35mm ultron and bessa R2

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what is your guys feeling about the 35mm ultron f/1.7 i am really tempted to buy it. I heard it is constrasty, is that true? The auction on evil bay has a day left should i go for it?

What about the R2? thoughts? I don't mind not have AE, i actually prefer it
 
If you get one thats properly adjusted for accurate focus (mine wasn't when I got it) then it is an excellent lens. I got mine fixed and it was extremely sharp and had nice bokeh. It is not an overly contrasty lens...the 35mm f2.5 Color-Skopar is the one that is ultra contrasty. I liked my Ultron, didn't like the Color-Skopar. The Ultron's downside, aside from spotty quality control, is that it is large. Much bigger than the Leica 35mm f2 Summicron.

elwoods-sign.jpg

Shot with the ultron.
 
you guys certainly put the lens to good use. So compactness is, certainly for me at least, a key reason why i like the rangefinder system. This will be my big plunge into the rangefinder world, I have an XA and a Canonet and have throughly enjoyed using them. I also have a Nikon F2 and don't really enjoy using it as much as it is so bulky without any real reason or "quality" to be and it is meterless. I would much rather use an my MF system than the F2. i love collecting cameras. I guess what im trying to get at is the Bessa R2 and ultron i am lusting over going to be as big as an SLR say my F2 with a 50mm?
 
The Bessa R2 and 35mm Ultron together are considerably lighter than a Nikon F2 and 50mm Nikon lens. It is also smaller. Even a Leica is not a small camera. My Leica M4 is larger than my Olympus OM-system bodies, and heavier too!
 
In practice, differences in size and weight do not matter. The Ultron 35 is a good lens, possibly the best available if performance and cost are weighed together.
 
Well thank you for the replies. I know that leicas are the lightest but i care about compactness per se, i just want a camera i can throw in my bag with full manual control and interchangable lens and not care.

I am interested in what makes you say that size and weight don't matter? I think there are stages of it, i group the heaviest with the heaviest and the lightest with the lightest, etc.
 
This is a link to my Flickr pages: Photos tagged with Ultron

As you can see there's quite a lot.

I have had the lens for a year now and use it on my Leica M2 but that's not the important part, the lens is.

I used a pre-ASPH Summicron 35mm this year too. It was good, it was a great lens. But you know, I also like my Ultron as much. Would I sell my Ultron for a Summicron? I have a funny feeling I wouldn't.

It's weakness is that it's probably not as well made as a Summicron; but it's pretty damn good. The only reason I say that is mine just seemed to go out of whack after dangling from my neck on a 160 mile hike across South East England this summer!

Overall, I think this is a superb lens. An equal best to the Summicron 35mm I played with in my very own and very subjective view!

Put it this way, it's no dog!

Vicky
 
35/1.7 Ultron is, IMO, second best 35mm lens in CV line after the Nokton 35/1.2. I used to have one as my first 35mm RF lens. Sold it after I got UC-Hexanon, and later M-Hexanon. And I missed it so much I bought another one. So now I have M-Hexanon, Ultron and Nokton 35/1.2 and I like them all for different reasons. As it was said above - price/performance - its the best lens to get.
 
Kind of dissapointmented both the lens and the body slipped out of my hands. I guess i will just have to keep trying. I definetly will be looking at the R2 / R2A as i am so attracted to the 35mm Focal length. What other CV lenses would you guys reccomend and what i going to be looking at price wise?

I feel too terrible coming here to ask only about equipment and i thank you in advance
 
I had a Nokton 50mm f1.5 and liked it a lot too, IF your lens and body are adjusted right it is very sharp even wide open. Some people have said they don't like its bokeh. I thought it better than the bokeh I have gotten from any 50mm SLR lens I have owned, though I think some RF 50's are a little better in that regard, it is still very nice.

gabby1.jpg

This was shot pretty far open, maybe f2...can't remember off the top of my head, but depth of field was quite shallow. I focused on the eye and it is very sharp. This is with the 50/1.5 Nokton
 
I just wanted to express my enthusiasm, got a clean Bessa R with an equally clean Jupiter 8 for a steal (250 USD). Extremely excited.
 
You'll enjoy that combo , if you wanted a 35 and dont mind it being a touch slower than most fast 35's i liked the 35/2.5 color skopar , cheap and tiny
 
Sounds like a good combo. Any accesories you guys can reccomend? I know that the R has slanted or misplaced hanging straps. How do you think i should carry the camera, i am partially inclined to a half case or a wrist strap. Thoughts?
 
I know nothing about Bessa cameras, but I do use an Ultron 35 as my only lens on my M4-P. I LOVE it! Sharp, contrasty for the in-focus parts, and soft contrast for the oof parts. I've got a couple complaints though, both mechanical. The aperture ring is a bit loose. It is too easy to change the f-stop when adjusting the focus by accident. A bit of practice helps with this.

Second, and more worrisome, is that it has a tendency to loosen up. The screws that hold it together are buried deep inside, there are about 3 or 4 layers of things to take apart to get to the crucial triplet of screws. The first time this happened to me, I just blamed the previous owner and tightened it up. The second time I used a drop of enamel paint, as documented here. It's been golden ever since.
 
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