Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/05/23

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Subject: Re: [Leica] 1,2,3 Cams on R lenses?
From: "ross mcleish" <cram@bigpond.com>
Date: Mon, 24 May 1999 10:00:02 +1000

Andrew,
My imediate sources for clarification on this question are:
Leica R Compendium, Jonathan Eastland, 1995 ( limited explanation pp51-52)
Leica - The Leica Lens Book , Brian Bower, 1998 ( Chapter 6, Lens Camming pp
80-81,85 )

Although criticized upon publication (I believe for being generally
'light-weight') by one or two members of the LUG, Bower's book gives the
clearest explanation, and probably best summarized outline of the 'cam'
development.

Bower explains there were five stages of camming up to the present time:
1. Single Cam                   --   for Leicaflex I/II only
2. Twin Cam                      --   for Leicaflex SL, SL2 and Leicaflex
I/II
3. Triple Cam                    --   twin cam with additional R Cam --
suitable for all Leica SLR's
4. R Cam only                   --   for R3 and later (not suitable for for
Leicaflex or SL cameras)
5. R8 Electrical contacts --   fitted in the position originally held by
'single cam'. Cannot be used on Leicaflex or SL series (as they can
apparently cause damage )

Bower illustrates the the different camming for easy identification, and
explains the reasons for the developments in terms of metering requirements
and changes (TTL etc)

You will also find some useful discussion of these things within the LUG
archives.
Best regards,
Ross

- ----- Original Message -----
From: Andrew Nemeth <azn@nemeng.com>
Subject: [Leica] 1,2,3 Cams on R lenses?


> a Q arose about all the different cams (1,2,3) available on the R
> series Leica lenses.
> As both my Leica books are pretty vague about this, could
> someone explain what the differences are?
> All I know is that a 2nd cam was introduced with the SL
> series SLRs, then a 3rd one was added with the Rs.
> Andrew Nemeth
> www.nemeng.com