{"id":600,"date":"2017-02-08T07:03:06","date_gmt":"2017-02-08T12:03:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/2023\/02\/07\/ccr-review-56-leica-r3\/"},"modified":"2023-02-09T07:03:51","modified_gmt":"2023-02-09T12:03:51","slug":"ccr-review-56-leica-r3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/08\/ccr-review-56-leica-r3\/","title":{"rendered":"CCR Review 56 &#8211; Leica R3"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s the red dot special, but not the red dot you were probably expecting. While Leica is best known for their rangefinder cameras, both the older Barnack and the iconic M-Series Leica produces a line of single lens reflex cameras in response to the cameras coming out of Japan. While the early cameras were strictly manufactured by Leica, by the mid-1970s, they had teamed up with Minolta. The agreement produced the <a href=\"http:\/\/camera-wiki.org\/wiki\/Leica_CL\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Leica CL<\/a>\/<a href=\"http:\/\/camera-wiki.org\/wiki\/Minolta_CLE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minolta CLE<\/a> both rangefinder cameras, and the <a href=\"http:\/\/camera-wiki.org\/wiki\/Leica_R3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Leica R3<\/a>\/<a href=\"http:\/\/camera-wiki.org\/wiki\/Minolta_XE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Minolta XE<\/a>! The first time I picked up this camera, having never used a Leica SLR before I was hoping for something special, but I soon found out there&#8217;s a reason these cameras aren&#8217;t that popular. Special thanks to James Lee for loaning out this beauty for review.<\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/axle81401\/32201894510\/in\/dateposted-public\/\" title=\"CCR Review 56 - Leica R3\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/c1.staticflickr.com\/1\/607\/32201894510_a50af2ce66_b.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"630\" alt=\"CCR Review 56 - Leica R3\"><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Dirt<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Make: Leica Camera AG<\/li>\n<li>Model: R3<\/li>\n<li>Type: Single Lens Reflex<\/li>\n<li>Format: 135 (35mm), 36x24mm<\/li>\n<li>Len: Interchangeable, Leica R-Mount<\/li>\n<li>Year of Manufacture: 1976-1979<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/axle81401\/32656803261\/in\/dateposted-public\/\" title=\"CCR Review 56 - Leica R3\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/c1.staticflickr.com\/1\/742\/32656803261_f0b93b3054_b.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"686\" alt=\"CCR Review 56 - Leica R3\"><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/axle81401\/32626911952\/in\/dateposted-public\/\" title=\"CCR Review 56 - Leica R3\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/c1.staticflickr.com\/1\/438\/32626911952_7b51daeb80_b.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"669\" alt=\"CCR Review 56 - Leica R3\"><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Good<\/strong><br \/>\nThere are two good points about the R3, first and foremost it&#8217;s a tank, but it&#8217;s a tank with balance, it just feels right to shoot, short throw on the film advance, and all the knobs and that thrice-damned stop down lever. The viewfinder is big and bright, and the needle-on-shutter-speed metering system is clear and visible. And of course, there&#8217;s the optical quality which is what we&#8217;ve come to expect from Leica. And this is despite the lenses being much larger than their M-Mount cousins. <\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/axle81401\/31966144703\/in\/dateposted-public\/\" title=\"CCR Review 56 - Leica R3\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/c1.staticflickr.com\/1\/486\/31966144703_2a13f825ed_b.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"680\" alt=\"CCR Review 56 - Leica R3\"><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/axle81401\/32626912522\/in\/dateposted-public\/\" title=\"CCR Review 56 - Leica R3\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/c1.staticflickr.com\/1\/531\/32626912522_59693ea387_b.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"663\" alt=\"CCR Review 56 - Leica R3\"><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Bad<\/strong><br \/>\nThe R3 is not an easy camera to operate; it took me about three rolls of film to finally get the hang of it. And it all has to come down to how the camera meters. Despite having a decent TTL meter, you need to manually stop down the lens (only because I was using an older 2-Cam lens, you get full stop down metering with 3-Cam lenses but they&#8217;ll cost you!) to get it to pick up on the correct shutter speed, then half-press the shutter button, release the lever then press the shutter release down the rest of the way. I gave up by the third roll and switched to metering with my Gossen Lunasix F and running the camera in full manual. And finally there&#8217;s the weight, this is a well-balanced camera, but heavy. It&#8217;s not one that I would enjoy carrying around all day and shooting with, especially with the 135mm lens on mounted, even the shorter 50mm is still a pain.<\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/axle81401\/31966145583\/in\/dateposted-public\/\" title=\"CCR Review 56 - Leica R3\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/c1.staticflickr.com\/1\/431\/31966145583_00748924a5_b.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"677\" alt=\"CCR Review 56 - Leica R3\"><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\"  href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/axle81401\/31966147003\/in\/dateposted-public\/\" title=\"CCR Review 56 - Leica R3\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/c1.staticflickr.com\/1\/354\/31966147003_fc52d4498e_b.jpg\" width=\"1024\" height=\"687\" alt=\"CCR Review 56 - Leica R3\"><\/a><script async src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Lowdown<\/strong><br \/>\nThe R3 is not a Minolta, it may be Minolta on the inside, but it certainly isn&#8217;t on the outside. And while you can purchase the bodies for a reasonable price, don&#8217;t expect the lenses to be on the inexpensive side. Especally if you want the 3-Cam lenses needed to operate without needing to manually stop down the lens to meter. The R3 is not a camera for the beginner, or for someone who is unfamiliar with the operation of Leica SLRs, there&#8217;s a steep learning curve, and it takes away from the decent &#8220;feel&#8221; of the camera. Despite the image quality and certain cache that comes with shooting a Leica, my honest opinion, do yourself a favour and get a Minolta XE-7. You&#8217;ll get an easier camera to operate, with comparable optics and you won&#8217;t break the bank building a lens system. <\/p>\n<p><em>All Photos Taken in Oakville, Ontario<br \/>\nLeica R3 Electronic &#8211; Leitz Canada Elmarit-R 1:2.8\/135 &#8211; Kodak Tri-X 400 @ ASA-400 &#8211; Kodak D-23 (Stock) 7:30 @ 20C<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s the red dot special, but not the red dot you were probably expecting. While Leica is best known for their rangefinder cameras, both the older Barnack and the iconic M-Series Leica produces a line of single lens reflex cameras in response to the cameras coming out of Japan. While the early cameras were strictly manufactured by Leica, by the mid-1970s, they had teamed up with Minolta. The agreement produced the Leica CL\/Minolta CLE both rangefinder cameras, and the Leica R3\/Minolta XE! The first time I picked up this camera, having never used a Leica SLR before I was hoping for something special, but I<a class=\"more-link\" href=\"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/08\/ccr-review-56-leica-r3\/\"><span>Read More &rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[120,122,22,121,148,147,374,377,20,29,75],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=600"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2682,"href":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600\/revisions\/2682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.alexluyckx.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}