Bessa II APO Lanthar BIN USD$12,200

[lynnb]

Is this eBay store dreaming? Bessa II with APO Lanthar buy it now price USD $12,200!
"Cosmetic: A/B, excellent, as pictures, normal used marks, in nice condition as for a 50-year old camera."

I know the APO Lanthars are uncommon and quite highly regarded, but that seems like an awful lot!

Guess I'll have to cross that camera off my list

 

[citizen99]

Seeing where it's located, the store probably does know its expected target market.

 

[Keith]

And it's not 'mint' by any stretch of the imagination. I know these things are quite rare but that's a bit over the top!

 

[f16sunshine]

Last week a very nice Color Heliar version was sold in our classified for $600. A gift price for sure!.
It's too bad about these Apo Lanthar lens versions. About 5-6 years ago I passed on one at $2500BIN.
Even though it was not mint it still it seemed obsurdly rich at the time

 

[raid]

The M100 Anniversary Set sells for $60,000.
What is happening here?

 

[BobBill]

Seeing where it's located, the store probably does know its expected target market.

Not the only one and not the only one that will sit or be withdrawn...collecting and shooting are not the same things.

I have a general rule, if from China, either buy or sell, do not become entangled, unless you are mad or very very wealthy and do not care.

 

[Archlich]

Both the item and the price are typical for Breguetcamera who has been around for years.

$12,000 is too much indeed, yet you still have to skip your next M240 purchase for one of these. Not too bad isn't it?

 

[Monday317]

These things are cyclical: vintage Ludwig drums were that way--especially the poorly-made acrylic Vistalites. Any original '60s or '70s-era kit sold for obscene prices four or five years ago; now they can't give them away.

I have been reading up on the Lanthars and they don't seem to beat the pants off any other lens Voigtlander offered. Most Bessa aficions consider the the Vaskars up to any challenge in B + W and the Color Skopars or Heliars to be the last word for the platform, period.

I have an Ercona 1, recently CLA'd by Certo6 and have no cause for complaint with its single-coated, 105mm f3.5, four-element Tessar, color or B + W. A Series VI filter + hood correct any problems just fine, and I only carry six or so with me.

The Lanthar is overkill for its purpose IMHO, don't lose sleep over it.

 

[Corran]

That's probably because the Lanthar is for all practical purposes unobtainable on the Bessa II. So the Color Heliar is the "last word" for actually finding/affording/using! I have the Bessa II and Color Heliar, but so far the camera has been a bit disappointing in some ways. The shutter release sucks and shooting handheld (why else would you want it?) is almost impossible without quite fast shutter speeds. The film flatness issue on this specific camera seems to be a real problem (an older Bessa RF w/ Skopar did not have any issues).

That said - I have the 15cm and 21cm Lanthars and have shot them on 4x5. Beautiful rendition, sharp but soft in all the right ways, and gorgeous color. Probably some of the last lenses I would part with.

 

[Denverdad]

If you missed your opportunity for that particular "deal", you might want to head over to Etsy where you can buy this one for only $13,324.06.

 

[graywolf]

Having something your collector buddies don't have is worth the money. Bragging rights have always been expensive. Of course, you are going to tell your buddies that you picked it up for $300 from a little old lady who only used it on two vacations.