New guy - new R3A

With bodies in particular the Russian egg theory of packing should apply. A box inside a box inside... And the packing has to be ridiculous. I got my M6TTL from Photo Village in NYC and I live 250 miles away in Boston. The camera did not come with it's original Leica packaging. Rich Pinto cocooned that body in a box that was cocooned in another relatively huge box. I mean it looked ridiculous when that tiny body emerged from all that stuff but the damn camera was in one piece!
 
The problem with the packing was that although there was a box within a box (and even some NYTimes inbetween) the original cardboard surrounding the body inside the original box couldn't take it, which resulted in almost an inch of free movement up and down - and pretty hard stops at both ends. I guess that was enough. As for the lens - I don't get it. Now that I'm not sure I like the bokeh on it, I'm thinking of returning it in any case and getting the 50/1.5 and 35/2.5 PII instead...
 
One – or several actually – more plus for the Nokton 50mm – I found a little box with 52mm filters (yellow, orange, blue) and a filter holder + a polar filter etc...
 
The camera should be encased in polystyrene inside the box. That's a major problem right there - cardboard is useless. I assume that's cost cutting.

It was the Nokton 40mm that I ordered (and paid for) from Stephen Gandy that he refunded for me. I saw the first internet pics of the output from that lens and I didn't like it. I thought discretion should be the better part of valor...
 
Looks like I'll be doing the same – though Stephen will get some more dough 🙂

And while you all eagerly await my Bessa images, here are some shot with my late F3... 😛
 
Groovy, I got my original username back now that e-mails work again!

And Stephen Ok'd my plans to send the 40 back, replaced by the 50 and 35. I'm happy.
 
So right you are, sent the 40mm on its way across the oceans...
 
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I think it's funny that a camera made in Japan has a Germany stamp on it. How many people who don't know the R3A will assume it's a German made camera? *Grin*
 
wblanchard said:
I think it's funny that a camera made in Japan has a Germany stamp on it. How many people who don't know the R3A will assume it's a German made camera? *Grin*
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These things happen more and more. Philips is a Dutch name but hardly anything they produce is actually made here. Lots of car brands have undergone the same process. Even Leica is (was?) made in Canada.
 
Some Leica assemblies are made in Portugal too. To be fair to CV, yes it says "Germany since 1756" or whatever but both the bodies and the lenses are clearly inscribed "Made in Japan".
 
kneedropper said:
So right you are, sent the 40mm on its way across the oceans...
Click to expand...
By the way, how long did it take to get your R3a ? I've ordered a lens to CQ, knowing that shipping delays to Europe are long. I'm waiting patiently though ^^
 
gelmir said:
By the way, how long did it take to get your R3a ? I've ordered a lens to CQ, knowing that shipping delays to Europe are long. I'm waiting patiently though ^^
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When I ordered my Bessa R (now about 2 years ago, I reckon) it didn't take too long: 2-3 weeks at the most, including waiting for Stephen shipping it in the first place.

Recently rover (at was you, wasn't it, rover?) send me a 135mm VF from the US to Holland. It arrived in a couple of days.

IMO and IME (in my experience) shipping from the US to Holland is usually pretty swift. If something takes more than 2 weeks to get here I start to get worried and will ask the seller/ sender.

I don't know how the french postal system is but shipping times to paris shoul, I reckon, be similar as to Holland. Or is the french post really crappy? 🙂
 
8 to 10 working days from the date Stephen sent them, regular airmail. But it took over 3 weeks for the returned gear to go the same way back, even as priority mail...
 
Then I'll wait till the end of this week (that would do 3 weeks then) before starting to bitch and complain about the french post 😉

Edit : No need to complain, my lens has just arrived today !! Yay ! I'm going to give it a shot ^^
 
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Just to give you an update: The rf vertical alignment is fixed, there is now only slight misalignment from close-up to about 2 meters, from there on it's good. But now I don't have any rf coupled lenses as the 40mm is on its way back and the new ones will take about 2 weeks. Agony.
 
I seem to be getting wild. Now I desided, instead of getting the 35 and 50 both with M mount adapters ($55 each), I ordered just one and an L body (a mere $14 difference) which will be dedicated for the 15mm I bought s/h - which had an adapter since it had been used on a Leica M... so what 3 months ago was to be just a basic R3a + 40/1.4 combo is now turning into a R3a + 35/2.5C + 50/1.5 + L + 15/4.5. What went wrong..? 😱
 
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