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Leica R4 doesn't wind


BCMielke

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I purchased two lenses off of Craigslist for a nice price and the owner just gave me the Leica R4 in order to get rid of it.  He hadn't used it in years and didn't have batteries to test it.  

 

I got it home, but batteries in it, but it appears that the "Rapid Transport Lever" seems to not advance.  I have downloaded the manual, but nothing pops out at me on how to fix it so I assume something in the advancing mechanism is broke.  Hopefully I'm wrong.

 

Does anyone know what the issue is and if it is broke or not?

 

 

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If it sat a long time with the rewind release in the rewind position, its possible it just got stuck with the wind mechanism disengaged. You might check the button on the bottom and see if it is stuck depressed.

You may also be located near Don Goldberg (DAG Camera Repair), who might be able to give a quick diagnosis.

Edited by TomB_tx
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Tried all of those things.  It now appears that there is more wrong with it then I thought. The fresh batteries I put in it yesterday are now dead.  So I'm pretty sure something is wrong with it.  I will give DAG an email to see if this is even worth saving.

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Yep, several bugs here. The batteries should never die within a day.

I had the blocked transport lever issue many years ago with my R4 (RIP) twice. First time it went to Leica for repair ($$), second time it was the bin. If it is the same mechanical fault with your R4 (seems likely if you can exclude the obvious causes) the camera is seriously broken, no way to spend money for repairs. Get a R5 or R7 in good condition, they are quite inexpensive. Except maybe a very nice R9 repairing R bodies is not reasonable anymore given the low prices for used R cameras.

Edited by T.E.
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  • 2 weeks later...

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I am electronics resistant because, while they superb cameras when fit, the R5 and R7 are unlikely to be repairable if something goes kaput as they say in Wetzlar. My own suggestion to all who would listen are to consider a Leicaflex standard (forget about the meter) or Leicaflex SL. If the lenses you bought are R cam only, I retract and suggest an R6.2 or R6.

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I am electronics resistant because, while they superb cameras when fit, the R5 and R7 are unlikely to be repairable if something goes kaput as they say in Wetzlar. My own suggestion to all who would listen are to consider a Leicaflex standard (forget about the meter) or Leicaflex SL. If the lenses you bought are R cam only, I retract and suggest an R6.2 or R6.

All my electronic Leica R cameras I have had are no longer working (R3,4,5,7,8)...Only my 3 Leicaflexes SL are still working...At the moment they are very cheap to obtain...Very reliable and no 'palpas' problems...

Edited by Joop van Heijgen
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Well, funny....all my electronic R's are still working.... ;) (R3 - R9)

The main problem with the R4 -R7 modells is a sticky "mirror release magnet", which is not too difficult to fix...The electronic itself is in fact quite reliable. At least, thats my experience.

 

Torsten 

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My original owned and very carefully used since new late production model R3 developed a shutter fault which cannot be repaired. Very annoying as the camera now has sentimental value to me as well.

 

I bought an older average condition R3 at auction, which turned out to have a broken battery connection. I managed a fix and it's now working fine.

 

If your R camera breaks down, unless it's something simple then the cost of repair - IF it can be repaired - is going to be much more than the cost of a replacement.

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  • 5 weeks later...
  • 2 years later...

I was given a "broken" R4-MOT with a 500MR-Telyt lens I bought to use with my R9 and L mount cameras. I found it had a dry solder joints in the battery compartment of the winder, corroded battery contacts in the camera, dirty contacts between the winder and the camera and dirty/corroded contacts in the exposure mode switch. This had all stopped the rewind part of the way through a cycle. I had to manually wind the mechanism to the end of the cycle by rotating the sprocket roller, before all the electrical connections were in the correct position and it all then sprang to life and has worked since. The mode switch is still not perfect and sometimes, if it has not been used for a few months,  you need to rotate the switch from end to end of its travel a few times before it all says hello and the meter reads correctly (it is very obvious if all is not well, as the readings are patently wrong ). 

Wilson

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