Uh oh.. I'm in trouble

[joeyjoe]

So I go down to my local camera store, Glazers Camera in seattle, great place. It'd been a little while since I'd been there and I just went in to pick up some 50 ASA Velvia in 120. I borrowed my friends's yashica TLR and was going to shoot some cityscapes.

I hadn't been in there since I'd made my foray into rangefinder photography. The only rangefinder I'd ever handled or used was my Canonet.

There they were. Leica. MP's, M7's, CL's... Voightlander R2's too.

and I made the mistake of handling them. hoooo boy.

The viewfinders on those things are so crisp & clear! My canonet is like looking through the bottom of a coke bottle in comparison! The metered manual exposure is Great! It'd probably take a little bit for me to get used to them but I definately like the in-viewfinder metering. both the R2 and the MP felt SOLID in my hands; pleasantly heafty.

They wanted $2750 for the MP and the R2 was used so they wanted $275. If I wanted the MP, I'd have to forgo the next 2 quarters of school, but I definatly think an R2 is within my reach.

I've ruined myself. I have to have an M mount Rangefinder now. Too bad I could hardly afford the 2 rolls of 120 I came in to get.

 

[MP Guy]

You should check with Richard at KB Camera. He is in Bellingham and has some good deals on MP's I think he had a black one for 1999.00 maybe gone now. But give him a call.

 

[einolu]

remember that you will still need a lens, heh. I personally want a Bessa T because of how quirky it is. Good luck dealing with the camera addiction!

 

[wlewisiii]

Oh, I can sympathize. I had a similar set of revalations of late. First I got my Kiev 5 - the only Kiev with a bright line finder and I have one of the rare ones with both 50mm and 85mm lines (the outer edge of it is 35mm). I thought prior to it that these finder arguments were no big deal, the classic Contax/Kiev VF/RF view was fine... Yikes!

Then yesterday I stopped into a FLCS and handled a DS/PL M3 they have on thier used shelf. Yikes squared! If it hadn't felt too small for my hands (yes, I really am wierd that way) it would probably be in the mail to Essex right now. Instead I posted about it here so hopefully someone here will buy it and give it a good home.

I am probably lucky that it wasn't a M5 (in camera metering and large enough for my hands) or I'd probably be eating air for the rest of the year. Still the finder issue is really real to me as the Kiev 5s is big, bright and so far beyond what I had thought was "just fine" that it's the only camera out the door with me since I got it.

William

 

[joeyjoe]

I'm really thinking that a Bessa R2 is going to be in the works as soon as I can afford one. I simply can't justify spending $2000 on a film camera body.

 

[ijonas]

The Bessa R2 cannot be faulted as a RF, unless you need a long baseline. Absolute cracker, love mine to bits. Very tactile. Great selection of affordable lenses too.

 

[Sonnar Brian]

$275 is a great price on a used R2. It is all-mechanical, metal top and bottom plate, M-Mount, and well-respected. You can always get your money back out of it when you are ready to "upgrade" after graduation.

 

[rover]

Joe, check it out. Used R2s are selling for over $400 now, so that one for $275 is a great deal.

You are right about the viewfinders, it is a revelation when you look through the modern Bessa or Leica viewfinder compared to the old fixed lens RF viewfinders. I used to have a whole lot of 1970s cameras, then I took to lugging one around with me along with my Bessa R. The difference was so great that I sold all of them, except for my Canonet, and bought an R2 with the $$.

Like Brian says, respect your budget, and education, and with luck you will be able to jump to the next level when your wallet has graduated.

 

[captainslack]

Having read this thread, I guess I need to avoid the Leica shelf at the local camera store for awhile. 😀