Re: Leica R7

[Jim Brick <jim@brick.org>]

At 10:09 PM 7/6/97 -0400, you wrote:
>Had a R4,4SP,6, and 7.....now an 8.  No comparison. The 8 is an across the
>board major advantage.  The difference in results was visible in the first
>roll....ie. Matrix metering. I found the difference between my 4,4SP and 7
>neglible(the 7 had ttl flash,dx and that was about it ,and it was taller....)
>If you can't get an 8, go for a 5 or 4SP for a lot less than a 7 and not very
>much different....
>
>good luck,
>
>chip
>

Big difference with the R7!!! Features the R7 has that the 4 or 5 does not
have. VERY important differences. Mirror Lock-Up. If you shoot asa 50 or
100, long lens, & polarizer, YOU NEED MLU. Half shutter speeds. When using
MLU, auto exposure does not work so bracketing must be done manually. To
keep your depth of field (constant aperture) you NEED half shutter speeds.
If you don't use long lenses and slow film, perhaps these things don't
matter. I spend half my "exposure" life at 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, & 1/15th sec so
MLU is an absolute necessity. I also attempt to carefully control depth of
field. You cannot successfully bracket Velvia in full stop increments. So
until 1/2 shutter speeds were available, you could only get 1/2 stop
bracketing (and MLU) via the f-stop. The R7 also has a more refined flash
fill capability. The R4sp, R5, & R6 are very good cameras. I put thousands
of rolls through two R3's, two R4sp's and an R6 over many years. Not a
single breakdown or hick-up. Flawless performance. I now use two R7's and
like them even better. The R7 is the end of the production of a model
style. That usually means all of the glitches have been fixed, all of the
necessary features have been added (flash fill, MLU, 1/2 speeds, etc.) and,
for my purposes, feels complete. On the other hand, the R8 is the first of
a model style. It has all of the R7 features plus more, but is so new, it
doesn't have the basics (no winder/drive) and has no track record yet.
Ted's R8's have been flawless, but you know they sell him special cameras
;-) . Don't let me influence you, I'm just giving you my take on things.
Everybody uses their camera differently. Features that are useless to some,
others cannot do without.

Jim