Leica R4s User manual

www.butkus.usContents                             Page     Uniform groundglass screen with grid division   31
 Brief description                           4     Clear glass plate with crosslines                  31
 Attaching the carrying strap                    6     Correction lenses                            32
 Inserting the lens                              7    Eyecup                                     32
Removing the lens                             7     Eyepiece blanking                          33
 Inserting and testing the batteries            8      Multiple exposures                         33
Rapid transport lever                        10     Flash synchronisation                       34
Setting the film speed                        10     Automatic switch-over to "X"                 35
Inserting the film                                    11     Depth-ofJield lever                         36
Removing the film                           14     Depth-ofJield scale                        36
Switching on the exposure system            14     Selftimer                                 37
The alternative exposure measuring methods 15    Lens hoods                               37
LEITZ largefield integrating measurement   16     Automatic spring-back diaph ragm             38
LEITZ selective measurement              16     Design of the LEICA R lenses                 38
Exposure corrections                      17     Holding the camera correctly                 39
Sensitivity of the exposure meter              18      Filters                                    40Measuring with working aperture  ,            18    The use of filters                           40
Insufficient  light for measurement         18    The use of existing LEICA R lenses
Long-time range                              19    and accessories                                   41
Selecting the programs                    20     LEICA M lenses on the LEICA R4s             42
Shutter speed ring                              21     Care of the LEICA R 4 s                      42
Automatic shutter speed control with LEITZ            Cases                                    43
fargefield integrating measurement        22    MOTOR-WINDER R4, MOTOR-DRIVE R4        44
Automatic shutter speed control with              RC LEICA R electronic control unit            45
LEITZ selective measurement             24    DB LEICA R4 Databack                      45
Manual setting with LEITZ selective                     Interchangeable lenses                       46
measurement                         26     Enlargers                                 47
The viewfinder as a composition and                     Projectors                                 47control centre                             28     Binoculars                                47
Focusing with the universal focusing screen  30    Camera spare parts                          47
lnterchangeable focusing screens             31     Focusing screens                            47
Uniform groundglass screen,                                 Suitability for use in the tropics               47micro-prism screen                            31




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Digitally signed by mike butkus      mike                  DN: cn=mike butkus,
                                                  o=orphancameras, ou=29,
                                                    email=mike@butkus.org, c=US      butkus               Date: 2020.01.13 20:32:45 -05'00'


Brlef description
1 Automatic frame counter
2 Controlwindow for film transport
3 Lever for rapid shutter wind and film transport     10 LED (Light Emmiting Diode) for self-timer
4 Release button with thread for cable release      11 Locking button for exposure correction
5 Shutter speed ring                      12 LED for battery test
6 Program selector                       13 Locking button for ISO (ASA/DIN) setting of7 Viewing window lor the set program                      the exposure meter, battery test knob (C)
8 Accessory shoe with centre and control contact    14 Folding rewind crank
9 Does not apply to LEICA R 4 s               15 Film-speed setting ring

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16  Scale for exposure correction                   25  Eyelet for carrying strap
17  Electronic self-timer                           26 Mewing window for inserted film
18  Bayonet lock                                 27  Eyepiece blank
19  Depth-of-field lever                            28  Mewfinder eyepiece, correction lenses
20 Red dot marking for lens change                     can be inserted
2',|  Distance setting ring                           29 Cap for battery compartment
22  Depth-of-field scale                           30 A 1/4 tripod thread
23  Aperture preselection ring                           31  Rewind release and double-exposure button24  Flash contact                                 32  Motor winder connector

V



Attaching the carrying strap
Attach the carrying strap to the eyelets   A small pocket tor 2 spare batteries is
(25).                                            fixed to the carrying strap, which will also
Remove the metal hooks from the carrying    accept the flash contact cover, when
strap and hook them into the eyelets on    required.
the camera.                          The small pocket should be attached in
Attention: Make sure that the carrying    such a manner so as to prevent the snap-
strap is inserted to the second part of the    button from being opened accidentally;
metal hooks completely before you push     for instance where the strap is two-fold or
the securing loops over them (see pic-   on top of the sliding loops with the snap-
tures above).                                button toward the inside.

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lnserting the lens                      Removing the lens
Only lenses with control cam for Leica R    Grip the lens by the fixed ring (221.
cameras may be attached to the Leica    Depress the bayonet lock (18) on the
R 4 s, otherwise damage to the camera will    camera. Turn the lens anticlockwise and
result.                                 remove  it.
Independently of the distance and aper-    With the camera loaded change lenses in
ture setting the LEICA R lenses are    the shadow of your body, since light may
exchanged as follows:                     enter through the shutter when openly
Grip the lens by the fixed ring (221. Make    exposed to direct sunlight.
the red dot (20) on the lens mount face the
bayonet lock (18) on the camera body.
Insert the lens in this position. Aftera slight
clockwise turn the lens clicks into posi-
tion.

lnserting and testing the batteries
The LEICA R 4 s requires electrical power   you have not used the camera for a pro-
for exposure measurement and shutter    longed period. Press the battery test knob
control. This is supplied bV 2 1.55 or 1.5v     (13), marked "C" on top left of the camera.
silver oxide button cells, or a Lithium   The LED (12) fitted in front of the battery
battery 3 Volt. To insert the batteries     test button lights up in red when the batte-
unscrew with a coin and remove the cap     ries are in working order. The battery test
(29) on the underside of the camera body.   knob should remain pressed for about 5
Remove films of oxide from the batteries    seconds. A noticeable reduction in the
with a clean cloth and insert the batteries      light intensity of the LED during the 5 sec.
in the cap according to the insertion     indicates the imminent exhaustion of the
symbols. Screwthe cap and batteries into     batteries, which should be replaced.
the baseplate of the camera.               Depressing battery test button (13) will
Check the state of the batteries before you    switch on the camera and the LEDs in the
start taking photographs, especially when     viewfinder will light up.

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 lmportant                                  Tips for battery care and use:
When the MOTOR-WINDER R 4  or    Store batteries in a cool and dry place.
 MOTOR-DRIVE R 4 is attached, the batte-   Do not use new and used batteries to-
 ries are tested when the battery test knob    gether.
 and the exposure system is simultaneous-    The batteries cannot be recharged.
 ly switched on, for instance by means of   Do not throw used batteries into the fire.
 pressing the locking button on the pro-   Do not mix different batteries from differ-
gram selector (see "Switching on the    ent manufacturers.
exposure system", page 14).                Several makes contain mercury which is
                                        hazardous to the environment, therefore,
                                           discarded batteries should be returned to
                                           the camera shop.

Silver-oxide button cells
Suitable for the LEICA R 4 s
Designation and main uses
Manufacturer Photographic Deaf aids Watches
              equipment
EVERREADY          S76E
MALLORY MS 76 H   MS 76 H 10 L 14MAXEL  SR 44 F
NATIONAL G 13      G13
RAY-O-VAC RS 76 G   RS76G
UCAR    EPX 76    S 76 E  No.357VARTA  V76 PX    V 76 HS No.541
Lithium-batteries
Suitable for the LEICA R 4 s                  Attention:
DURACELL DL 1/3 N                 Remove bafteries if the camera is not
VARTA CR 1/3 N                          being used for a long time.

Rapid transport lever                       Setting the film speed
The rapid transport lever (3) transports the    To set the exposure meter for the speed of
film, winds the shutter, and operates the    the film in the camera press the locking
film counter (1).                             button (1 3) and at the same time rotate the
When the lever is turned out (standby    setting ring (15) until the desired film
position) the thumb can be moved behind    speed is displayed in the viewing windows
                                            (DlN at the front, ASA at the rear).it and thereby securely support the
camera.                              The adjustment range extends from ISO
                                         (ASA 12/12 DIN) to ISO 3200/36oWhen the MOTOR-WINDER R 4  or    12/120MOTOR-DRIVE R 4 is attached, consult   (ASA 3200/36 DIN). ISO is the inter-
instructions for the MOTOR-WINDER or    national scale unit for film speed.
MOTOR-DRIVE respectively.



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Inserting the film
Pull up the rewind crank (14) to open the
camera back*. After some spring force has
been overcome the camera back opens
automatically. The film counter returns to
"S" (start).
Wind the shutter with the rapid transport
lever and release  it.
To save time during film loading, it is
recommended to set the speed dialto "X",
thus setting a short shutter speed inde-
pendent of the exposure automation.

'- The operation  is identical with the Databack DB LEICA R 4
attached.

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Pick up the film cartridge as illustrated    Transport the film through one frame with
above. The emulsion side points to the    the rapid transport lever so that  it will be
viewer. Push the end of the film obliquely    taut in the film guide and the film cartridge
from above into one of the slots of the   mouth is not proud.
take-up spool. Ensure that the end of the
film is fully gripped by at least one lug and
protrudes under the next lug.
Fully pull up the rewind crank and insert
the film cartridge in the empty film
cartridge chamber. Now push in the
rewind crank. The edge of the film must be    lmportant.
paralleltothe film guide and the sprockets    Load the film in the shade of one's body; it
of the transport drum must engage in the    is possible for light to enter the film
perforation holes of the film when the    cartridge when exposed directly to sun-
rapid transport lever is operated.                light.

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Close the camera by snapping the camera    The film has been correctly inserted and is
back shut. Release the shutter. Transport    transported when a bright field becomes
the film through one frame and again     visible in the controlwindow (2) in front of
release the shutter. Transport the film   the rapid transport lever; it advances
once again. The camera is now ready for    towards the front edge of the window with
operation. The film counter (1) points at 1.   each exposure.
It counts forward to "36". For the various        It is also possible to observe the rewinding
lengths of film the numbers "20", "24",and   process (page 14) in the control window
"36" are marked in red.                           (2); the white field becomes smaller and
                                     then disappears just before the film is
                                         withdrawn from the take-up spool.
Do not forget:
lf the speed dialwas set to "X" while load-
ing the film, it must now be re-set.

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Rewinding and taking out the film          Switching on the exposure system
When the  f ilm has been exposed to the last   The exposure system of the LEICA R 4 s
frame the rapid transport lever can no     is switched on with slight pressure of the
longer be operated. Before the film is    release button (4) or pressure of the lock-
removed from the camera it must be    ing button on the program selector (6).
rewound into its cartridge. Press the   The LED displays intheviewfinder light up.
rewind release button (31) on the under-
side of the camera body, turn out the
rewind crank and rotate  it clockwise  (in
the direction of the arrow) until the film is
pulled out of the take-up spool after slight
resistance has been overcome. Open the
camera body by pulling up the rewind
crank and take out the film cartridge.


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The alternative exposure measuring   The exposure is measured through the
methods                                        lens. With the LEICA R lenses with fully
The LEICA R 4 s has an exposure measur-    automatic preset diaphragm measure-
ing system with alternative measuring   ment is carried out at full aperture. The
methods:                         symbol of the measuring methodI  LEITZ largef ield integrating             employed is displayed in the viewing win-
   measurement                    dow (7) next to the program selector and
O LEITZ selective measurement                 in the bottom left-hand corner of the view-
These exposure measurement methods    finder as a program. The exposure is
are combined with the automatic shutter   measured by a silicon photo diode housed
speed control.                                            in the bottom part of the camerawhere  it is
For manual settings of exposure time and    protected against stray light.
lens aperture the Leitz selective measure-
ment is used.


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o



LEITZ largefield integrating               LEaTZ se lective measu rement
measurement                         This method is used whenever great
Most photographic subjects are com-    brightness differences occur in the entire
posed of details of varied brightness. The    subject and a certain detail is to be ex-
reflection of such ordinary subjects cor-    posed accurately.
responds to that of a mean grey value of   Since the measuring field in the view-
18o/o, for which every exposure meter is    finder is outlined by the large central
calibrated.                                    circle, the important image detail is
As a rule the details of varied brightness    measured exactly. The measuring field is
are equally distributed throughout the    the same size for all lenses and all focus-
entire field. Here the program with large-   ing screens and, therefore, becomes
                                     (see     clearly visible in the vieMinder.field integrating measurement $p.22].should be chosen.              The programs with selective measure-
                                                1-ent                                                are called @ and @ (see pp. 24 and
                                                261.

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                                      Example for a "*" correction
                                          With very bright subjects, such as snow-
                                             scapes, or the beach, the exposure meter,
                                          owing to the greater reflection of the light,
                                                         will indicate a shutter speed which is too
                                   high and therefore produces under-
                                     exposure. Consequently the shutter
                                      speed must be reduced, for instance from
                                        1/125 to 1/60 sec. with the "*1 " correc-
                                                       tion.
                                     Example of a"-" correction
                                            With very dark subjects which reflect little
                                                   light the exposure meter will indicate a
                                                shutter speed which is too slow and there-Exposure correction (override)           fore produces overexposure. Conse-Exposure meters are calibrated for a mean                                             quently the shutter speed must thereforegrey value corresponding to the bright-                                  be increased, for instance from 1/15 toness of an ordinary photographic subject.                                           1/30 sec. through the "-1" correction.lf the subject of which a reading is taken
does not meet these requirements, a   To set the correction a locking button (1 1)                                                    is pressed and the scale (16) set to thesuitable exposure correction must be                                            desired value with the lever next to it. Halfapplied. Exposure corrections are used                                                                      be set andparticularly with largefield integrating    exposure values up to +/-2 can                                       clamped. At the end values of the ISOmeasurements.                                      (ASA/DIN) scale, exposure correctionsWith selective measurement, a represen-                                       can be set only within limitations.tative detail of average grey value can be                              When the camera is switched on, theselected from the entire subjectfora read-                                  symbolp will blink in the bottom left-handing through the smaller and precisely                                            corner of the vieMinder when a correctiondefined measuring field.                                       has been set.
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Sensitivity of the exposure meter
The measuring range with integrating
measurement is 0.25 cdlmz to 63 000
cd/mz att/1.4. In exposure values (EV): at
ISO 1 O0/21o from +1 to +19, ort/1.4/1 sec
to t/22/rAooo sec. The measuring rangewith selective measurement is 1 cd/mz to                   t)',
63 000 cd/mz at  f /1.4. In exposure values
(EV): at ISO 100/21o from +3 to +19, or
t/1.4/1/q sec to t/22/l/tooo sec.


Measurement with the working aperture    Values below the measuring range
The 35 mm PA-CURTAGON-R ll4, the   The measuring range of the camera used
long-focal-length lensesfrom 400 mm, the    for correct exposures is linear. When in
focusing bellows-R, the extender-R 2xtor    very poor light this range is not reached,
the LEIGAFLEX SL/SL 2 and the 3-part    these conditions no longer apply and an
ring combination have no automatic    accurate exposure can no longer be
diaphragm or no coupling for it. Here the    determined. The measuring values indi-
exposure must be measured through the    cated in the viewfinder will lead to wrong
lens aperture used, i.e. through the work-     results. A warning signal is therefore given
ing aperture. Here the lens aperture is   by a constant lighting up of the override
adjusted to regulate the amount of light   symbolp.
reaching the measuring cell of the LEICA     In the transitional range the symbol might
R4s.                                                  blink.


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Long-time range                        Because as a rule high-speed films and
The working range of the exposure meter    high-speed lenses are used in poor light-
of the LEICA R 4 s depends on the measur-     ing conditions this will hardly impose limi-
ing sensitivity of the photo diode, the film     tations. Even when the lens is stopped
speed setting, and the speed of the lens.   down 3 stops (with ISO 100/21"1 the
The highest shutter speed measured or    shutter speed will still be determined auto-
determined is 1/1000 sec, the slowest     matically (although itwillnot be indicated).
about 8 sec. Minor deviations in the auto-    Needless to say measurements can also
matic long-time range from about 2 sec    be carried out at full aperture, the shutter
and longer can be ignored in practice.    speed measured converted for a different
In the viewfinder the shutter speeds    aperture value, and the exposure made at
from 1/1000 sec to "1 sec or longer" are    the "B" setting.
displayed. In addition an indication  is    For slow films the following values are pro-
                                                                 in the same conditions:given by the override symbol V when   ducedthe measuring range is not being reached,    ISO 50/18o:2 sec
i.e. if a correct exposure is impossible.      ISO 251150:4 sec
                                    ISO 12/120: 8 sec
                                        Here the indication is "1 sec and longer".
                                         In practice this is of hardly any signi-
When the f/1.4 lens is used the slowest    ficance, because as a rule long time expo-
shutter speed to be measured or deter-    sures are made from atripod. Whetherthe
mined is:                                                                                                       f ilm is exposed for 2,3, 4, or B seconds is
ISO 800/30o: 1/8 sec                          practical ly immaterial.ISO 400/270 :1/4 sec                 The exposure is correct as long as the
ISO 200/24' :1/2 sec                    override symbol V in the viewfinder of
lSO100/21o:1sec                       the LEICA R 4 s does not light up.




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Choice of programs                     The following programs can be chosen:
The programs are set by pressure of the   El automaticshutterspeed  controlwithlocking button and simultaneous sliding of        LEITZ largefield integrati ng
the program selector (6). As the locking       measurementbutton is being pressed the camera  is                                               automatic shutter speed controlwithswitched on. The chosen program is dis- O                                             LEffZ selective measu rementplayed in the bottom left-hand corner of
                                          manual setting of shutter speed andthe viewfinder window. In addition, the @program setting can be read at any time in        lens aperture with LEITZ selective
the viewing window (7) next to the shutter       measurement
speed ring.
The program selector must engage in the
chosen position.  lt can be reset only after
the locking button has been pressed.


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Shutter speed ring
With the @ program the shutter speeds
are set with the shutter speed ring. lt
engages at all the indicated values. The
shutter speeds from 1/1000 to 1 sec are
determined electronically. Intermediate
values cannot be set.
                                  shutterIn the   S and @ programs thespeed ring may be set for any desired
value except "X", "100" and "8". Allshutter
speeds between 1/1000 and 8 sec are
determined continuously and displayed
on the right in the vievvfinderwindow upto
1 sec by LEDs.  lf 2 diodes light up simul-
taneously, the values produced are inter-    "8" and "100" (: 1/100 seC) Can be uSed
mediate.                                    without batteries.
The use of electronic flash units requires    At "X", "8" and "100" the exposure is not
the "X" setting. At "8" the shutter remains   measured even when the button cells are
open as long as the release button is being     inserted. This is indicated in the viewfinder
pressed.                                by the lighting up of the upper triangular
Slightly more resistance isto be overcome    LED.
between "X" and "B" when compared to
the other values, so as to avoid acciden-
tally setting one of the mechanical shutter
speeds.





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automatic shutter-speed control       The shutter speed is automatically deter-tr    with LEITZ largefield integrating        mined according to the existing bright-
    measurement.                            ness. The shutter speed ring may be set at
     Preselect the desired lens aperture    any value between 1/1000 and 1 sec, but                                             not at "X", "100" or "B".
This program is universally useful, since
experience has shown that in 90% of all
cases the largefield integrating measure-
ment is correct and dependable. The
range of applications includes land-
scapes, monuments, individial groups
(also see page 16). The lens opening is
selected by means of the aperture dia-
phragm ring (23).

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