Leica R4s Mod P

[slad]

Can any one tell me if the exposure meter on the R4s Mod P should stay on for 10 seconds or so when the shutter button is depressed slightly or do you need to keep your finger on the shutter button continuously to keep the meter activated? Also does this model have an exposure lock?

 

[naturephoto1]

Yes the R4SP meter should stay on for about 10 seconds or so after you press down on half way on the shutter release. There is an exposure lock in automatic. But, once you take the meter reading in auto you must continue to hold the shutter release button down half way and to then recompose the image.

Rich

 

[Lee L]

Yes the R4SP meter should stay on for about 10 seconds or so after you press down on half way on the shutter release. There is an exposure lock in automatic. But, once you take the meter reading in auto you must continue to hold the shutter release button down half way and to then recompose the image.

Rich

Rich,

On the R4s, with the meter in automatic selective ("spot") mode the LED goes off to indicate a locked in exposure. I just checked, and the exposure lock activates in center weighted average autoexposure mode, but the mode indicator light doesn't go out to indicate a locked exposure. Is this also the case on the R4SP?

Lee

 

[slad]

This particular R4sp doesn't seem to have an exposure lock in any of the three modes. Though I don't have the camera with me at the moment, when I depressed the shutter button about as far as it would go before releasing the shutter I noticed that the shutter speed read out in the finder continued to change. An earlier model R4 that I owned several years ago, if I remember well, would hold the locked-in speed in the finder.

 

[Lee L]

An earlier model R4 that I owned several years ago, if I remember well, would hold the locked-in speed in the finder.

My R4s "locks in" the shutter speed on selective automatic, which is indicated by the mode LED extinguishing, but the shutter speed LED indicators change when you reframe. This allows you to watch for the offset between the locked in exposure and the metered reframed exposure.

Lee

 

[slad]

Lee,

When I have the camera in my hands tonight I'll check it out more throughly. Does the meter in your R4s remain on for several seconds when you press and release the shutter button? Again, on this R4sp it's only on when I continuely hold the shutter button.

Sal

 

[Lee L]

Lee,

When I have the camera in my hands tonight I'll check it out more throughly. Does the meter in your R4s remain on for several seconds when you press and release the shutter button? Again, on this R4sp it's only on when I continuely hold the shutter button.

Sal

Sal,

The R4s metering LEDs are only on when I am pressing the shutter release. This is my "second film" body, which I don't use a lot, so I am rusty on the finer points of use. I prefer the R3, in part because of my larger hands and because the meter needle reads to a finer degree than the LED lights in the R4s.

Lee

(Edit: I also almost never shoot in autoexposure mode, so these modes aren't second nature to me. I can recall using autoexposure with my SLRs on about three occasions since 1979. I almost always spotmeter and place the tone.)

 

[naturephoto1]

Hi Guys,

I am sorry, what I stated for both questions above applies to my R7 and not my R4SP. However, if you use the self timer of the camera, the LEDs in the viewfinder will remain lit for around 8 sec. But, the LED viewed from the front of the camera will blink until about 2 seconds (then will remain constantly lit till the shutter fires) before the camera shutter is released. If you turn the camera timer off it will stop the shutter from releasing. So if you wish to use this to keep the viewfinder LEDs lit remember to shut off the self timer before the shutter is released.

As Lee has stated above, to lock the exposure (unless you are using the +/- overide which is in 1/3 stops) the camera must be set to spot A. As Lee has stated the shutter release has to be pushed to the 2nd pressure point. The reading will stay locked in and the confirmation will come from the spot A becoming extinguished. The camera will hold the reading for approximately 30 seconds but the stored values are extinguished as soon as your finger (or cable release) are removed from the shutter release.

Rich

 

[slad]

Hi,
I now have the camera in my hands and I'm checking out the exposure lock and it is working.
I guess the meter turns on only with continuous pressure on the shutter button. Funny, I thought the first R4 I had several years ago gave at least ten seconds before it turned off.
Well, at least the electronics are working fine. Now the only other problem I have with it is a sticking depth-of-firld preview.
Thanks to all for the help.
Sal

 

[naturephoto1]

Hi,
I now have the camera in my hands and I'm checking out the exposure lock and it is working.
I guess the meter turns on only with continuous pressure on the shutter button. Funny, I thought the first R4 I had several years ago gave at least ten seconds before it turned off.
Well, at least the electronics are working fine. Now the only other problem I have with it is a sticking depth-of-firld preview.
Thanks to all for the help.
Sal

Hi Sal,

Read my comments in the post just before yours regarding having the meter readout with the timer.

Rich