Obituary: The Leica R9, 2009
The Leica R9: the last of the film-loading reflexcameras made by Leica
In 1964, now 45 years ago, the Leitz company introduced the Leicaflex, a camera that was eagerly anticipated. In those days there was no internet to leak rumors and globally exchanging opinions. The few magazines that had advance information did look ahead, but waited for the official release. When the Leicaflex finally arrived, it was a disappointment. The features were already obsolete at the start and the camera lacked important elements that were required for a wide acceptance and to create a demand in the face of heavy Japanese competition. The Leicaflex was beautifully made and inherited the mechanical excellence of the M body. This M body was designed around a simple engineering principle. But the reflex camera was inherently much more complex and Leitz tried to find novel ways for its construction. The intricately moving mirror, the new shutter, the unique finder and the body shape fitted in the Leitz design tradition of improving upon existing constructions and finding new ways for classical problems. The Leicaflex tried to embody the clean operating principles of the M body into a reflex camera. It was not a great success and never was accepted as a professional camera.
The Leicaflex can be seen as the first generation of Leica reflex models. The next model was the Leica R3, a very nice camera with a sophisticated electronic heart. It borrowed heavily from the Minolta camera and was made in Portugal. This second generation was reasonably successful but it stayed in the shadows of the more potent Japanese cameras. The third generation is again based on a Minolta camera, but now the Leica fingerprint is more obvious. A range of models form R4 to R7 were produced from 1980 to 1996. This generation incorporated as much automation as Leica could swallow within its own engineering philosophy of simplicity of operation and manual handling and focusing.
Parallel to the development of the reflex models, Leica designed a range of lenses for the reflex camera that consisted of a mix of outstandingly good and middle of the road designs. The mounts for these lenses were second to none, but many lenses were heavy and bulky and the evolution of the range lacked a strong and clear strategy. Leica stepped relatively late in the zoomlens world and created some of the very best designs ever found in this domain. But as a range it could not fully convince and given the price tags did not find many buyers.
The R8 arrived on the market in 1996 and was a new design fresh from the drawing board. It can be counted as the fourth generation of Leica reflex designs. All professional reflex models of that period were converging to one universal reflex design: fully automated, fully electronic and with fast autofocus and power drives. This convergence of features in the high end market is also the norm for current d-slr cameras.
Leica assumed that their single track approach as exemplified with the rangefinder camera could become successful in the reflex market too and the R8 was designed as a manually operating camera with a modicum of automation, just enough to support the photographer in his basic tasks of exposure metering. One concession the engineers were prepared to make: an integrated motor-drive was planned and the body designed for this feature. At the last moment the management did not dare to offer this feature and decided that a manual transport level should be fitted.
The camera did get the attention of the photographic world, but was seen more as an dead branch on the tree of camera evolution than as a new beginning. The R8 handled very well, had a very solid build and was based on a purist philosophy of picture taking. The company had put very high hopes in the camera and invested a very substantial amount of money in its development. In fact there was hardly any R&D budget on the balance sheet after the introduction of the R8. When the camera did not bring the desired success, Leica lost interest in the camera quite rapidly.
The R8 and later the R9 lingered on in the Leica catalogues as sales volumes were low and the reputation of the camera was not that positive, despite the optical and mechanical qualities.
In an attempt to move the R9 into the digital world, Leica introduced the DMR, a digital back. The idea seemed simple and effective: a removable back would allow owners of the R8/9 models to switch between digital files and film capture. What could work in the medium format world, did not work in the 35mm domain and the DMR did not offer the superior qualities that could convince photographers in a sufficient amount.
A few years ago lens design for the R-range was halted and Leica shifted all attention and resources to the development of the digital M camera.
The R-lenses are made in batches and can be seen for a long period in the price list without actual production as long as stock lasts.
2009 is Darwin’s year and in the race for survival only the fittest will survive and sadly to note the R9 is not among them.
The death of the R9 is an indication that the end of the film-loading camera is imminent. The Nikon and Canon models are evidently stock leftovers. The Bessa models and the Zeiss Ikon are selling in very low numbers if at all. The fate of the Leica MP and the M7 is predictable. The only uncertainty is the moment of announcement. The Leica management has written off film as a viable photographic medium and is fully and completely focused on a digital future. Bad from a perspective of nostalgia and photographic culture, presumably good as a business perspective.
The death of the R9 implies the demise of a century of photographic culture and equipment.
