james.liam Posted June 11, 2019 Share #81 Posted June 11, 2019 Advertisement (gone after registration) 2 hours ago, wlaidlaw said: ..... I really only buy ROM lenses. Wilson ...with the notable exception of the non-ROM 280 APO Telyt? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted June 11, 2019 Posted June 11, 2019 Hi james.liam, Take a look here Servicing R cameras: the end of the story for R8 and R9. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
wlaidlaw Posted June 11, 2019 Share #82 Posted June 11, 2019 32 minutes ago, james.liam said: ...with the notable exception of the non-ROM 280 APO Telyt? No I don't have the 280 APO. My only exceptions are the MR 500mm Telyt-R, which has fixed aperture of f8, so no ROM necessary and my 80mm Hartblei Super-Rotator tilt-shift lens, where no ROM or lever coupling is available. Wilson Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebarnman Posted June 12, 2019 Share #83 Posted June 12, 2019 16 hours ago, wlaidlaw said: Leica did not actually run out of spare parts, they sold them all off. Leicaflex and R3-R7 to Paepke, who at least are using them to provide service for Leica Reflex owners. Sadly the R8 and R9 parts were all sold off to Photo-Arsenal who are neither selling them on at present or providing service. It might have been nice if Leica had offered them for sale only to companies who would give an undertaking to provide a parts service for R owners. That would have been the responsible thing to do for owners who have often shown great loyalty to Leica over the years and recently seem to be getting precious little in the way of reciprocation. I really cannot understand why these parts were not sold to the LHSA or to one of the service gurus like Don Goldberg. Perhaps a combination would have been the answer, where the LHSA members provided the purchase funds and the parts sales service was then contracted out to Don on a commission basis but it's too late anyway now. Wilson Ok, that sucks. I knew they got rid of their parts, but I did not know what volume they were talking about. Thanks for the update. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
james.liam Posted June 13, 2019 Share #84 Posted June 13, 2019 Problem is that the electronics are so complex and 20+ years old. It's really not worth the repair. Buying a near-mint R8 will cost US500 or less, cheaper than having anyone muck with it. I'm sure there's someone out there collecting defunct R8/9 for the easily replaceable parts. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 13, 2019 Share #85 Posted June 13, 2019 On 6/11/2019 at 9:53 AM, wlaidlaw said: Leica did not actually run out of spare parts, they sold them all off. Leicaflex and R3-R7 to Paepke, who at least are using them to provide service for Leica Reflex owners. Sadly the R8 and R9 parts were all sold off to Photo-Arsenal who are neither selling them on at present or providing service. It might have been nice if Leica had offered them for sale only to companies who would give an undertaking to provide a parts service for R owners. That would have been the responsible thing to do for owners who have often shown great loyalty to Leica over the years and recently seem to be getting precious little in the way of reciprocation. I really cannot understand why these parts were not sold to the LHSA or to one of the service gurus like Don Goldberg. Perhaps a combination would have been the answer, where the LHSA members provided the purchase funds and the parts sales service was then contracted out to Don on a commission basis but it's too late anyway now. Wilson I am still surprised that Leica sold the parts off to Arsenal, a company that I only do business with with the utmost wariness. I guess that Leica assumed that the parts would be used in the repair circuit, but didn't take a spoon that was long enough to the negotiations. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
edstock Posted June 28, 2019 Share #86 Posted June 28, 2019 I’ve been a Leica user since the early 90’s, both M and R. I never ventured beyond a R 7. Likewise I stopped at a M7. So I have a M7 and M4-P, my selection of R’s is R7 and R6.2. While all have seen service, they still remain in excellent shape. The M4-P was recently serviced by DAG. I don’t worry about service, more I worry about the quality of my photos/slides. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted June 28, 2019 Share #87 Posted June 28, 2019 Advertisement (gone after registration) 1 hour ago, edstock said: I’ve been a Leica user since the early 90’s, both M and R. I never ventured beyond a R 7. Likewise I stopped at a M7. So I have a M7 and M4-P, my selection of R’s is R7 and R6.2. While all have seen service, they still remain in excellent shape. The M4-P was recently serviced by DAG. I don’t worry about service, more I worry about the quality of my photos/slides. That’s great. The point is they may not be repairable if something goes wrong, but enjoy them until then. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted June 29, 2019 Share #88 Posted June 29, 2019 (edited) On 6/13/2019 at 5:38 AM, jaapv said: I am still surprised that Leica sold the parts off to Arsenal, a company that I only do business with with the utmost wariness. I guess that Leica assumed that the parts would be used in the repair circuit, but didn't take a spoon that was long enough to the negotiations. Hello Jaap, That is an interesting phrase: "but didn't take a spoon that was long enough to the negotiations." What does that translate to? Best Regards, Michael Edited June 29, 2019 by Michael Geschlecht Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaapv Posted June 29, 2019 Share #89 Posted June 29, 2019 It takes a long spoon to sup with the Devil... 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
james.liam Posted June 29, 2019 Share #90 Posted June 29, 2019 I remember when the R lenses were discontinued and Arsenal was the recipient of Leica's remaining stock as well. They weren't the most pleasant people to deal with. Whatever was agreed to one day, they reneged by the next. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted June 29, 2019 Share #91 Posted June 29, 2019 1 hour ago, james.liam said: I remember when the R lenses were discontinued and Arsenal was the recipient of Leica's remaining stock as well. They weren't the most pleasant people to deal with. Whatever was agreed to one day, they reneged by the next. He is not known as Boris the Bandit for no reason 😎 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
james.liam Posted July 4, 2019 Share #92 Posted July 4, 2019 Nearly-unused late production R8 bodies are plentiful and priced reasonably (~US$400), less than the cost of most lenses. I think even the R motor drive can cost ~US$250-300. Worth getting a backup whilst you can. R9s cost double and for reasons I cannot discern, save for modest reduced weight, a few enhancement and flash capabilities nearly none of us care about Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
masjah Posted July 4, 2019 Share #93 Posted July 4, 2019 James, at the risk of stating the obvious (not to say tautologous!) the reason the R9 is more expensive is supply and demand; actually I find some of the enhancements very useful for my needs. But perhaps more importantly is that an R9 would be a younger camera than an R8, and there are reported problems of meter cell failures and viewfinder display fading in older R8s. Personally, for these reasons, I would always pay the extra, and I guess others must share this view. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wlaidlaw Posted July 4, 2019 Share #94 Posted July 4, 2019 I agree John. When my M7 repair turned from a quick job on the shutter release shaft to a marathon with a myriad of problems having been found, many from a very poor previous service, I started researching R cameras, availability, price, winder availability, reliability etc etc. From what various people I trust, such as Steve Byford of Ffordes and Alan Starkie of Cameraworks, I received some very sound advice. Because of the age of the cameras, I was limiting myself to R7, R8 and R9. Both the aforementioned parties tried to steer me away from the R8, as they said it was not ageing well and was likely to be more trouble than the older R7. The R9 they both agreed was the best SLR Leica ever made by some margin but they did warn me of the service issue. I paid just over £500 for an R9 with winder, which I need due to an uncooperative right thumb for lever winds. I paid Thomas Merkt another £300 for a "like new" 50 Summicron ROM. The total of £800 was about half what another M7 would have cost me. Of course I have had a serious attack of GAS since and added a 24/2.8, 28-70 and MR500 R lenses plus I ended up with a supposedly broken R4-MOT with winder, which was thrown in free with the MR500. An hour's work resurrected the camera and winder from the dead and it is now a good back up for my R9, if it dies. I was recently offered a new/old stock R8 for £1000. I declined after my past experience with a new/old stock Leicaflex SL2, which turned out to be a total dog. It had 4 or 5 warranty visits to Leica UK , after which it was still not working correctly, so I gave it back to the dealer for a full credit. Wilson 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamey Posted July 10, 2019 Share #95 Posted July 10, 2019 It's such a pity, but this is a problem us R owners had to face, I have loved and used the Reflex system since the SL right up to the R9 but the new owner and his advisers frankly didn't care About us any longer. Probably they were under the impression that we R users are stupid and would gladly buy into the S or SL system, well not me, frankly I detest the new #@&*%$#$% . I have finely come to my senses by buying my dream camera, THE MAGNIFICENT NIKON F6, WHAT A BEAUTY, do I love this camera well I had to buy second one. The Lenses I am buying for them are the ZF Milvus range, simply superb. So whats to happen with my Leica R's, well they have given me some wonderful memories over the last 46 years so now I have retired them to my glass cabinet. Will I ever use them again, probably just for the nostalgia. Ken. PS... for my Digital needs I am using the Fuji X system, But since I have moved to NIKON for my film use I might look at the D6 when it's released. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
james.liam Posted July 10, 2019 Share #96 Posted July 10, 2019 (edited) 6 hours ago, hamey said: It's such a pity, but this is a problem us R owners had to face, I have loved and used the Reflex system since the SL right up to the R9 but the new owner and his advisers frankly didn't care About us any longer. Probably they were under the impression that we R users are stupid and would gladly buy into the S or SL system, well not me, frankly I detest the new #@&*%$#$% . I have finely come to my senses by buying my dream camera, THE MAGNIFICENT NIKON F6, WHAT A BEAUTY, do I love this camera well I had to buy second one. The Lenses I am buying for them are the ZF Milvus range, simply superb. So whats to happen with my Leica R's, well they have given me some wonderful memories over the last 46 years so now I have retired them to my glass cabinet. Will I ever use them again, probably just for the nostalgia. Ken. PS... for my Digital needs I am using the Fuji X system, But since I have moved to NIKON for my film use I might look at the D6 when it's released. You could always get Leitax mounts for your R lenses and the F6. If you’re going the Nikon route, I strongly recommend an FM2n or FM3a as an added lighter alternative. They are the very apex of Nikon mechanical cameras, the latter with aperture-priority automation as well. Edited July 10, 2019 by james.liam Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZN Posted July 10, 2019 Share #97 Posted July 10, 2019 (edited) 11 hours ago, hamey said: R users are stupid and would gladly buy into the S or SL There are other options. I bought a lot of quality R glass a few years ago to use with my Sony A7rII. It's only relatively recently that I bought an SL and now also use the lenses with it when 24MP will do. But that's the beauty of R glass - you can use it anywhere. If Leica drops the ball with their camera bodies then it isn't a problem anymore. Frankly, it has never been a better time to be an R-user 😃 BTW tip when using leica glass on non-leica bodies - you have to be careful with adapters. The best and most accurate I have found are made by Rayqual in Japan. See http://www.japanexposures.com/2010/07/09/rayqual-releases-sony-e-mount-lens-adapters/ Edited July 10, 2019 by AZN Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
earleygallery Posted July 10, 2019 Share #98 Posted July 10, 2019 11 hours ago, hamey said: So whats to happen with my Leica R's, well they have given me some wonderful memories over the last 46 years so now I have retired them to my glass cabinet. Will I ever use them again, probably just for the nostalgia. Ken. PS... for my Digital needs I am using the Fuji X system, But since I have moved to NIKON for my film use I might look at the D6 when it's released. Sorry, I don't understand - why not just carry on using your R cameras/lenses? Working R bodies are available for under £100 if you need a new one. 2 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
hamey Posted July 11, 2019 Share #99 Posted July 11, 2019 Thank you for your advice Gentlemen. James, I have looked at that option specially with the 90mm f2 and the 180mm f2.8, both are not ROM lenses. Does the leitax conversion work well on the F mount. AZN, I have the RAYQUAL adapter already but it's for the Leica R to Fuji X mount, it's not to bad, but I prefer the Fuji lenses as they perform better on their native bodies. But I will consider an adapter for Leica R to Nikon Z mount, I still have the Leica R to EOS mount but my 28-90 & 21-35 couldn't be attached to the full frame Canon (acc mirror). Early Gallery, Thats still an option but just love the feel of the F6, it's a beast, never held a Camera that sits in my hands so beautifully and coupled with the Zeiss Milvus lenses It's shear joy and thats why I bought two F6's and today ordered the Milvus 85mm1.4. ZF to complement my Milvus 50mm f2 Makro and the Milvus 35mm f2. So for buying more Leica Cameras.... NO THANK YOU. Ken. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
james.liam Posted July 11, 2019 Share #100 Posted July 11, 2019 (edited) 2 hours ago, hamey said: Thank you for your advice Gentlemen. James, I have looked at that option specially with the 90mm f2 and the 180mm f2.8, both are not ROM lenses. Does the leitax conversion work well on the F mount. \ Ken. I had Leitax mounts for 3 ROM lenses in addition to several non-ROM for Nikon F. Took 5 minutes to convert, all worked flawlessly on my Nikon D700 and FM2/T and were easily reversible (I did so when I bought an R8 and got rid of my digital Nikons). Another option is getting the Canon EOS 1V (discontinued by Canon in 2017, I think); in that case, all you need is a R>EOS mount without changing the native R mount Edited July 11, 2019 by james.liam Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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