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Leica R4 no manual shutter speed and mirror slap problems


granislav

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Hi,
I bought a cheap-o Leica R4 with a quirky shutter and sound.

1) The shutter seems to be working good only in Automatic (circle and square mode) and Program modes. If I manipulate the lever coupling-thing that connect to the lens or cover the mirror box with hand, the meter shows slower speeds and the shutter reacts accordingly. In the T mode and Manual mode the shutter seems to fire of at the same speed (I presume it's close to the mechanical 1/100 s). Can someone tell me is this a sticky magnet thing o r a capacitor? Or maybe some issue with connevticity under the shutter speed selection dial? I dealt with a Minolta XD7 (took out the mirror box to clean the shutter leaves) so I somewhat know how this can be build and the minolta repair guide was awesome on the electronics).

2) The shutter/mirror makes quite a noise when firing. It is not as nice as seen on other videos of the model. In the above mentioned minolta there was a mirror damper cilinder which I cleaned and lubed and the sound was perfect. I assume there is one in the R4 as well but i have no idea how to get to it without taking off the mirror assembly/peeling off the leatherettes. It seem to be dug deeper that on the XD7 (and most likely the R3). Any ideas? I can upload a video to show how it sounds.
Thanks
Patryk
 
P.S. this is my "portfolio" of repairs so far:)

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You have a tiger by the tail there :lol: 

The R4 ( as allLeica reflex cameras) has a so-called "kurbelschleife" mirror mechanism, which is different from Minolta. The mirror is pulled upwards and backwards by a number of small levers and is self-damping, not needing the foam strips of other systems. It will not be easy to take it apart to get it to run smoothly again.

I am fairly sure that you will have to remove - and replace- the leatherette  to open up the camera.  More expert forum members will be able to set you on the right track.

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7 minutes ago, earleygallery said:

Nice chrome example. If you can't fix it I would buy a working black R4 as cheaply as possible and swap the top and base plates over.

I bought it for 170PLN (ca. 40EUR) including shipping. I don't think I cant go lower than that 😂 but good idea though...

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Seems to me there's a fault in the electronic shutter's connection to the selector (shutter speed dial). I don't know that there's any way to fix that without dismantling the camera and doing repairs to the electronics, for which there may or may not be any parts available. On the other hand, it might simply be a tiny bit of corrosion or a poor connection causing the problem. 

I dunno about the noise; mechanically, in the video, it doesn't sound all that different from my R6.2 (other than the R6.2's mechanical shutter noise at longer exposures, of course). 

G

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My two R4 have just gone belly-up this month. On one the aperture sensing linkage has lost it's spring - I'll try to fix that one. The other appears to meter and adjust correctly, but the shutter always stays open for several seconds - even on manual. I checked with DAG, but he no longer works on R cameras.

Luckily my R6 is still doing fine, but I'm keeping a lookout for an SL digital I can afford.

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2 hours ago, TomB_tx said:

My two R4 have just gone belly-up this month. On one the aperture sensing linkage has lost it's spring - I'll try to fix that one. The other appears to meter and adjust correctly, but the shutter always stays open for several seconds - even on manual. I checked with DAG, but he no longer works on R cameras.

Luckily my R6 is still doing fine, but I'm keeping a lookout for an SL digital I can afford.

Go through this manual https://www.suaudeau.eu/memo/manuels_rep/reflexes/minolta/minolta_xd_repair_guide.pdf. The Minolta XD7 was the base for the R3 and as I see, many elements are used in the R4. You may be able to find some hints on the shutter drag (last page is the troubleshooting but there are several more within the text - you must read it thoroughly). 

I.E. "Shuter hangs open on all electronic funtions": there are 3 potencial causes for that (page 55.)

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