Compiled & written by Andrew Nemeth, Australia
URL:   <leica.nemeng.com>
Site last updated:  Sun, 01 Oct 2023

Search the FAQ  
If you can read this then the page CSS failed to load. Most likely this is because you are using an older Version-4 browser, or else one which does not properly support modern W3C standards. Either way, please upgrade your browser to something more modern & standards compliant!

Sticky DOF levers

Wonder sometimes that the Depth Of Field lever on your R camera is a little stiff? If it feels too stiff, will it muck up the aperture stop-down mechanism during taking a photo? In Aug 2001 "Jay" made the following remarks in an online Leica forum:

This is a common ailment with all R cameras except the R3 and Leicaflexes, and I've seen it happen on nearly-new bodies. The mechanism involves several components acting at right angles to each other, including a long lever which runs underneath the lens mount (anyone who has an SL or SL2 knows that wasn't necessary because those cameras have very simple and reliable DOF levers). That lever has bends in it, which if they're not exactly right, cause the lever to stick and/or the stepdown to be erratic. Unfortunately it requires a fair amount of disassembly to put it right. Fortunately (unlike the R8) the DOF mechanism is independent of the actual shooting stepdown, so even if the DOF lever is stuck, firing the shutter will stop the aperture down to the correct point, and the lever should pop out.

Which is good news for R4-R6.2 owners, not so good for the R8 crowd. From practical experience my R6.2 DOF lever could get pretty stiff when I bought the camera two years ago. Regularly working it since then has loosened it up a fair bit, so much so that it now only sticks very occasionally.

A note about possible broken links

This FAQ has over 900 external links. Over time it is inevitable some of them will break. If you are bothered by this, see this detailed topic elsewhere in the FAQ.

Return to FAQ Home