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Inherited Leica R5, possible shutter issue?


Holio Cornolio

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Hi All, I'm new here and about to post a very basic question so many apologies in advance. My father has passed on to me his old R5 body. It was last used about 9 years ago before going into storage. Along the way my dad sold of all his R lenses. I'm looking for a suitable R lens to use on this body, however in looking the body over (as you do) I noticed that the shutter will only fire if the shutter speed dial is set either to bulb or the mechanical 1/100 setting. I've not got a lens on the body at this point, and although the batteries are fresh and working, I'm reluctant to investigate the lens purchase much further if the body is dead. Is there a mechanism that prevents the electronically controlled shutter speeds firing without a lens installed? Or is the old girl just dead?

Thanks in advance for any advice and again, apologies for the noobish question.

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Hello and welcome to the forum !!

 

One question would be whether you are testing the electronic speeds with the body cap on - that would deprive the meter of light and lead to a very long exposure which might appear as if the shutter was misfiring.

 

Leica cameras are great cameras that produce stunning results, so it's worth persevering to sort out the problem.

Edited by robert_parker
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Hello,

 

The R5 has two mechanical shutter speeds, B and (I think) 1/100 so that is why they are working OK. 

 

It's odd that the shutter isn't working on any other speeds and my first query would be the batteries.

 

Do the led's in the viewfinder come on? How 'fresh' are the batteries? Are you certain they're the right type? Are they fitted in the correct way? Does it work on the Auto setting? 

 

I'd check all those points first. As Robert has said, are you trying to fire the camera with the body cap on? Although the shutter should still work on manual settings. 

 

Assuming that you do get the shutter working OK, you will need a 3 cam or R only type lens - the obvious choice would be a 50mm Summicron or a 35mm Summicron or Elmarit - the Elmarit can be picked up for reasonable money in particular. 

 

However, do you know how much Leica lenses cost? Check some prices out (look at Leica dealers websites). You may not wish to spend that much money just to use the R5...

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Thanks for the replies. Batteries are straight from the package. They're listed in the manual as being suitable and are inserted correctly. They light the battery test LED and through the viewfinder I can see the selected shutter speed. I've tried the shutter with the body cap on and off and in all exposure modes. When the electronic speeds are selected, the shutter feels like there's some mechanism preventing the button being fully depressed. In mechanical settings the shutter release has a much longer travel...

Leica glass is why I want to use the R5. I have an M3 with summicron 50mm f2 which gives great results, but I've always been more comfortable with handling SLRs...

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Success!! After reading the proposed thread indicated above, I had a furtle with the mirror release switch. After a bit of careful wiggling, I managed to get the shutter to fire using an electronic setting, and then it stuck again. But with perseverance and lots of repetition, the shutter is firing almost 100% reliably. I haven't yet resorted to actually cleaning it with IPA, but I will in a while. Thanks for the pointer. Now to find a suitable lens...

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I think you are pretty lucky getting an R5. Next to the R6.2 it is my favorite of the R series. More modern and sophisticated than the R4, better featured than the R-E, without the bloat of the R7 and above all the R8/9. Enjoy!

Personally I would pair it with a Summicron 50 (or 35) or the last type Vario-Elmar 35-70 4.0.

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The Leica R-E was released together with the Vario-Elmar 3,5-4,5/28-70

which was as "modified" Sigma lens and quit good enough for simple tasks.

 

I had the Leica R3mot - the Leica R7 and Leica R8 (which I loved and still think

it was the best SLR Leica ever made).

 

If I would start R again I would go for the R 2,8/35 and R 2,8/90 which offers

great optical quality for less money.  ;)

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