Leica R3 ELECTRONIC: Recommendations and notes

Andreas Thaler

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The Leica R3 ELECTRONIC was the first Leitz camera from the R series and was introduced in 1976. It was developed and manufactured in cooperation with Minolta. Technically, it is closely related to the Minolta XE.

One variant is the Leica R3 MOT ELECTRONIC, which is essentially identical in construction to the R3 ELECTRONIC and offers the option of connecting a winder.

Copies are now relatively inexpensive on the second-hand market, although the corresponding Leica R lenses fetch higher prices.

The R3 is made entirely of metal and is accordingly heavy and solid. A few components are made of plastic.

The electronics work analogue and essentially consist of discrete components and two ICs.


Known problems include
  1. jumping measuring needle in the viewfinder,
  2. sluggishness of the mirror mechanism,
  3. rotting foam inside,
  4. different shutter speeds in M (manual) and A (aperture priority) modes and
  5. a jammed winding lever.
The R3 is relatively easy to open, the cover above the prism requires patience and care as it fits very tightly, see

Post in thread 'Leica R3 MOT ELECTRONIC: Heading into the unknown'
https://www.photrio.com/forum/threa...-heading-into-the-unknown.203430/post-2767280

Care must be taken not to disconnect the numerous connecting cables or to crush them during assembly.


Resolved issues

Jumping metering needle

Leica R3 MOT ELECTRONIC: Jumping metering needle repaired; front panel fixed with LEICA lettering

Today I unpacked the Leica R3 MOT ELECTRONIC that @miha sent me some time ago for an attempt to repair. After practicing on a well-worn R3 MOT for the last few days, I felt sufficiently prepared to get to work. See the story here describing all the technical details and guesses where the...
www.photrio.com


Sluggishness of the mirror mechanism

Leica R3 ELECTRONIC: Stiff mirror mechanism repaired

I have a nice R3 here, in which the electronics are obviously still working properly (lucky!), but the mechanism in the mirror box seems to be resinified. The mirror only works as it should when I place the camera on the prism. Otherwise it will stop halfway I know from a training R3 that...
www.photrio.com


Rotting foam inside

There is foam under the prism housing. Presumably to press the wiring there. Possibly also for insulation reasons. It should be possible to replace with cut foam.


Problems that still need a solution

Different shutter speeds in M and A modes

Leica R3: Mission Aperture Priority

The Minolta XE-1 (XE, XE-7) is discredited because its electronics become unreliable over the decades. Known symptoms are a jumping metering needle in the viewfinder and incorrect shutter speeds in aperture priority mode. Solid, fascinating technology, beautiful, but with problems: Minolta's...
www.photrio.com


Jammed winding lever

This is more of an annoying problem than a serious one.

After winding, the winding lever sometimes has to be moved forward a little so that it can fold back.

I suspect a problem with wear in the mechanism underneath and will look into this in the next project.


Leica R3 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org


+++

All information provided without guarantee and use at your own risk.
 
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Nitroplait

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Hi @Andreas Thaler

Thanks for the writeup.

Have you been looking further into the jamming winding lever issue by any chance?

I have a Leica R3 which suddenly refuses to complete the film advance cycle.
The film advance arm stops 1/2 of the way towards completion.

It seems to be engaging the shutter tensioning half way (by looking at the shutterblade movement), but seems to stop just before advancing the film.

If I engage the double exposure lever, I can complete the winding lever movement an tension the shutter - but the film is not advanced.

Any suggestions where to look for the culprit?


EDIT:
While handling the camera in order to describe above, I forcefully pushed the <don't know what this roller is called - see red arrow on photo> up, down and sideways while applying light pressure to the advance lever.

It finally gave in and started moving a little and gave an mildly unpleasant crunchy sound. After that the camera advances and sounds like it old self.

I am guessing some debris got stuck in the mechanism.

 
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Andreas Thaler

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Hi,

sorry, I haven't looked at the R3 since then, so I can't say anything about it.

Ah, you have already found a solution, great!
 

RezaLoghme

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Thank you, Andreas. The stuff you write usually goes above my head, but that says more about my head than about your writing. This definitely made me hungry for a R3, but I am on GAS embargo.
 
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Andreas Thaler

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RezaLoghme said:
Thank you, Andreas. The stuff you write usually goes above my head, but that says more about my head than about your writing.
Click to expand...

That's up to me, because I should write in a way that's understandable to anyone who's interested.

Thanks for your feedback!

RezaLoghme said:
This definitely made me hungry for a R3, but I am on GAS embargo.
Click to expand...

The only way I could save myself was to delete the accounts of my sources for old stuff
 

Giampiero1958

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Giampiero1958

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Ciao, mi chiamo Giampiero e scrivo dalla Sardegna. Ho una certa età e sono sempre stato un hobbista (ho costruito modelli di navi, chitarre, coltelli, ecc.). Sono anche appassionato di fotografia e ho iniziato nel 1977 con una Minolta srT che possiedo ancora. Poi ho provato le fotocamere digitali, ma mi sono stancato: troppa tecnologia, menu troppo complessi, non fanno per me.

Volevo tornare alla mia Minolta ma la macchina ha qualche problema con l'esposimetro. Prima di averla tra le mani ne ho comprato un rottame per fare pratica e non farmi scrupoli a smontarla. Poi il gioco ha avuto la meglio, ho continuato a riparare le Minolta meccaniche finché non ho trovato su Ebay un sacco di reflex degli anni '80, regalate a 4 euro l'una perché rovinate da un'alluvione. Visto il prezzo conveniente le ho comprate e mi sono così ritrovato con 6 Leica R, una Leicaflex SL, tre Rolleiflex e tre Canon. Le ho aperte tutte, scoprendo che in realtà erano bagnate solo nella parte inferiore e che in generale l'elettronica nella parte superiore era in buone condizioni.

Ora ho a che fare con una Leica R3, che ho pulito da fango e ossido sul fondo, finché la leva di caricamento funziona e l'otturatore a tendina si apre con l'unico tempo meccanico. Ho il problema dello specchio che rimane sollevato dopo lo scatto e che posso abbassare spostando una piccola leva sul fondo con la punta di un cacciavite. Credo sia un problema meccanico. Ho provato ad aprire la piastra frontale con lo specchio e il box dell'otturatore, ma le 5 viti sono inchiodate e non c'è modo di svitarle. Ho provato con un prodotto per lo sblocco dei bulloni e niente: sembrano saldate. Puoi darmi qualche informazione a riguardo? Ho letto che alcuni le scaldano con un saldatore, altri le battono con un piccolo scalpello. Hai avuto problemi simili?

Ho riscontrato lo stesso problema con la Leicaflex: per aprire il coperchio superiore bisogna rimuovere la manopola di regolazione dei tempi. Ci sono due anelli da aprire con una chiave inglese; con il primo non ho avuto problemi; anche il secondo è inchiodato, sembra incollato alla lamiera del coperchio.
 

MattKing

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Welcome to Photrio @Giampiero1958 ,
While there are a few members here who are conversant in Italian, you may find it more effective to first translate your posts into English.
 
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Andreas Thaler

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I took the liberty of translating this interesting posting from @Giampiero1958 with Google Translate, here is a quote:


As far as I remember, I was able to remove the mirror box without much effort; the screws came off easily and weren't secured with adhesive. A soldering iron would have destroyed the adhesive here.

In your case, corrosion could have seized the screws. You've probably already tried rust remover.

A penetrating oil like WD-40 might help. Since you want to remove the mirror box anyway, you can easily remove the oil afterwards.

There's also a method that uses a hammer and screwdriver to loosen the screw.

Left-handed bits might also be worth a try.

Finally, you can use the Dremel with a diamond burr to remove the screw heads, but then the screw remnants have to be removed as well. You won't know if that's possible until the screw heads are gone.
 
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Andreas Thaler

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Master Thomas Tomosy:


Thomas Tomosy, Camera Maintenance and Repair, Book 2, Buffalo: Amherst, 1997
 

Giampiero1958

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Dopo un lungo lavoro, con un po' di disossidante e qualche colpetto con il cacciavite, sono finalmente riuscito a svitare le 5 viti e ad aprire la macchina fotografica.
Ora arriva il bello! Ho riparato le molle del cricchetto che permette alla leva di ricarica di funzionare, la macchina fotografica scatta foto, ma se voglio che anche lo specchio si muova, devo capovolgerla. Inoltre, per ricaricare di nuovo, devo spostare manualmente una leva che sblocca il blocco di ricarica.
Poi devo pulire le lamelle dell'otturatore che si sono sporcate con il disossidante.
Poi vedremo.
Ciao .
 

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Andreas Thaler

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In English it would make more sense here
 

MattKing

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Courtesy of Google Translate, the post of @Giampiero1958 reads as follows:

"After a long work, with a little bit of flux and a few taps with the screwdriver, I finally managed to unscrew the 5 screws and open the camera.
Now comes the best part! I repaired the ratchet springs that allow the charging lever to work, the camera takes pictures, but if I want the mirror to move too, I have to turn it upside down. Also, to reload again, I have to manually move a lever that unlocks the charging lock.
Then I have to clean the shutter blades that got dirty with the flux.
Then we'll see.
Bye."
 
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