unikad Posted November 6, 2012 Share #1 Posted November 6, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) Hello, I am an happy owner of Leica R8 and suddenly its center-spot metering stopped working. It appears like no light comes through and the light-balance meter in the viewfinder does nothing. But when I switch to the other types of metering, it works OK. Would anyone have any idea how to fix it or where the problem could be? Before I have to send it to Leica in Germany because we don't have any Leica service in CZ:( Thank you very much in advance for your help. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted November 6, 2012 Posted November 6, 2012 Hi unikad, Take a look here Leica R8 centre-spot metering stopped working. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
masjah Posted November 6, 2012 Share #2 Posted November 6, 2012 I fear that this may not be good news. Andy (Barton) had a similar experience with his R8. It sounds as if the centre (spot) photodiode meter cell has died. If the other cells in the matrix array are stil working, the centre one may not be contributing to the integrated reading, so the other readings may not be correct. The other cells may well fail in due course. IIRC from Andy's experience, the diode array is integrated into a major piece of the bodywork, and the whole section has to be replaced. Leica will probably quote a repair cost greater than the second-hand value of the camera. I do hope I'm wrong. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted November 7, 2012 Share #3 Posted November 7, 2012 I am afraid that you are right. Leica's quote for the repair of a similar defect caused me to give the camera away for parts. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagner Posted November 7, 2012 Share #4 Posted November 7, 2012 Hi! I had this repair done on my Leica R9. But this did include a new shutter. Wouldn't probably have been necessary. (The 1/8000 was not in spec.) But, well, I bought the camera for a good price and so I agreed to the repair. At least I've got now a technically new camera. The repair alone for the diode would have been about 400Euro. Torsten Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted November 7, 2012 Share #5 Posted November 7, 2012 The cost of the repair to mine was more than the value of the camera, so it now sits on a shelf as a reminder of what used to be. I sold the DMR that went with it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted November 7, 2012 Share #6 Posted November 7, 2012 I've had my R8 meter serviced, too, but I do not recall the price. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joop van Heijgen Posted November 7, 2012 Share #7 Posted November 7, 2012 Advertisement (gone after registration) I've had my R8 meter serviced, too, but I do not recall the price. My Leicaflex SL (1973) got last year a new lightmeter cel for the spotmeter. Costs €75,- A Leicaflex SL is a real 'lifetime' camera:) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
rogera Posted November 15, 2012 Share #8 Posted November 15, 2012 My R9 had the exact same problem and I sent it to Classic Connections and he sent it to be serviced for me. They replaced the motherboard and the cost was 500 plus shipping. Got it back in two weeks and it has been perfect! Leica Sam is awesome!! A wonderful man with intense knowledge and believes in repairing not just replacing! I am so lucky to have found him.! Classic Connection - Used , New & Rare Leica Camera Store Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
unikad Posted December 22, 2012 Author Share #9 Posted December 22, 2012 Oh gentlemen, this sounds very bad to me:( Spending that much money on the repair...I can even buy a new "second-hand" one:/ So I started to think about what to buy. R8 is a great camera and quite for good money. But if I buy a new one, it seems to me that I can expect the same problems in some time, right? So what is your opinion on R6.2? I know, completely different, fully mechanical, doesn't have some functions. I shoot mainly landscapes therefore long exposures are used a lot. And R8 offers that and it's very comfortable to use and to set the correct exposure so smoothly. On the other hand, R6.2 doesn't offer this but it may last eternity if there's no electronic and can be repaired for lower prices, can't it? What would you kindly recommend? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
andybarton Posted December 22, 2012 Share #10 Posted December 22, 2012 If I were to buy another R, it would be a 6.2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted December 22, 2012 Share #11 Posted December 22, 2012 Don't write off your camera, just use the other modes, or buy a handheld meter/spotmeter. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
unikad Posted December 23, 2012 Author Share #12 Posted December 23, 2012 Of course, I will not write off my R8 completely, I will keep using it for some other photography. But because I very often work in difficult light conditions when shooting landscapes, I prefer using center-spot metering so that I feel sure and comfortable how I set my camera and what the light is in parts of scene I'm focused. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted December 23, 2012 Share #13 Posted December 23, 2012 Of course, I will not write off my R8 completely, I will keep using it for some other photography. But because I very often work in difficult light conditions when shooting landscapes, I prefer using center-spot metering so that I feel sure and comfortable how I set my camera and what the light is in parts of scene I'm focused. Try a handheld incident light meter, should work better! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveclem Posted December 23, 2012 Share #14 Posted December 23, 2012 Oh gentlemen, this sounds very bad to me:( Spending that much money on the repair...I can even buy a new "second-hand" one:/ So I started to think about what to buy. R8 is a great camera and quite for good money. But if I buy a new one, it seems to me that I can expect the same problems in some time, right? So what is your opinion on R6.2? I know, completely different, fully mechanical, doesn't have some functions. I shoot mainly landscapes therefore long exposures are used a lot. And R8 offers that and it's very comfortable to use and to set the correct exposure so smoothly. On the other hand, R6.2 doesn't offer this but it may last eternity if there's no electronic and can be repaired for lower prices, can't it? What would you kindly recommend? The R6.2 is a marvelous camera, it doesn't enjoy the same cachet as the SL and SL2, I presume from the basis that it's a Minolta collaboration and therefore not 'pure' Leica. No frills, no buttons, no battery necessary and it's a svelte little beauty unlike those clumping great R8 and R9's that would appear to fail with depressing regularity now. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joop van Heijgen Posted December 23, 2012 Share #15 Posted December 23, 2012 Oh gentlemen, this sounds very bad to me:( Spending that much money on the repair...I can even buy a new "second-hand" one:/ So I started to think about what to buy. R8 is a great camera and quite for good money. But if I buy a new one, it seems to me that I can expect the same problems in some time, right? So what is your opinion on R6.2? I know, completely different, fully mechanical, doesn't have some functions. I shoot mainly landscapes therefore long exposures are used a lot. And R8 offers that and it's very comfortable to use and to set the correct exposure so smoothly. On the other hand, R6.2 doesn't offer this but it may last eternity if there's no electronic and can be repaired for lower prices, can't it? What would you kindly recommend? Also a R6.2 needs a CLA after almost 20 years...and Solms ask €600,- for it... The Leicaflex SL is the best mechanical SLR Leica and is easy and not expensive to service... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
urs0polar Posted December 24, 2012 Share #16 Posted December 24, 2012 I have an R8 (knock on wood, metering is fine so far) and a SL, which is great too. However, SL's have their own issues, like trying to find a good one that doesn't have a yellow/dark/separating/de-silvered viewfinder prism, which is also an expensive fix. The SL also, unless you have it modified, only takes those Wein cell batteries at this point, which are $5 a piece and once exposed to air go bad in a month or two, which means you always have to have a spare with you or risk it randomly not being there. Thank God my iPhone lightmeter is pretty accurate Why can't Leica be like Linhof and just make the same exact awesome thing for 50+ years? If they were making the SL today (like they make the MP to be a sorta-M3), I would be saving up for one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wildlightphoto Posted December 24, 2012 Share #17 Posted December 24, 2012 The SL also, unless you have it modified, only takes those Wein cell batteries at this point, which are $5 a piece and ... I re-calibrated my SL meters to work with 1.5-volt 625s silver-oxide cells. Also had DAG modify them to accept many ROM lenses. My dream camera is an SL with the M9's sensor but until that becomes a reality the R8/DMR will do fine My backup R8's spot meter quit last weekend while the primary R8 is in Solms :( As long as the DMR keeps working I'll keep the R8 working too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
unikad Posted December 25, 2012 Author Share #18 Posted December 25, 2012 I own four Leica cameras - R4, R5, SL and R8. But the only one still working fine is R5. The electronic of R4 completely died:( The SL has a yellow finder and on the photos there is always a white stripe approx. 1/8 of the photo wide. It's recalibrated for a new type of batteries and also has a modified bayonet to adapt most of later lenses. R8 has broken center-spot metering and it appears the other modes show false values so the picture is very overexposed:( So the only camera that is still working is R5. BTW: Of course I sometimes use a hand-held meter but sometimes it's too uncomfortable when using filters etc... So it looks every Leica will need some service in some time, won't it? And it will be pricey... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveclem Posted December 28, 2012 Share #19 Posted December 28, 2012 Also a R6.2 needs a CLA after almost 20 years...and Solms ask €600,- for it... The Leicaflex SL is the best mechanical SLR Leica and is easy and not expensive to service... Needs? Not an uncommon assumption but dependent on use surely? Even then, it could go to one of the many alternative outlets that do cla without costing 600 yoyos. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
unikad Posted May 2, 2017 Author Share #20 Posted May 2, 2017 Hello again, I would just like to ask, still concerning my R8 broken lightmeter. I have tried to use again my R8 using other meter modes. It works well but I have to set a higher ISO to compensate the broken center-spot metering. But the batteries in the camera discharge very quickly. I manage to shoot a couple of shots and then I put it in my bag. After two weeks the batteries are completely empty. It happens everytime I buy new batteries. Is it possible that this can be influenced by the broken metering? How come the camera discharges the batteries when it´s off? I love this camera and it makes me sad if I have to put it on the shelf again Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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