Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1996/10/06

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To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
Subject: Re: Leica-Users List Digest V1 #207
From: Eric Welch <ewelch@cdsnet.net>
Date: Sun, 06 Oct 1996 16:04:16 -0700

At 12:01 AM 10/3/96 -0700, you wrote:
>I have a Leica R6 and am considering the purchase of either a motor drive or
>winder.  The drive allows 4 frames per second and takes 10 batteries, while
>the winder allows 2 fps and takes 6.  Anyone have any experience with either
>of these add-ons?  I'm interested in your experience, especially with regard
>to:

I've used both professionally for years.

>o  Reliability

The Winder R and Motor R are much more reliable than the Winder R4 and
Motor R4 units.

The difference is the "R" were beefed up because the "R4" ones broke too
often. the newer ones are more quiet because of a different clutch
mechanism. The R units also add electric contacts which requires a
different hand grip. The botton on the top of the newer grip is electrical
and much better to use. They also have a button on the front of the units
which makes shooting vertical pictures much easier than holding your elbow
way up in the air.

>o  The usefulness of the winder's 2 fps (vs. 4 with the drive)

It depends on what you shoot. If you need the 4 fps, get it. It's much
larger and bulkier, but it does help balance bigger lenses better. It also
sounds cooler. <g> It's not that noisey. I've had people comment at
football games that they don't hear my cameras at all.

>o  Loudness of one vs. the other

Speaking of which, the winder is very quiet, but the motor is not
objectionalble. You can always turn them off and leave them on the body
when you don't want them making noise.

>o  The additional need for the hand grip that Leica sells

The hand grip is a MUST! It really makes handling the camera/motor much,
much better.

>o  Overall satisfaction

I love them. Hardly ever used the cameras without them, except in court.
They are very useful for use on a copy stand as well. Less chance of
changing the position of the body. They do not add to vibration of the body
during exposure.

>My understanding is that I can use the same drive or winder on my R6 that is
>currently sold for the R6.2 or R7.  Thanks.

They were actually changed about the time the R5 came out. No changes since
then.

A few points.

The R7 uses the same motors, but needs a different hand grip because the
camera is taller. You can't use the old grip on it. Period. The winder and
motor both power all R camears except the R7, because the circuits in the
R7 were changed from analog to digital, and have different power requirements.

Use them with nicad batteries, and you save a lot of money on batteries,
and save the environment from useless trash. And, they run in much colder
temperatures than alkalines (which when powering the bodies can be a
significant help).

===========
Eric Welch
Grants Pass, OR