Considering: Selling CL & Collapsible 'Cron to finance a Bessa R.

[wlewisiii]

I've been considering this of late. The budget I had thought we had has proven illusionary :bang: so I'm looking at other options to get me a workable kit for the kinds of shooting I want to be able to do when I am able to. I missed some & blew some others at christmas, my son's birthday & a birthday party for a friend of his of late due to lacking an internal meter & my eyeball calibration not being quite right... 🙁

My CL is a "user" camera; a bit scruffy cosmetically & the meter works but is so far off so as to be useless. I use the camera without any battery in it. It really probably should have the meter adjusted (probably for a modern battery at the same time) and probably would be well served by a CLA. However, even though I like the camera a whole lot, I just can't see spending that kind of money to bring this one up to speed. Ultimately the long term viability of the meter is my main issue and I find that I need/want to have a mechanical camera with a through the lens meter.

This collapsible Summicron is a "user" as well. Due to circumstances that I won't go into here, it has recieved a full CLA from DAG last spring. The front and rear are quite scuffed but it doesn't appear to hurt anything (see: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=42251 or http://www.rangefinderforum.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=42287 )

Looking at the tradeoffs & my budget, presuming I can sell the CL & lens, I'm thinking the original R is best. All the lenses I have, other than the 'Cron, are screw mount and all the ones I can seriously see getting anytime soon (ie next year or three) are as well.

So am I nuts? Anyone think that asking $200 each is too much? Or perhaps someone has a trade? I expect to decide soon & put up an ad in the next day or so, but comments here would help me decide what to do.

Thanks!

William

 

[wordpress]

I would say that $200 ea. ($400 for the set) is very reasonable, I'll probably take that Cron of your hands in no time 😉

The Bessa R is a sweet camera, I love the viewfinder.

 

[zuikologist]

If you really like the CL perhaps try a shoe mounted meter (I think the Pilot 2 or Digisix models are tiny).

 

[taffer]

Well, the Pilot 2 is not that big, but trust me, you'll find it huge on top of anything smaller than a Nikon F2... You can also have an idea of the Digisix size on top a a Nikon S2 in Karen Nakamura's place.

For the use you have in mind, a used Bessa R2 sounds like a good compromise.

 

[zuikologist]

Taffer - you are right. I had forgotten how small the CL is.

 

[taffer]

No worries, I actually discovered it by placing it side by side with the Pilot 2 😉

 

[wlewisiii]

Morning Taffer & Zuikologist,

I have used a VC Meter II in the past with a number of cameras. It's not quite the same thing, unfortuneately, I really want a meter that I can use while continuing to observe the scene - perhaps even check multiple meterings over a larger scene.

I guess one big thing is that I'd like something new & covered by a warrenty for a change. The last new camera I bought was a Canon Rebel XS back around the 92/93 timeframe ...

The R2 is nice but 1) they're only available used & 2) go for a considerable amount more when they are available. Now the R is still available as NIB from Mr. Gandy for a reasonable amount of money - the only real thought is to trying to get enough money together to afford getting the 35/2.5 with it since I don't currently have a 35mm lens (28 then 50 & up).

I think it's time for me to see if I can get some semi-decent pics of the pair & get working on an ad. Thanks for the thoughts, folks.

William

 

[anselwannab]

I really like the matched needle meter on my CL with shutter speeds showing. That and nice tight metering spot make it a really nice tool that I haven't had since my Canon F1 New days.

DAG might do it for around $100, I'm trying to remember what my full CLA cost, which included getting the meter (that worked) calibrated correctly.

All cameras break, all goldfish die, and your high-school sweathart is never as pretty as you remember; such is life.

Mark

 

[Nick R.]

That's sounds like a good plan, William. I had an R a while back and while it does have a very cheap feel to it, it does do what it's supposed to: take pictures. It sucks to be working with half-assed gear that makes you miss shots and that sounds like what is happening with your current CL setup. I think that with the R and a VC35 you'll have a real workable kit.

 

[wlewisiii]

Gotta love this place. Looks like I only need to take pics of the 'Cron right now... 😉

William

 

[wlewisiii]

That's sounds like a good plan, William. I had an R a while back and while it does have a very cheap feel to it, it does do what it's supposed to: take pictures.

I doubt that the feel will bother me too much. I used a Canon EOS Rebel XS for a good decade & it's a classic of the cheap plastic fantastic camera, but as with the R, it did exactly what it was supposed to do. It's only failure was being a little too automatic when I wanted to start getting serious about shooting again.

William

 

[Al Patterson]

My CL came with a receipt for a CLA, and

My CL came with a receipt for a CLA, and

it was $140. That was a few years back. I can't remember who did the CLA, but the meter is pretty accurate so far.

I did see a user CL sell for $202.50 recently, so $200 would be a decent price.

I've been thinking of an R2M to replace my CL, so maybe I'll keep an eye out for how Bill makes out with this.

 

[ERV]

I had a user CL that I sold on ebay in Dec for $210. It worked fine but had a few scuffs and a dead meter. (I offered it here first and had many emails but no takers...)
While I was selling it I tracked used prices and user grade bodies sold in the low 200s, which is surprisingly cheap, IMO.

I had the same dilemma, invest $200+ in a new meter cell and CLA or sell it for something else. I decided to let it go- It was the second CL I've owned and probably not the last.
I used it with a CV II meter, which is an option to consider.
So, $200. for the body and 400 for the combo is probably a good estimate.

 

[Biggles]

I simply haven't found a metered rangefinder body that I like as much as the CL. I'll probably end up with a small crate full of the stupid things.

Now if I can just find a scruffy-looking $200 Zeiss Ikon to use as a rear lens cap for my old Summilux...

 

[cbass]

William,

I have a very lightly used black Bessa R body that I am going to offer for sale soon. I'll give you "first dibs" on it if you'd like.

It's in excellent condition with original box, papers, yada yada. Purchased new from CQ in April, 2005.

PM me if you are interested.

 

[wlewisiii]

Well well well. The CL is off to Biggles & a Bessa R is on it's way to me. Glad I posted this thread 🙂 Gotta go change my sig again 😀

William