Need help from Bessa L users.

[Larky]

Hello everyone.

I have a couple of rangefinders but both have fairly long lenses (35-ish mm) but would ideally love to get myself something with a 15mm lens. I love the look of the Bessa L with the viewfinder perched on top, and have read nothing but good reviews, but as I can't hold before I buy I'm being careful.

So, from the owners of the body and also the lens if possible, how good is this camera? I shoot street stuff, candid, quick. I use film from 400-1600. I have poor eyes and so would like to focus and forget, and love super wide hence the 15mm.

Any thoughts you have will help me blow the £500 I can't afford to blow! 🙂

Take care, A.

 

[Lol999]

I recently bought a Bessa L and 25mm Skopar off e-bay for £150 just for street stuff. I don't use the viewfinder personally but was very impressed how bright it was. I like the surface mounted exposure indicators, I tend to meter off something midtone and then just adjust a stop either way if I'm in shadow or sunlight. This works fine with XP2 Super. The shutter is quieter than my F3 and apart from the shutter lock situation, which has caused me to miss only one picture, it's all good. The prefocussing on the lens coupled with immense dof means you are pretty much guaranteed to be in focus.

Cheers, Lol