Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/02/11

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Subject: [Leica] Re: Leicaflex Price Drops
From: drodgers@nextlink.net
Date: Thu, 11 Feb 1999 13:07:15 -0800

Bob

You Wrote:

>>I beg to differ with you on the meter and shutter accuracy of the
Leicaflex. I have had them since they were new and  in most of my photography
over the years with them, I have used Kodachrome almost exclusively. The
exposures have always been right on.<<

Your point is well taken. And I agree the meter is fairly accurate, condsidering
age. But it's not going to be as easy to use, or provide as consistent exposures
as an R7 or R8.

I did some testing with a Luna Pro, an S2 and an M6. Not grey card readings but
actual situations. The Luna Pro, S2 and M6 are almost always within 1/3 stop of
each other. The SL came up 1/2 stop under to 1  and 1.5 stop over. Part of the
variation had to do with the SL's spot metering, which is not a problem.
Unfortunately, another part was due to the fact that it's an older analog meter.
It's slow and the cell appears to have some memory. I don't think a CLA would
change that.

I've never been one for bracketing. I was thrilled in the mid '70s when when
Nikon went to gallium cells with the F2SB head. Talk about technological
breakthroughs. The readings were accurate and instantaneous.

This is similar to an M4-P vs M6 dilema that I faced a few years back. I bought
a 28/2.8 Elmarit and decided to go with framelines instead of a finder. I found
a used M4-P for $750. A used M6 back then was even more than they're going for
today. The best I could find was about $1,700 used or $2,100 new. I thought,
"that's a lot to pay for a meter! It's not worth it." A year later I finally
broke down and bought a new M6. I had to eat some crow among my fellow M6
owners. I guess from that I'd rather pay $1,000 for an R7 than $500 for an SL.

>>I can;t say that my results are an different among these bodies under
equivalent
conditions except that the SL and SL2 "feel" better to me.<<

There's no questions that the SL has a feel unlike any other SLR. The shutter is
smooth as silk. The body has mass and stability. And it has a great viewfinder.
It's a classic camera in every sense. But I'd rather have an R7 or R8 for slide
film.

I'm looking at a 100/2.8 APO and a 180/2.8 APO as the two reasons I'd move to
Leica R. If I'm going to get those lenses I want a camera with fast and accurate
digital metering.

Dave