Re: [Leica] R8 and 180mm f/3.4 Apo

[Ted Grant <tedgrant@home.com>]

Julian Koplen wrote:
> 
> While trying to get some pictures of what I believe to be migratory Canadian
> geese in my South Carolina backyard this dull/overcast morning, I noted what
> seemed to be an irregularity in the R8 meter readouts for my non-ROM
> old-style f/3.4 180mm Apo.
> 
> When set to the 'T' or 'P' modes and very high shutter speeds, the meter
> will indicate f-stop opening to 2.8 on this maximum 3.4 lens.  The lens was
> properly set to its minimum f/22 stop for these modes.  Does this indicate
> any sort of miscommunication between the lens and the camera?  Would the
> meter properly sense the light at the time of exposure and expose correctly?
> I could not get my 50mm Summicron to 'misbehave' under similar provocation,
> and I would be unable to answer my own question by inspection of the color
> negatives.
> 
> Does anyone know if this is normal behavior, or can someone with this same
> camera a lens maybe try the same setup and see if they get the same results?>>>>>>

Hi Julian,

No sweat, it's one of those little things I believe to be the result of
the 3.4 aperture, it has no effect on the exposure that I've found under
similar conditions.  If the lens were a 4 or 2,8 it would indicate that
correctly and the lens would still be wide open.  Just one of those "no
worry think about" incidentals.

> As an aside, the R8 was a delight as usual.  I see occasional LUG references
> about the R8's suitability for people with big hands, but mine are small and
> stubby, and the camera still feels like everything was put where it is just
> for me.  I would advise small-handed people not to reject the camera on the
> basis of size theory. Pick it up and use it.>>>>>>>>>

My feeling exactly and I believe with the new motor attached it gives
small handed folks a greater reason to go back and reassess the R8,
where they dismissed it early as "too big for my hands!"

ted