Hi there,

What would happen if I stuck a Leica MR or MR-4 into the hotshoe of a R series camera or my Leicaflex? Would it be able to provide me with a metering system (considering that my Leicaflex has a dead meter)?

Alfie

-- Albert Wang (albert.wang@ibx.com), October 09, 2001

Answers

Well, obviously it won't connect to the shutter of the SL and the pin that is used to connect to the shutter on the Leica M's will prevent rotation of the wheel because the pin will bump up against the prism of the SL...just tried it.

-- Bud (budcook@attglobal.net), October 09, 2001.

Buy the little Voigtländer meter instead. It will fit and not couple, does a good job.

-- Godfrey (ramarren@bayarea.net), October 09, 2001.

You say your meter is "dead". Questions:

1. Does the battery check work? If no, the problem may simply be bad contact, corrosion, or a corroded/broken wire, or switch. The first thing to try is with a small instrument, *gently* lift up on the brass contact inside the batter chamber, and using a tweezer, place a tiny wad of tissue in the groove under the contact strip. Replace the battery and see if it comes back to life.

In any case, for the cost of a new Voigtlander meter (which I don't recommend as it has no memory lock and therefore can't be used at eyelevel to aim it)or Sekonic L-208 Twin-Mate (which I do recommend because it does have a memory lock), you might be able to get someone like Sherry Krauter to fix the Leicaflex--and it might even be cheaper.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), October 09, 2001.

Just wondering about the Voigtlander vs other shoe mount meters - is the lack of a memory lock that much of an issue when the metering position is significantly above the lens? In other words, might it not be a good idea to lower the camera slightly when taking a reading (which would also allow you to see the LEDs)? I have no experience with any shoe-mounted meter, but am vaguely wondering whether it would be worth getting one. The VC meter seems a bit expensive for what it does (and a previous posting here questioned its accuracy), but I haven't seen the other modern shoe-mount meters in the UK.

-- Richard Williams (richardw@icr.ac.uk), October 10, 2001.

I checked, the meter is dead probably from the broken worn off battery contact. Of course I prefer a separate meter for my Leicaflex Model 2 version :) I think that it would be a good idea.

Will consider the Voigtlander meter thanks!

Alfie

-- Alfie Wang (albert.wang@ibx.com), October 11, 2001.