[Leica] Ten years behind? I think not.

[DouglasMSharp at netscape.net (Douglas M. Sharp)]

Greg,
 I agree with you on the feel of the R8/9, I found that my fingers just 
fall into place to turn twist or press whatever they should,
BUT  , after using  Leicas from IIIG through M2, M6 , all the SLs and 
all the Rs except the R4, for ME  it is the ugliest brute of a camera 
I've ever laid eyes on.
 The SLs looked and felt as like really  serious bits of engineering, 
The R3 was ok and the rest of the Rs were light, compact, quite 
ergonomically built and a dream to use whilst retaining  the combination 
of precise workmanship, stability and all the other factors contributing 
to what the Germans call "Wertigkeit"

If you look at the basic shape of the R8 it seems to be a retro-design 
harking back to the body shape of the Exaktas, and when you put the 
motor-drive
on it's shaped like an army water canteen. (I think the people from 
Leicas binocular design group must have been  in on the design process 
too.)
A camera doesn't  NEED to be the size of the R8,  with the advances in 
micromotors and micro-electronics available at the time Leica could have 
reduced its size and weight by a third without any loss of  stability or 
function. Contax started going in the right direction with the 137MD - 
compact, motorised and  running
on AA batteries, but unfortunately didn't follow up on this design trend.
I was on a tour of the factory in Solms a couple of years ago, just 
after the R8 came out. From what the users had to say about its bugs 
Leica should
 have waited a bit longer before releasing it :  flash 
problems,electronics, scratched films, a weak tripod bush and various 
other teething troubles. To me it was a confession on the part of the 
constructors that the R9 was released,considering a typical Leica 
timeframe, such a relatively short time after the R8.

Don't  get me wrong, I love my Leicas and wouldn't do without them, I 
only wish they could have packed the new stuff into an R7 body.

My real complaint about Leica is that for pretty basic repairs,CLA or 
whatever you pay nearly the price of a mid-range SLR of any other marque 
you'd
like to name. (example : general service and adjustments plus a little 
bit of electronics on an R4mot electronic would have cost me over 600 euros,
100 euros more than the price I had intended to pay for it s/h)

Douglas

BTW to those of us out there who took the plunge and bought the R8 or 9 
-- what real advantages did you get from it ? how often do you use its
extra functions ? do you feel that it's helping you to record better 
images ?

GREG LORENZO schrieb:

>I don't know any R8 users who don't like the feel, layout and features of the R8. I believe some people on the list who purchased an early R8 had some electronic gremlins which Leica seems to have dealt effectively with. (I've never had a single problem with mine.)
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