Bessa L with 25/4 Lens

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matthewm

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Hello all,
This is only my second post, but my first one received a great response and I am very grateful for all of the tips, tricks and support.

I have just worked out a trade with someone in which I am receiving a mint Bessa L with 25mm f/4 Lens. I'm very unfamiliar with this line of cameras but have several other range finder cameras (Argus C3, Canonet GIII and a Fed 3).

Is there anything I need to know about this camera/lens that could potentially damage it? (ie: The Fed 3 can become damaged if you change the shutter speed before advancing the film.)

Any tips, tricks or advice (or even your thoughts on this camera and/or lens) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Best,
Matthew
 
I don't have a Bessa L, but I have a bessa R and they are similar from what I gather. I also have a 25/4 Snapshot Skopar. Unlike the Soviet cameras you can change the shutter speed either before or after winding on (as with most cameras). I think the L has a shutter lock, so in order to release the shutter you have to pull the wind-on lever out slightly. Hope you enjoy it.
 
It's a great combination. The L is a very modern camera body in so far as loading film, setting exposure, etc. -- no weird stuff -- user friendly and pretty robust. The 25mm Skopar is a fantastic lens and it's finder (which I hope you also have) is also very good. The focus will be scale focusing, but the DOF is enormous and good photographers should be able to scale focus lenses from say 50mm and shorter routinely anyway.
 
I have a Bessa L with 25/4. It's a fine camera. The only issue as with most all Cosina made Bessa's is not to advance the lever winder too quickly as it could jam. I never have had a problem with my R or L but I tend to take things slow anyway. The lens is fantastic & it's so wide it's almost impossible to take an out of focus photo.
 
itf said:
I don't have a Bessa L, but I have a bessa R and they are similar from what I gather. I also have a 25/4 Snapshot Skopar. Unlike the Soviet cameras you can change the shutter speed either before or after winding on (as with most cameras). I think the L has a shutter lock, so in order to release the shutter you have to pull the wind-on lever out slightly. Hope you enjoy it.
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Thanks so much for your input.
I read a little about the Bessa R and I think it was just a step up from the L so I'm guessing they're pretty similar. I'll keep the advance lever trick in mind if I can't get the shutter to fire.

Best,
Matthew
 
David Murphy said:
It's a great combination. The L is a very modern camera body in so far as loading film, setting exposure, etc. -- no weird stuff -- user friendly and pretty robust. The 25mm Skopar is a fantastic lens and it's finder (which I hope you also have) is also very good. The focus will be scale focusing, but the DOF is enormous and good photographers should be able to scale focus lenses from say 50mm and shorter routinely anyway.
Click to expand...

I do have the finder (I'm guessing you're talking about the eyepiece that snaps into the shoe on top). I've never used scale focusing, but I am familiar with the scale window on modern AF lenses and I've used many, many cameras. I'm just now venturing into range finder photography, but I've really enjoyed it so far. I think the range finders take out a lot of the unneeded extras leaving you with a camera and a lens so that you can think about composition and exposure rather than the electronics.

I'll post some photos when I get it and have a chance to shoot with it.

Thanks for your input.
 
gb hill said:
I have a Bessa L with 25/4. It's a fine camera. The only issue as with most all Cosina made Bessa's is not to advance the lever winder too quickly as it could jam. I never have had a problem with my R or L but I tend to take things slow anyway. The lens is fantastic & it's so wide it's almost impossible to take an out of focus photo.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip. I'm the opposite. I get so excited that I just want to shoot, shoot, shoot so I probably would have advanced it too fast and jammed it on the first frame! I'll keep it in mind though and take it slow with this one.

I'm getting some very good feedback about this lens so I can't wait to use it.

Best,
Matthew
 
Mathew,

Congrats, you have IMHO the best camera combo ever made for under $800 USD.

The Bessa L is a very straigh forward camera. It takes two LR-44s for the meter, use a nickel to open the bottom. The shutter speed and ISO settings are straight forward, as mentioned you can change the shutter speed at any time.

The LEDs on the back are for your light meter. The red arrows tell you what direction to move the aperture (left or right). Remember, with the 25mm you are taking in a LOT of space you I often angled it down when outside to take in less sky.

To open the back you pull up gently on the rewind lever. There is a flip up arm that allows you to rewind faster than the knob, do not pull up on it to open the back. It has a window which is handy to see if you have film loaded (damn, I wish I would look more often that I did).

Pick up a Gordy Strap and carry it around your wrist, it's almost as light weight as a P&S.

The lens has three click stops. I used them to guess focus as I was bringing the camera to my eye. The 25/4 is a GREAT lens and the snap-shot is the perfect LTM lens for a Bessa L or any older Leica LTM. I have changed from M to Nikon RF and have it for my S3-2000. It is sharp, resistant to flare and while I thought it was slow, I never could not come up with a way to steady the camera well enough to get a shot.

Great camera for family, fun and street shots.

B2 (;->
 
BTW, I'm not sure about the too fast issue. I think if you are using a slow shutter speed and try to advance the film before the shutter is closed then you could jam it. Never heard anyone saying that just too fast would jam her. I never experienced it, but reasonable speed is always better.

The only thing that could make the L better is if it could take a Bessa Winder.

B2 (;->
 
BillBingham2 said:
BTW, I'm not sure about the too fast issue. I think if you are using a slow shutter speed and try to advance the film before the shutter is closed then you could jam it. Never heard anyone saying that just too fast would jam her. I never experienced it, but reasonable speed is always better.

The only thing that could make the L better is if it could take a Bessa Winder.

B2 (;->
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for your input. You've definitely given me some great information and reinforced my excitement. My FED-3 is fun, but I'm not completely in love with it (as with my Canonet) so I'm hoping this camera/lens combination will give me a good street shooter to carry around in my bag while I'm milling about town. I normally shoot 400-3200 speed black and white film because I really appreciate the contrast and grain in higher speed films (most people cringe when I say that) so I don't think the f4 max aperture will be a problem. For landscapes I like EFKE 25 and it would be on a tripod for that anyways. I'm very excited about getting it.

Thanks again for all of your input. I'll grab a wrist strap for it and get out and shoot as soon as I get it. Do you have any idea what a kit like this would have cost new? Just out of curiosity...

Happy shooting!

Best,
Matt
 
I love my L, and most often use it with the 25mm Snapshot-Skopar lens- but I don't use a strap on this camera. Generally, I'm a believer in neck straps, and have them on all of my small cameras. I drop them over my shoulder, wrap them around my wrist, and sometimes even hang the cameras from my neck. But the Bessa L is so small and light weight, I just use a "Sling", originally designed by Lutz Konermann, and sold here: http://www.leicagoodies.com/

Sort-of a silly thing, but it's perfect on the Bessa L, with no other strap.
 
Sam N said:
I hope you didn't get the one with the scratched finder, but if you did I hope it doesn't get in your way too much.
Click to expand...

When you say scratched finder are you referring to a defect or to a particular type of finder that they released? I didn't get this camera from here, so if you're referring to a camera that was sold on this forum, then it's definitely not that one...

Thanks for the input.
 
drewbarb said:
I love my L, and most often use it with the 25mm Snapshot-Skopar lens- but I don't use a strap on this camera. Generally, I'm a believer in neck straps, and have them on all of my small cameras. I drop them over my shoulder, wrap them around my wrist, and sometimes even hang the cameras from my neck. But the Bessa L is so small and light weight, I just use a "Sling", originally designed by Lutz Konermann, and sold here: http://www.leicagoodies.com/

Sort-of a silly thing, but it's perfect on the Bessa L, with no other strap.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'll be sure and check it out.
I've had my eye on Bessas for a while now, but I never even heard of this until I stumbled upon it for trade at another site and now I'm flooded with tons of information and suggestions both here and on the net.

It's nice to know there's plenty of information out there.

Best,
Matthew
 
matthewm said:
When you say scratched finder are you referring to a defect or to a particular type of finder that they released? I didn't get this camera from here, so if you're referring to a camera that was sold on this forum, then it's definitely not that one...

Thanks for the input.
Click to expand...

I saw one that had a scratched finder on another forum (fredmiranda). It was the same package (L + 25/4), but I guess it could have been someone else who bought that since the combination of that lens and camera is a popular and good one.
 
Sam N said:
I saw one that had a scratched finder on another forum (fredmiranda). It was the same package (L + 25/4), but I guess it could have been someone else who bought that since the combination of that lens and camera is a popular and good one.
Click to expand...

It's actually from the FM Forums, but it doesn't say anything about a scratched finder. It says that the external finder shows some wear on the casing which doesn't bother me at all because the camera's going in my bag anyways to tool around town with so I'm sure it'll get a bump or two along the way.

You've got me all worried now!!!
 
I may have misunderstood his response to my PM or he may have misunderstood what I was asking. He said the finder had a "small scuff mark on the front" when I asked him about the condition of the glass.

Anyway if the scratch is on the finder glass the price still wasn't bad and you'll still be able to use it just fine. The first time I tried to buy a 25/4 the finder shoe was broken. The seller was reasonable and I was able to return it. People on these forums tend to be better than some of the jerks on eBay.
 
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