Wide angles: CV or Nikon MF

[gbb]

Hi, All

I got a Bessa+cv35 a month and a half ago, and have been using it non stop, putting about 30 rolls of tx through it so far (first born baby in the house!). My previous 35mm gear was manual nikon, and I've continued using it when needed. So now I'm looking at my next cv purchase, a wide, and was wondering how cv wides (28, 25, 21) compare to their nikon equivalents in performance, useability, and look/vibe, considering the nikons tend to be cheaper and faster, but heavier.
I'm guessing I'm not the first to reach this decision, so I'm hoping those who've come before me can help out. I should mention I do a fair bit of shooting in low light, and so far own only a jupiter 8 in the low light category. I'm also fishing for general thoughts on the age old rf/slr debate with regards to wide angles, especially coming from users of both. Thanks a bunch,

GBB

 

[Graham Line]

Hmmmm. Sounds like a set-up for heresy on RFF.
I use both a Minolta CLE kit and manual focus Nikons, and prefer the SLR with anything wider than a 28 --- mostly because of the closer focusing and not needing to use a separate finder. For me, converging verticals or unwanted perspective exaggeration are easier to detect with an SLR. In a fast-moving situation involving squirming children, this might be less critical.
My own pictures and others tell me that in general, the Voigtlander lenses produce comparable sharpness and contrast. Nikon does make a 20/2.8 and a 24/2 that give you more speed than is available in V'landr's lens line.
Although the Nikkors are larger and heavier, they're still fairly light and compact; I don't think this is an important consideration unless you plan to haul a lot of lenses around all day. The 20/2.8 AIS is only 9.2 oz.
Others will disagree, but I don't expect my Voigtl'dr 28/3.5 to last as long as Nikon's AI & AIS lenses. The Nikkors are getting very inexpensive through sellers like www.keh.com. FM and FE bodies are almost giveaways now; less than $100 is user condition.

 

[Nearsighted]

I'm with you on the use of external finders. That's the reason I sold my L and 21/4 combo. I couldn't look through the finder and check the meter at the same time. Also, I was a little nervous about the build of the finder. It looked pretty fragile to me. I have both of the Nikon lenses you mentioned along with the 28/2.8 AIS. All 3 focus much closer than the CV lenses and aren't that much larger or heavier.

 

[BillBingham2]

GBB,

Here is my 2cents. CV has a great 28/1.9 lens which is said to be the fastest 28 for any RF. While it is larger than most CV lenses (except the 35/1.2), it still is not as big as fast SLR lenses. Shooting low light, it’s hard to top those two lenses. That combined with no mirror to vibrate is a wonderful thing.

I love my L with the 25/4 and finder. I adjust my exposure as the camera comes to my eye, the lens is way to wide for me to do once it’s at my eye (too much sky or built in lights). I love the 25 for the size and price, but the speed is a bit slow for most indoor work (at least for me).

I started life with Nikkor, between my father and he co-worker had every wide to kick the tires on, ended up with a 24/2.8. Still love the lens, perhaps that’s why I love the 25 so much. I find the CV has less distortion than I remember my 24 to have. Not sure if that is true, but I remember lots of heads looking strange in HighSchool.

In the CV space, I have a 15, 25, 35, and 40 and find all of the great lenses. I am so happy with the 40, I am about to let my son use the 35. All of my stuff in the telephoto range is Nikkor oddly enough (85, 105 and 135). As they’re all too fast for the R series of rangefinder, I use T’s. While the combined finder/rangefinder is nice, I’ve gotten quite used to brightline finders and like them just as much, some times better.

CV just discontinued the 25, so if you are interested in one, jump now. I tell everyone to buy a Bessa L with it, best rear lens cap you can find that holds film and has a built in meter!!!

B2