To 40mm Nokton users with several bodies

Juan Valdenebro

Juan Valdenebro

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On June I ordered -after not sleeping well for some days- the 15mm Heliar in M mount, and got to sleep, and then the next week I ordered a camera for it, the R4M... That was the plan, with a plus... It was great... Then the next week I ordered the 40mm Nokton, because every night I just couldn't sleep without taking another good look at it at CameraQuest... And then this week I decided that I don't want to change lenses, so now it's “necessary” for me to get another camera for the Nokton, and I am trying to decide which one... Mostly, I want it to be a joy to use precisely with the 40mm...


The question is:


Has anyone any idea on how to stop this addiction?


Or any idea on which camara should I ask my dealer to help me with?
 
Try to satisfy your addiction by buying film and shooting 😉

I have the R3A to use with my Nokton 40mm. It's the perfect match (If you don't wear glasses).

Regards,
Philipp
 
Juan Valdenebro said:
On June I ordered -after not sleeping well for some days- the 15mm Heliar in M mount, and got to sleep, and then the next week I ordered a camera for it, the R4M... That was the plan, with a plus... It was great... Then the next week I ordered the 40mm Nokton, because every night I just couldn't sleep without taking another good look at it at CameraQuest... And then this week I decided that I don't want to change lenses, so now it's “necessary” for me to get another camera for the Nokton, and I am trying to decide which one... Mostly, I want it to be a joy to use precisely with the 40mm...


The question is:


Has anyone any idea on how to stop this addiction?


Or any idea on which camara should I ask my dealer to help me with?
Click to expand...



Hi Juan,

it will never stop 😀.

I use the 40mm Nokton with my Leica M2.
Or get a Bessa T for the 15mm Heliar.
Enjoy it😉
Greetings Michael
 
Yep, the R3A/M would probably be the best choice if you're looking for a camera to use with the 40mm as it actually has 40mm framelines. Another choice would be the Leica CL or the Minolta CLE as they also have 40mm framelines and are nice compact cameras.
 
There has been a lot of talk about the 35mm framelines on some cameras being very conservative (showing less than is captured on sensor/film). The Epson RD1 is one such camera -- I shoot it with the 40.

There was an earlier thread that I cannot find again, that indicated the 35mm frame on some Leica Ms might also be conservative.

Some people shoot an M3 with a 35, by using the full VF, outside the framlines, and you can suppress the framelines.

Plus the prior suggestions.

What's your other equipment and what do you shoot, Sleepless?
 
I just got a 40mm to use with the 35mm framelines in my M6 so I'll let you know how it works out. From what I've heard, it's perfectly fine.
 
My first lens ever was a 40mm Nokton, I had to wait a couple of weeks before I had a body to try it on. I've sold and bought much since then, the Nokton is the only thing that remains. I use it now with my M2 and M8 using the 35mm framelines - once you've used it enough you will know how much to frame.

As for GAS, it will pass (mmm...). It is an addiction, just decide and keep in your mind whether you are buying because you want something for itself or to take better pictures. If it's to take better pictures, don't buy - just take more pictures.
 
As Pagpow and Nuckabean have suggested, the 40mm lenses work well with the 35mm framelines in an M6. I find the framing to be dead accurate at a distance (say, 50 feet and greater) with my M6, M6 TTL, and MP models. The reason is that they downsized the framelines a bit, starting with the late production M4-P.

Gee, maybe they got confused when the boss said to "downsize Leica", and they thought he meant the framelines?
 
Thanks for helping!


pagpow,


I use an Arca Swiss with a wide and a tele for architecture and product, a Hasselblad 2003FCW with a wide, a normal and a tele for fashion, portrait and just everything indoors and outdoors, several Nikon mechanical and electronic SLRs with a catalog of nikkors, and a FujiS3 as digital back for my 35mm lenses, for snapshots and for those insistent, misbehaving, lost-in-digital-lies customers... I shoot for pleasure, and for money, usually not during the same moment, I'm afraid... In colour I use only Astia and Kodachrome, and in B&W PanF, APX100, TRI-X and Neopan1600, all of them developed in Rodinal. Although for B&W I can guess from light, most of the time I meter with my incident Sekonic. I enjoy printing too. I respect tests and precise exposure. Exposure is in B&W AS important as in slide film: people use to say “I can print it anyway”... It's true that you can use multigrade paper and get a light gray skin and some blacks and whites even when you are one stop or more off, but if you compare that print with a perfectly exposed and developed negative printed on paper grade 3... They're far away one from another.


I have never had any rangefinder in my hands. The R4M, 15mm and 40mm lenses were sent by CQ to my family's house in Florida, and a relative will bring them to Barcelona in a week...


What do you use and shoot?
 
Perfect would be

A camera with a viewfinder for 50mm as widest, so I could use the whole window for composing with the 40,

A camera that lasts for decades, not one reaching its lifetime and with complicated service and parts,

A camera with metered manual and AE, AND a mechanical shutter for fast and slow speeds when batteries die, like my FE2,

A camera as beautiful as a IIIf

Mr.K: Who wouldn't buy that camera?
 
I imagine, although I would like to try one, that the M3 is rather old, and some internal parts including viewfinder are aging, and sometimes, falling to parts soon... I wondered if someone could say "with the M3 you'll have the most pleasant focusing and composing visual experience, better than with any other camera, with the whole viewfinder for a 40mm, and that's what you will enjoy the most"...

or

"With no doubt the R3A with 40mm lines and 1:1 viewfinder is a very complete and comfortable camera for focusing the 1.4, and is new and strong enough to last for some years at least"

or

"Forget about the bad meters or any other tales... I own several bodies, and the CL, for its size and quality, is a perfect match for your nokton 40mm, and it's a durable and serviceable camera for years too"

Thanks for your tips...
 
pagpow, maybe you were asking what I will shoot with my VC lenses, and rangefinders...

Street shooting. What I want is to shoot the 15mm at f/11 with no focusing... But sometimes composing will be decisive, and that was the reason for the R4M. The T wold be nice for that lens too, as proposed on this thread before, but only sometimes... if I get a T and use the R4M for the Nokton, both lenses would be a bit far from the real best cameras for them, I guess...

So, the 15mm is for total depth of field and detail, no focusing fast shooting, and the Nokton will be 99% dedicated to selective focus at f/1.4 or f/2 to avoid harsh OOF lightened background when necessary. So the real point is focusing... That's why I'm so interested in knowing small real life differences from people owning Leicas, Bessas, and the 40mm Nokton... Thanks!
 
There is no for sure cure. Buy the best so you do not achieve it in expensive incremantal steps spending 3x as much money on the way.

One possible "cure" is have the wife put you on an allowance.
 
There are many potential answers but only one best answer for you: why not take the lens to a dealers with a range of new and secondhand stock and see what you prefer in the hand?
 
Hi Juan,

I'm sorry for my delay in responding. Looks like you've reached a decision. I had asked what you shot to see if there was a link we could base responses or advice on.

A choice among M2, M3, M6, and R3 is a nice choice to have.

I shoot a CV 15 on the Bessa L and recently, I am shooting RD1s and Ms.

Enjoy your camera.
 
Hi pagpow, thanks for your tips! I haven't decided for the R3M/A... I have read a couple of articles on M3's viewfinder, and it seems very experienced photographers end up using that camera because of its visual comfort... That finder was never made again... The problem in 2009 is that the natural pine glue used to stick together viewfinder optical parts, has reached its lifetime, and there are no clear options to fix that, appart from other internal and external camera parts... Some say current models have better finders because of aging on M3 ones...


I don't know if it's a good idea to get the M3. All I know by now is I would like to use one... If someone told me “Hey, you can still use any nice M3 for 10 or 20 years, or more”... Another fact is that near 250.000 were made, so, maybe they'll be around for some more time...


Or is ZI's viewfinder the most comfortable for a 40mm? Better to fill the whole M3's window?


Basically I wanted to find out what camera 40mm Nokton users put on their lens when they own the M3, the ZI and the R3... Just as I could glue my R4M to my 15mm, I could glue my Nokton to the right camera once I get it, because I really want to go out with both sets and keep them just like that forever.


Could it be just a cliche picking the M3?
 
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