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I love my Leicaflex SL


andrew01

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Hi all, I did a search and it doesn’t look like we have a thread for this beautiful camera.

I recently acquired this example from Meister camera and am looking forward to putting a film through it.

The mechanical precision of the camera is amazing.  Easily on par with my M3.  The meter seems to be accurate based on comparing the readings I get from my Nikon F3.  The weight with lens and leather half case is about 1300 grams compared to about 950 for my M3 with leather half case, Voigtlander meter and Zeiss 50mm f2 planar.  The original leather half case is actually quite heavy at about 200g, but I like to use these to keep my cameras in mint condition.

 

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Edited by andrew01
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Indeed, nice user camera, precise spot meter, lovely and pleasant to use, if a bit on the heavy side.

I always own (and use sometimes) one Leicaflex SL black paint ( worn  from use ) beside my other R and M

 

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Another beauty!

Funny a black SL are fairly rare and thus more expensive compared to chrome. OTOH chrome SL2 are more expensive than black SL2 s. It's all a game

It's the old story : rarity costs money but doesn't necessary trump functionality . Give me a camera that feels good and works 

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Some rare nice weather last weekend, so a roll of TriX went through.  The shooting experience of the camera is as good as it gets.  The extra heft makes it feel rock solid in terms of minimising camera shake, and the meter is really nice.  I like how I can move the selective zone around the scene and quickly see the meter needle respond.  Fingers crossed for some nice pics!

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  • 2 weeks later...
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I shot the heck out of Leicaflex SL cameras over a 7-8 year period.  Great, great cameras with a big, bold beautiful viewfinder and incredible damping.  At one time, not only my favorite SLR, but my favorite camera!!  The way the subject dramatically pops into focus on a Leicaflex SL with 90mm lens is just something that needs to be experienced.  Still have four of them, including a black paint (which maybe I'll sell).  I'll never sell the two chromes I've had the longest, because too many memories attached to them.  I even took them up to Churchill Canada back in '08 with that long sliding 400mm to shoot polar bears.  Ha, ha, I was the only film user on the trip.  

Anyway, don't shoot them much anymore.  Think I overshot them a bit; it's like listening to you favorite song or band/composer over an over.  Variety is nice.  Plus the stenosis in my back now demands something lighter.  Also, I've had my share of repairs on them ranging from catastrophic shutter failure, broken meters and film spools, and even the plastic viewfinder falling out on one of them.  But the main reason, is that over the last decade I've gravitated more to the 35mm focal length, and the best neighborhood for that is the rangefinder.  The SL's microprism focusing screen is a little tough on wide angles, and the availability of modern M lenses of all sizes is amazing.  For R optics you're basically limited to two generations of each lens, compared to the five generations on M optics, not even counting Voigtlander, Zeiss ZM, or LTM mounts.  

Still though, when they work, the Leicaflex SL is a great camera.  And cheap on today's market; albeit, repairs are costly.

Edited by TheBestSLIsALeicaflex
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I have a black one, just like Arnaud's. The Summicron-R 90mm is my favorite lens on it. I bought it along with three lenses (50/1.4, 90/2, 135/2.8) as a consignment kit at the local dealer in 2013. Leica R gear at that time was so devalued that I paid about $325 per lens and the body was thrown in for nothing. Works perfectly still. 

The Leicaflex SL was my long held favorite fantasy camera. I was/am happy to see that using it, even if rarely nowadays, still meets my fantasy expectation of greatness. :D

G

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Your Leicaflex SL -- a thing of beauty/style/design.  I shot with an SL (years ago) moved on to the SL2. Kept the SL2 and added an SL2 MOT. That was really something. Twice the height - and I loved it. Real tricky when attaching the motor to body. My first assignment with the SL2 MOT - a tennis match at Rock Creek Tennis Stadium. When I started shooting practically everyone in the stadium looked at me. Had to stop. SL2 MOT in action is a very, very loud camera/motor. Kept it for about a year (I just didn't want to let it go) but had to move on to more practical things. Traded the SL2 MOT but kept the SL2 body for many years. A real pleasure to shoot. I know you will enjoy that Leicaflex SL!

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I just received a black SL a couple of days ago. I will be getting the shutter speed checked this week. Paid $66 for the body, hard to believe you can get a Leica for this price. This is my third SL, what a fantastic camera, bright viewing screen, controls where the need to be and great looking. I was a Nikon F user for over thirty five years, the SL gets used the most. My system consists of a 35mm f2.8, 50mm f2 and 90mm f2.8, all version one lenses.

I have wanted one for over twenty five years, two years I won the bid on a SL MOT. Last year I send it to DAG for a CLA. Camera work like a charm.

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1 hour ago, cary said:

I just received a black SL a couple of days ago. I will be getting the shutter speed checked this week. Paid $66 for the body, hard to believe you can get a Leica for this price. This is my third SL, what a fantastic camera, bright viewing screen, controls where the need to be and great looking. I was a Nikon F user for over thirty five years, the SL gets used the most. My system consists of a 35mm f2.8, 50mm f2 and 90mm f2.8, all version one lenses.

I have wanted one for over twenty five years, two years I won the bid on a SL MOT. Last year I send it to DAG for a CLA. Camera work like a charm.

It is amazing how cheap these are going for, considering they are the Rolex of mechanical 35mm SLR’s.  

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  • 4 months later...

Here is one of mine. Black SL with 35mm f2.8 Elmarit R lens.

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Shot with Linhof Technika 4X5 Fomapan 100

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