Looking for a Film R

[jip]

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What would be a good Film R camera, with nice light metering etc. etc.

 

I like the the R6.2 but it's kinda expensive! (why)

and the R8/R9

 

but other recommendations are welcome.

I have ROM lenses, but also a few 3CAM

[xalo]

Hi Jip,

 

you'll get them all listed here with their specificities, likes and dislikes of their owners

 

I started out with a Leicaflex SL, but that wouldn't take more recent/Rom lenses. Complemented it a few years ago with an R7, which works like charm ever since (am knocking on wood): compact body; fairly recent electronics; mirror lock up; TTL flash w/proper SCA shoe; great manual exposure read out. My Ms are manual, the R7 is the AE complement.

 

The R6(.2) are great, but expensive, IMHO, because of reputation of ruggedness (e.g. Salgado supposedly used it in the oil fields in Kuwait, or so said Leica's contemporary sales catalogue) and being one of the last produced fully mechanical/manual SLR's, still fully serviceable.

 

Alexander

Edited November 17, 2013 by xalo
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[John Jovic]

What would be a good Film R camera, with nice light metering etc. etc.

 

I like the the R6.2 but it's kinda expensive! (why)

and the R8/R9

 

but other recommendations are welcome.

I have ROM lenses, but also a few 3CAM

 

The ROM lenses are 'R only cam' lenses so you can use anything except the SL's.

 

Although it's quite unpopular and lacking in 'street-cred', I really like the R4 because of it's large image magnification (larger then the later R cameras) so it's great for use with wide angle lenses which can be a bitch to focus. The R4 has it's issues, google it if you care, but if you get a good one you'll probably be inclined to replace the focusing screen with one from the later R bodies. This improves image brightness about one stop and is easier to focus. I tend to use an R8 with standard and longer lenses and the R4 with wide lenses. But the R8/9 is a brilliant camera although it is bulky and many people seem allergic to that.

 

I have an RE which I rarely used, preferring the R4. I mostly used it with the Polaroid back which I kept on it.

 

Viewfinder magnification:

R4, R4s, R4s Mod2 = x0.85

R5, RE, R6, R6.2, R7 = x0.8

R8/9 = x0.75

 

As far as metering is concerned, TBH, I think all the R's are rubbish but the R8/9 is least rubbish. The spot metering on the R8/9 is not fine enough to allow precise metering so shooting E6 is not as easy and precise as it could be. I went from using an R8/9 to a Canon 1V which put the Leicas to shame with respect to metering. However I do really like how you can change metering mode on the R8/9 (which you can't do on the Canon 1V) without taking your eye from the viewfinder so this does allows you to use more than one metering mode to get a better idea of the correct exposure. It's just that I always shot E6 so accurate exposures where more important than if shooting C41 or B+W.

 

The spot/full field metering on the R4-R7s was always a little vague IMHO and made precise metering difficult, at least for E6.

 

Edit: Can't you just get a rear door/cover for your R8 to shoot film?

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Edited November 17, 2013 by John Jovic

[earleygallery]

I've had my R3 from new and have never felt the need to change, and it has a much nicer shutter action than any other R model I've tried.

[TomB_tx]

As has been said, all from the SL on are very capable. I have SL, R4, and R6. I like manual meter and central spot metering. The R6 meter has a similar "arrow" LED readout to the M6, so they make a nice pair to use. The SL and M5 also make a compatible pair. I like the R4 a lot, but it is clumsy in manual mode - having to read a speed or stop next to a row of LEDs and set the lens or speed from another window to match. But in auto exposure mode (esp. aperture priority with central spot) it is very convenient, and I like the small size of the R4-R7.

[xalo]

I've had my R3 from new and have never felt the need to change, and it has a much nicer shutter action than any other R model I've tried.

 

This reminds me: the shutter release of the R7 was not particularly pleasant, felt like you had to bury the button in the speed dial. Adding a mini-softrelease substantially changed my experience of the camera.

[wildlightphoto]

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The ROM lenses are 'R only cam' lenses so you can use anything except the SL's.

 

Without modification, R-only lenses can't be used on ANY Leicaflex, not just the SL. However, slight and pretty much invisible modifications to both the SL and the lens will make many ROM lenses fully compatible with the SL (not the other Leicaflexes).

[steveclem]

There's an R6.2 for sale in the classifieds....cough.

[robsteve]

The R8 and R9 are currently the best choice for a film camera. You will also have a spare for your DMR and the accessories will be interchangeable. The R9/R9 also have the brightest and easiest to focus finder on any SLR made. You will find any of the earlier R series camera's finders too dark in comparison to your DMR.

Edited November 18, 2013 by robsteve

[costakarl]

Just bought an R8 as new from Adorama for less than $500--a real beauty.

 

Get a couple of rom lenses and you have all you need.

 

The bigger problem may be the declining availability of high speed Fuji film.

 

Costakarl

[sc_rufctr]

I love them ALL. It's a hard choice but considering your own a R8-DMR it may be best to get a good R8 or 9.

That's not a lot of fun though because I get the feeling your want to try something "new".

 

Any R would work but the earlier stuff is getting old and often needs repairs or servicing. There are heaps of parts only camera bodies on Evilbay.

A nice R5 would be a good/economical solution.

 

Or how about a Black Paint Leicaflex?

 

EDIT: BTW... I love my R6.2. Using a soft release has transformed the shutter button feel.

Edited November 19, 2013 by sc_rufctr

[Holger1]

LEICA R9 is the best LEICA R

[jip]

Thanks for all the replies, I think I'll opt for a R8 or R9 just because I know them, and they will work together with the DMR if the R8 fails...

 

Also, someone asked why not just get a back door for my R8, I have the back door and all the other R8 original accessories... but I rather keep the DMR attached...

[philcycles]

I've got an R4, an R4 and 2 SLs.

I'd take an SL over any of them but the ROM lens thing is a problem.

That said I'd go for an R6.

[earleygallery]

The thing I dislike about the SL is the viewfinder with rounded corners. It might have been great if you were shooting Kodachrome when the camera was new, because they used mounts with rounded corners too, but otherwise it's really off-putting to me. Same with the M3 50 frames.

[farnz]

I never got on with the R9 because of the irritating Mode button lock that needed disabling before shooting. Much preferred the R8 and apart from the lock there's very little between the two if memory serves. If you got another R8, which are cheap as chips at the moment, then you'd have a back up if your DMR's R8 became ill.

 

Pete.

[wildlightphoto]

I never got on with the R9 because of the irritating Mode button lock that needed disabling before shooting.

 

This is one of those YMMV things.... the mode dial is the only feature of the R8 I dislike. Innumerable times I've raised the camera to my eye, pressed the shutter release and NOTHING HAPPENED because something had bumped the mode dial toward 'off', or I'd make a series of exposures then notice the shutter speed display in the viewfinder wasn't what I'd set on the dial because the mode dial had been bumped to one of the blasted automatic modes.

[robsteve]

This is one of those YMMV things.... the mode dial is the only feature of the R8 I dislike. Innumerable times I've raised the camera to my eye, pressed the shutter release and NOTHING HAPPENED because something had bumped the mode dial toward 'off', or I'd make a series of exposures then notice the shutter speed display in the viewfinder wasn't what I'd set on the dial because the mode dial had been bumped to one of the blasted automatic modes.

 

I had the same problem with my R8 when using the big lenses that had their own straps. The lens strap would move the mode dial. In my case it tended to move it between modes and when I would try to take a picture, nothing would happen. Particularly annoying when shoot sports when looking for the decisive moment.

 

That little mode button lock was worth the upgrade to a R9. The R9 was also a bit lighter and may have had a couple other features the R8 didn't have. Didn't the R9 have custom exposure compensation for the matrix metering?

[masjah]

Lots of little details on the R9 compared with the R8, that add up. As well as the above, half press exposure lock on centre-weighted as well as spot metering, illumination on the back display panel (useful for me when photographing in a dim church) exposure counter on the top, high-speed sync for falsh, and so on.

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[roguewave]

I never got on with the R9 because of the irritating Mode button lock that needed disabling before shooting. Much preferred the R8 and apart from the lock there's very little between the two if memory serves. If you got another R8, which are cheap as chips at the moment, then you'd have a back up if your DMR's R8 became ill.

 

Pete.

 

I agree entirely! I had 2 different R9 bodies & both of them had problems. I sold them both in 2006. I bought my DMR/R8 and an additional R8 for backup. I never had any issue or problem. I bought 2 more R8 bodies and use them to shoot film (TRI-X 400). I have shot hundreds of rolls of TRI-X & have NEVER lost a single frame. It is the finest SLR camera in the world. The R-9 has history of small, but crucial defects that often end up having to send the bodies back to Leica NJ. The R8 is simply a much more reliable film camera.