Leica R4 controls

[laurie young]

Hi

 

I have recently been given the loan of an Leica R4 for a few days,

but there are some controls I can't quite figure out. The mode dial

has

(m), (A), A, P, T,

I'm guessing m is manual

A is aperture priority

P is program

T is Shutter Priority

But i am not sure about the difference between (A) and A. Is it

something to do with spot vs centre weighted meetering? I checked

them against other cameras, and A seems to agree with meters/other

cameras while (a) seems to be abotu 1.5 stops undeerexposed.

 

Also there is a little circular dial on the body next to the lens

(where most manual SLRs have the shutter timer feature) this rotates

abtou 10 degrees, but seems to have no effect. Can anyone tell me

what this does?

 

Thanks

 

Laurie

[mike_levitt]

The M and A in the circle are Manual and AP with the spot meter.

The other M A and T are Manual, AP and SP with full field

metering. The little round thing is the self timer. Cock the

shutter, twist the little knobby, and lightly touch the shutter

release, and a red light in the prism will flash and the camera

will shoot in about 10 seconds.

 

Mike

[iván]

Hi, Laurie:

 

Concerning the modes: this camera can work on Manual "m", Aperture Priority "A" and Program "P" and will measure in spot (the circle in "A" and "m" modes) or centre weighted (in "A-no circle" and "P" modes).

 

The "T" mode is the classical one: the shutter opens up with the first press of the trigger button and stays open until the second press.

 

The little circular dial on the body next to the lens IS a self timer. There is a little arrow on it. Just turn the dial in the direction of the arrow and touch the shutter button, don't press it all the way down but only until you begin feeling some resistance. A red light on the front of the prism will begin blinking for some seconds and will stay on for the last few seconds of the self timer period.

 

Though all the awful stories about this camera I really like it. Only complain: you can't see the speed scale on the RHS of the VF on low light.

 

Enjoy it . . . though it's no M3 :-]

 

-Iván<div></div>

[doug herr]

<I>The "T" mode is the classical one: the shutter opens up with

the first press of the trigger button and stays open until the

second press. </I><P>

No! It's what Mike wrote. <B>T</B> is shutter-priority

(<B>T</B>ime) auto-exposure.

[ray_moth]

What a lot of confusion! To state it simply: <br><br>

 

m (in a circle) = manual mode, selective ("spot") metering;<br><br>

A (in a circle) = aperture priority mode, selective ("spot") metering; in this mode, you can lock the exposure by pressing the shutter release half way; <br><br>

A (in a rectangle) = aperture priority mode, full-field center-weighted metering;<br><br>

P (in a rectangle) = program mode, full-field center-weighted metering;<br><br>

T (in a rectangle) = shutter priority mode, full-field center-weighted metering.<br><br>

The little circular dial is an electronic self-timer of fixed duration. It is set by turning it anti-clockwise when the shutter is already cocked. It will then stick in its "primed" position. The countdown can then be activated by slightly pressing or tapping the shutter release button. To confirm that the self-timer has been activated, a red LED will start flashing at the top front of the camera.

 

The count-down time cannot be shortened but it can be extended by tapping the shutter release a second time before the shutter fires. The count-down can also be canceled at any time by turning the little dial in a clockwise direction, when it will return to its normal at-rest position.

 

<br><br>