Re: [Leica] R series

[Ray Moth <ray_moth@yahoo.com>]

Steve Barbour wrote: 

I am considering a purchase of a used R body...R7 vs R8. Assuming a 
good price on each, (and not considering cost) could people familiar
with each please help me ...... pro's and con's that would influence my
purchase, and keep me from making an expensive mistake. Thank you.
=====================================================================
Steve,

FWIW, I recently changed from R7 to R8. My main reasons for doing so
were: 

(a) I wanted a new camera with 5 year warranty; my R7 was already more
than 5 years old. 

(b) The R8 body was a comfortable shape for my hands; despite its
additional weight of about 200 grams, I found it easier to hold. 

(c) The R8 controls were very well set out and largely intuitive. 

(d) The camera allowed me to use any of the 3 metering methods (spot,
matrix, center-weighted) with any of the 4 exposure modes (manual,
aperture priority, shutter priority, program). The R7 had restrictions
in the combinations of metering method and exposure mode that could be
selected. 

(e) I found the information in the R8 viewfinder to be clearer, owing
to the use of a white LCD display instead of the rather dim red LEDs of
the R7. The layout of the R8 display was also easier to scan at a
glance, being concentrated at the foot of the viewfinder window instead
of spreading along both the bottom and the right-hand side as it was in
the R7. In particular, the display used in manual mode in the R7 was
tiny and difficult to read.

(f) The R8 had an easier-to-use mirror and aperture pre-fire. I just
had to move a lever on the front of the camera to the mirror lock-up
position, press the shutter release once to pre-fire the mirror and
aperture, then press the shutter release again to take the shot. The R7
was awkward in this respect, needing a separate cable release. 

(g) Flash control in the R8 was more flexible, mainly because it used
the SCA 3000 (digital) system instead of the SCA 300 (analog) system of
the R7. This meant I could still use my Metz 32-Z2 flashgun but I had
to buy an SCA 3501 adapter. This new adapter had built-in flash
compensation switches, providing much better control of fill-flash. 

(h) Pre-flash metering was another important feature of the R8. This
allows the R8 to meter the illumination from any flashgun, using the
TTL selective metering of the camera, prior to taking the shot. 

(i) The fastest flash synchronization speed of the R8 was 1/250 second,
which was a welcome improvement over 1/100 second in the R7. I have
found this particularly useful for daylight fill-flash shots. 

Other features of the R8 that I consider useful but that did not
particularly influence my choice included a very well-damped mirror and
quiet shutter operation; option of first or second shutter curtain
flash synchronization; a broad range of shutter speeds, selectable
manually in half-step increments from 16 sec to 1/8000 sec or
automatically in stepless increments from 32 sec to 1/8000 sec; a
focusing screen that is clear, very bright and easy to use. 

One irritating thing I found with the R8 is that I could not see the
frame counter unless the meter display was activated. If the camera was
switched off or resting between shots, I couldn't see how many frames
I'd used. I preferred the mechanical counter used in the R7. 

Hope this helps,

Regards,

=====
Ray

"The trouble with resisting temptation is
 you never know when you'll get another chance!"

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