Re: [Leica] R8 winder woes.

[Jeffcoat Photography <jeffcoatphoto@sumter.net>]

David: I've had similar problems with the winder for the R-7. Who knows, I'm waiting
for the motor of the R-8 before I get into the water with this body. You really need
to establish a relationship with the Folks in NJ, they can move faster than 6-wks.
cheers Wilber

David Strang wrote:

> I shot a football game yesterday with my R8 (winder and auxiliary battery pack).
> The winder has a almost fresh set of batteries and the auxiliary battery had
> just been recharged last week. After my third roll of film, the R8 started to
> act strange. First, the winder would seem to stop prematurely. Touching the
> release part way again would see the winder advance an extra frame and then arm
> the shutter. Finally, I just tried using the manual crank from the stand off
> position and the display would light up, but the shutter would not fire.
>
> The only thing I could think of was that conditions: temperature 90F+, 95%
> humidity, hot sun on black camera. Maybe the electronics were over heated, or
> maybe the batteries were over heated.
>
> Looking at the film, that third roll had spots where 1, 2, 3, or 4 frames were
> skipped over erratically.
>
> Has any one seen, experienced or heard of this happening with the R8 and winder?
>
> I replaced the winder batteries with a fresh set, and after firing a few shots,
> the winder seemed to sound almost normal again. My opinion is the R8 and winder
> is VERY sensitive to fluctuations in battery voltage. A couple of weeks prior to
> this the same problem occurred on similar conditions.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> BTW, I just picked up a DEMO 180f2, but the diaphragm was slow to close. Either
> dried lube or a weak spring. I sent it into Leica NJ where they specked it as a
> 3 hour bench job (covered by warranty) and turn around would be SIX weeks,
> though they would expedite to THREE weeks.
>
> The thought of being without my R8 and winder for 6 weeks makes me hesitant to
> send it in to Leica.
>
> Regards,
>
> Dave Strang
> dstrang@up.net
>
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