Leica R4
Leica · Leica R mount · 24×36mm on 35mm film · 1980
Also known as: Leica R4 · Leitz R4 · Leica R-4 · Leitz Leica R4 · Leica R4 MOT · Leica R4 MOT Electronic · Leica R4 Electronic · Leica R4 Everest · ライカ R4 · ライカR4
Variants & identification
| Variant | Mount | Years | Serial ranges | Production |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leica R4 MOT Electronic (1980–81) | Leica R | 1980–1981 | — | — |
| Leica R4 black (10043) | Leica R | 1981–1986 | 1533351–1543350 1552351–1562350 1564351–1574350 1576351–1586350 1592551–1602550 1606551–1616550 1622551–1632550 1659251–1664250 1669351–1674350 1694951–1696450 | 81,500 numbers in ten blocks listed as R4 Black, assigned from 20 June 1980 to 4 June 1986 (Gandy's list of Leica's factory records); the first block also holds the MOT Electronic bodies and at least one chrome Photokina camera. |
| Leica R4 chrome (10041) | Leica R | 1981–1984 | 1574351–1576350 1590551–1592550 1602551–1604550 1616551–1618550 1664351–1665350 | 9,000 numbers in five blocks listed as R4 Chrome, the first assigned 30 November 1981 and the last 12 December 1984 (Gandy). Japanese Wikipedia gives about 10,000 chrome bodies. |
| Leica R4 MOT Electronic chrome, Photokina pre-series (1980) | Leica R | 1980–1980 | — | "A very few" (Leitz Auction); no count is published |
| Leica R4 Gold (10051) | Leica R | 1984–1984 | 1651251–1652250 | 1,000 (Gandy's block, assigned 14 March 1984; Leitz Auction: "only 1000 sets") |
| Leica R4 'Everest 82' (1982) | Leica R | 1982–1982 | — | 200 (Leitz Auction) or 400 for North America (Japanese Wikipedia) |
- The R4 is not a rebadged Minolta. English Wikipedia says it was "based on Minolta XD-7 (sold as XD in Japan and XD-11 in the USA), but with Leica developed exposure metering, mirror box, and newly designed body", and camera-wiki calls the design "a joint venture based on Leitz's co-operation agreement of 1972 with Minolta". Silvergrain Classics' repairer puts it as sharing "some design concepts" with the XD7/XD11 while "these cameras are not identical"; Kamerastore says it took "selected Minolta XD11 electronics and body parts".
- The "Jesse Owens" set of 1986, for the fiftieth anniversary of the Berlin Olympics, is catalogued on some pages as an R4 and on others as an R4s. It is left off both pages until the base model is established.
- Japanese Wikipedia says the Leica Correfot autofocus SLR prototypes, a fourth generation shown at Photokina in 1978 and a fifth that followed, used the R4 MOT Electronic as their base model.
- The period price on this page is a US list price of $1,725 from January 1984, four years into production; no 1980 launch price is given.
- Market prices: PHSNE in 2020 found eBay asking prices of $200 to $750 or more depending on condition and lens, and apotelyt's table gives a $150–250 range for the body. These are asking prices, not sales.
How to tell them apart
- 'R4' or 'R4 MOT ELECTRONIC' on the front of the top plate on the rewind side; an R4s reads 'R4s' there and an R5 'R5'
- Five-position mode dial, m, a, A, P and T; the R4s has only m, a and A (camera-wiki; Popular Science)
- Red Leitz emblem on the shutter-release side: camera-wiki's marker for a camera made in Portugal
- Serial number above or below 1600000 is the question sellers and buyers ask about the electronics (camera-wiki; apotelyt)
Leica R4 MOT Electronic (1980–81):
- 'R4 MOT ELECTRONIC' engraved in two lines on the front of the top plate on the rewind side, where later bodies read only 'R4' (Commons photo by Pancolar, beside a Minolta XD7)
- Red Leitz emblem on the shutter-release side and LEICA on the prism front, as on the later R4
- The Commons and Kamerastore examples are black. PHSNE says the camera first called R4 MOT Electronic was available in black and chrome, but Gandy's first chrome block dates from November 1981, and the only chrome MOT Electronic catalogued with a number is the Photokina pre-series camera
Leica R4 black (10043):
- 'R4' alone engraved on the front of the top plate on the rewind side (Commons photos by Rama and Thomas Vogt)
- Five-position mode dial: m, a, A, P, T (camera-wiki)
- Red Leitz emblem on the shutter-release side, camera-wiki's marker for a body made in Portugal
Leica R4 chrome (10041):
- Chrome top and base plates with black covering
- Leitz Auction says the production chrome R4 came with a different engraving style from the 1980 Photokina chrome cameras
Leica R4 MOT Electronic chrome, Photokina pre-series (1980):
- Chrome body numbered inside the first black block, 1533351–1543350; the known example is no. 1533393
- Engraving style different from the production chrome R4 (Leitz Auction)
Leica R4 Gold (10051):
- Gold-plated metalwork with a reptile-grain covering: brown skin (camera-wiki), snakeskin (Leitz Auction 41) or lizardskin (Leitz Auction 43)
- Body number in 1651251–1652250; the Leitz lots also carry an edition number such as C188 or A071
- Sold as a set with a gold-plated Summilux-R 1.4/50mm (both Leitz Auction lots)
Leica R4 'Everest 82' (1982):
- Black R4 (Leitz Auction's 'R4 black') with the EVEREST 82 logo engraved on the top plate (Christie's)
- Known examples nos. 1586285 (Christie's) and 1600190 (Leitz Auction), both inside ordinary R4 Black blocks
- Sold with a presentation box, instruction booklet and certificate (Christie's)
- Leica R4 MOT Electronic (1980–81): The launch name. Camera-wiki says Leitz introduced the camera "as Leica R4 MOT Electronic" to stress its technology and dropped the name in 1981 because no motor was built in. Japanese Wikipedia adds that the engraving on the body changed with the name, and Kamerastore, selling a black 10043 body marked this way, says "only very early cameras are marked R4 MOT Electronic". The serial at which the engraving changed is not published. Mechanically it is the same camera as the later R4: one page, two engravings.
- Leica R4 black (10043): The standard camera and by far the most common one. Order number 10043, which Kamerastore lists for its black R4 and apotelyt gives for the R4 black. Bodies numbered below 1600000 are the ones camera-wiki, PHSNE and apotelyt name for the early electronic failures.
- Leica R4 chrome (10041): Camera-wiki says a chrome version was launched the year after the R4. Order number 10041 (apotelyt). The years are the assignment dates of the blocks, not sale dates.
- Leica R4 MOT Electronic chrome, Photokina pre-series (1980): Leitz Auction 32, lot 121, catalogued no. 1533393 of 1980 as one of the "very few R4 cameras" made in chrome for Photokina, "the second camera we have seen in 20 years", and said these came before the chrome R4 reached the market, with a different engraving style (the catalogue's "l years" is presumably one year). It was estimated at €3,000–3,500 and did not sell. Gandy's list has no chrome block before November 1981.
- Leica R4 Gold (10051): Order number 10051 (apotelyt). Leitz Auction 41, lot 191, sold no. 1652246, unused and partly still in its plastic, with gold Summilux-R no. 3296105, for €2,400 including buyer's premium against a €2,800–3,000 estimate. Leitz Auction 43, lot 200, offered no. 1652167 with gold Summilux-R no. 3295753, still sealed, at €3,600–4,000; it did not sell. Japanese Wikipedia pairs the gold R4 with a Summicron 50mm f/2 instead.
- Leica R4 'Everest 82' (1982): Made to mark the Canadian expedition's ascent of Everest in 1982 (Leitz Auction). Japanese Wikipedia, citing Classic Camera Senka no. 8, p. 142, says the certificate is signed by the president of Leitz Canada and that 400 were made for North America; Leitz Auction says "only 200 of these cameras were made". The camera itself was made in Portugal like any other R4: the Canadian link is the expedition and the certificate. Leitz Auction 28, lot 174, sold no. 1600190 boxed with its papers for €480 including buyer's premium, against an €800–1,000 estimate.
Serial-range notes
- 1533351–1543350
- 10,000 R4 Black, assigned 20 June 1980: the first block, whose opening number Leitz Auction calls the first R4 produced. The chrome Photokina pre-series camera no. 1533393 is inside it, and so, presumably, are most MOT Electronic bodies.
- 1552351–1562350
- 10,000 R4 Black, assigned 16 June 1981 (Gandy).
- 1564351–1574350
- 10,000 R4 Black, assigned 10 November 1981 (Gandy).
- 1574351–1576350
- 2,000 R4 Chrome, assigned 30 November 1981: the first chrome block (Gandy).
- 1576351–1586350
- 10,000 R4 Black, assigned 30 November 1981 (Gandy). Holds Everest 82 no. 1586285.
- 1590551–1592550
- 2,000 R4 Chrome, assigned 15 May 1982 (Gandy).
- 1592551–1602550
- 10,000 R4 Black, assigned 12 May 1982 (Gandy). Holds Everest 82 no. 1600190, and straddles 1600000, the number below which camera-wiki, PHSNE and apotelyt place the electronic failures.
- 1602551–1604550
- 2,000 R4 Chrome, assigned 13 August 1982 (Gandy).
- 1606551–1616550
- 10,000 R4 Black, assigned 14 December 1982 (Gandy).
- 1616551–1618550
- 2,000 R4 Chrome, assigned 14 December 1982 (Gandy).
- 1622551–1632550
- 10,000 R4 Black, assigned 18 May 1983 (Gandy). The first R4s block follows at 1632551.
- 1651251–1652250
- 1,000 R4 Gold, assigned 14 March 1984 (Gandy).
- 1659251–1664250
- 5,000 R4 Black, assigned 29 October 1984 (Gandy).
- 1664351–1665350
- 1,000 R4 Chrome, assigned 12 December 1984: the last chrome block (Gandy).
- 1669351–1674350
- 5,000 R4 Black, assigned 22 April 1985 (Gandy).
- 1694951–1696450
- 1,500 R4 Black, assigned 4 June 1986: the last R4 block, assigned the same day as the first R5 block (Gandy).
Specifications
- Format
- 24×36mm on 35mm film
- Finder
- fixed eye-level pentaprism with interchangeable focusing screens, each marked with the central 7mm circle of the selective metering area · 0.9× magnification · 92% coverage
- Shutter
- vertical-travel metal-blade focal plane, electronically timed, made by Seiko (camera-wiki; PHSNE) · Manual 1s–1/1000 in whole stops and B; automatic stepless 8s–1/1000 (camera-wiki, PHSNE); emergency mechanical 1/100 with no power (camera-wiki, apotelyt), and PHSNE says 1/100 and B work without batteries · flash sync 1/100 (camera-wiki)
- Film advance
- single-stroke lever; motor coupling in the base for the Winder R4 and Motor Drive R4
- Back
- hinged; camera-wiki warns that the foam seals degrade and leak light around the film-identification window
- Meter
- TTL, read from a secondary mirror to a cell in the base of the mirror box, with five modes on one dial: m (manual, selective), a (aperture priority, selective, with memory), A (aperture priority, full-field), P (program, full-field) and T (shutter priority, full-field); selective reads the central 7mm circle (camera-wiki; English Wikipedia). It couples only through the third, stepped R-cam, so 3-cam, R-only and ROM lenses meter at full aperture, the ROM contacts unused. 1-cam and 2-cam Leicaflex lenses have no R-cam: Leica's R9 instructions say they must have it fitted before use on any R camera from the R3, English Wikipedia's R bayonet article says they mount and meter stopped down, and apotelyt that they "could be modified to fit". Powered by two SR44 cells or one CR1/3N (apotelyt).
- Motor drive
- Leica Winder R4, Leica Motor Drive R4, Leica Motor-Winder R, Leica Motor-Drive R — The first Leica SLR offered from the outset with a winder or a motor drive (camera-wiki): the winder at 2 frames per second and the motor at 2 or 4, neither with rewind or an end-of-film sensor, so Leica recommended 36-exposure film. Camera-wiki says any winder or motor drive of the R4–R7 series fits any body of the series. The hand-grip changed from a mechanical to an electrical connection, grips and drives of the two kinds are not cross-compatible, and the R7's deeper base needs its own taller grip.
- Weight
- 630 g
- Dimensions
- 138.5 × 88.1 × 60.0 (apotelyt) mm
- Country
- Portugal
- Original price
- US$1,725: the R4's US list price as Popular Science quoted it in January 1984, setting the new R4s at $897, "48 percent less". A US list price, not a dealer or sale price; the magazine names E. Leitz, Inc. as distributor, says the R4s price does not include a lens and implies the same basis for the R4. It says nothing of tax. (today $5,210)
- Accessories
- Winder R4 (2 fps) and Motor Drive R4 (2 or 4 fps), each with its own battery carrier (camera-wiki) · Interchangeable focusing screens, all marked with the 7mm selective-metering circle (camera-wiki)
Magnification and coverage are apotelyt's figures; the 7mm circle is camera-wiki's and English Wikipedia's.
Figures we worked out rather than found: No R body was made in Canada: camera-wiki places R3–R7 manufacture at Wetzlar (the first R3s), Vila Nova de Famalicão in Portugal and Solms, and English Wikipedia puts final assembly of the R-E and every later R body in Solms · Production totals are sums of Gandy's assigned blocks: 70,000 + 11,500 black, 9,000 chrome, 1,000 gold; numbers assigned are not cameras delivered · The MOT Electronic engraving is dated by the 1981 name change; no serial for the changeover is published, so the variant carries no serial range
Where sources disagree
- Mounting 1-cam and 2-cam Leicaflex lenses
- They must be fitted with the R control cam before use on any Leica R camera from the R3 (Leica R9 instructions)
- They mount and meter stopped down (English Wikipedia, Leica R bayonet)
Better supported: Leica's instructions: have the R-cam fitted first
- Last
- 1986 (English Wikipedia; the last R4 block, assigned 4 June 1986, in Gandy's list)
- 1987 (camera-wiki: 'the longest running version from 1980 to 1987')
Better supported: 1986
Block dates are assignment dates; bodies from the 1986 block may have been sold into 1987.
- Production
- 91,500 numbers assigned: 81,500 black, 9,000 chrome, 1,000 gold (sum of Gandy's blocks)
- '>100,000' (apotelyt table); 'just over 100,000, about 10,000 chrome' as an estimate (Japanese Wikipedia)
- 'more than 125,000 copies of the different R4 versions' (apotelyt text, which counts the R4s family too)
Better supported: 91,500 numbers assigned
Adding the R4s's 26,000 numbers to the R4's 91,500 gives 117,500, nearer apotelyt's 125,000 than the R4 alone.
- Weight (grams)
- 630 g (apotelyt)
- 620 g (camera-wiki)
- Production
- 200 (Leitz Auction 28, lot 174)
- 400 for North America (Japanese Wikipedia, citing Classic Camera Senka no. 8)
- Gold covering and lens
- brown skin (camera-wiki)
- snakeskin, with a gold Summilux-R 1.4/50mm (Leitz Auction 41)
- lizardskin, with a gold Summilux-R 1.4/50mm (Leitz Auction 43)
- with a Summicron 50mm f/2 (Japanese Wikipedia)
Better supported: Summilux-R 1.4/50mm, on two catalogued sets with lens numbers
- Speeds (longest automatic time)
- 8s (camera-wiki)
- 4s (Kamerastore; camera-wiki's own infobox, against 8s in its text and table)
- 1s (apotelyt: 1 to 1/1000, stepless in aperture priority and program)
Better supported: 8s
What reviewers say
- Peter Walkenhorst, apotelyt (blog) — A review and FAQ for the R4 and R4s: the R4 was the most popular R-system camera and is now one of the cheapest ways into R lenses, but bodies numbered below 1,600,000 had the electronic faults and are worth checking, since repairs can quickly become expensive.
- James Knox, Emulsive (blog) — One roll of Kodak Gold with an Elmarit-R 35mm: the finder is great, focusing easy and the Elmarit-R glass is what Leica got right, but the small body did little for him in the hand and he calls the shutter sound "meh". The camera has since gone, and he recommends the R3, which gave him no electrical trouble.
- Marwan el Mozayen, Silvergrain Classics (blog) — Revives an R4 a technician had written off: the long release delay is usually a sticky mirror damper, not the design. Photo Revue measured 160 ms on an R4s in 1985, normal for its day, so a noticeable delay on an R4 means a fault.
History
The R4 is the camera on which every Leica SLR of the next sixteen years was built. Leitz showed it at Photokina in 1980, its first serial block is dated 20 June that year, and it went on sale as the “Leica R4 MOT Electronic”, a name dropped in 1981 for plain R4. It brought five exposure modes, program and shutter priority among them, was the first Leica reflex offered from the start with a winder or motor drive, and was much smaller and lighter than any earlier Leica SLR. The R5 of 1986, which English Wikipedia calls its “upgraded successor”, replaced it. Its chassis went on to carry the R4s, R5, R-E, R6, R6.2 and R7, and was replaced only by the R8 in 1996.
The Minolta relationship is easy to overstate. English Wikipedia says the R4 was “based on Minolta XD-7 (sold as XD in Japan and XD-11 in the USA), but with Leica developed exposure metering, mirror box, and newly designed body”. Camera-wiki calls it a joint venture under Leitz’s co-operation agreement with Minolta, which it dates to 1972 and English Wikipedia’s Leicaflex article to 1971. The R3 before it had been built on the Minolta XE; the R4 moved to the XD. The vertical metal-blade shutter is by Seiko: electronically timed from 1s to 1/1000 in manual and steplessly to 8s in automatic, with a mechanical 1/100 and B if the batteries fail. The R4 was assembled at Leitz’s plant in Portugal (English Wikipedia; camera-wiki), and the red Leitz emblem on the shutter-release side is camera-wiki’s marker for a Portuguese body. Final assembly moved to Solms only with the R6, the R-E and the last R5s (camera-wiki). No R body was made in Canada.
On lenses, which is the first question for any R body: the R4 reads aperture only through the third, stepped R-cam. Three-cam, R-only and ROM lenses all meter at full aperture; the ROM contacts do nothing on this body. On 1-cam and 2-cam Leicaflex lenses, which have no R-cam, the sources disagree. Leica’s R9 instructions say they must have the R-cam fitted before use on any R camera from the R3 on. English Wikipedia’s article on the R bayonet says they mount and meter stopped down. Leica could fit the cam, and apotelyt says such lenses could be modified, so check the back of any older lens for the stepped R-cam before it goes on.
The versions are a matter of engraving and finish. The earliest bodies, all black, carry “R4 MOT ELECTRONIC” in two lines on the front of the top plate; from 1981 it reads “R4”. No published serial marks the change. Chrome bodies came at the end of 1981 in 2,000-number blocks, about a tenth of production. A handful of chrome cameras numbered among the first black block were made for Photokina 1980; Leitz Auction has seen two in twenty years. There are two limited editions. The R4 Gold of 1984, 1,000 sets, has gold plating and a reptile-grain covering and was sold with a gold Summilux-R 50mm f/1.4. The black “Everest 82” carries the logo of the 1982 Canadian expedition on the top plate; sources give 200 or 400 made. Stephen Gandy’s list of Leica’s factory serial data, published on CameraQuest, assigns 91,500 numbers in all, from 1533351 to 1696450.
When buying, look at the serial number first. Camera-wiki, PHSNE and apotelyt all say the early electronic failures concern bodies numbered below 1600000, and Gandy’s list puts that number in a block assigned in May 1982. Camera-wiki and PHSNE add that a body still working after this long has either been repaired or is unlikely to fail, and apotelyt that many early bodies had the faulty parts replaced under warranty. Silvergrain Classics’ repair account is a useful corrective to the internet belief that a long shutter delay is normal. The German magazine Photo Revue measured 160 milliseconds from press to exposure on an R4s in 1985, and the same release sequence applies to the R4, so a noticeable lag points to a sticky mirror damper, the usual suspect. Camera-wiki’s other warning is the foam seals on the back, which degrade and leak light around the film-identification window.
This history is AI-written, from the sources listed at the foot of the page. Where the record is silent it says so rather than filling the gap — but no human wrote these sentences.
Photographs
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Live listings
Asking price, EUR: a median of €600 across 6 fixed-price listings on 2026-11-10 (middle half €600–€3,000). Tracked since 2026-11-09, 2 days: unchanged from €600.
By day
| Date | Median | Middle half | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-11-10 | €600 | €600–€3,000 | 6 |
| 2026-11-09 | €600 | €600–€3,000 | 6 |
Asking prices from the listings scanned, not sales; junk-flagged rows and auction lots excluded; other currencies are not converted.
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