the R4's are on the way

Ya gotta give a full review. I would love to see real eyes on reports about the size and useability of the 35mm framelines.
 
The R4 looks really nice. I was in Tokyo last week and bumped most fortuitously into Tom Abrahamsonn (Mr Rapidwinder) in the Lemon camera store and he happily pulled out a beautiful R4 he'd just picked up at the Cosina factory where he'd been visiting Mr. Kobayashi days earlier. I got a chance to hold and examine it for a few moments and it felt great! I tend to shoot much more wide angle than zoom on my R2M and Bessa T, so this camera is very appealing. While I was there I picked up a mint 25/4 Snapshot-Skopar for under a $100 - great deal even though it's not rangefinder coupled! Next purchase: the R4!
 
The R4 seems like it will be a great camera, but do I need another camera body? Of course I do, along with the Zeiss 25 Biogon! Anyone leaning towards the A or M versions?
 
if i were to get one (and i may) i would go for the m.
why?
i already have the zi, which is auto and battery dependent, having a manual, non battery dependent body seems a good idea. and with a really wide angle lens i need to check the meter settings more closely than with a 35 or 50 lens.
joe
 
Just sent a check to Stephen for the balance on the R4. I went back and forth on which version to buy. I have used the R3A about two years now and really enjoy the AE feature. I usually don't shoot in AE, but use it at times when I need to shoot a little faster. After a lot of thought I decided on the R4M. I guess the total mechanical thing is what attracted me the most. I am hoping this will tend to slow me down on WA shots and allow more concentration on composition. The next decision will be what to use as a "normal" WA lens on this body. I have a 21/4 and a 35/2.5. So the question now is what lens that falls between those two to get - the 25/4 or the 28/3.5.

Mike
 
I want an R4 for street, protests, festivals, markets, performances. I'll scale focus on my trusty 20mm nikon F lens until I choose some RF glass.

Haven't been able to settle 100pc on the auto or the man version as yet..
 
i think it is the most useful body to have come from Cosina. The huge DOF of wide angle lens will make the short baseline a non issue. Makes me wonder whether Leica will make standard issue of their 0.58 finder again, now they have the 16/18/21 tri elmar.
 
yes, i have the R4M and have had the pleasure of using it for the last two weeks ( with the new 21/4P - the 21/4 in M-mount).
There are some cameras that are "moments of truth" in a photographers life. the first time i held an m2 with the 35 on it, my first Nikon F and the leica MP with the 0,58 finder. The R4 falls into this category! If you are a wide-angle shooter, it is an "epiphany" camera. It just fits in your hand and view. For the trip to Japan I took a M2 with the VC 40/1,4 MC, a R3M with the 75/2 Summicron and as i knew that i would get the R4M and the new 21/4P once I got there, it was an unusally light travel pack for me. I did include a 12/5,6 for a specific shot (the shattered dome at Hiroshima Peace Park). Of the 45+ rolls i shot, about 25 were shot with the R4M. It is a spectacular finder! With the 21 I can see the framelines with glasses on. There is a faint reflection of the frames off to the side of the finder but not disturbingly so. Shutter noise and feel is the same as on any R3/R4 body. Slightly "clunky" release, which is a function of the shutter. Advance is very smooth and rewind better than on my Zeiss Ikon? All of this pales when looking through the finder - it is crisp, clear and sooo wide! So far I have only been using it with the 21/4P ( Mt kobayashi said, when he gave it to me" Oh, I hope you dont mind that it is a pre-production lens! The full perodsuction run wont start until next week!". No. I did not mind at all! It is the same formula as the screw-mount version and as that is one of the best 21's that you can buy - why change. The aperture ring has the "ears" of the 35/2,5 II on it and it makes it easy to set and change aperture.
The 25/4P will be out in late April and I have been promised one of these, once it is out.
All in all, the R4 is all I expected it to be and more! Combined with a R3 you are covered from 21 to 90 mm. I suspect that my new travel pack will be the R4, a M2 ( still a great camera) and a R3. the 21, the 28/3,5VC, the 40/1,4 and the 75/2 Summicron (best finder for that lerns is the R3m).
I did run into Mr Ho at Lemon camera and we had a great talk and as he said, he got a bargain 25/4 for less than $100! I must admit, that if he haden.t bought it - i would have. although i already have a couple of them!
Apart from the R4M and the 21/4P i showed remarkable restraints and only picked up a Canon 35/1,8 LTM and a couple of hoods (i am always looking for these) for a 105/2,5 and my old Biogon 21/4,5 as well as a repiica "minifinder" for 35mm for Nikon Rf. original ones are $1500+ and at less than 10% of that, the replica looks good. It is just as bad as the original so it is more for looks than anything.
For those of you who are waiting for your R4's - it is worth it and for those of you who are wavering - if you like using 21/25/28 and even 35's - just go for it!
 
I would get an R4A for both usability and reliability reasons. I've not had good luck with mechanical cameras. I'll wait to see the reviews and will probably eventually get one, although I think the matt finish looks stupid on the A model. Why camera manufacturers can't just make regular chrome or black chrome finished cameras is beyond me. :(

One of the attractions of the R4 is using it with my Konica M-Hexanon 28mm with that single frameline in the VF. Sweet! :)
 
Thanks Tom for sharing your experiences and impressions of the R4. In retrospect what an obviously good idea! I expect it will be a modest success and hold its value in the longer term. Leica had the germ of the idea with the 0.58x viewfinder magnification choice, but didn't take it far enough. Kudos to you and Mr Kobayashi!
 
got my order in for an R4A. i personally love the matte finish myself. i hope it gets to me before friday, as we leave for some hiking in the smoky mountains!

and tom, would you happen to have a 21mm elmarit that you could use to check for viewfinder blockage? curious just how much it will block.
 
enochRoot said:
got my order in for an R4A. i personally love the matte finish myself. i hope it gets to me before friday, as we leave for some hiking in the smoky mountains!

and tom, would you happen to have a 21mm elmarit that you could use to check for viewfinder blockage? curious just how much it will block.
Click to expand...


Both the 21/2,8 Elmarit and the Zeiss Ikon 21/2,8 are showing up in the viewfinder. The lower right hand corner is almost blocked out. I suspect that i will take a Dremel tool to these hoods in some future and cut that corner out. At the moment i am using the 21/4P VC on the camera and there is no blocking. If you take the hood off either the Leica or Zeiss 21 there is less blocking, so it is possible and even practical to use these lenses on the R4.
 
great...thanks tom! i rarely (if ever) use hoods, so it shouldn't be much a problem for me. i appreciate the info!


Tom A said:
Both the 21/2,8 Elmarit and the Zeiss Ikon 21/2,8 are showing up in the viewfinder. The lower right hand corner is almost blocked out. I suspect that i will take a Dremel tool to these hoods in some future and cut that corner out. At the moment i am using the 21/4P VC on the camera and there is no blocking. If you take the hood off either the Leica or Zeiss 21 there is less blocking, so it is possible and even practical to use these lenses on the R4.
Click to expand...
 
Carzee said:
I want an R4 for street, protests, festivals, markets, performances. I'll scale focus on my trusty 20mm nikon F lens until I choose some RF glass.

Haven't been able to settle 100pc on the auto or the man version as yet..
Click to expand...

Carzee,

I already have an R3M and I thought about buying an R4 mostly for street shooting. I will take the AE version, as the light can change drastically on a sidewalk between the sunny side and the shaded areas. I like the manual operation of my R3M but I think that AE is great when one has to shoot quickly, like when in pursuit of the elusive instant décisif.

Cheers,

Abbazz
 
Abbazz, I agree about the utility of AE in fast-changing conditions. My lesson in that was ~40 years ago when I was carrying both an M2+35mm and a Pentax Spotmatic with 85mm at a radical-politics rally on a street corner in Seattle. It erupted in battle between a speaker and a heckler, with a couple of supporters each, and the battle moved from the sidewalk into a covered market area. I cranked the lenses open 3 stops and kept shooting, but it should have been more like 5 stops and my film was very underexposed for the most dramatic parts of the event. AE can save the day...

I just spoke with Stephen by phone to order an R4a but he was driving along the freeway so I made the order through the CameraQuest site instead. Just couldn't resist. He predicted they'd be shipping at the end of next week. :)
 
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