which lens with R?

[ranger]

I have the Bessa R that comes with the 35 skopar lens. If i wanted to spend some money on a really good quality 'leica' lens (same focal length) what would I look for? I don't really know much about those lenses, only that years ago 'carl zeis' lenses were the best. Are they still made? or am I mistaken. I'd rather have my Bessa with a fine quality lense than an expensive M body and lesser lens.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

The 35mm Skopar is a very good lens.

Why 'upgrade'?

 

[jonasv]

Let your mind lead your wallet, not the other way 'round. Do you need to upgrade? And why? Do you find it the Skopar lacking in quality? Do you need a faster lens? Do you need better 'bokeh'? Do you need more or less contrast? Have you considered that most other 35mm's will be quite a bit bigger? etc..

 

[kevino]

The 35mm color skopar classic is a sweet little lens. Mine has been living on my Bessa R since I got it.

The Ultron is quite nice as well albeit somewhat bigger, no tab, and doesn't focus as close.

Do some shooting with the color skopar - it's impressive!

 

[a.black]

Like kevino said, fist shoot some with what you have, and then see if the lens fits your style, or if a faster lens or other focal lenght would be better.

For better lenses, on screwmount I guess Voigtlaender is the best you can get. Most modern designs and the lens you get is brand new. They are the only company that produces screwmount lenses. For M lenses, there is no adapter to use them with the scremount Bessa (or ay screwmount camera). Only the other way around (screwmount lens to m body).

 

[ranger]

you're right, it is a nice lens...I'm used to Nikkor lenses which, i think, are pretty good. Just developed this film today (first time i've done that in 20 yrs) scanned it with coolscan. I find my meter is overexposing by about one stop, so i just compensate when shooting..

ps. don't mind the water spots! I forgot to buy clearing agent. 😀

 

[back alley]

that looks pretty sharp to me.

 

[kevino]

There you go! The classic showing it's stuff!

My Bessa R's meter also tends to over expose by about one stop.

What film have you been shooting?

 

[ranger]

that shot is on tmax 100 professional. it's only the second role i've had through the Bessa...the first roll was processed at a store and they put a scratch through most of it. I'm just trying different films to see what looks best...I have a roll of Ilford Delta 400 in the Nikon right now just to kinda compare. If anyone has recommendations of film/developer i would appreciate it. I processed this with the camera stores version of D76 and guessed at the times. Have a kodak guide but don't even know if you can get pan x or tri x or whatever it was I shot! thanks.

 

[wlewisiii]

Just a hint, but a roll at a time really won't tell you much about a film. There are too many shot to shot variables for a single 36 shot roll to really get any kind of feel for the film. Honestly, I'd suggest a minimum of a 100' roll - about 18 36 exposure rolls or more shorter ones - to get any kind of feel for a given film.

Tmax and Delta are both very modern emulsions. To give the Skopar a fair trial, I'd also suggest trying some traditional emulsions - Plus-X or FP-4 Plus would be good since you're comforatable with ISO100 film.

And yes, I really do mean that you should try that many rolls of each of them before deciding which you really like... 😱

Once you have a film you're comfortable with, then we'll start in on bringing you to the Diafine dark side... 😀

William

 

[Nick R.]

The VC 35 is a fine lens but I can understand if you want to try a lens with a different look. The VC, like most modern lenses, is high res, high contrast. You certainly could want to see what kind of images older style, high res, low contrasts lenses produce.

 

[kmack]

A lot of folks here, including myself, complement the CV35 with a Jupiter 8, 50. They are relativity cheap and your chances of finding a good one are usually good.

Once you have a film you're comfortable with, then we'll start in on bringing you to the Diafine dark side... 😀

William

Or the Darkest of Dark sides: HC-110 Dilution G (1:119) semi stand.

 

[surlysimon]

I have an Ultron 35 and a canon 50/1.8 and love both of them. For me the only alternative to the CV lenes is the canon ones, I would love a leica lens but they tend to be too expensive or too slow.
Keep using the Skopar till you realy know it then branch out would be my advice, and have a look at the canon range.

 

[Jonathan_100]

William,

I've seen Diafine mentioned a lot on this site. What's all the excitement about? I grew up on TriX and D76, but I'm ready to start processing my own black and white film again. I'm still shooting TriX, but find myself leaning more towards Delta and TMax 3200 (metered at 1600 of course).

Jonathan