Leica R3 Electric

Description

For nearly a century, Leica has been one of the world’s great leaders in camera design and manufacturing. Known more for its rangefinder cameras, this Leica R3 Electric is one of the company’s single lens reflex cameras. According to its serial number, this 35mm film camera was made in either 1977 or 1978. It sports a Tamron 28mm to 70mm zoom lens which can handle anything from wide-angle landscapes to intimate portraits. We love how easy to handle this Leica R3 Electric is. The “Electric” means it has a battery-powered light meter in the viewfinder. (There is nothing digital or automatic about this nearly 50-year-old camera.) The light meter is very easy to read and understand. The controls are very simple to manipulate. If you are familiar with other, older Leica cameras, you don’t have to fiddle with trimming the film leader while loading, either. We had the light seals replaced at a professional camera repair shop. The techs said its shutter speeds are within spec. You will see some cosmetic wear from use, but there is no actual damage to the camera or lens. To test it, we ran a roll of Kodak XX B&W film through it. We only used the light meter recommended settings without any filters. You can see the results in the gallery. Includes a neck strap.