Leicaflex sl-2

[mauriziobozzi]

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The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[wizard]

Looks good, but what exactly would you like to tell us?

[wlaidlaw]

On 5/27/2020 at 6:50 PM, andrew01 said:

- Consider an SL instead of SL2 because it is 1/4 the price.  SL2 has some reliability concerns with the 1/2000 speed, which can be hard to pick up without film testing.  Main problem with the SL is a dead meter if the camera has not been used for a long time.  If you get one that is currently working you should be fine.

- I use a MR-9 battery adapter to get around the 1.3v battery voltage requirement.  This fits a smaller 1.5v silver oxide and has an in built circuit to reduce the voltage to the correct rating (very important for Cds meters).

 

I only paid £200 for a very nice SL2 in January of this year. It was actually £350 but that included a 35mm/f2.8 2 cam Elmarit-R, that is worth a minimum of £150, as I had it cleaned and serviced preparatory for sale . I must get round to selling it at some point, as I already have a 3 cam 35 Summicron-R V.2 which fits all my Leica reflex cameras (SL2, R4-MOT, R8 & R9). 

On the MR-9 adapters. Beware of eBay and Amazon. There are scammers selling these as "Voltage Regulated to 1.35V" when they are just SR43/44 battery holders. I  have not found the MR-9 regulated adapters, which I buy from The Small Battery Co. in the UK,  to be very reliable. They seem to last about 3 or 4 years, get erratic for a few months, then die. I am on no's 3 and 4. I have one in my CL and the other in my SL2. I have had 2 of my 3 MR-4 Leicameters converted to 1.55V to use an unregulated PX 625 replacer, with an SR43 silver oxide battery. It is unwise to use an alkaline PX625A battery, as their voltage varies from 1.7V when new to 1.25V when near exhausted, which does not do a lot for metering accuracy. I don't feel my 1.55V re-calibrated MR-4 meters are as accurate as my one remaining unconverted one, when I use either a Wein 1.35V cell or an MR-9 in it. The MR-4 done in Germany by someone whose address I seem to have lost, is a lot better than the one I had very expensively repaired by Quality Light Metrics in Hollywood, CA, which is hopeless. I think forum member Jerzy Wasowicz in Vienna can re-calibrate/alter Leica cameras and meters from 1.35V to 1.55V. I have been told this should really be done with a diode rather than just changing the internal settings. In reality, the tiny Voigtlander VC-2 meters are noticeably more accurate and reliable than the MR-4 meters but don't look as correct on an M3 or M4 as the MR Leicameters. 

[andrew01]

1 hour ago, wlaidlaw said:

I only paid £200 for a very nice SL2 in January of this year. It was actually £350 but that included a 35mm/f2.8 2 cam Elmarit-R, that is worth a minimum of £150, as I had it cleaned and serviced preparatory for sale . I must get round to selling it at some point, as I already have a 3 cam 35 Summicron-R V.2 which fits all my Leica reflex cameras (SL2, R4-MOT, R8 & R9). 

On the MR-9 adapters. Beware of eBay and Amazon. There are scammers selling these as "Voltage Regulated to 1.35V" when they are just SR43/44 battery holders. I  have not found the MR-9 regulated adapters, which I buy from The Small Battery Co. in the UK,  to be very reliable. They seem to last about 3 or 4 years, get erratic for a few months, then die. I am on no's 3 and 4. I have one in my CL and the other in my SL2. I have had 2 of my 3 MR-4 Leicameters converted to 1.55V to use an unregulated PX 625 replacer, with an SR43 silver oxide battery. It is unwise to use an alkaline PX625A battery, as their voltage varies from 1.7V when new to 1.25V when near exhausted, which does not do a lot for metering accuracy. I don't feel my 1.55V re-calibrated MR-4 meters are as accurate as my one remaining unconverted one, when I use either a Wein 1.35V cell or an MR-9 in it. The MR-4 done in Germany by someone whose address I seem to have lost, is a lot better than the one I had very expensively repaired by Quality Light Metrics in Hollywood, CA, which is hopeless. I think forum member Jerzy Wasowicz in Vienna can re-calibrate/alter Leica cameras and meters from 1.35V to 1.55V. I have been told this should really be done with a diode rather than just changing the internal settings. In reality, the tiny Voigtlander VC-2 meters are noticeably more accurate and reliable than the MR-4 meters but don't look as correct on an M3 or M4 as the MR Leicameters. 

Thats a good price on an SL2!  I got my mint SL for £100 including shipping from Germany.

My MR-9 is from small battery company.  It is disappointing to read that you are getting reliability issues after a few years since these are not cheap (1/3 the cost of an SL!)

[masjah]

3 hours ago, wlaidlaw said:

I only paid £200 for a very nice SL2 in January of this year. It was actually £350 but that included a 35mm/f2.8 2 cam Elmarit-R, that is worth a minimum of £150, as I had it cleaned and serviced preparatory for sale . I must get round to selling it at some point, as I already have a 3 cam 35 Summicron-R V.2 which fits all my Leica reflex cameras (SL2, R4-MOT, R8 & R9). 

On the MR-9 adapters. Beware of eBay and Amazon. There are scammers selling these as "Voltage Regulated to 1.35V" when they are just SR43/44 battery holders. I  have not found the MR-9 regulated adapters, which I buy from The Small Battery Co. in the UK,  to be very reliable. They seem to last about 3 or 4 years, get erratic for a few months, then die. I am on no's 3 and 4. I have one in my CL and the other in my SL2. I have had 2 of my 3 MR-4 Leicameters converted to 1.55V to use an unregulated PX 625 replacer, with an SR43 silver oxide battery. It is unwise to use an alkaline PX625A battery, as their voltage varies from 1.7V when new to 1.25V when near exhausted, which does not do a lot for metering accuracy. I don't feel my 1.55V re-calibrated MR-4 meters are as accurate as my one remaining unconverted one, when I use either a Wein 1.35V cell or an MR-9 in it. The MR-4 done in Germany by someone whose address I seem to have lost, is a lot better than the one I had very expensively repaired by Quality Light Metrics in Hollywood, CA, which is hopeless. I think forum member Jerzy Wasowicz in Vienna can re-calibrate/alter Leica cameras and meters from 1.35V to 1.55V. I have been told this should really be done with a diode rather than just changing the internal settings. In reality, the tiny Voigtlander VC-2 meters are noticeably more accurate and reliable than the MR-4 meters but don't look as correct on an M3 or M4 as the MR Leicameters. 

Adding a diode is the way to go. A forward biased Schottky diode has a constant voltage drop of about 0.2V which is exactly what is needed.The regulated adapters do the same thing, but I'll bet the problem is the rating and heat dissipation of the diode when it has to be squashed into a 625 case with space also for the smaller silver cell. The best answer would be to mount the diode in the camera instead.

 

[mauriziobozzi]

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First of all: sorry about my last post! I misclicked the 'Submin Post' button instead of Insert other media and failed to edit it!

Gaskets are perfect, as the viewfinder is. Everything works pefectly. Only non-functioning feature is the exposure meter. I contacted a technician that can fix it at a cheap price so I'm happy about purchasing it and I'm happy about the camera because it gives me ways to shoot in the most 'human' way. Less reflective and pondered.