Re: [Leica] R4 question.

[Jim Brick <jim@brick.org>]

At 04:30 PM 12/24/97 +0100, you wrote:
>hello,
>        I heard that the R3 and R4 were not a reliable camera. I've been
>told that the R4's Led would somehow flicker in the viewfinder. I once used
>a R3 and actually found it was some kind of garbage...Is this true?
> 

I used two R3's, from 1976, for about ten years without incident. Then Two
R4sP's and an R6 for another ten years, all totally without incident. I now
have, since late 1996, two R7's. I have never had any of my R cameras in
for even the most insignificant repair. I've run tens of thousands of rolls
of film through them, used them at 40 below and 140 above, totally without
incident. I do recognize that some R models were prone to certain problems.
That doesn't mean that EVERY camera of that model is doomed. Far from it.
After reading the LUG about M6 problems, one would never buy an M6. But the
problems effect only a very small percentage of cameras. A very complex
piece of equipment cannot be made without some risk of some sort of failure
sometime. Some simply have a better track record than others. Some people
buy an expensive car and drive it 200,000 mi without incident. Someone else
will buy the exact same model and it'll be in the shop weekly.

You cannot judge an entire camera line from a few reported problems. If you
think about it, how many times will someone exclaim "my cameras are working
perfectly". Not very often. Yet if one breaks, you'll tell everybody.

So, think of all of those silent Leica-R photographers out there.

Jim