New CV Bessa R4A with 21, 25, 28, 35, 50 framelines

[jlw]

Five years ago Tom Abrahammsson of Rapidwinder fame asked Mr. K for the impossible, a revolutionary rangefinder M camera with 21, 25, 28, 35, and 50 framelines.

Mr. K showed that camera to myself and Tom behind the scenes at Photokina

And here's an interesting notion for my fellow Epson R-D 1 owners:

Previous posts have said that the new RF/VF for the superwide camera has the same base length as the current Bessas (on which the R-D 1 is based) -- so let's suppose the rangefinder/viewfinder module is similar in size, attachment points, etc.

Now suppose this module were available as a service part. How much would you pay someone such as DAG to install the module in your R-D 1?

It just so happens that the existing framelines would do a pretty good job of covering the view fields of 12mm, 15mm, 18mm, 21mm and 28mm lenses when the R-D 1's 1.53x "crop factor" is taken into account...

 

[Kyle]

Wow. Just... wow. This is awesome news! My birthday is in April, so now I know what to ask for. I'll get a new ZM 21/4.5 and pair that with my ZM 25/2.8 and use it on an R4X, and use the ZI for everything else. This is way cool, too bad we gotta wait another 6 months...

 

[anabasis]

Hopefully Stephen will post some pics of the body on his site when he returns.

JCA

 

[matt miller]

Can anyone else see the irony that the only new film cameras being produced are rangefinders. 35mm photography going back to where it all started.

Film is not resurfacing in 35mm only. Large and Ultra Large format film is making a huge resurgence. There are many manufacturers producing many new large format cameras. I just bought a brand new 8x10 camera a few months ago.

 

[GeneW]

Very exciting news. Ya gotta love Cosina!

Gene

 

[rbiemer]

I'm not sure whether I should be saving for this new beast, or wait for the R2's and 3's to drop into my soon-to-be price bracket!

I'm going to try to do both, Ash! R4? for the wides and R2/3 for the rest. My dilema will be "A" or "M" and I get six months to think about it.
Rob

 

[Terao]

Film is not resurfacing in 35mm only. Large and Ultra Large format film is making a huge resurgence. There are many manufacturers producing many new large format cameras. I just bought a brand new 8x10 camera a few months ago.

Its going to be an interesting time - the big players are getting out of film so suddenly all these niche players can come to the fore. Of course the price will go up but that's just an excuse for some of us to go back to a wet darkroom and develop their own B&W.

I see a Rollei branded ISO25 B&W film was announced at Photokina for example...

 

[Terao]

Anyone who has seen the size of the new Tri-Elmar finder will understand the point of these new cameras. What were Leica thinking?

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=33634&d=1159434159

 

[CameraQuest]

Estimated R4A / R4M Price

Estimated R4A / R4M Price

Estimated USA body price $649, R4M or R4A.

R4M classic black paint or R4A matte black. No other finishes.

Estimated delivery April / May.

Taking $100 deposits.

Stephen Gandy

 

[rover]

Decision time, to get on the list or not?

 

[dcsang]

Go for it Ralph!! 😀

You know you want it 🙂

(I do too.. but I'm going to hold off a bit) 😀

Dave

 

[rover]

I'm thinking, I may, AE for WA quick grab shots. Makes sense to me.

 

[raid]

I wonder if there will be a digital Bessa to kill the digital M8 ?
Maybe not. Back to the topic ... such a wide angle Bessa would be a great thing to have, along side a Bessa for 50~90mm lenses.


Raid

 

[back alley]

Decision time, to get on the list or not?

is this a limited edition camera?

 

[principe azul]

0.52x is pretty good. The stellar CV 21mm finder is, I recall, 0.46x. I think accessory finders look cool, but I find they can slow things down.

My F3 has a finder towards the good end of SLR magnifications: 0.8x at infinity with a 50mm lens. Put a 20mm on an F3, and the finder magnification reduces to 0.32x. Even a 28mm lens on an F3 comes out at 0.46x.

I whooped with joy when I saw this thread, thinking that I could have one camera to do everything. But a short baselength might put a damper on that 35/1.2, where my M4 would really shine. And I'd have to keep the F3 for longer lengths.

Heck! What do I know? I've even been lusting after Olympus OM - the OM4 for the multi-spot metering and the Zuikos for the 21/2! There was a 21/2 the other day on the bay, hovering at £150 until it rocketed to £330 in the last minute...

 

[rover]

I think I need the official word, the inside scoop from the man on the scene. I want the specs and hyperbole from Mr Gandy.

 

[dexdog]

OK, I have a stoopid question concerning how to use various Canon and Voigtlander wide angles on this camera, because I am very tempted to buy one when they are available. I do not own any M-mount cameras or lenses, but have a bunch of LTM lenses that I really love using. What sort of M-mount adapter would I put on lenses like the VC 15/4.5, VC 25/4 and Canon 28/2.8? I also would be interested in using the Canon 35/2 and 50/1.5 on such a camera, but I believe that Voigtlander and others makes adapters for these focal lengths. Thanks.

 

[dcsang]

<snip> I do not own any M-mount cameras or lenses, but have a bunch of LTM lenses that I really love using. What sort of M-mount adapter would I put on lenses like the VC 15/4.5, VC 25/4 and Canon 28/2.8? </snip>Thanks.

Any adapter you want really.

You can use the 28/90, the 50/75 or the 35/135 if you see fit.
When you're getting into "wider than 25" territory (i.e. the Voigtlander 15mm and 12mm) you can drop anything you want onto the camera since these lenses are not rangefinder coupled.

The 21mm is coupled but the R4A/M will accomodate that with framelines - and I believe there will be a 21mm M-Mount lens being released by Voigtlander (or at least an adapter to be used with the new R4A/M).

Currently, I have my 21mm on a 35mm adapter. I use my M7's rangefinder to focus and use the external finder that comes with the lens to frame. With my 15mm.. I don't even bother looking through the M7 viewfinder and THAT is precisely what makes those lenses (the non-RF coupled ones) so much fun to use. You don't have to hold the camera to eye-level to snap off some excellent shots !!

Cheers
Dave

 

[rover]

That is right, any will do. The frame line selector is manual, so you pick the lines you want.

In fact, if you leave one adaptor mounted on the body, in effect you have an LTM camera. Pretty cool stuff.

 

[dexdog]

thanks, dudes!

OK, if I put any LTM/M adapter on the lens or body, it will bring up the framelines found on the adapter, but I could manually switch to whatever focal length I wanted using the 21-50 selectable framelines on the camera?

I am really looking forward to the VC 4a, provided that the RF baseline will allow focus of lenses like the ZM 50/1.5 wide open.