Basic Lens question(S)

[pridbor]

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Infrequent visitor to this site but now and then I get the urge to pickup my R Camera and do film again. Last I asked this forum I was encouraged to do so and you all helped me find out that I needed new seals as I got false light on my film. I got the seals and then promptly moved out of country. I.e. It sitting there waiting for me to pick it up again and start doing something with it.

 

I have a R3 bought new in 1976, and a R4 bought new by my uncle I don't know when. So where is the question you might ask, sorry for the long intro, and it will have to wait for yet another sentence.

 

My uncle is asking me to help him selling his M7 gear, 4 lenses, and in this regard I looked under the M Cameras forum and saw some wonderful B/W photos by a gent in England, and that spurred me on to get going again.

 

I had a look into eBay and a Swiss equivalent and got interested in buying a R9, and finally the question, what lenses can I use on it and what do I have????

 

My equipment is in the US and I'm here in Switzerland for yet another week before I can look at my 4 R Lenses but there are talk about 3 cam, and maybe other, as well as ROM Etc how do I check if my Lenses are 3 cam or, and can they be used on the R9? And what do I loose if not?

 

Sorry for the long post but I'm re-getting the Leica bug

[ramarren]

This web page has the best description of the R system lenses and their compatibility I've seen: http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/Lens-R.html

 

Basically, it says that anything 3-cam, R-only, or ROM is fully compatible with R8 and R9 bodies, so any lenses you have for your R3 or R4 should be completely compatible. 

 

I have an R8 body. It is a masterpiece of design, as is the R9. 

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[wildlightphoto]

This web page has the best description of the R system lenses and their compatibility I've seen: http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/Lens-R.html

 

 

 

Nakamura's description of compatibility is missing some important details, i.e., not all 3-cam lenses can be used on any Leica reflex camera.

[pridbor]

Are you saying that the compatibility Table she presents is inaccurate?

 

The most important thing for me though, is wether my older R lenses will

Also work on the R 8/9 should I decide to acquire one such? Her

Table seems to say yes, but if you have some other experience then

Please share.

 

Thanks

[Hugh 38]

I have no experience with the  R8 or R9  so  can not  fully  answer  your  question. However   if  all  the   R  lenses  you have  work on  a  R3  or  R4   they are  either 3 cam  or  R  only .You  can not  use  an  M lens  on an R  camera   without  an  adapter .

 

The   ROM   contact  looks  like   a  series  of  electrical  connections  on  the  lens   which  matches up  with  contacts  on  an  R8 or R9  ,  both  R8 and R9  will  work  without  the  ROM  contact. 

 

I  am  sure  your  existing  lenses  will work   on  an  R8  or  R9 , though  do  not   quote  me  and  I am   sure  there  are others  who  will   be  able to  give  a better  answer. 

[wildlightphoto]

Are you saying that the compatibility Table she presents is inaccurate?

 

 

Yes but the inaccuracies are with cameras older than the R3.

[TomB_tx]

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Just to confirm - I have several R lenses for my R4 (28 to 400) and picked up an R8 this year. All the lenses from my R4 work fine on it, so you should have no trouble with the R9. I still have a 2-cam 50 with the SL I bought in 1968 which I never converted to 3-cam -so it iwon't work on the R4-R8. But if your lenses are for R3 or R4 they will be fine.

[pridbor]

So Tom which functions of the R8/9 do we not get to make use of when using the older R lenses?? My lenses are all R 3/4 types I.e. According to you gents 3 cam.

 

Will it for me e.g. Be like I was operating my R 3/4 or will there be something more I will gain??

 

BTW I found a photo lab, got help from the M forum, almost next to my daughter's place in San Diego, so I will be paying them a visit in August when down there. North Coast Photographic Services in Carlsbad California. northcoastphoto.com

 

 

Thank you all for your patience

 

 

Preben

[TomB_tx]

The large R8/9 body makes it a different experience, as I always went for smaller SLR cameras like the R4 (or Pentax MX), but the R8 is a good design and feels great to shoot. The 3-cam lenses lack the ROM electrical contacts, but I think that was more for the digital back (which I don't have - A Sony A7 is my digital for these lenses - maybe an SL in the future depending on what the new R-adapter turns out to be).

I find the R8 more responsive than the R4 to get the exact instant I want to expose (R4s tend to have a slight pause), and the R8 viewfinder is great, with a better information display. The pattern metering can be easier in high-contrast conditions, and is better for auto-exposure.

On the R4 manual metering seemed an afterthought, and is difficult to see in some lighting conditions, so I used the R4 in automatic, spot mode, meter and hold..

The R8 weight is part of my fitness program, but the R9 is lighter. The R8 feels more like using my Leicaflex SL - very solid.

Edited July 16, 2016 by TomB_tx

[wildlightphoto]

Will it for me e.g. Be like I was operating my R 3/4 or will there be something more I will gain??

 

 

With ROM some flash heads zoom when you zoom the lens.

[The Cats Fluff]

Hello All - I have an R4 and used to have an R8 which I used with a 28-70mm. Since selling the R8 Ive tried to mount the 28-70 on my R4 bit it wont focus to inifity or anything past about 3 feet set at 28mm. Should they be compatiable? Maybe the lens is now faulty since using it on my R8.

 

Many thanks for your replies.

- Paul.

[dpitt]

 I think mounting a lens on the R8 should not do damage to the lens. Your lens seems to have issues though.

CLA maybe?

Edited July 28, 2023 by dpitt

[davidmknoble]

@The Cats Fluff, what is the mount of that lens?  Is it a ROM lens?  If so, it will not fit the R4 I’m pretty sure.

[ramarren]

 

On 7/15/2016 at 4:16 PM, wildlightphoto said:

On 7/15/2016 at 2:44 PM, ramarren said:

This web page has the best description of the R system lenses and their compatibility I've seen: http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/Lens-R.html

Basically, it says that anything 3-cam, R-only, or ROM is fully compatible with R8 and R9 bodies, so any lenses you have for your R3 or R4 should be completely compatible. I have an R8 body. It is a masterpiece of design, as is the R9. 

Nakamura's description of compatibility is missing some important details, i.e., not all 3-cam lenses can be used on any Leica reflex camera.

There are always more details...

But, basically, Leica modified the R-mount at the introduction of the Leicaflex SL2. Leicaflex SL2 and later have more clearance behind the lens for the mirror mechanism, and some lenses designed from that time on (like, for instance, the Elmarit-R 24mm f/2.8 and Super-Elmar-R 15mm f/3.5) could not work on the Leicaflex or Leicaflex SL bodies. Anything that can work on the Leicaflex SL2 should be able to work on the rest of the later range of R3 to R9 bodies. Exactly what features are supported depends on the particular body to lens match, whether it's a ROM lens, etc. 

My R lens kit when I was using R bodies was primarily three-cam, no ROM. A couple of my lenses (I'm forgetting the details ... it's been years) would not work on the Leicaflex SL, but all worked on the R8 and R6.2. 

On 7/27/2023 at 11:55 AM, The Cats Fluff said:

Hello All - I have an R4 and used to have an R8 which I used with a 28-70mm. Since selling the R8 Ive tried to mount the 28-70 on my R4 bit it wont focus to inifity or anything past about 3 feet set at 28mm. Should they be compatiable? Maybe the lens is now faulty since using it on my R8.

Many thanks for your replies.

- Paul.

Sounds like a lens fault to me. I'd have the lens and maybe the body checked at Leica or a good independent technician. (I never owned or used any R-mount zoom lenses on Leicaflex SL, R6.2 or R8 bodies.)

G