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If had had not sworn not to buy any more gear, a R7 would be on the list. In black.
Maybe buying that Brian Long book helps?
Is the Leica R a "real Leica" and more questions
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If had had not sworn not to buy any more gear, a R7 would be on the list. In black.
Maybe buying that Brian Long book helps?
The repair is costly. If you buy another body it will have a sticky mirror as well. It is a real shame the germans messed up the nice minolta design.
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So what should I do now in your opinion
Avoid R4-R7
I have R4 R4S 2 R5 r7. R7 from Leica store in germany. All having the same issues.
I shoot SL and R3
R3 is the fastest SLR i have ever used.
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How can I "avoid" them if I own them already
Any of the R bodies make fine cameras and are cheap enough to buy a replacement if something needs repairing. What is wrong is thinking a few posts on photo forums about 'sticky mirrors' represents the views and experiences of all those people without a sticky mirror. As ever you only hear from the disgruntled on the internet, nobody ever posts 'working well, nothing to report, sorry to waste your time'.
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Well, mine are working well, nothing to report.
That's a very unfortunate way to formulate your gripes with a technical issue. Please don't do that.
This is good to know. Hopefully it stays that way and it very well may. There’s often a certain consternation that occurs when something statistical like reliability/availability (or opinion) is stated in absolute terms.
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If i had not self-imposed a GAS embargo I might be tempted by both an R3 and R8!
I Am sorry.
The Leica engineers messed up.
This is not an insulated "one generation of cameras" issue. This has been an issue for 16 years and 7 generations of cameras production. I was told by Leica Germany unless you keept shooting your camera all of them develop this issue.
And the complicated design makes it extremely difficult to fix.
I own 5 cameras that have that isssue. Sometimes the mirror does not even fall down.
I would love to be able to shoot my R7.
Nothing absolute about a design defect "again kept for 16 years and 7 generations of cameras.
Also general bad reliability of r3-r5 cameras is well known.
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For the record Leica says that the issue has been corrected in R8-R9
For the record apart from the mirror dampening issue they are amazing cameras. I am a sucker for 1980-90 Leica R black paint.
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The early R3 had electronic problems (I had 3). Bought an SL2 and used it for a couple of decades and about 4 years ago bought an R7. Love it. Dropped it last winter and while no visible damage it wasn’t working. DAG fixed it and did a CLA for $180 with a quick turnaround.
Early post I did have Minolta and tried a couple of the 24mm lenses. Compared to my 1st gen 24 R lens, the Leica lens has more “pop”.
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I really started to love the R series and yes, R8 is a surprisingly cool camera.
So reliability increases the less GAS you have, all you need to do is stick to using one, or maybe two cameras. Isn't that the case with almost any other camera? Put a working Compur shutter in a cupboard for a year and it can stick next time you want to use it, leave batteries in an unused camera and they can leak, grease dries out, mirror foam degrades, light seals turn to jelly, Nikon rubber turns to glue, a lens gets no UV light so fungus starts to grow. There is an easy lesson to learn and it has nothing to do with the reliability of Leica R series cameras, it's to do with the owner.
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For my R6 I paid "top dollar" and bought it from Leica Classic, with 12 months warranty. If there is an issue with the camera, I will take it back to them and have it sorted.
Life is too short to fiddle with toys which should bring pleasure. Unless fiddling with toys brings you pleasure. You can see that sometimes in photo forums. People are fiddling with this folder and that box camera and this Cosina or Praktiker 1970s SLR, fretting about changing this and repairing that.
FWIW Leica Classic has a good handful of R bodies on their website, in case anyone is interested, including several R4 and R5 that cost less than Apple earplugs that most people consider being "Disposable". Just buy a body, a nice lens and off you go!
As an afterthought:
When reading discussions on photo forums, I'm always struck by the contrast in how people talk about spending money. On the one hand, it's perfectly normal to see photographers casually debating whether a new M-mount lens with APO or updated coatings is worth dropping four figures—often to replace something only marginally “worse.”
But shift the conversation to R-series cameras and lenses—often optically identical to their M counterparts from the same era—and suddenly a few hundred euros are considered “expensive” or not worth it.
It’s curious how perceived value shifts so drastically based on mount and hype, even when the glass is essentially the same.
Life is too short to fiddle with toys which should bring pleasure. Unless fiddling with toys brings you pleasure. You can see that sometimes in photo forums. People are fiddling with this folder and that box camera and this Cosina or Praktiker 1970s SLR, fretting about changing this and repairing that.
FWIW Leica Classic has a good handful of R bodies on their website, in case anyone is interested, including several R4 and R5 that cost less than Apple earplugs that most people consider being "Disposable". Just buy a body, a nice lens and off you go!
As an afterthought:
When reading discussions on photo forums, I'm always struck by the contrast in how people talk about spending money. On the one hand, it's perfectly normal to see photographers casually debating whether a new M-mount lens with APO or updated coatings is worth dropping four figures—often to replace something only marginally “worse.”
But shift the conversation to R-series cameras and lenses—often optically identical to their M counterparts from the same era—and suddenly a few hundred euros are considered “expensive” or not worth it.
It’s curious how perceived value shifts so drastically based on mount and hype, even when the glass is essentially the same.
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On a more light-hearted note: Every Leica fan should really own an R kit at some point—just for the experience.
Start with an R3, the cast-iron workhorse built to square up to 1970s Nikons. Add an R5, the sensible middle child. Then maybe a R6, all manual and gloriously no-frills, or an R7, if you want a taste of that BMW E32-style digital readout drama. For the brave (or nostalgic), there’s always the R8—a Colani spaceship from the 1990s that feels like someone dared Leica to make a Minolta Maxxum on steroids.
Top it off with a Vario-Elmar zoom, just to break away from the prime-only orthodoxy of the M crowd. There’s something freeing about zooming when everyone else is “foot zooming.”
You can own a complete Leica R starter kit—body plus lens—for less than the price of a Billingham bag and a thumb rest for an M.
Think about that next time someone tells you R glass isn’t worth it. These were top-tier optics, often identical to their M counterparts, just housed in a system that had the misfortune of not being a rangefinder.
There’s real photographic joy to be found in those old R setups—and they cost less than most accessories.
Start with an R3, the cast-iron workhorse built to square up to 1970s Nikons. Add an R5, the sensible middle child. Then maybe a R6, all manual and gloriously no-frills, or an R7, if you want a taste of that BMW E32-style digital readout drama. For the brave (or nostalgic), there’s always the R8—a Colani spaceship from the 1990s that feels like someone dared Leica to make a Minolta Maxxum on steroids.
Top it off with a Vario-Elmar zoom, just to break away from the prime-only orthodoxy of the M crowd. There’s something freeing about zooming when everyone else is “foot zooming.”
You can own a complete Leica R starter kit—body plus lens—for less than the price of a Billingham bag and a thumb rest for an M.
Think about that next time someone tells you R glass isn’t worth it. These were top-tier optics, often identical to their M counterparts, just housed in a system that had the misfortune of not being a rangefinder.
There’s real photographic joy to be found in those old R setups—and they cost less than most accessories.
Me too. Mine is from 1971. I love the mechanics and its reliability - and its heavy metal lenses.
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Which lenses, are they different from the others?
I have both SL and R5. Although SL is beautiful to look through, I use R5 far more often since it is smaller, lighter and have Aperture Priority.
So far my R5 has hold up well. And the replacement cost is quite low, especially compared to the R-mount lenses. There is no reason to avoid electronic SLRs.
So far my R5 has hold up well. And the replacement cost is quite low, especially compared to the R-mount lenses. There is no reason to avoid electronic SLRs.
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Honestly, I’d prefer it if all those third-hand “sticky mirror” horror stories kept circulating—keeps the spotlight off the R series and the prices nice and low.
Let the myths live on… I’ll just be quietly shooting with my R6 and smiling.
I agree - and my main SLR cameras are electronic ones: several Contax RTS II bodies and besides them, two Canon New F-1.
However, even though I have no problems so far and I like those cameras a lot, I'm not sure how long in future their electronics will work, especially those of the RTS II. The Canon FD lenses will never be a replacement for my Zeiss lenses. Only the old Leitz lenses would be.
And I suppose my Leicaflex SL might still work someday when my RTS IIs and even the New F-1s will have stopped working.
However, even though I have no problems so far and I like those cameras a lot, I'm not sure how long in future their electronics will work, especially those of the RTS II. The Canon FD lenses will never be a replacement for my Zeiss lenses. Only the old Leitz lenses would be.
And I suppose my Leicaflex SL might still work someday when my RTS IIs and even the New F-1s will have stopped working.
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