Bessa L.

[SCOTFORTHLAD]

I have an opportunity to pick up a mint second hand Bessa L from a reputable dealer to replace an earlier purchase which was unsatisfactory.All of my R/F equipment consists of FSU items,and my only lens wider than 50mm.is a Jupiter 12 which may not sit on the Bessa L due to it's enlarged rear element seating.I am unlikely to be able to fund a 35MM voightlander lens in the forseeable future.

I also have a J8 50MM,which I believe would fit the camera ok.,but I don't have a 50 mm.viewfinder.Would anyone have any views on this combination,assuming that I could pick up a s/hand 50 mm. finder.

Thanks, 🙂
Brian.

 

[simonankor]

Remember the early Leicas had no rangefinder, and they all came with 50mm.

With enough practice it's manageable, especially at smaller than f/4

 

[pvdhaar]

The Ur-Leica came with a 50mm scale focused lens, so it should be doable. Especially with modest apertures.

There's a caveat though. And that's that we're used to magnifying images much more than in the past. 6"x4" is about the smallest size available now, while in the photoalbums my parents made in the 60's it was more like 3"x2". These smaller enlargements hide focus errors much more than larger prints do. But even so, there's a disproportionate amout of focus error visible from the 45/2.8 scale focussed Agfa. This could be due however to my father using the icons (scene, group, portrait) on the distance scale instead of the real meter scale.. I don't really know, can't ask anymore.

I'm now using a Minox 35 scale focussing camera, and my percentage of correctly focused shots is well above 90%.

 

[RML]

How much will that L cost? If it's more than $100 I would pass it. Stephen Gnady sells them for $99, or $69 when ordered together with a lens (the CV 25/4 is a good lens for this camera).

If you don't need the camera, don't buy it. Save your money for something else.

 

[Fred]

Just a thought but Robert White is doing deals on new Bessa Ls when purchased with a new CV lens wider than 28, those CV lenses come with view finders as standard. I can certainly vote for the 21 and 15. I do appreciate that this might blow your budget though. Food for thought for the future though.

 

[markinlondon]

The 25's very nice (and cheap too) 🙂

http://www.pgallery.net/mdbuk/image-47102.html

Mark

 

[BrianPhotog]

The 25's very nice (and cheap too) 🙂

http://www.pgallery.net/mdbuk/image-47102.html

Mark

Yeah, the 25/4 is permanently mated to its own L. Great combo.

 

[SCOTFORTHLAD]

Thanks everyone for your comments, and for taking the time to reply.Food for thought for me,but I guess that there is no easy way to go from FSU. to a Bessa without putting your hand in your pocket.

Cheers, 🙂
Brian.