Leica R8... something I should know?

All things considered, I must thank you too, James. You are a great source of information and advice about these cameras. I only hope not to find myself in the sad situation of having to recycle one (I'm very tempted to get another) because I really liked their handling and design. Besides, one can find some very decent lenses floating about for comparatively little money (that is, compared to Leica M prices). In any case, chances are that my next lens may be a 50mm 'cron (the E55 version, 11217)... Fortunately, they're more affordable than their M counterparts. 🙂
 
Glad to be of help.
The great plus about the R8/9 is while they will likely do fine, if they fail the lenses can be used on any mirrorless platform with an adapter, include M bodies.
You spend 3 times as much on a Contax T2 or T3, it’s demise leaves you empty handed.
 
I have the same lens as you with my R8 - it’s not the sharpest, but it’s ok. I say this having made many landscape shots at f/5.6 or f/8 and a high shutter speed of at least 1/1000. But it could be I’m being way too picky and I’m using color film.

Anyway, I do love the R8 - the form factor, the modes, the display, the solidity, and the confidence of that nice shutter sound 🙂

One thing that really annoys me is that on/off is on the mode dial. I want to set the mode dial to aperture priority, or whatever, and leave it there. But the designers didn’t give us a separate on/off switch and thereby have forced us to constantly be moving this dial.

As for the scratches - I don’t have them, but Huss had an inexpensive and elegant solution: just put a piece of tape to cover the... the... whatever that thing is in the film path. There’s a photo he posted showing it in one of the R8 threads.
 
Pál_K said:
One thing that really annoys me is that on/off is on the mode dial. I want to set the mode dial to aperture priority, or whatever, and leave it there. But the designers didn’t give us a separate on/off switch and thereby have forced us to constantly be moving this dial.
Click to expand...

The solution to that is the R9...
 
james.liam said:
The solution to that is the R9...
Click to expand...

Perhaps I misunderstand, as Leica seem to have made the situation worse with the R9!

Looking at the R9 instruction booklet, one still has to move the mode dial from OFF to one of the exposure modes, or move away from an exposure mode to turn the camera off - these operations are the same as with the R8. But now with the R9, a separate lock switch must also be depressed!

I wonder if Leica had actually given a pre-production version of the R8/R9 to working photographers and solicited their feedback for improvements.
 
Pál_K said:
Perhaps I misunderstand, as Leica seem to have made the situation worse with the R9!

Looking at the R9 instruction booklet, one still has to move the mode dial from OFF to one of the exposure modes, or move away from an exposure mode to turn the camera off - these operations are the same as with the R8. But now with the R9, a separate lock switch must also be depressed!

I wonder if Leica had actually given a pre-production version of the R8/R9 to working photographers and solicited their feedback for improvements.
Click to expand...

The reason Leica did that was because on the R8 it was all too easy to move the mode dial unintentionally. There is very little resistance when turning that dial. If you have an R8, it is just something you get used to checking.

Rolfe
 
Grrrr....

I have half a mind to drill a hole in the top plate, mount a big ol’ toggle switch atop it for ON and OFF, and then keep the mode dial always set to an exposure mode.

THAT will teach them!!!
 
I just dropped my first roll for developing (made me wish I had been more efficient in other things; when I bought my M4 I had my developing gear fresh and ready, and I was able to run the very first roll through some T-Max soup and then scan it). It'll be ready in a week. In the meantime I loaded the second roll and, since I did it when the camera was off, it didn't count the first exposures (the number didn't start showing up until the fourth exposure).

That didn't happen with the first roll? Again, piecing my actions together I realized that I loaded the camera whiel it was off. It was advancing film and doing what I wanted ti to do. 🙂

Of course, now it has a B&W roll. And I'm shopping for B&W filters for that lens of mine.
 
In case future buyers of cameras such as these ever find this thread... Here are some useful links I found in my sleepless nights.

First, ANDREW NEMENG'S DISCUSSION about the findings of Bill Calwell, Martin Howard and Joseph Yao, along with a warning regarding SNs and info on the display colors.

Then, THE TEXT Nemeng quotes from, which contains an analysis of 31 camera bodies. This is an admittedly low number, but it works as a reference. In sum, getting a Leica R8 body below the 242xxxx SN is like placing a bet against yourself.

In the meantime, I'm going to take a walk in this beautiful weather (we're finally above freezing, at 36°F finally!). Practice makes mastery. 😉
 
Well.. back to report on my foray into the Leica R system.

I'm in love with this gear...

But the best part of it is that I'm not experiencing any anxiety about equipment. With my Leica M stuff, even after I got my first camera and lens (a 'cron 50) I was yearning for a 35. Then, I obsessed about a 90mm lens. After that it was something else and so on... almost ad nauseam.

Not with this. I admit: I wanted to have two bodies, and found them (the first is black, the second is silver, with a 242xxxx SN, which makes it relatively safe). Then came two zooms: a very inexpensive 35-70 for one, and the 28-70 for the other (I got both... but it's a long story; suffice it to say that I ended up buying a ROM of the 28-70, and then selling my first 35-70 to finance a 35-70 f4).

After that... I feel I'm done. Yes, I'd like to have a 'cron 50 for this system, but it's not eating away at me like before. Using these cameras and zooms is a grand experience that I recommend most enthusiastically. 🙂
 
SolaresLarrave said:
Well.. back to report on my foray into the Leica R system.

I'm in love with this gear...

But the best part of it is that I'm not experiencing any anxiety about equipment. With my Leica M stuff, even after I got my first camera and lens (a 'cron 50) I was yearning for a 35. Then, I obsessed about a 90mm lens. After that it was something else and so on... almost ad nauseam.

Not with this. I admit: I wanted to have two bodies, and found them (the first is black, the second is silver, with a 242xxxx SN, which makes it relatively safe). Then came two zooms: a very inexpensive 35-70 for one, and the 28-70 for the other (I got both... but it's a long story; suffice it to say that I ended up buying a ROM of the 28-70, and then selling my first 35-70 to finance a 35-70 f4).


After that... I feel I'm done. Yes, I'd like to have a 'cron 50 for this system, but it's not eating away at me like before. Using these cameras and zooms is a grand experience that I recommend most enthusiastically. 🙂
Click to expand...


You might consider the highly-regarded 21-35 Vario Elmar to complete the kit.
 
SolaresLarrave said:
Thanks a lot for all the information about the Leica R8 camera, James! I really appreciate that you took the time to look up the serial number.

As for yours-truly, here's an update.

The black camera I ordered came in, but the lens (which was timed to come the same day) didn't. In fact, it seemed lost in the mail between Nebraska and Illinois (and in these stormy times, things can happen). In deep despair and frustration, I found another lens for sale, at a lower price, in a store, not eBay, so I bought it... on Friday evening.

I contacted the seller of the first lens (a 28-70 f3.5-4.5) and he immediately opened a claim with the post office. Yesterday he told me he got some reply from them hinting that the lens was in the system, so one can assume it may come this week. In the meantime, the lens I purchased from a store in MN (a 35-70 f3.5) also may come this week. So in the end, I may find myself with two lenses instead of none.... but only one body. I'll decide later which one to keep based on ergonomics, because on paper each of them looks really good.

BTW, the camera isn't tiny... but it's not huge either. Since I had seen a video of the R8 with a winder, I looked for one and found an inexpensive copy in good shape that will add a bit of heft to the camera. Other than that... the dials feel exquisitely smooth and high quality, like a precision instrument designed to work well. Compared to my Nikon dSLRs, the buttons sit in a more natural position in the body and the viewfinder (even without a lens) is incredibly bright.

Once I have a lens I'll come back and tell you what it is to use this beautiful machine. For now... I'm off to get something done to take my mind off waiting for the lenses I ordered.
Click to expand...

It took 18 days to get a letter from Chicago area to Delaware. I could walk it in 18 days.

It took a package same time when it was shipped Jan 29 to mid Feb . It as ordered from Amazon.

They just lost my life insurance check from Chicago to East coast. We had to send another. New York Life claims they are having lots of trouble.

Businesses are getting away from mail. The new director is messing it up on purpose so the government can take it private.
 
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