flavio Posted December 21, 2018 Share #21  Posted December 21, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) hello sandro and everyone here, my R4s is with me since 1984, though i very rarely use it nowadays. my R lenses are elmarit 60 macro (indeed ), 35 pa curtagon and 180 apo telyt. i also have one M4 with 50 summicron and 21 super angulon f 3.4.  would like thank all of you for talking about such a great R camera.  flavio Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted December 21, 2018 Posted December 21, 2018 Hi flavio, Take a look here I love my R4. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
Graham (G4FUJ) Posted January 31, 2019 Share #22 Â Posted January 31, 2019 Perhaps slightly off-topic, but I have been considering a Leica R for a while. I still have a few Minolta lenses from my XD-7 (XD-11 in USA) days. Is the mount / aperture connectivity the same as the Leica R series? While my XD-7 is just a paperweight due to the electronics failing I kept some lenses as they were gifts from now deceased family members. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith (M) Posted January 31, 2019 Share #23  Posted January 31, 2019 In his description of the R3 and the changes from the XE-1, Jonathan Eastland in his 'Leica R Compendium' states there were changes to the XE-1's lens mount to permit fitting of R lenses. Presumably this change also would apply to the R4 / XD-7 situation.  He states that whilst they share same inner chassis design, that is about as far as it goes in sharing the same specification. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted January 31, 2019 Share #24 Â Posted January 31, 2019 4 hours ago, Graham (G4FUJ) said: Perhaps slightly off-topic, but I have been considering a Leica R for a while. I still have a few Minolta lenses from my XD-7 (XD-11 in USA) days. Is the mount / aperture connectivity the same as the Leica R series? While my XD-7 is just a paperweight due to the electronics failing I kept some lenses as they were gifts from now deceased family members. No, the R mount is unique to Leica. Why not look for a suitable Minolta body on ebay? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham (G4FUJ) Posted February 2, 2019 Share #25  Posted February 2, 2019 On 1/31/2019 at 1:36 PM, earleygallery said: No, the R mount is unique to Leica. Why not look for a suitable Minolta body on ebay? Thanks for the info. TBH, have too many cameras. I did have several Minolta bodies, but when I migrated to a pair of Nikon F3 some 15 years ago I sold the X700 and X300s on. Didn't really get on with them after the XD-7. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandro Posted February 2, 2019 Author Share #26 Â Posted February 2, 2019 Flavio, do you use your M4 more often than the R4? I am using my analog M camera's for all kinds of photography and only after I bought the R4 to use the wonderful 60mm Macro-Elmarit have I got some experience with the R4. A beautiful camera and a wonderful lens. Lex Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted April 3, 2019 Share #27  Posted April 3, 2019 Advertisement (gone after registration) I have just acquired a "free" R4-MOT, which will be arriving on the 500mm MR-Telyt-R I have just bought. Very oddly, this seemed to reduce the price of the Telyt, way below what they normally fetch so I am not sure what that says about the desirability of the MOT version of the R4. The camera looks to be in lovely condition but is described as "untested". Usually this is a euphemism for "broken" but we will see when it arrives. It may be something as simple as lacking the correct 1/3 DN battery or dirty battery compartment contacts, which was the case on a Yashica 110W AF camera I recently bought as a disposable camera to use during the Holi festival in India, where bucket loads of coloured powder get chucked about. I am reluctant to spend a lot on the R4 but if it is a simple mechanical issue such as a stuck mirror, Kelvin at my local camera repairers, Protec UK, should be able to sort it out. I assume it will need new seals and you can buy them here: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LEICA-R4-R4s-Light-Seal-Kit-FOAM-SEALS-BODY-MIRROR-BACK-DOOR-REMINDER-WINDOW/372594865596?hash=item56c06275bc:g:5qMAAOSwAWNcXmgK , which I would also get Kelvin to fit for me. Door seals I can do but mirror seals I leave to an expert. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandro Posted April 3, 2019 Author Share #28 Â Posted April 3, 2019 Hello Wilson, let us know in which condition your R4-Mot is when it arrives. I Always understood that problems in the electricy circuit are the most problematic in a R4, but I am very Lucky with mine until now. It functions as it should and I very much like the metering system. Lex Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted April 8, 2019 Share #29  Posted April 8, 2019 I am just in early days with my R4. However, considering it was free (with the 500mm MR-Telyt-R lens), apparently dead but just a couple of hours work with various tools and Servisol switch cleaner fluid brought it fully back to life, even with working and accurate metering, so I now am very happy with it. I struggle with lever winds with a non-bending thumb, so for just a few pounds, treated it to a Motor-Winder-R. This behaved oddly to begin with, firing frames at random , especially if you turned the camera upside down quickly  but now that it has sat with batteries in it for a few hours, it has settled down and is behaving. I assume some capacitors in the circuitry needed reforming. The metering will spring to life and the shutter will fire from both the camera and motor drive releases. I have ordered a seal kit from US-Cameras in Colorado. Wilson   Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here… Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! 5 Link to post Share on other sites Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members! ' data-webShareUrl='https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/285287-i-love-my-r4/?do=findComment&comment=3718182'>More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted April 8, 2019 Share #30  Posted April 8, 2019 Hello Wilson, Congratulations for your new camera & lens. What are the first 4 numbers of the serial number of the LENS? Some of the 500mm mirror lenses from Minolta came with Leitz serial numbers & some of them came with Minolta serial numbers. Some of the Minolta numbered lenses began with 5175 & then * * *. Best Regards, Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted April 8, 2019 Share #31  Posted April 8, 2019 Michael, My Telyt has serial number of 3067698, which looks like a Leica one and would put its year of manufacture as 1980. It is in beautiful clean condition both cosmetically and optically. I suspect it had always been use with the ratty "no-name" 77mm UV-A front filter it came with, as the front protection glass on the lens was spotless. It also had a good condition UV-C on the back. I have replaced the front UV-A filter with a Hoya MRC protective filter as 2 UV filters not required. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted April 8, 2019 Share #32 Â Posted April 8, 2019 Hello Wilson, For SOME Minolta mirror lenses the 39 X 0.5 UV filter in the back is PART of the optical calculation of the lens. If you leave it off then the photographic results will not be as good. Unless you replace that UV filter with 1 of the specifically designed & originally included, neutral density filters that were supplied with the lens originally. Best Regards, Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted April 8, 2019 Share #33  Posted April 8, 2019 Hi Michael, I just cleaned and replaced the UV-C filter at the back as since you say, it looked an integral component of the lens. It was very dirty with both finger marks and general grubbiness but cleaned up just fine with iso-propyl alcohol. The front filter was a different matter. It was a no-name brand, made in Hong Kong and had very damaged coating. I saw no need to have a UV-A filter as well as a UV-C, so replaced it with a multi-coated protective filter. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted April 8, 2019 Share #34 Â Posted April 8, 2019 Hello Wilson, Sounds good to me. At the time Leitz said that the filters were part of the optical calculation & that they had been ground especially flat for the mirror lenses. Did the lens come with any of the other special Minolta filters? Best Regards, Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted April 9, 2019 Share #35  Posted April 9, 2019 Michael, Sadly not. I would like at some point to get a light orange filter and probably an 81B warming filter for using CineStill 800 tungsten film in daylight. If they do them in the size, I would imagine that modern B+W filters are at least as flat as the special Minolta filters. Wilson Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted April 9, 2019 Share #36 Â Posted April 9, 2019 Hello Wilson, I think that 1 of the included filters was orange. I will try to find out more about what filters were provided. Best Regards, Michael Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted April 10, 2019 Share #37  Posted April 10, 2019 (edited) Hello Again Wilson, The rear mounting 39mm X 0.5mm filters originally supplied with the lens were UVa (Not UVc or UV-C), 4X Neutral Density, Yellow, Orange, Red. The lens also takes 77mm X 0.75mm front mounted filters. A reminder again: The literature at the time emphasizes the necessity of having 1 of the rear mounted filters in place at all times stating that the rear mounted filters are included as part of the optical design. And by inference: Part of the optical correction. Altho on some occasions specially accurately ground plane parallel coated filters have been used in front of or at the back of certain lenses for a variety of other reasons such as: Soft or fragile glass in the nearest optical group. Soft anti-reflection coating on nearest optical group. Use as a mechanism to keep dust & other debris out of lenses especially where it would be difficult to clean. Best Regards, Michael Edited April 10, 2019 by Michael Geschlecht Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbealnz Posted April 10, 2019 Share #38 Â Posted April 10, 2019 My understanding as well Michael, not so much with camera catadioptric but more astro scopes. And I am sure that the use of the said "filter" is as much a housekeeping reason too. I took a quick perusal of FleaBay to see what size the filters actually were, and there were quite a few available. Gary Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pridbor Posted April 12, 2019 Share #39  Posted April 12, 2019 Just a quick question on cleaning: "cleaned up just fine with iso-propyl alcohol." Is this a good way to clean a Lens? I was wondering if the lens coating can handle this liquid? I'm using it all over my car and other cleanings so I would like for it to usable 🙂 Preben Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave.gt Posted April 20, 2019 Share #40  Posted April 20, 2019 (edited) It has been quite awhile since I have used my R4, and I think it is about time to find a lens for it and  get back to shooting it!:) Some time ago, I had both a 50 Cron and an 80 Lux. I really miss those lenses. I have a lot of film to shoot, but no lens. I must correct that problem.:) Edited April 20, 2019 by dave.gt Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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