Leicaflex

ColColt · Jun 30, 2015

I'm looking at a Leicaflex SL2 in beautiful condition. What is the general consensus on this camera? I've read it was Leicas top camera for years and the best viewfinder yet.

frank · Jun 30, 2015

Great camera but overly complex. Difficult to get repaired if needed. Not just any technician can work on it. SL may be a better choice. This is what I've read. I have an SL.

ColColt · Jun 30, 2015

There's a fellow named DAG, don't know his real name, that I've read is a guru with Leicas of all sorts.

rthollenbeck · Jun 30, 2015

Some SLs were factory updated with the more important SL2 features.

Theo Sulphate · Jun 30, 2015

I have no experience with either even though I want one. Here's a link which mentions some issues with the SL2 (the forum is for both rangefinders and SLR's):

http://photo.net/leica-rangefinders-forum/003iHQ

ColColt · Jun 30, 2015

Well, that made me rethink the whole thing. Maybe I should just go for the R7 I originally looked at. I don't need to buy problems. If my eyes were still as good as they were 20 years ago when I had my M2 that's probably the one I'd be looking for since I traded mine for a Pentax 6x7 long ago...beautiful camera but no adjustable diopter.

Tamara · Jun 30, 2015

From what I'm given to understand, it's very hard to get any kind of service for the Leicaflexes. I've got one SL with a dead meter and one with a shutter that is less than accurate at the lowest speeds and a mirror that allegedly sticks at times, but AFAIK, I'm pretty well boned when it comes to getting the latter one looked at.

ColColt · Jun 30, 2015

Yep, that R7 is looking better all the time. Those Cds cells are pretty old in the Leicaflex and who knows where you'd find new ones. Sover Wong has them for the Nikon F2 but I don't know about the Leica. The R7 has Silicon Photo cells.

Sirius Glass · Jun 30, 2015

The Leicaflex has some really old technology with electronics. Go for something newer or with electronics.

frank · Jun 30, 2015

The accuracy and function of a meter in such old mechanical cameras is not a concern for me. I have lots of cameras that didn't even come with a meter from the factory. Just use a handheld meter or a smart phone app.

Tamara · Jun 30, 2015

frank said:
The accuracy and function of a meter in such old mechanical cameras is not a concern for me. I have lots of cameras that didn't even come with a meter from the factory. Just use a handheld meter or a smart phone app.

It's not the dead meter I'm so much bummed about, but the fact that I don't know there's anybody who can CLA the other one.

Theo Sulphate · Jun 30, 2015

ColColt said:
There's a fellow named DAG, don't know his real name, that I've read is a guru with Leicas of all sorts.

Don Goldberg of DAG Camera (parts, service, repair). He repaired a camera of mine a few months ago; took about a week, not including shipping. I mentioned this in a different thread as well. He replied to my emails and was very professional. So, I recommend him.

summicron1 · Jun 30, 2015

this is, ounce for ounce, the best camera you will ever use, ever.

I have two. The advantage over the SL is that it has an extended meter range AND can use the fisheye AND 24mm lenses without modification, which the SL cannot.

As to getting it repaired -- yeah, DAG is the guy, he trained in Leitz on these things. Google "DAG Camera Repair," Don Goldberg is the name, great guy, HUGE backlog.

Do NOT send it to anyone else, especially one who I will only mention in a private message.

On the other hand, the darn thing is built like a tank, if it is working OK the chance of needing it repaired is minimal, although you WILL want to get the meter adjusted for non-mercury batteries, a simple adjustment.

But these cameras are very easy to use, with classic match-needle metering, a light to show the meter field in the dark (and whose battery can be a spare for the meter), and spot metering (central focus spot, about 1/5th of the field) that is astonishingly accurate. The viewfinder glass is the best/brightest/sharpest you will find anywhere.

Mirror damping that is pretty much vibration free -- they wanted it to be as quiet as an M and damn near succeeded. Leica almost lost the farm selling these things at a loss, but the quality shows. You can get them these days for under $600 (sometimes way under) and considering what you get that is highway robbery.

I paid about $400 for a fairly well-used one, then paid the nice folks at KEH $600 for one that was a "50 Jahre" commemorative model in EXC+ condition. Both are wonderful user cameras. If you can afford the lenses, it is the only way to go.

ColColt · Jul 2, 2015

My one problem with a camera like this is how well I'll be able to see to focus with the standard eyepiece. I have a Nikon F2A that I have to use a +0.5 diopter in order to see sharply enough to focus. I wear glasses and a bit nearsighted. I replaced the standard eyepiece with the +0.5 and if worked great.

I don't know how easy it would be to fix that problem with the Leicaflex It don't look like you could replace the original very easy.

miha · Jul 2, 2015

The eypiece can not be replaced, dipoters were availabe but are hard to get these days.

ColColt · Jul 2, 2015

That about what I figured.

miha · Jul 2, 2015

And later Rs have buil-in diopters -2 to +2.

cliveh · Jul 2, 2015

I don't understand why Leica ever ventured into the world of SLR. What they do best is RF.

ColColt · Jul 2, 2015

miha said:
And later Rs have buil-in diopters -2 to +2.

I know. That's why I was tossing up the possibility of the R6.2.

miha · Jul 2, 2015

Their best is the S, a SLR camera.

ColColt · Jul 2, 2015

cliveh said:
I don't understand why Leica ever ventured into the world of SLR. What they do best is RF.

Agreed but about three times the price of the R series.

miha · Jul 2, 2015

ColColt said:
I know. That's why I was tossing up the possibility of the R6.2.

Get one, I like the way the camera looks

miha · Jul 2, 2015

Was it in the early nineites or there about when Leica stated that their best lenses are the R-lenses.

flavio81 · Jul 2, 2015

ColColt said:
I'm looking at a Leicaflex SL2 in beautiful condition. What is the general consensus on this camera? I've read it was Leicas top camera for years and the best viewfinder yet.

I've wanted to own a Leicaflex SL for years but when I got the Canon New F-1, i never looked back. A friend of mine -camera collector- owns several Leicaflexes. They feel really great in the hand and are extremely well made. But i dare to say that the viewfinder on the Canon F-1N ("New F-1") is brighter. It is the best viewfinder i've found on a SLR. Plus the shutter and mirror shock is really, really smooth, as smooth as it gets, I dare to say. You can also have extremely precise spot metering on the F1, by the way.

ColColt · Jul 2, 2015

I recall seeing Leicaflex cameras back in the 80's but like most film cameras they're all gone from the local photo shops. Never handled one but I recall they looked a bit larger than the standard Nikon F. I've read many places over the years what a great camera the F-1 was but, I always got caught up in Nikon and stuck with them for the most part for 35mm. The one exception was the Leica M2 I had.

Leicaflex

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