 Both can be fitted with the Digital Modul R (DMR) digital back (discontinued in 2007 ) and used as a digital camera making them the only 35 mm SLRs to take a user-installable digital back.The R8 was the first R-series camera to have no association with Minolta, being solely a Leica design and showing a clear stylistic change compared to prior bodies.Industrial designer Manfred Meinzer was chiefly responsible for the R8 design, along with a team of designers largely new to Leica or drawn from outside.