[1] It was a 35mm SLR with a Copal CLS electronic focal plane shutter, which was produced for Leica and Minolta only.

[1][2] Following the Leicaflex series Leica took a totally new approach; the R3 was developed in cooperation with Minolta and closely based on their XE.

[1] The camera was a commercial success at a very difficult time for the company, sales of the latest rangefinder Leica M5 had been very poor and the previous Leicaflex series had made little or no profit leaving the company in a precarious financial state, the R3's success seemed to indicate a new direction.

These lenses had a very small modification to the original bayonet making it impossible to mount them on earlier cameras.

Collaboration with Minolta This article was originally based on "Leica R3" in Camerapedia, retrieved at an unknown date under the GNU Free Documentation License.