathered he did have a few

spare bodies all the time.He works with 3 SLR all the time!He still

carries 2 M6 and lenses.The R-lenses are fantastic in sharpness and

contrast.Worked with pro's using them.The bodies appear not to quite

match the logevity of an M.

Its also "luck".My Nikon-F's were always falling apart.Travel did'nt

help either on jet-planes!Lenses fell apart.My Pentax system never a

problem!!The 1st Spotmatic i had,must have had 2000+rolls or more thru

it!i sold it as it only was good for parts.Still working but one

speed,real fast!Towards end of life would go off with the weight of

feather.My new system,K1000,4 lenses,do not count the zoom,its a toy!

Canon Eos 20000 and my beloved M3(6000rolls?) and M6 and 2 lenses.

[ramy_sadek]

I imagine the later versions of the 6.2 fixed some of those odd early

problems. I love mine. It is fabulous.

 

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-Ramy

[xavier_dalfort]

Yes Marc, The Early R were not to reliable.

 

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It seems to improve on late series like the R6.2 (mechanical) and R7

(electronic)

I have the latest, the R7 since 5 years now and never had a problem

but I am quite careful with it, keep it in a bag padded, etc.

First they don't make them any more, second my piggy bank is still

suffering from the blow on her head....

[rolo]

I suspect that Salgado being Salgado, he gets fast track repair

and/or loaner gear from Leica when his cameras fail. If one

breaks, he's got backups and he probably gets some kind of a

replacement from Leica ASAP. Nothing wrong with that;

obviously he provides valuable marketing/publicity for Leica.

 

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As far as Leica improving the reliabilty in late production

cameras, my anecdote cancels your anecdote. As I said, I

bought an R6.2 new last year and it had problems, including a

mechanical jam, in the first eight months of use. If I actually

used the self-timer, I would still consider the camera broken. I

would definitely call my camera late production.

[andy_piper2]

Actually the Salgado poster shot for the R6.2 is of the cleanup in

Kuwait after Saddam torched the oil wells there in 1991 (see smoke

columns in background).

 

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Nothing useful to add on R reliability.

[Robin Smith]

So therefore it must have been an R6 not an R6.2

[leong_teck_toh]

My R4 has costed me US$120 for repairing.

 

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My R6.2 has depth-of-field lever jammed problem (another US$55

servicing), the servicing man told me this is a common problem for R

camera.

 

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My 3 Nikons got no problem at all.