Just got meself a Bessa L!

[Zorki fan]

Hi all,
First post in this forum.
As the subject above states, I just got myself a very gently used Bessa L.
So far, initial observations are that its very light and the shutter has a slightly tinny sound when firing.
But am very pleased with it and can see this being my daily 'chuck(gently) in the bag' RF.
Some questions.
The J-12 will not fit right?
I've a CV 28mm mounted on it right now, but am thinking of getting other glass. Any recommendations? WIll be using this for street shooting.
How about finders? Is it worthwhile to get the Fed/Zorki Universal Finder or should I get dedicated finders? And for the Universal Finder, which version should I be looking out for? Appears to be 2 versions, one for Contax/Kiev and another for FED/Zorki. The difference being that the glass elements sit to the left or right of the shoe right? Which is which??

Thanks!!

Alvin - pleased as punch

 

[rover]

I think the 28 will work very well on the L, but if you are to get another lens I would say to go wider. If you decide to purchase a CV lens one good thing is that they come with their viewfinders. I have used the 21 on the street, though if pressed I would say that it is just a smidge too wide. I liked it though, and scale focusing is very easy due to the huge DOF. I think the CV 25 is the intended match for the L. A very sharp lens too.

 

[atelier7]

hey alvin, did you manage to get the Bessa L in black?

 

[satbunny]

I will be fascinated to read how you equip it, since they are so cheap. I wonder too which is a suitable viewfinder.

 

[Zorki fan]

Hi,
Yup, managed to get hold of a black Bessa L here in Singapore. Its not new, but like I said, it's been gently used. So no brassing, only marks are on the rear, where there are slight marks on the rubber area from hand sweat etc.
I'm keen on getting a 25mm, but these are expensive! Will have to save up or dispose of some of my Russian Leica clones to fund it.
So. Which Universal Finder should I be getting? The one that off-sets to the right or left?
Am this close to hitting 'bid now' on the bay...

Thanks in advance!

Alvin

 

[ddimaria]

I would hold off on the universal finder, like rover said you might want to go wider than 28mm. Once you start moving up to 35mm, focus will be a problem, with or without a Viewfinder. Your options seem to be 15mm, 21mm, and 25mm. Which would for the most part require different viewfinders.

 

[rich815]

The 15mm is a perfect use on the L. I have one living on my 107-SW.

 

[Roman]

I would not go for the Russian Universal finder - while I love my Russian RFs and lenses, I hate that thing (precisely the Universal finder was what made me get a Bessa R in the first place); parallax correction with that thing is totally useless, and the shoe is made to tolerances that make it wobble or even fall off in most cameras (and I'm speaking not only from one, but 3 samples - two of the Contax - left-leaning - and one Leica - right-leaning -variety). They may look cool to collectors, but are not good for users.

Roman

 

[Kin Lau]

The CV 28 VF alone is $145, the CV 25/4 lense + VF is $245- from Cameraquest. I know which choice I'd make. My personal choice to is save up for the 21/4.

Even tho the Univ Finder is not parallax corrected, on a wide angle 28mm, it'll be less critical.

 

[Zorki fan]

Hi all,
Thanks for the comments and tips.
Will need to save up for another wide lens. I was thinking of the 21mm, but now the 15mm is starting to look really good..
In the meanwhile, am still looking for a finder to get for the 28mm. Any suggestions now that the consensus seems to be to not get the Universal Finder?

Thanks!

 

[jmilkins]

I have the L and its a great combo with the 25 or 15. I must admit that I use the 15 quite a lot more than the 25, which suprised me (as atested to in my gallery)- that said, the 25 is probably the more "useful" lens if you had to choose just one

 

[pvdhaar]

I would assume that 35mm is still doable without a rangefinder. The Minox 35GTE is a contemporary example of this (albeit starting at an f2.8 aperture).

At anything over 35mm, there's bound to be some dissappointment though, because I think that our expectations of what a sharp picture comprises are currently higher than in the past. In the sixties/seventies, there were numerous viewfinder camera's with 45s and 50s, but without rangefinders.

My parents had an Agfa Silette Rapid in those times with a 45/2.8. The prints were never bigger than 9x13 cm (3.5x5 inch), many of which were indeed still off w.r.t. focus.

 

[Doug]

Or perhaps users back then were more willing to make careful distance estimates, or even carry a knotted string along as a measure. 🙂 Also consider the many 6x6 and 6x9 folding cameras without RF, and lenses in the 75-105mm range... But a lot of those had f/4.5 or slower maximum aperture too.