I was at my dealer's looking at an R3 the other day, very reasonably priced, with a 50mm Summicron, but he told me that, since the R6.2 and R8 have built-in diopters, Leica no longer makes them for older R's. How easy is it to find them used? And where might I try looking?

-- Peter Hughes (ravenart@pacbell.net), November 29, 2001

Answers

I bought a -3 diopter for my R6.2. They are still in current production. There is a mount on the rear eyepiece to affix the diopter to the camera. Whether these diopters are compatible with the R3 I do not know.I have found Wall Street Camera to be the best source for such items. They stock a full line of the Leica accessories. Best regards

-- Bob Haight (rhaigh5748@aol.com), November 29, 2001.

Leica currently makes diopters -3 to +3 in addition to the built-in - 2 to +2 adjustments in the R8 and R6.2 giving a total possible correction of -5 to +5. The R6.2-type fits R5,RE,R7 and R6 also for certain, and *I think* the R4sP/MOD2. The R3 and Leicaflex SL2 take the same type of diopter for certain, and *I think* so does the R4 and R4s. The SL and Leicaflex take still another type. If you're dealing with a knowledeable dealer they should be able to sort through and find what you need. Occasionally KEH or B&H have them, I got a +0.5 for my SL from B&H. You might also try calling Leica NJ, Lisle-Kelco and Kindermann in Toronto (I know they're not the officials any more but they may have older parts).

-- Jay (infinitydt@aol.com), November 29, 2001.

I once tried all over the place to find a diopter for my R4, then I went to my eye doctor. They get the lab custom make one for me for $40 Cdn. Works better then those by the camera manufactures. I order a bunch more for my other cameras since.

-- chi (chic@intergate.bc.ca), November 30, 2001.