Introduced in 1976, the R3 was developed as result of the Minolta-Leitz
collaboration
in the mid-70s. Unlike the Minolta XE (XE-1 in Europe, XE-7 in the US) on which it is based,
the Leica R3 offers a choice of integrated or selective field (spot) metering. The R3 is basically very reliable, though known for a few odd "quirks". Today, it can be both
difficult and expensive to have repaired. If you are testing an R3 prior to purchase,
and find that the mirror stops mid-way, do not panic. This is what R3's do, when
the battery is near dead. If there is no replacement at hand, turn the
camera off, and select the B or X shutter speed. The mirror will
then lower to it's normal position.
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