Huss
Veteran
Picked up a super thrashed on Leica R8. I've never seen an R Leica so 'used'. Guess not everyone babies them. Bought it because I wanted the lens that was on it - Gen 2 Summicron 50 3 cam - for my R9. This was one of those time it was cheaper finding a camera with lens than just the lens itself!
Lens has outer wear, but glass is excellent. The 'free' R8? DOF lever broken - I don't care. Metering and shutter speeds seem accurate. But here's da weird thing. The camera only stops the lens down to F4. It goes slightly narrower after that but that's it. Does it with any lens. The Cron works perfectly on the R9.
I don't really mind, because the R8 was a bonus, and with it's 1/8000 top speed, I can pretty much use it wide open all the time anyway. But I'm curious as to what could be the issue.
Compared to the R9, this thing is waaaaay heavier. And it's weird there is no frame counter on the top. And strangely, I prefer that the mode dial is not locked. Guess people complained about that as on the R9 you have to push a button to unlock it which to me slows things down and is a pain.
I never imagined I'd have a better cosmetic shape Zenit than Leica...
Lens has outer wear, but glass is excellent. The 'free' R8? DOF lever broken - I don't care. Metering and shutter speeds seem accurate. But here's da weird thing. The camera only stops the lens down to F4. It goes slightly narrower after that but that's it. Does it with any lens. The Cron works perfectly on the R9.
I don't really mind, because the R8 was a bonus, and with it's 1/8000 top speed, I can pretty much use it wide open all the time anyway. But I'm curious as to what could be the issue.
Compared to the R9, this thing is waaaaay heavier. And it's weird there is no frame counter on the top. And strangely, I prefer that the mode dial is not locked. Guess people complained about that as on the R9 you have to push a button to unlock it which to me slows things down and is a pain.
I never imagined I'd have a better cosmetic shape Zenit than Leica...
Steve M.
Veteran
It looks almost mint compared to some of the beaters I've shot with :]
I suspect that the broken DOF lever is the problem w/ stopping the lens down. That looks like the later Canadian lens, so it will be sharp even at f4, although I preferred the earlier lens for it's smooth bokeh.
That looks like the perfect camera to me! You don't have to worry about getting a scratch on it. I'll bet some pro ran a lot of film through it some time in the past, which usually means it works really well. People say "they're not as big as they seem", but it does look quite large. They also say they fit their hands perfectly, and feel smaller than they look. I don't know, never had one, and thought my R3 was too big and heavy. But the R8 is miles ahead of the R3 in features and design.
I suspect that the broken DOF lever is the problem w/ stopping the lens down. That looks like the later Canadian lens, so it will be sharp even at f4, although I preferred the earlier lens for it's smooth bokeh.
That looks like the perfect camera to me! You don't have to worry about getting a scratch on it. I'll bet some pro ran a lot of film through it some time in the past, which usually means it works really well. People say "they're not as big as they seem", but it does look quite large. They also say they fit their hands perfectly, and feel smaller than they look. I don't know, never had one, and thought my R3 was too big and heavy. But the R8 is miles ahead of the R3 in features and design.
Huss
Veteran
The R8 is significantly heavier feeling than the R9. It feels like it has a motordrive + batteries attached! The fit in hand is great, but there is a reason why they used magnesium to lighten the 9.
One thing I noticed is the R8 only has a memory lock on the spot meter mode. The R9 does it on spot and avg.
Steve, you're right about the advantages of buying beaters. You just use them. It's why I bought a beat up and beautiful Nikon F, instead of finding a mint one. Plus Fs look awesome beat up!
One thing I noticed is the R8 only has a memory lock on the spot meter mode. The R9 does it on spot and avg.
Steve, you're right about the advantages of buying beaters. You just use them. It's why I bought a beat up and beautiful Nikon F, instead of finding a mint one. Plus Fs look awesome beat up!
Out to Lunch
Ventor
"The mass of the R9 was reduced by 100g (to 790g) from the R8, achieved by switching to a magnesium casting for the top plate (formerly zinc alloy) and substituting aluminum for steel at the bottom plate's frame". (Wikipedia)
Ken Ford
Refuses to suffer fools
An R9 is on my bucket list...