Leica R-Series SLR

Leica R-Series SLRs

by Karen Nakamura

Overview and Personal Comments

As detailed in my Leicaflex page, Leica was slow to respond to the growing threat of Japanese single-lens reflex cameras. But by the 1970s, it was clear that SLRs represented the future of camera design. While Leica was superb at designing lenses, their previous camera bodies were largely mechanical and they could not compete with the auto-exposure features in the electronic marvels from their Asian rivals. Using the text or images on this website without permission on an ebay auction or any other site is a violation of federal law.

To solve this, Leica teamed up with the Japanese company Minolta to design a new series of single-lens reflex cameras to replace the Leicaflex series. Leica borrowed the electronics and some of the chassis technology from the Minolta XD and XE cameras to produce the Leica R3 and R4 cameras (more info here). It should be emphasized that the Leica R3-R6 were designed with some Minolta technology (the XD series), but were manufactured by Leitz in Portugal or Germany.

Here's a quick run-down of the R series in a nutshell:

Unfortunately, Leica was not as capable in producing electronic cameras as it was in manufacturing mechanical ones. Early R3 and R4 cameras were troubled with a number of electronic "bugs" that made them seize up or operate improperly. This gave Leica SLRs a reputation for being finicky.

This was not really resolved until the R6 in 1988, which was the return to the all-mechanical SLR. The speed-increased R6.2 is considered by many to be the best Leica SLR ever, that is unless you need auto-exposure metering.

There's a great page with things to check before buying an R4-R7. If you enjoy Leica SLR cameras, you should join David Young's Leica Reflex Forum.

Best Leica SLR Cameras

Best Overall: Leica R6.2
Best Beginner / Least Expensive: Leica SL or SL2
Best Finder: Leica SL2
Best Auto-exposure: Leica R9
Best Digital-Ready: Leica R9

R-Lenses

The R-series cameras use only the so-called "R-cam" or third stepped cam on Leica R lenses. If you use an older 2-cam or 1-cam lens, you'll have to use stop-down metering.

There are R-only lenses that only have the R-cam. You can of course use these.

ROM lenses also contain the third-cam (R-cam) so they can be used on all R series, but they can't be used on the older Leicaflexes.

More info on my Leica R lens page.

Leica R3

As noted above, the R3 is a compact SLR based in part on the Minolta XE. I bought my R3 on ebay in February 2005. When it arrived, I was surprised by how solid it felt. The body is all metal and the only plastic is on the tips of some of the controls. This gives the camera considerable heft. It's the same weight (780g) as the Leica R9, which many consider a beast, although the R3 is considerably smaller in volume (size).

The excerpt from the following chart illustrates just how hefty the R3 is, especially in comparison with the Nikon FE, which came out in 1978; or with the Leica M rangefinder series. The full chart is on my SLR vs. RF page.

R3 Feature Set

That being said, I was suprised how many features the R3 had for being a late-1970s camera. In that sense, it's definitely more than the Nikon FE. Here are my comments on them:

Auto-exposure: AE works great and along with size, is a major reason to use the R3 instead of the Leicaflex SL which I also have. When in auto-exposure mode, the shutter is stepless between about 16 seconds and 1/1000 second. Using the text or images on this website without permission on an ebay auction or any other site is a violation of federal law.

One 'bug' I have about the R3 is that the meter needle isn't illuminated. This means its pretty hard to see at night or in a theatre-type situation where only the person in the center of the frame has a spot on them.

Shutter-priority / aperture priority AE: While the R3 doesn't have shutter- or aperture-priority auto-exposure, the manual tells you how to pretend that you do:

• Shutter priority: Set the shutter-speed dial to the speed you want. Then adjust the aperture until the meter needle matches the selected shutter speed.
• Aperture priority: Set the aperture to your selected aperture, then adjust the shutter speed to match where the meter needle indicates.

Once you get used to it, it's not as clunky as it seems.

Leica R3 manual scans courtesy of David Young. Used with permission.

Integral vs. selective metering: These are Leica's jargon for center-weighted and spot-metering. When the switch in front of the shutter-speed dial is set to integral metering (the white square), the camera meters in a center-weighted pattern. The selective metering (white dot) meters only the small portion of the scene as indicated by the outer frame of the focusing circle. Very few 1970s cameras had selectable spot/central metering.

Eyepiece shutter: The R3 has an eyepiece shutter (which only a few high-end SLRs have). If your eye is away from the shutter and you meter, stray light can enter through the eyepiece and through your metering off. This is important for auto-exposure SLRs like the R3 when using a remote-release or self-timer. Very few SLRs have this - most notably the Nikon single-digit F series and the Canon EOS 1 series. Using the text or images on this website without permission on an ebay auction or any other site is a violation of federal law.

Multiple-Exposure Switch: I was surprised by the presence of a multiple exposure switch on the wind lever. Turn it clockwise so that two white dots are visible - the wind lever will only cock the shutter, it won't wind the film. This is much easier than other cameras which require fooling with the film rewind button.

Battery life: The two SR44 silver-oxide batteries will power the meter continuously for 2 months. But you'll normally shut the camera off in between shoots, so the battery life should 400 rolls or between 1~2 years. The meter power-switch is located on the rear of the camera. It also locks the shutter-button against false release.

The battery check button doubles as the film DIN indicator arrow. Pressing it down with your fingernail turns on the self-check. If the red light on the left side of the camera turns on, the batteries are still usable. Without batteries or with dead batteries, the shutter will only work at X (1/90th second) and B (bulb). Using the text or images on this website without permission on an ebay auction or any other site is a violation of federal law.

Quirks: The film counter is on the rear of the camera. If you're shooting and you want to check the current film count, it's handy..... but we're used to having the film counter on the top -- and Leica should know, they put it there with the original Leica standard!

Technical Details

About Leitz/Leica

Leitz was originally a microscope and scientific optics company. The first series of screwmount Leicas were designed by Oskar Barnack and have been named Barnack cameras by some. The prototype Ur-Leica was designed in 1918, but mass production did not start until 1925 when the Leica I came out. I have a write-up of the Leica III (1933).

The Leica M3 rangefinder was released in 1954 and represented the end of the Barnack-series of screwmount Leicas. The M-series had an integrated viewfinder/rangefinder with automatically switching projected framelines, coincident and split-image rangefinder, lever wind, hinged rear door, integrated shutterspeed dial, and M-bayonet mount. I have write-ups of the M3 (1954), M2 (1957), MD (1963), and M7 (2002). The Leica CL (1973) is technically not an M-Leica but it uses the M-bayonet mount.

The design of the Leica M has not changed considerably since the M3 of 1954. In 1967, the M4 came out with a crank-rewind instead of a knob rewind. Since then, the M series remained essentially unchanged from the Leica M4 (1968) up to the current M7. The only difference is that the M7 has an electronically controlled shutter and automatic exposure metering. (This leaves out the fiasco of the M5 which was considerably different and considerably unpopular at the time).

Leica's single-lens reflex (SLR) cameras have not been as popular as their rangefinders. I have write-ups of the original Leicaflex SL camera as well as the newer R3 and R6 SLRs and the R-mount lenses.

Leitz... blah blah.... and in 2000, fashion conglomerate Hermes bought 31% of Leica's stock. The only tangible result of this has been the emergence of the Hermes Special Edition Leica MP, dressed in the best coach leather and costing a mere US$8000.

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