A German proverb says: “Unverhofft kommt oft.” (The unexpected often happens.) and so a friend called me some time ago to offer me the Leica collection of his father’s estate. It included a Leica R4, the Elmarit-R 28mm 1:2.8, the Summilux-R 50mm 1:1:4, the Macro-Elmarit-R 60mm 1:2.8 and the Vario-Elmar-R 70-210 1:4.
Since he had no use for it and wanted the collection to be in good hands knowing that I like analog photography, I took care of it. Two of the lenses, the 28mm and 50mm, had to be repaired – the focus at infinity was blurred – and when they finally came back, I took various opportunities to try out the “new” old equipment.
So, I very carefully exposed a Kodak Gold 200 film in August 2024 on trips to the island of Møn in Denmark and to Berchtesgaden in Germany as well as at home in Offenbach/Germany.
I am very satisfied with the handling of the camera. It is pretty much self-explanatory, and I use it in manual mode right from the start though the camera offers program automatic and aperture / exposure priority. With the new camera in my portfolio, I also wanted to professionalize my analog workflow a little more and learn from the different manual settings. I did my research and found the analog app by NOSSAFLEX, which now helps me to document the analog settings of each frame in an easy way.
Additionally, the lenses deliver pleasing results when used digitally with an adapter on my Fuji X-T4. Either way, I’m looking forward to having fun with the lenses and the camera in the time to come.
See more of my work on my website rm.photography or on Instagram.
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Comments
Stefan Wilde on 5 frames taken with a Leica R4 that I got by chance
Comment posted: 28/11/2024
that's quite a gift you got yourself there! I like Leica Rs as well anything from the 4 to the 7, with the seven having a reputation for flaky electronics. But as of now, your copy seems to work just fine!
I like the shot of the beach at Mön best, it would make a nice print.
Keep burning film, beste Grüße aus Hamburg,
Stefan
Comment posted: 28/11/2024
Reinhold on 5 frames taken with a Leica R4 that I got by chance
Comment posted: 28/11/2024
Congrats to this fine camera. Having a R5 with a 35mm Elmar, I am quite pleased with it. For recording my analog settings, I‘m using the Crown+Flint app, which fits perfectly into my workflow.
Need to shoot more film again.
Greetings
Reinhold
Comment posted: 28/11/2024
Scott Gitlin on 5 frames taken with a Leica R4 that I got by chance
Comment posted: 10/12/2024
Comment posted: 10/12/2024