Voigtlander choice

[Petear]

I'm considering a Voigtlander/bessa. Not to sure of the distinctions here.

On Stephen's site there are many different options and I'm having some difficulty sorting things out.

Is the latest model the one to consider?

Are there any other proven workhorses there?

I'm interested in an onboard meter..

Good glass in the fast, 28mm area.

How does the Voigt glass stack up when compared to the leica/zeiss lenses?

Also build quality of these cameras..anything that is typically breaking on these bodies?

Shutter vibration a moderate speeds.

Also..why do these cameras use curtain shutter? Wouldn't it be great is they had leaf shutters in the lens?

Anything else, appreciated..

Pete

 

[back alley]

welcome to the forum!
so many questions...

the latest model is the r4 and it is great for wide angle lens use as it has built in frame lines for 21 and 25 & 28 along with 35/50 so there is no need for external finders.
it's a great camera.

all the current bessa bodies have a meter built in.

cv has the 28/1.9 lens, a bit large for rf lenses but extremely sharp. they also have a 28/3.5 which is slow but tiny. and very sharp as well.

there will always be comparisons of one lens to another. you really need to try them to determine if you can see a difference and if the extra cost is worth it to you.

build quality is very good. there are reports of jammed shutters but that seems tied to advancing the film whilr the shutter is still in motion...not a good thing and has never happened to me.

shutter vibration doesn't seem to a factor in slow speed shooting, not that i have heard.

leaf shutters would up the price dramatically.

je

 

[ferider]

Welcome.

Some additions to Joe's comments:

- one cool thing about the Bessa shutters is that two metal curtains run
against each other. This eliminates first order vibrations.
- leaf shutters would not only make the lenses and cameras more expensive,
but also incompatible to Leica and Zeiss Ikon bodies. M/LTM mount compatibility
is one of the major strengths of using Bessas. You literally can try hundreds of
lenses from different manufacturers on it.
- you can not go wrong with CV lenses. In particular for starters. They are very high quality.

I recommend to choose one favorite focal length (28, 35, 40 or 50),
and pick the body accordingly (R4*, R2*, R3*, R3*).

Then once you get used to the combo add a second body, more lenses.

It's a slippery slope for you bank account though. And hanging out
here won't help 🙂

Roland.

 

[peter_n]

Welcome to the forum Pete! 🙂 I use an R4 and build quality is very good. The CV 28/1.9 is an excellent lens and on the R4 the 28mm frame is by itself in the VF - a really nice feature.

 

[oscroft]

Hi Pete, and Welcome,

As has been hinted at, the different current Voigtlander Bessa models are designed for use with different lenses, and have different viewfinder magnifications and framelines to suit. So it's not a case of getting the latest one - you need to get whatever suits the lens focal lengths that you want to use.

R2A/M - frames for 35, 50, 75, 90mm and 0.7x magnification (the most "standard" combination)
R3A/M - frames for 40, 50, 75, 90mm and 1.0x magnification (lifesize - good for longer lenses and for using 50mm with both eyes open)
R4A/M - frames for 21, 25, 28, 35, 50mm and 0.52x magnification (for wideangle lenses)

I have an R4A myself, and use it mainly with 21mm and 28mm lenses - and I love it. I might get myself an R3A some day.

Other models you might see are older ones that aren't made any more, or special-edition collectors' models, etc.

The M versions of the cameras have fully mechanical shutters and only use batteries for the metering (which is manual) - they'll work without batteries (though the meter won't work).

The A versions have electronic shutters and aperture-priority auto metering (in addition to manual metering) - they won't work at all without batteries.

There is some useful info about the R2A/R3A here, and the R4A/M here.

As for the Voigtlander lenses, they're amazingly good for the price, and they're close to the best at any price. Leica and Zeiss lenses will beat them in critical tests (and some people prefer the different looks of results from different lenses) but you'd mostly be pushed to tell the difference. The only Leica lens I have is a 50/2.8 Elmar-M, and though I haven't done any serious comparison it's hard to choose which is better between it and my Voigtlander 50/2.5.

Any more specific questions, you've found the right place to ask them 😀

 

[Petear]

With the 28/1.9, how much does the lens interfere with the view through the viewfinder? I imagine this is a fairly honking 28mm lens

Also, I noticed that this lens is discontinued and in stock...do I need to jump? Stephen? Also, thanks for the sticky with the info on all the cameras and lenses, very helpful.

Thanks guys, nice to see this active forum.

 

[Avotius]

Dont fear Voigtlander glass, its good quality. Is it as good as Zeiss/Leica? No, but Zeiss nor Leica makes a sub 500 dollar high speed 28. My choice for a 28 would be the zeiss 28 myself, good trade off of speed and size because the voigt. 28 1.9 is large. The 28 3.5 is a nice one, but a wee slow. You should look at one of the R4 bodies. Leaf shutters in the lenses would have killed voigtlander on the spot for not supporting a universal mount.

For the most part when comparing voigltander zeiss and leica lenses you dont look as what is sharper or what not, you look at the characteristics and qualities of that lens. For instance zeiss lenses tend to be warmer in color and smoother rendering, leica lenses tend to be colder but sharper, and voigtlander in my opinion is of the colder bunch but a good line right down the middle.

I saw give it a shot, if you buy used you can always turn around and sell again for little risk.

 

[PhotoBob]

I have had a Leica M6, But have Found that I love my R3A More. Its such
a sweet camera. I finally find the camera and lenses I like and i'me broke.
Go figure. Bob

 

[ray*j*gun]

I bought an R2s Anniversary (Nikon S mount) which comes with a stunning Heliar S 50mm lens because I wanted to take some pressure off my Nikon S3. And low and behold I love the thing. Its light, solid and I now have the 21 and 85 VC lenses which I use on both the Nikon and the Bessa. Oh and by the way, the battery only drives the light meter the camera is all mechnical!!

I love my Leica but honestly you can't go wrong with Bessa/VC combo's.....great value.

Welcome to the forum.....

Ray

 

[tedwhite]

I've been using a Bessa R for quite some time and it works just fine, accepts all sorts of LTM lenses and the camera itself doesn't cost a bunch.

 

[RLG]

I have a Bessa R2M (250 Jahre set) and I'm very pleased with it. If you consider to use a 28 mm lens or shorter lens and have less interest in longer focales (more than 50 mm) I think the R4A or R4M would be the best choice. You dont need an external viewfinder with the R4A or M.
I just bought a 21 mm but have to use an external viefinder.
Also have a 35 mm and 75 mm lens. The 35 mm Ultron is the one I use most.
Best

 

[Roger Hicks]

I've had most since they came out, some to keep, some on test.

The earliest models (L and R, both screw only) did not feel anything like as solid as later models.

Metering varies considerably, and I much prefer the ones with 3-LED 'traffic lights' to the ones with numbers in the finder: better resolution, easier to see.

Whether you choose mechanical (L, R, T, R2, R*M) or electronic (R*A for 'auto' option) is very personal. I much prefer the mechanical versions.

The rangefinder base is very short, and obviously the effective base length (EBL) varies according to the magnification. The T (no built-in finder) has the longest EBL because the rangefinder is magnified; the 1:1 versions come next; and the WA versions are shortest. Fast lenses on anything less than the 1:1 versions are marginal, especially at close distances: even the 50/1.5 is pushing your luck, and a 75/2 or 90/2 is not on (which is why Voigtländer make 75/2.5 and 90/3.5).

But they are all excellent cameras, with lots of 'bang for the buck', and you won't go far wrong with any of them.

I'd avoid the Nikon/Contax/Kiev compatible versions, though, unless you are willing to put up with a VERY limited selection of lenses. Stick with Leica-compatible, preferably M rather than 39mm x 26tpi screw.

Cheers,

R.

 

[Dan States]

I owned the Summicron 28 for several years and at the time I loved it. I sold it to finance other stuff and when I needed a fast 28 again I tried the Ultron.

It's certainly heresy, but after a year with the Ultron I find that I like it better. While the Summicron has slightly better resolution at f2, the Ultron is extremely close, and at all other apertures the advantage goes to the Ultron due to it's better flare control and much lower level of vignetting.

I don't like hoods, but with the Summicron you need it or you will risk very unpredictable flare. Also, the level of light falloff in the Leica lens is a problem for slide films like Velvia. I have many F2 shots that just look strange because of the effect.

The Ultron has never flared on me even without the hood. Although it is slightly longer, when you factor in the jumbo hood on the Leica the Ultron is actually a more compact package in action.

Best wishes
Dan

 

[silverliner]

I just bought an R3M with 50/1.5 Nokton this combo works great for me. Three days later I went back to that same Photo shop and couldn't help buying another set of R4A with 21/4 Skopar. I hate putting on an extra VF on my R3M and changing lenses is too slow for me. Carrying two combos is no problem since they are very light. I chose an R4A instead of R4M because I sometime shoot from the hip or from the floor up using zone focusing so having an AE is a great advantage while the Nokton need to be focused precisely and an M version is a real joy to use that way. They are really lovely sets of RF cameras . The last RF I used was 30 years ago!!!!!