New rangefinder owner with questions

[codyderek]

Hi all,
I am so glad I discovered this forum. There seems to be a great wealth of information and some very knowlegeable people. I thought I'd introduce myself and ask a few questions. My name is Cody and I am in Anchorage, Alaska. I am an amateur photographer. I shoot a bit in medium format (with my Minolta Autocord and Holga) and just recently bought a Voigtlander Bessa R3M with the Heliar classic 50mm f/2 lens. I just finished my first roll, but unfortunately I didn't think to order professional film at the time and had to content myself with a cheaper quality roll for my first time through. I have since received 5 rolls of some good stuff. I haven't picked up the prints yet, but I am confindent that this camera will deliver. I have gone through so many flickr photos taken with it to know it is just awesome.

Anyway, I have a few questions since I am going to purchase another lens once my back account rises from its recent drop 😉

50mm seems good for a lot of stuff, but I really want a more wide angle lens as well. I cannot currently afford to buy a whole outfit so I am trying to choose what focal length is best.

Is there a general guide or website that has examples of what each offers? I am tempted to get the Heliar 15mm for the sheer amount of image it can capture, but am turned off by the edge drop-off and vignetting.

I see choices such as 21mm, 25, 28, and 35. Anything above 35mm isn't wide enough for me. Could you perhaps guide me as to what would be a good choice? I shoot a variety of situations, and would like versitility. I have searched this site a lot, read a lot of things, but am having a hard time making a decision.

Lastly, I have a very noob-like question. I feel I know the answer, but would rather just confirm it with the pros. Can one switch lenses mid roll? I would think that the shutter blades are closed and that you could, but perhaps I am just an idiot.

Thanks for any help. I appreciate any responses. I hope to start uploading some of my shots if they are good enough.

Cody

 

[charjohncarter]

Welcome, switch between and within rolls all you want. and I personally like my 28mm better than my 35mm. I have a 20mm (non RF) and while good it is in general a little too much (for me).

 

[thomasw_]

Welcome Cody.

Check out the m-mount group for visusl ex's. of the many lens options:>

http://flickr.com/groups/m-mount/

I recommend the ZM 25/2,8 for the versatility, quality and its performance.

 

[pevelg]

The R3M does not have 35mm framelines, only 40mm... You have been warned! 😀 And anything smaller than a 40mm will require an external viewfinder... And that equals more money!!! I ended up selling my R3M for a Leica M6TTL and going with 35mm as my wide angle length. I can actually see the 35mm framelines with my glasses on, whereas I could not see the 40mm framelines with the R3M. The R3M is a great rangefinder though and I enjoyed using it very much. Best of luck to you in you acquisition of lenses! 🙂

 

[NickTrop]

You seem to want an extreme wide angle lens, the widest you can get without going fisheye, judging from your comments about the 15mm. I consider these "novelty lenses", personally but to each his own. So, since the vignetting on the 15mm is not acceptable to you, I would say go with the 21. As mentioned earlier, you'll need an external viewfinder.

Have fun...

 

[codyderek]

Thanks for all the replies so far!

I think I am now leaning toward the 28mm for practicality. I could always go for a 15mm in the future for fun, but I found some photos on flickr with 28mm and it seems to be what I want.

I was thinking of the 28mm Ultron, and getting a brightline viewfinder. Would the focusing be coupled? I realized that the 15mm doesn't have that option and that it wasn't a big deal due to the depth of field, but am wondering about the 28mm.

On another note, I just got my first roll back, with what I hoped were some pretty good shots. Turns out I should have gone to a more pro developer. The whole roll was ruined. Don't know what happened, but I loaded it correctly, and didn't have any problems along the way.

Thanks for you help,

Cody

 

[Tom A]

Stick to the 50 for another couple of rolls, just to get used to the camera and measuring system. As for a wide-angle, the 28 is good, but as you have to use an external viewfinder any way, look at the 25/4 VC, P version (coupled to the rangefinder) and a 25mm finder. The early uncoupled 25/4 Snap Shot Skopar in screwmount came with the finder.
Later, if you add the 15/4,5 (the edge fall off is not as bad as you think - by nature any 15mm or 12mm will have an edge loss of light). The combination of 15/25/50 is small enough to carry all the time and it is still much,much less than even one of the Leica lenses, even used.

 

[rogerchristian]

I would echo Tom's comments on the 25/4. The 35/1.7 stays on my Bessa R pretty much permanently. I have a 50/1.5, 75mm and 15.

I don't use the 15 or the 75 as much as I thought I would at first, but just like Porsche ownership, lust overcomes common sense and $$$ concerns.

Use the 50 for a while, then pick up a 35/xx sometime and use it for a while. You will find the wides are very nice on RF bodies.

Enjoy the experience. Retro is great! You may find that eventually your brain wakes up again photographically, with the manual RF's you must have it minimally engaged!

 

[pevelg]

What was wrong with the pictures?
As you are new to this, don't expect your pictures to look as great as those posted online. I have been working with rangefinders for a couple years and I have a far way to go to make my pictures look great, even with expensive glass... Just last week I went through about 39 shots when it finally hit me.... I had no film in the camera!!! Not a problem for the R3M with the film window, but clearly a stupid mistake, even with the M6 (cranking was easy, plus winding knob was not moving). I use the 35mm/1.7 Ultron as my main lens, with the 90mm Elmar for portraits and close-up work. Learn to use the 50mm/F2 until you have the ins and outs of your camera. Again, if you could tell us what is exactly wrong with your first roll, we can decide if it was a developers error or an error on your part. I've had better results at Walgreen's than at a Pro shop. Maybe it was a one time incidence, but the occurrence has me never going there again. I've never had my film ruined in developing (though damaged, yes).

 

[codyderek]

Hi,
The guy at the counter didn't know what went wrong with my roll, though he seemed to be the guy in charge. He showed me the strip of negatives. It was crinkled in parts, and mostly black. I think I saw a partial image in one frame, but the part I lifted up was pitch black. I know that I loaded the film right, and I sure didn't leave the cap on. (though I did that once with my Holga)

Could it have been a bad roll of film? If it were my fault, I might feel a bit better, but I seemed to have done everything right. All my shots were correctly exposed, and I didn't experience any resistance when advancing frames.

If anyone has any ideas, I'd be very grateful. I have written a letter to the manager and will submit it if it turns out to have been their fault. I usually don't do that kinda of thing, but it irks me that their attitude was along the lines of "oh well, now get going"

I'll see how my next roll goes. It is color, and I'll be turning it into this nice lab I have worked with before when developing 120 film from my medium format cameras.

Thanks guys, you've been very helpful.
Cody

 

[Nikon Bob]

Cody

I would not get too concerned with pro film vs consumer film when it comes to C41 colour film. The same for pro lab processing of C41 colour film. I get no better results using the only pro lab in town than I do with my favourite 1 hr mini lab. That is my personal experience locally and YMMV where you are. I hope you have better luck with your second roll. I would go slowly into the wide range and the old rule of thumb is to half or double the FL of the lens that is your base lens. In your case the 50 is your base and a 24/25mm FL lens would be a good start at the wide end. I think a 15mm as your first wide is just too big a jump from a 50. With an SLR I used a 24/35 and 85 or 105 combo for years as a travel kit and found it pretty flexible. With a RF I use a 21/35/90 combo. Again YMMV as lens choices are personal.

Bob

 

[kshapero]

I once got a roll of film back. It was all black. I think I left the lens cap on the whole time.
If I was on an island with only one body and one lens (and I wear glasses) the R3M and a CV 40/1.4 would be just fine with me.

 

[tripod]

Hi Cody,

For your own peace of mind, sacrifice a cheap roll of film by loading it and making 24 exposures on it - with the back open and watching what happens - though my guess is that the lab screwed up.

External viewfinders are not rangefinder coupled. You will have to focus using the camera's rangefinder (or simply scale focus a wide angle lens) and then frame using the external viewfinder.

 

[BillBingham2]

Tripod is right, get a cheap roll of 24 exposure (out dated cost less) and practice loading and unloading, open the back and watch what happens. Did you get the R3 new or used? Did you use flash on any of the shots (could explain half frame). Crinkled film is NOT something that I think you would have caused.

Tip #1 > Make sure that both film sprokets are engaged with film before you close the back. You might have one less frame of film usable but the film is more apt to go through without problems. After you close the back and wind an exposure or two, gently turn the rewind level to take up the slack. As you shot pictures and wind the film you will see the lever turn and this will telll you film is going through the camera correctly.

B2 (;->

 

[dshugar]

One more thing about film - if you shoot a colour roll and bring it into a pro lab, don't be surprised if the results don't look like what you had hoped they would, if you're used to 1-hr labs. The pro lab likely won't do any colour correction to your prints, assuming that since you're a 'pro', your negs represent exactly what you wanted them to. A 1-hr minilab will colour correct until they look how THEY think they should look (and hopefully without any crinkles).

 

[januaryman]

Can't judge anything on the basis of one instance - If you had 2 rolls, and both came back that way from the same lab, still, either the camera or the sloppy lab/technicion was to blame. 2 rolls, each in different labs, the results are the same, we can now almost certainly guarantee the fault lies not with the lab but ourselves (to paraphrase Shakespeare) - But still, is it you or the camera? As others suggest, sacrifice a roll of cheapo film and run it through the camera with the back open to see what transpires.

Good luck.

 

[thefsb]

get a 25mm.

15mm is my favourite cv lens but it's too weird to be a general purpose wide. 35 is not wide enough to be wide angle and too close to the 50 you already have. 21 is interesting but is again something you have to be careful with like the 15 -- the perspective can sometimes be extreme enough to distract from the photo you thought you were taking. that leaves 25 and 28 which are both suitable for you. but 25 is wider!

 

[oscroft]

Another vote from me for a 28 or 25 (I use a 28 much more often, but I also like 25 a lot). I definitely wouldn't buy a 15 as a first wideangle - it's fun, but it's just too wide for frequent use and unless you're very careful everything can come out as gimmicky "look how wide this is" shots.

(Btw, when your bank balance is looking healthy again in the future, an R4M or R4A would be a great companion for your R3, with it's VF frames for 21, 25, 28, 35 and 50mm)