About latest AE M mount cameras...

[Alpacaman]

Possible the high rate or failure for the M7 is partially due to the fact that rather then buying new, like most people do for Bessas, they instead get them second hand. I wonder how many M7s in the survey were bought new?

Well done to CV though, for producing a good quality, easily attainable product.

 

[Keith]

I think the Bessas are great cameras but their perceived reliability is likely to do with the expectations people have of them compared to an M7!

I've heard a lot of people complaining about high end cars like BMWs and Mercs etc ... bitching about things that wouldn't faze the average Toyota owner. 😛

 

[ferider]

The Bessa RF specifications are much simpler; The lower part of the Bessa body is based on a well-exercised, 20-year old design. Let's not forget that the ZI is built in the same factory.

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Of course it's not fair to blame a whole company after a single model's reliability... What is clear is that the design CV successfully decided to use for the Bessas is apparently more reliable than the one used for the ZI, but it wouldn't make sense to blame Cosina as the maker for that... The recurrent problems found (and for years commented) in their "new" electronic design camera M7, shouldn't help anyone consider Leica a bad company... It's just one model in a new style they never produced before...

Cheers,

Juan

 

[Keith]

The similarities between the Bessa and the Ikon are minor IMO. The Ikon had it's rewind mechanism placed on the bottom of the camera to allow for the very long EBL the camera has ... the Bessa's EBL is it's major weakness and makes it less than suitable for focal lengths over 50mm.

If you go from a Bessa to an Ikon you soon realise they are very different cameras and the Zeiss easily justifies it's price premium over the Voigtlander.

 

[ferider]

Was just commenting on why the Bessa might be more reliable, Keith .... For similar reasons a VW 1200 is more reliable than a 911 ?

 

[Keith]

Was just commenting on why the Bessa might be more reliable, Keith .... For similar reasons a VW 1200 is more reliable than an AMG 66 ?

I wasn't getting at you ... I just see little similarity beteween the two cameras ... but I'm slightly autistic! 😛

I had a VW 1500 Superbug for a while ... the motor was absolutely flogged but it kept going. Sometimes you had to push start it because the starter motor just couldn't spin the virtualy compressionless engine into life! LOL

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

...the Bessa's EBL is it's major weakness and makes it less than suitable for focal lengths over 50mm.

😱

Hi Keith,

I don't think the expert Bessa designers made a mistake including 75 and 90 framelines in their R2 and R3 viewfinders... Apart from my 40 at f/1.4, I use my Summicron 90 at f/2 even on my much short based R4M! My Bessas T have longer effective baselength than ZI and M7, but that isn't reason enough for me to use fast or long lenses on those cameras exclusively... Maybe some other members can use their 75's and 90's in their Bessas too...

Cheers,

Juan

 

[Keith]

I never said it can't be done Juan ... I just suggested it was less than ideal! 😀

I used my 90mm Summicron on my R3A when I had it a couple of times to amuse myself ... and with care it was OK.

🙂

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

I'm no expert in english, but I thought "less than suitable" meant a very different thing from "less than ideal"...

Cheers,

Juan

 

[Keith]

I'm no expert in english, but I thought "less than suitable" meant a very different thing from "less than ideal"...

Cheers,

Juan

You Spanish just haven't been the same since you won the world cup ... damn Paul the octopus!

Nit pickers the lot of you! 😀

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

You Spanish just haven't been the same since you won the world cup ... damn Paul the octopus!

Nit pickers the lot of you! 😀

Don't put your finger on the wound... I lost the cup with my beloved Argentina...🙁

I'm glad your Ikon works so well... I really wish I had one! 😡

Cheers,

Juan

 

[Keith]

And I assumed you were Spanish ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxPSToloHtw

🙂

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

Thanks for the video...

My heart is argentinean when Messi plays... I enjoy him too much... I have played soccer all my life, and think Messi is just the best soccer player ever, above Maradona and Pelé... But world cups are so cruel... The other player I like a lot was also wounded by a previous world cup: Ronaldinho...

Cheers,

Juan

 

[-doomed-]

I wasn't getting at you ... I just see little similarity beteween the two cameras ... but I'm slightly autistic! 😛

I had a VW 1500 Superbug for a while ... the motor was absolutely flogged but it kept going. Sometimes you had to push start it because the starter motor just couldn't spin the virtualy compressionless engine into life! LOL

Aircooled VW's are great because you can fix them roadside with baling wire and duct tape. I had a squareback that i drove home on three cylinders after the #4 cylinder intake valve adjuster snapped, I pulled the plug wire and drove it home and fixed it an hour later.

Back to the original topic, I had an R2A that I wish I still had at times. The in camera meter was nice to use. I guess I should have bought an M6 over my M4-P but the M4-P was priced right.

 

[Dirk]

I used to have a Hexar RF, which I never warmed up to. Something about the .60 viewfinder with a 50mm lens that didn't work for me. Now I have a Bessa R2M, which I love. I thought I would miss AE, but I don't. In fact, I enjoy the manual metering. I think about exposure now, and have started using my own simplified version of the zone system.

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

I used to have a Hexar RF, which I never warmed up to. Something about the .60 viewfinder with a 50mm lens that didn't work for me. Now I have a Bessa R2M, which I love. I thought I would miss AE, but I don't. In fact, I enjoy the manual metering. I think about exposure now, and have started using my own simplified version of the zone system.

Great! Using non AE camers makes us really see things AND be prepared...

Once that's done, we know when we can or can't use AE, and then we learn to use it in a revisited way...

Cheers,

Juan

 

[Krosya]

We're getting close to 100 voters, and the situation is:

Most used AE M cameras: Bessas.

Least problematic AE M cameras: Bessas.

Congratulations Mr. Kobayashi!

Cheers,

Juan

Are you sure you dont work for Cosina? 😉

 

[Juan Valdenebro]

In fact they work for me: I make great shots with the great cameras they make for me and others... This poll's results don't surprise me at all.

Cheers,

Juan

 

[jmkelly]

Bessa R3A was trouble-free while i had one. Same can be said of Hexar RF, Zeiss Ikon and R-D1. Except that I still have - and am shooting with - each of those.