Bessa R / rangefinder infinity position...

[thafred]

Hello !

I live in Vienna and bought a Bessa R + Nokton 1,5/50mm from a german mail order dealer , got it last Monday and I´m very pleased with it. I think it looks very good and feels nice (especially the lens🙂.

I read alot in the Forum before making the decision to buy the Kit, knowing that the Rangefinders vertical adj. may be off ect.!
Guess what! Both Vertica adj. and strangly, the infinity setting were off! when Turning the Focus wheel the spot overlaps at Infinity but there is stil 1mm of movement on the Lensbarrel which makes the focusing patch move! I took a roll of film that day knowing that I can play with the Adjustments later. the pics were Fine and the Focus was spot on!
In the evening I adjusted the Vertical position in no time and stupidly the infinity setting. When I got the rolls back, I noticed that after the adjustments the Focus shifted like 10cm in the behing every objekt i so carefully focused on!
OK..to keep the long story short, I readjusted today with a ground glass (actualy a 30x40mm peace of silk paper 🙂 ) and as before the infinity setting is slightly off.
My question is, do your Bessas have similar trouble?
Is the Picture not focused on infinity when you turn the focusing Ring all to the left? (on my primitive ground glass I could not quite make that out)

Thank you very much for your help!
And please excuse my english.
Fred

 

[f/stopblues]

Hi Fred, welcome to the forum!

I recently bought an R2A with the same lens and noticed what you're describing with the infinity the first day I had it. I immediately emailed Stephen at Camera Quest, who I bought it from. He emailed me back and explained that the patch should have some overlap up til focus is at about a mile. It was suggested to check focus on the moon. Yes, it seems counterintuative that it wouldn't line up at say, half a mile or 150 feet, but I've examined my prints carefully and it is indeed spot on.

Also, since the viewfinder on these cameras is just so large, there can be a lot of variance on how you position your eye to look through. If you deliberately look through the top portion of the finder and then shift to the bottom, you'll notice how much the alignment seems to shift. I paid special attention for the first week or so to lining up my eye directly in the center so that the patch would appear aligned. After that it just came natural and focus is always on unless it's my own fault! I hope adjusting your camera didn't knock it out of alignment now! 😱

Take care!

 

[dostacos]

my used Bessa R had the horizontal off, when I got it back from http://www.cameraquest.com/ it lined up in all directions including infinity. It did not have a problem with infinity.....

 

[thafred]

thanks, F/Stopblues! Thats a relief to hear, strange as it sounds to focus onthe moon...I have to check that.

@dostacos...maybe I should have sent it back but I was to excited that I finally have the thing in my hands...I couldnt posibly send it away for another week or two 🙂 .

 

[Fred]

Welcome Fred,

I hope the RF alignment is corrected soon. Let us know how you get on with the new combination of R + Nokton. That was one setup I was considering as a screw thread body tom home some other LTM CV lenses I have.

Fred

 

[dostacos]

thanks, F/Stopblues! Thats a relief to hear, strange as it sounds to focus onthe moon...I have to check that.

@dostacos...maybe I should have sent it back but I was to excited that I finally have the thing in my hands...I couldnt posibly send it away for another week or two 🙂 .

mine was not new so it was not a warrantee issue, I used it for a week in Las Vegas, then had some serious Anxiety issues as I sent it off, but it is my hands again taking wonderful pictures so in the end I am happy

 

[thafred]

Hi Guys!
I´ve finaly got the prints after adjusting the RF and they look very nice!
Last night it was a clear sky and I could check focus on the Moon as f/stopblues described and it the RF-Spot was overlapping at infinity! Focusing at close distance works like a charm!

BTW Hi Fred 🙂

Having shot a few rolls now I thought i´ll let you know what i think about my Bessa and how it compares to my other RF. (I have a GTN, Minox GL, Zorki 4K and a Agfa Isolette III) the rangefinder of none of those can compare to the brightnes and ease of use of the Bessa!

My feelings with this Combination are very good! I really like the versatility of the all Manual camera thing and my initial concern of beeing slowed down compared to my Yashica GTN´s AE-mode has not really proven to be true. Most of the time I stick with one Setting (with Shutter speed mostly) and adjust Aperture as I would on the Yashica, but knowing which shutter speed it fires is very convenient!
It handles and feels very well but the only "half" complain I have is, that the Lens + body is a little Heavy (I thought it would be lighter than the GTN but it is exactly as heavy!) but on the other hand, that really helps to keep the Hand steady in those nighttime 1/8 shots (which were tack sharp to my surprise!)

Speaking of Picture quality my feelings are a little bit mixed. the pictures are very Sharp/contrasty, the colors are good and the Bokeh of the Nokton 1.5 is sweet!! (I can´t see why some call it harsh) but the noktons overall quality is not so far ahead of the Yashinion 45/1.7 as I thought it would be! In fact (maybe i´m going on thin Ice here) I think that they are equal regarding sharpness (whith the noktons outer zones a little bit better) and the yashinion is a little bit ahead in color rendition as is the nokton in terms of contrast. Maybe fine detail is better preserved with the Nokton but I have to Test both of them under the same conditions to really valuate this! Anyways, my second favorite camera behind the GTN is my Minox GL which outperforms the Yashinion in terms of sharpness but lacks the color rendition (and the rangefinder of course .-)

Maybe it´s my technique or me lacking the use of a tripod, but I really cant say that the Nokton outperforms those classics by a lot. Don´t misunderstand me cus I think that this lens was a great purchase and I don´t regret it but I´m eager to compare those Cameras under controlled developing and enlarging conditions (especialy using B/W film and my enlarger)...I just don´t trust my lab! 🙂

I´m getting a Neg Scanner on x-mas (Minolta scan dual IV..any thoughts on that you guys?) so I have to wait alittle before posting some Pics that can prove my feelings.

I love my Voigtländer 🙂
Happy shooting
greetings from Vienna!
Fred