Re: [Leica] Leica] R4

["Roy Zartarian" <royzart@connix.com>]

First of all, don't be swept away by the relatively low price of an 
R4. Be pessimistic enough to add to your ultimate cash outlay the 
cost of (1) R glass and (2) a good going over by a 
trustworthy and competent Leica specialist with particular attention 
to the light seals. And remember, if you'll be doing flash, that the 
R4 does not have a TTL capability and that the Leica folks didn't 
come up with a sync speed faster than 1/100th sec. until the R8.

A couple of weeks before this list's previous extensive discussion on 
the qualities of the R4, an attractively priced outfit (body, 35mm & 
90 mm lenses) seduced me. The quality of some available light 
portraits done with the 90 had me absolutely infatuated. Then reality 
set in when the specks of what I thought were dust on the 
focussing screen turned out to be pieces of the prism light seal and 
when that work uncovered the need for some significant work on the 
innards. 

But all in all, if one recognizes that not every Leica ages 
gracefully, the earlier R models can offer a decent taste of what 
Leica glass on an SLR can do.  

Roy

On  9 Sep 98 at 7:49, wcgodwin wrote:

> Anyone have any information / experiences with the Leica R4.
> Have noticed that they are cheap second-hand here in the UK
> { by "cheap" I mean under =A3275 ( about $440 ) }.
> Is there any particular reason for this ??
> Only thing I know about the R4 is that it has an electronic shutter
> !! Had been getting concidering a used "M" { I already have a 111C
> }, but the R4 is less than half the price of any of the "M" series
> !! { R3's are even cheaper but much harder to find !! }
> 
> Thanks.
> Clive..
> 
> 
   Roy C. Zartarian
   "A prophet is not without honor except in his
    own land and among his own people"

Written with the assistance of a labrador retriever whose chin is on the k=
ey board. All typos are his fault.