I bid sort of as a joke on a Leica R3 Mot Electric ( Leica R3 – the first electronic Leitz SLR – 1976 to 1980) camera body the other day. My max bid was $41, I ended up getting it for $36 USD. No bidders but me on this item. I checked the pricing of other R3s and they spread from $80 to $125 USD. I got the camera today in the mail shipped very cheaply from Jasper, Alberta, which is only a few hours West of my city of Edmonton.
The camera looks in good shape, it is a battery powered, not a big fav with me. I hate to rely on batteries in the field, prefer a fully functional non battery mechanical cameras like the Leica R6 and M6. The batteries that were in this R3 camera are working. The meter, mirror, and the shutter speeds, and cosmetics all seem good. I just need to clean some dust and it should be ready to go. If the battery dies in the field I can still shoot the R3 at the x setting which is 1/90 of a second. So even without working batteries I should be able to make pics with this latest and cheapest tool
I bid on this thing because it was a well made Leica, it was very cheap and it was located close which meant a low shipping cost. Heck $36 USD for a Leica! That is the cost of an average decent meal for 2. Not sure how I will use this thing but having both the R3 and the coming R4 (free) Leica bodies should give me very cheap but reliable tools to use in dangerous locations like the Tondo slum in Manila.
Update* I think I might have to add a bit of light ceiling foam to parts of the cameras innards, not much but a bit might not hurt.
The camera looks in good shape, it is a battery powered, not a big fav with me. I hate to rely on batteries in the field, prefer a fully functional non battery mechanical cameras like the Leica R6 and M6. The batteries that were in this R3 camera are working. The meter, mirror, and the shutter speeds, and cosmetics all seem good. I just need to clean some dust and it should be ready to go. If the battery dies in the field I can still shoot the R3 at the x setting which is 1/90 of a second. So even without working batteries I should be able to make pics with this latest and cheapest tool
I bid on this thing because it was a well made Leica, it was very cheap and it was located close which meant a low shipping cost. Heck $36 USD for a Leica! That is the cost of an average decent meal for 2. Not sure how I will use this thing but having both the R3 and the coming R4 (free) Leica bodies should give me very cheap but reliable tools to use in dangerous locations like the Tondo slum in Manila.
Update* I think I might have to add a bit of light ceiling foam to parts of the cameras innards, not much but a bit might not hurt.
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| My $36 Leica |
