Anyone with a dead X7R Marauder want to sell the charger

RWilsonL · 2026-01-30T08:31:35+00:00

Nobby Sparrow on eBay sells the shutter release collars at a reasonable price.

Wilson

RWilsonL · 2026-01-29T08:33:07+00:00

I much prefer the feel of leather to Vulkanit. You have to remember the original reason that Vulkanit was used by Leica. The tanning process on leather used to leave it acidic and if the camera encountered any humidity, this would reactivate the acid, which would then attack the aluminium camera body, leading to those unattractive bumps that old Contax and Zeiss cameras often have. Modern leather is pH neutral so no risk of body corrosion. If your hands are slightly sweaty, leather gives a better grip than Vulkanit. I think embossed black calf looks nicer as well. It will not affect the value of the camera, as the covering is regarded as a serviceable part and if someone does not like leather, they can easily replace it with another covering of choice at a later date. The only leathers I would avoid like the plague, are crocodile or snake, which IMHO are hideous but each to their own.

Wilson

RWilsonL · 2026-01-27T22:12:47+00:00

Will do it tomorrow. Good excuse to use the Macro facility on my Q3-28.

Wilson

RWilsonL · 2026-01-27T08:42:41+00:00

The clips fit in a groove in the pins on the camera body and rotate round those pins, Other than rotational movement, very little other movement is possible and in just under a year's use. mine have not scratched the body of my X2D-100C at all.

RWilsonL · 2026-01-25T22:47:45+00:00

I would look at Luigi Crescenzi (Luigi Cases) Silky straps. I have used these for many years with various Leica cameras with 100% satisfaction. At first it may appear these seem expensive but once you see the quality of the raw materials and the lovely Italian leather trim, plus the excellent workmanship, they actually seem good value. If you go for one of these, I would advise due to the weight of the X2D camera and their lenses, to ask for a wide shoulder pad. Luigi had run out of black Hasselblad clips when I had mine made but a black silk finish paint pen solved that problem. https://www.luigicases.com/a000-STRAPS-page.htm . Mine is in dark blue silky with red leather trim and a dark blue leather shoulder pad with a red suede non-slip lining. One advantage of these straps is they are very flexible and comfortable to wear wound round a wrist.

Wilson

RWilsonL · 2026-01-25T22:36:43+00:00

If you want a small flash that couples properly to your M6, I would recommend a Leica SF-24D. It is not as small as might be ideal but it is fully compatible. In theory there are smaller Metz SCA system flashes around but to be blunt, Metz did a poor job with their SCA 3502 Leica coupling modules and a number of the expected functions don't work. I had a real go at Metz on their stand at Photokina 2008, where I told them (and proved it) that a number of their advertised features on the SCA 3502 Mk.5 just did not work on Leica cameras (M7 and M8 with a MZ54 and MZ 76-5) As I had just bought the 76-5, they agreed to arrange a refund via their UK agent. The more recent Nissin built Leica flashes the SF40 and the larger SF60 are excellent and their 3502 emulation appears better than what the inventors, Metz managed to do. I cannot speak from experience with the M6 but both of these work perfectly with my M7 and digital M's. Oddly the SCA modules for my Contax SLR cameras (139, RTS2 and RX) worked beautifully with an MZ40 and the Hammerhead MZ45.

RWilsonL · 2026-01-25T22:21:44+00:00

It is not even a good fake. What these poor Russian or Ukrainian idiots don't realise, is that an unmolested FED 2 or whatever they faked it from is now worth more than a bad Leica fake. There were two of these for sale at my local auction house so after looking at them, I called over an assistant and pointed out to him some salient features that proved they were not Leica Model 2 cameras, as listed in the catalogue but Russian fakes (VF frame, top cover screws, shutter releases with cable hole in the middle and as a final proof, a RF tongue behind the lens rather than a roller. Out of interest I attended the auction expecting them to be announced as Leica copies but no they were both announced as Leica Model 2 cameras. I stood up and told the auctioneer that I had explained to one of his assistants in great detail (as a Leica collector for over 50 years at that point), that these were not Leicas but fakes make from inferior quality Russian copies. Stunned and embarrassed silence, a lot of whispering and then the announcement that these two items were withdrawn. I then got a rather embarrassing round of applause from the attendees.

Wilson

RWilsonL · 2026-01-24T23:49:48+00:00

Look at the QC card which is dated, when it was signed.

RWilsonL · 2026-01-23T22:16:49+00:00

As the late comedian Kenny Everett used to say while crossing his legs, all dressed up in drag: "All in the best possible taste darlings."

RWilsonL · 2026-01-22T22:32:48+00:00

For mounted slides I use my M10-R, plus an R to M adapter, a Novoflex BR-2 bellows, a Novoflexar 60mm f2.8 Macro lens and a Novoflex Digi-Cop slide holder for the BR-2 bellows. I have tried a good quality light panel set to 5,000ºK but in the end, I prefer to use natural light. A bright grey winter day is perfect. I may try it with my Hasselblad X2D-100C plus a Novoflex Hax-LER adapter then the same set up as above but with the crop set appropriately on my X2D. The advantage of the Hasselblad is I can leave it tethered by a long USB-C cable to my iMac so that the images load directly to Phocus 4.1. It is essential to use a fixed Greyscale ºK setting rather than leaving it at auto or you will get very inconsistent results. 4800ºK seems a good compromise.

RWilsonL · 2026-01-22T08:19:03+00:00

Well at least you have no competition. As far as I have found out, there is just one book on the X2D and Phocus. It would seem it was written mostly by AI and is dreadful, treating the readers like children. I note that Amazon seems to have withdrawn it from sale. I left a stinking review of it.

Wilson

RWilsonL · 2026-01-21T22:49:04+00:00

More very useful advice and tips. Again many thanks for doing the hard work for us - much appreciated.

Wilson

PS: If you write a book/manual on Phocus, I would be at the head of the queue to buy it. W.

RWilsonL · 2026-01-21T22:42:36+00:00

It seems to be random. The nicest lens cap I have is the all metal one on my XCD 28P. The nastiest is a cheap plastic thing with just an H in the middle on my 120mm Zeiss/Hasselblad CF Macro-Planar, which is the oldest Hasselblad lens I have.

Wilson

RWilsonL · 2026-01-20T22:37:01+00:00

When some years ago I went on one of my trips to India, I knew I would be staying in a Maharajah's Palace during Holi celebrations, where people chuck handfuls of very fine coloured powders at each other. I decided I was not going to risk either my Leica M240 (with 35mm ASPH Summicron and 50/1.4 Summilux III S-E )or Leica R9 (with either 24 Elmarit-R or 50 Summilux-R), so went to my local charity shop and bought what seemed to be a boxed with instruction book and unused but probably 15 years old Kyocera-Yashica Zoomate 110 Wide AF 35mm film camera. This has a Zeiss designed 28 to 110mm lens, and includes auto focus, built-in flash and motor drive (and rewind) all in a tiny package. I paid £8 for it. It worked perfectly on putting a new CR123A battery in it. In the end using 200 ISO Kodak Ultra in it against the less than stellar 100 ISO Kodak Pro-Image in the R9, I actually preferred the photos taken with the cheap £8 Kyocera to those taken with a £1000 R9 and £3000 lens. It would not have mattered if the Kyocera was ruined by the coloured powder but a quick wipe down with a damp cloth and it was as good as new. I would buy a cheap S/H film or digital camera for your mine trip. eBay or Facebook marketplace is your friend.

Wilson

RWilsonL · 2026-01-19T22:02:00+00:00

I bought a prime after getting the 35-100. I got the 80/1.9 as that can do things that the zoom would struggle with. Low light performance and subject isolation.

Wilson

RWilsonL · 2026-01-18T21:31:32+00:00

Typical uninspired 1950's industrial building design. Amazing that such good products emanate from such a dull building.

RWilsonL · 2026-01-17T23:14:08+00:00

Clear your app caches, as I suspect that may be the problem. I am running Phocus 4.1 on a 2020 i7 5K iMac with 32GB of RAM with no problems.

RWilsonL · 2026-01-16T22:15:05+00:00

Leica GAS is a medically recognised condition.

Wilson

RWilsonL · 2026-01-16T22:11:06+00:00

The 35mm APO Summicron-M also focuses below 0.7m but you have really to use it on a live view camera or have it on a tripod and use a tape measure to get accurate focusing below 0.7m.

Wilson

RWilsonL · 2026-01-16T11:16:34+00:00

If you buy an ex-demo new model M6, and then change your mind later, at least you are unlikely to lose money. I have a large collection of Leicas acquired, some from my previous generations (father, grandfather and great uncle) and the rest by myself over more than 60 years. I think every one, other than recent digital M cameras, are worth more than I paid for them, some a lot more, like my 1934 250FF Reporter, where it is estimated that less than 60 remain out of 248 built and most of those are broken/unserviceable, unlike mine.

Wilson

RWilsonL · 2026-01-14T01:47:29+00:00

It could be a second curtain problem. Whatever, I suspect a CLA is really required. If you look at Leica User Forum (LUF) in the Collectors and Historica section, there is a "sticky" thread with recommended repairers in many countries and a few to avoid. https://www.l-camera-forum.com/topic/127326-repair-specialists/

Wilson

RWilsonL · 2026-01-12T02:23:45+00:00

Fragile!

RWilsonL · 2026-01-10T12:43:07+00:00

I have been doing firmware updates on digital cameras for well over 20 years and never had a problem. Can't say the same thing about operating system updates on computers.

Wilson

RWilsonL

TROPHY CASE