Leica R3

• Period; 1976 - 1979: 1446001 − 1525350 (MOT 1978 − 1979: 1492251 − 1523750)
  
• Type; film-cartridge loading 24x36
  
• Finder; built-in pentaprism,
  
• Finder indications; ground-glass screen, micro-prism focusing spot, shutter speed, matching meter needles, selected aperture value, split-image rangefinder
  
• Exposure meter; built-in TTL exposure meter
  
• Exposure handling; manual selection of speed and aperture; Automatic aperture priority
  
• Film speed range: DIN 12 − 36, ASA 12 −3200
  
• Meter sensitivity in cd/m^2; 0.25 − 32000 (EV 1 −18)
  
• Shutter speeds; 4, 2, 1, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250, 1/500, 1/1000, B
  
• Shutter control and type; electronically controlled, vertical 6 blades
  
• Flash ; X and M
  
• Flash synchronization; 1/90
  
• Film transport; manual by lever, rewind folding lever, mechanical
  
• Measurements in mm; 148 x 96.5 x 64.6
  
• Weight body (grams); 780
  

On the secondhand market the Leica R3 is treated like a poor relation. This particular Leica camera is not held in high esteem, because it is not seen as a true Leica camera and had not the proverbial Leitz reliability. Indeed the first batches, made in Portugal (the earliest batch of 2000 units is made inWetzlar!) had some problems with the electrical circuity that consisted mainly of complex clusters of soldered wires and electrical-mechanical interfaces. Leitz had to gain experience with the integration of pcb’s (printed circuit boards). The camera became a very reliable instrument after the start-up problems had been eliminated: a change from wiring harness to flexible circuits. The main problem with the camera is of an emotional nature: the camera looks like an adapted Minolta XE-7 (in Europe XE-1), has impressive size and is not the best in ergonomic design. The overall shape shows the profile of the previous Leicaflex, but it lacks the workmanlike look: the devil is in the details and here the Leitz designers may not have their day. The camera was in the catalogues for three years (1976 − 1979) and sold in rather large quantities (for a Leica camera!): some 65000 −70000 were allocated and presumably manufactured. The camera was the first electronic reflex camera, made by Leitz and clearly targeted at the advanced amateur market, given the price range. The size of the camera is then a bit puzzling: the trend in the market was in the direction of more compact cameras with a width of at most 144 mm and the CLS shutter was explicitly designed as a more compact unit than the Japanese vertically running bladed shutters of that period. The camera offered spot- and weighted average metering with aperture priority mode and electronically controlled shutter speeds from 4 sec to 1/1000. This level of automation required a third cam on the lens bayonet to inform the camera of the maximum aperture of the lens. From 1978 on Leitz produced lenses with only one cam, specifically for the R3 and subsequent models, that integrated the functions of the previous mount with three cams.

The camera has been finished in black and silver-chrome, and a special edition with green paint (NATO approved!) has been made: the Safari model (5000 units in 1977 − 1978). Another special edition is the 24 carat gold-plated one (1979-1980: 1000 units: serial numbers 1523851 − 1524850) with lizard and crocodile skin finish to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Oskar Barnack.

The R3 is the first Leitz reflex camera system where the Leitz engineers had to rely on outside sources for major components. The R3 shows that they had trouble to find an elegant solution for the integration of all parts. Leitz claimed that 75% of all parts were of Wetzlar origin, but that is a bit misleading when you count every single component: the major parts from outside sources are the body chassis, the shutter mechanism and the prism. Leitz parts are the finder screen, the mirror mechanism and the exposure metering system.