On Leica Camera web site *The camera has been discontinued. Therefore, it will only be available if your dealer or the Leica agency in your country happens to have remaining stock.

-- Lucien (lucien_vd@yahoo.fr), January 19, 2002

Answers

It looks just like my first camera,a Praktica MTL.Good ridence I say.

-- Phil Kneen (philkneen@manx.net), January 19, 2002.

It would appear that after being stung by some of the replies to his previous posts that Phil is feeling a little vindictive. Though I defended your post for a female shooter before this is kind of a ridiculous remark, Phil. Though you may not like the R6.2, some people (oh...Salgado comes to mind, and him most have actually heard of) it is about as close to a Practica as is any modern SLR - so what's your point?

-- Bob Todrick (bobtodrick@yahoo.com), January 19, 2002.

Thanks for the advise, Lucien.

I own a R4 and have a long stablished dream of getting an M6.2 Though I really enjoy the light meter of the R4 I want the R6.2 because of its lack of electronics but at the moment I can only pray they won't go up to the sky in price after this.

Thanks again, Lucien and congratulations for the nice and clean presentation of your posting.

-Iván

-- Iván Barrientos M (ingenieria@simltda.tie.cl), January 19, 2002.

OOOOOOOHHHH!!! Someone had a sense of humour failure didn't they?

Sorry,forgot.For the sake of the Americans I need to put a smiley face if I make a joke.It's a camera for Gods sake! I wasn't making a personal attack on your Mother you know.Next time you go to the shops Bob,buy yourself a life ;0)

-- Phil Kneen (philkneen@manx.net), January 19, 2002.

Lucien, the R6.2 discontinuation was reported in *gasp* Shutterbug way last year. Evidently the statement you quoted goes to indicate that the manufacturer's stock has all been distributed, but no one knows how many unsold units are out there on dealers' shelves. With the rebates currently off and the cost of a USA R6.2 at $1900, I don't predict exactly a stampede to scoop up the remaining stock unless the collector-speculators go on a feeding-frenzy. The more disturbing issue is that with no R6.2-successor in sight, no digital R body on the horizon, and the R8 a 6-year-old design with a record of mixed customer acceptance and less-than-exemplary reliability, the entire R system might be in serious jeopardy.

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), January 19, 2002.

Was the bloke who designed the R8 insane?It has to be the most hidious looking camera ever made.I don't buy gear on looks,but this is taking the piss.It looks like the design team started making a model out of clay,half way through they thought "sod this,let's go down to the Pub and get wasted",when the engineers came in on monday morning they thought the model was finished and just went ahead and made it.Ugly as sin.

........oooops sorry....:0)

-- Phil Kneen (philkneen@manx.net), January 19, 2002.

Jay,

I wrote the following here on July 2, 2001.

The R6.2 will be discontinued at the end of this "Leica Camera's fiscal year" (March 31, 2002). Or before, if the stock of parts is gone before that date.

-- Lucien (lucien_vd@yahoo.fr), January 19, 2002.

Phil,I don't understand?

-- Robert Smith (robertsmith@hotmail.com), January 19, 2002.

Phil, I don't understand too.

But then again, I don't understand Dame Judy Dench's British humor on those sitcoms I watch now and then.

Maybe this is a failing on my part as a Canadian.

...after all, we are STILL part of the Commonwealth.

-- John Chan (ouroboros_2001@yahoo.com), January 19, 2002.

What don't you understand Bob?

-- Phil Kneen (philkneen@manx.net), January 19, 2002.

Personally I'd much rather the R system died and some serious R&D went into bringing the M up to date. Except for a few eccentrics (no matter how good or famous they are) almost nobody uses the R's professionally. No doubt the glass is good, but I think Leica's core business must be the rangefinders which are genuinely unique.

I've used the R6 extensively and found it to be OK, but fragile and frustrating due to the lack of features I'd take for granted in a Nikon or Canon SLR.

-- rob (rob@robertappleby.com), January 19, 2002.

I don't understand your strange humour.I don't understand why you have put-down the design team at Leica(could you do any better?).I don't understand why you have to turn a serious forum into a joke.I don't understand you Phil.

And please don't ever call me Bob,I was named Robert by my folks.

-- Robert Smith (robertsmith@hotmail.com), January 19, 2002.

Phil, How do I say this in the nicest possible way? You're out of line. Your postings are uninformed and bitter (not to mention full of misspellings). I know this is an open forum, but we try to maintain a sense of decorum and intelligence. Try harder.

-- Gulley Jimson (gulleyjimson@hotmail.com), January 19, 2002.

I have it on good authority Salgado has said 'Id rather shoot with a Practica with Russian lenses than one of those R6.2's but Leica pay me oodles of greenbacks to use them. As an ex economist I understand the call the $ and I am tied into a 10 year endorsment deal. Thank God I've also got another deal with Kodak so I can shoot lots and lots film to give me a sporting chance of getting the exposure right. I envy Bailey he gets to shoot Olympus'

-- Frank Smith (Frankie S 531@oal.com), January 19, 2002.

I've got a degree in photography,not English.

Before I delete this site from my list of favorites I am going to tell you a few home truths.

You are a very sad bunch of misfits.

You need to get out more.

You need to get yourselves a girlfriend.Hey,you could share one!

You really must try to develop a sense of humour.

Now,go and f**k yourselves,Photonet is welcome to you.

-- Phil Kneen (philkneen@manx.net), January 19, 2002.

Frank, last time I saw him he told me that he actually _uses_ Canon Eos equipment but carries the Leicas to exhibitions and so on, because (and I quote) "the harder the faster, and that's how I like 'em". What do you think he meant by that?

-- rob (rob@robertappleby.com), January 19, 2002.

even alfie is back after all the bad treatment he received. i bet in a couple of weeks phil is back on the line....

i appreciate all the help serious discussions you get from this forum, but some participants are really uptight.

-- stefan randlkofer (geesbert@yahoo.com), January 19, 2002.

Haha. I'm so glad I have to this site to entertain me between jobs. Everyone's so testy recently (myself included). Something in the air?

At any rate, it's too bad the r6.2 has being discontinued; it eliminates an all-mechanical option for the SLR line. I've been considering an SLR to fill some voids in my equipment (which is all mechanical -- no exceptions) and the r6.2 was on the short list. Oh well.

On an unrelated note, I've loaded up a holga with Tri-X and I'm off to photograph the Lower East Side. Me thinks that too much internet can turn the brain to mush...

-- Richard Le (rvle@yahoo.com), January 19, 2002.

I didn't say I was going anywhere,just that I would delete you from my favorites....that should teach you a jolly good lesson let me tell you.

-- Phil Kneen (philkneen@manx.net), January 19, 2002.

This guy thinks we're misfits? Apparently he isn't a LUG subscriber...

-- Ken Geter (kgeter@yahoo.com), January 19, 2002.

No,not all of you,just the ones who think they gave birth to Leica.And no,I'm not a LUG subscriber.

-- Phil Kneen (philkneen@manx.net), January 19, 2002.

I am a relative newcommer to this site and have learned alot about the Leica R&M systems. The forums have been kept on a very high level with obvious comity and collegiality. That is until today. Mr. Kneen's puerile, ignorant, and a times both pathetic and frankly insulting comments have no place in this forum. Go away in shame!!! Return only after you apologize and promise to refrain from further inane outbursts.

-- Albert Knapp MD (albertknappmd@mac.com), January 19, 2002.

Inane outbursts?.....well I never did! ok,I promise.

-- Phil Kneen (philkneen@manx.net), January 19, 2002.

re: "that should teach you a jolly good lesson let me tell you. "

Ed Koch, after losing his bid for re-election as mayor of NYC:

"The people of New York have spoken; now the people of New York must be punished."

-- Mike Dixon (mike@mikedixonphotography.com), January 19, 2002.

mmmmmmm...I like that."The people of the Leica forum have spoken,now the people of the Leica forum will be punished!"

-- Phil Kneen (philkneen@manx.net), January 19, 2002.

Lucien:

Let's hope it is replaced with a camera that takes the ROM contacts in account.

Given the depression in Germany, I suppose it won't.

the R6.2 is of another world. I own a R7 and I'm proud of it but I'm "living in the past" (Jethro Tull)

Thanks for the info.

-- Xavier d'Alfort (hot_billexf@hotmail.com), January 19, 2002.

Xavier, it is I feel a "bungle in the jungle" for Leica to "wind-up" production of the R6 but "nothing is easy" and "wond'ring aloud" if it was "up to me" my "sweet dream" would be for Leica to stop being "thick as a brick" and "(witches) promise" to stop "just trying to be" one of the big players when clearly their asset is the niche market - if not they may simply end up "skating away (on the thin ice of the new day)!

Sorry, from a big Tull (and Leica) fan!

-- Giles Poilu (giles@monpoilu.icom43.net), January 19, 2002.

Almost everyone - but of course not all - want to own and drive a Mercedes. Most people who know of Leicas would like to own and use one. People who had R6s no doubt thoroughly enjoyed them and took very satisfyng pictures - pictures that probably could be taken with any one of a number of cameras. Just as a Ford will get you from A to B as would a Mercedes. If you don't like Leicas don't buy them. Having tried many cameras I just can't live with plastic Japanese all singing all dancing point and shoot SLRs.

I'm lucky - I can afford an M6. but then I started 20 years ago with a £50 Leica III.

-- Tony Brookes (gdz00@lineone.net), January 19, 2002.

What the Hell is Giles burbling on about?

-- Father X-mas (fdgeteferdfh@frank.com), January 19, 2002.

Sadly, this camera is now gone. I own one. I think the mechanical camera suits the manual lens perfectly. I never liked the R8. Too big and heavy. I walk alot with my camera and the R8 is just not a camera to tote. I agree with the above the this places the whole R system at risk. Fot those of you that have never used the Leica 100 or 180, you should and walk with a light camera. You know, the all mechanical M is not safe either with the "new" M7 on the horizon. But, we cannot live in the past can we.

-- Bob Haight (rhaigh5748@aol.com), January 19, 2002.

Phil,

Now I see why your girl friend wanted you to go live somewhere else for six months. LB

-- Luther Berry (lberrytx@aol.com), January 19, 2002.

This actually makes a lot of sense. The R8 production was moved to Portugal to save costs. The R6.2 was discontinued obviously because of low demand thus not worth relocating the tooling to the Portugal facility. Leica will probably find some OEM body to replace the R6.2 or the rumoured R9 which will be the mechanical version of the R8 but smaller.

-- ray tai (razerx@netvigator.com), January 19, 2002.

I guess this means that the Nikon FM3a is the only quality mechanical 35mm SLR from a major manufacturer still in production - earlier Nikons, the Pentax K-1000, Yashica FX-3, Contax S2, and Olympus OM-3Ti are all discontinued as far as I'm aware. That must just leave a few budget bodies from China, etc. (& former USSR?), plus any models based on the Cosina chassis that are still being made (is the Nikon FM10 current?). I suppose this just reflects demand, but there are still some professional applications where a mechanical SLR might be preferable, including e.g. astrophotography (where the shutter needs to be held open for a long time without draining batteries) and use in extreme conditions. In the article on Max Milligan I posted about below, he mentions that he prefers the R6 for use in the Andes, where film becomes brittle and easily torn by a motor winder, and where batteries may not work well.

-- Richard Williams (richardw@icr.ac.uk), January 20, 2002.

I'm sorry to hear that the Leica R6.2 is out of production. Personally I love the ergonomics of the R8 better. It just feel more solid and balances the Telyt lenses much better than the R3-R7 series do.

-- Alfie Wang (leica_phile@hotmail.com), January 20, 2002.

True, most pros don't use Leica for business. You have to look at what they're shooting and where they are employeed. Press guys all shoot digital, photojournalists shoot M, or Nikon or Caon AF, and many shoot med format because it's a bigger neg. Easier to work with. The one area I think Leica suits well is portrait and wedding. I know a few excellent pros that do. It seems the bang for the buck has surely moved into a new era of high-shoot'n bodies and image- stab' lens. But I don't think the manual SLR 35mm pro shooter is go'ng to die any time soon.

I hope Leica sees the light (new Nikon FM3), and keeps on with the tradition and quality. Maybe lighter R9?

And, just one other snip, I love rangefinder cameras - but they aint no SLR (you landscapers)

brooker

-- Brooke Anderson (dbanders@videotron.ca), January 29, 2002.

A portrait photographer friend bought a D30 for Christmas and have been shooting with his R lenses with my EOS/R adapter. He said the R lenses manage to retain much more shadow detail over his L zooms so the exercise was worth it. Giving up AF is not a problem since he does portraits, and interestingly he finds it easier to focus with the lens stopped down because the D30 screen is too bright thus lacking contrast. Lastly the bad news: his current 19R will not clear the D30 mirror. Now I am really tempted!

-- ray tai (razerx@netvigator.com), January 30, 2002.

I just spoke with my D30 user friend for an update and his conclusion was that R lenses are wasted on the D30. The images do not do justice to the capabilities of the R line. He will continue to use EOS for work and M/R for pleasure.

-- ray tai (razerx@netvigator.com), January 30, 2002.