It all costs money. Leicas vary hugely in price. Rangefinders from 500 to 15,000. Glass prices also vary hugely. It also depends how much glass you actually want or need.
@@TastyPrism You need to understand the situation back then. Electronic , autoexposure cameras were taking over the camera market. Leica made nothing but mechanical cameras. Their only SLR was mechanical. They desperately needed an electronic, auto exposure SLR and had no tooling or expertise for autoexposure electronic cameras. Minolta was making what they needed, so they teamed up with Minolta for the R3 and later SLR's. They slightly altered the look of Minolta cameras and stuck their logo on them. But Minolta was no Leica, and their mass produced cameras had problems with the electronics that thus affected the Leica badged versions. It was the early days of electronic, autoexposure cameras and reliability was often an issue. The Leica CL was also a rebranded Minolta.
I had two R3.. The first one I striped the advance gear , the second an R3 MOT safari, it lasted 20 years , shot 100's of rolls.. It even went out to Burning Man 3 or 4 times.. Ended up selling it in 2010 along with all my film camaras..
But the truth is that there was a collaboration between Minolta and Leica. The XE and the R3 use common parts in some aspects. Most notably the CLS (Copal Leitz Shutter), which was developed by Leica and manufactured by Copal. The film advance and electronics were also similar. The main difference, and this is crucial, lies in the design of the mirror mechanism. The XE had a fixed mirror, the R3 a transparent mirror. The exposure metering system of the two cameras is completely different. The XE only offers integral metering, the R3 integral and spot metering. The metering cells of the XE are located in the upper part of the prism, those of the R3 under the transparent mirror. The mirror drive mechanism of the XE is simply a traditional hinge mechanism, while the R3 uses the scotch-yoke mechanism of the earlier Leicaflex SL cameras. Not to mention that the alloys used in the R3 are different from those used in the XE. I would not call this a rebranded camera.
It's the glass that cost money..
It all costs money. Leicas vary hugely in price. Rangefinders from 500 to 15,000. Glass prices also vary hugely. It also depends how much glass you actually want or need.
The R series were basically rebranded Minoltas. The R3 had a bad reputation for faulty electronics. They have little value. Not great cameras.
Current Leica cameras use Sony sensors and Panasonic technology. So, is Leica not worth it?
@@TastyPrism You need to understand the situation back then. Electronic , autoexposure cameras were taking over the camera market.
Leica made nothing but mechanical cameras. Their only SLR was mechanical. They desperately needed an electronic, auto exposure SLR and had no tooling or expertise for autoexposure electronic cameras.
Minolta was making what they needed, so they teamed up with Minolta for the R3 and later SLR's. They slightly altered the look of Minolta cameras and stuck their logo on them. But Minolta was no Leica, and their mass produced cameras had problems with the electronics that thus affected the Leica badged versions.
It was the early days of electronic, autoexposure cameras and reliability was often an issue. The Leica CL was also a rebranded Minolta.
I had two R3.. The first one I striped the advance gear , the second an R3 MOT safari, it lasted 20 years , shot 100's of rolls.. It even went out to Burning Man 3 or 4 times.. Ended up selling it in 2010 along with all my film camaras..
But the truth is that there was a collaboration between Minolta and Leica. The XE and the R3 use common parts in some aspects. Most notably the CLS (Copal Leitz Shutter), which was developed by Leica and manufactured by Copal. The film advance and electronics were also similar. The main difference, and this is crucial, lies in the design of the mirror mechanism. The XE had a fixed mirror, the R3 a transparent mirror. The exposure metering system of the two cameras is completely different. The XE only offers integral metering, the R3 integral and spot metering. The metering cells of the XE are located in the upper part of the prism, those of the R3 under the transparent mirror. The mirror drive mechanism of the XE is simply a traditional hinge mechanism, while the R3 uses the scotch-yoke mechanism of the earlier Leicaflex SL cameras. Not to mention that the alloys used in the R3 are different from those used in the XE.
I would not call this a rebranded camera.