will you buy?

[pb908]

a bessa II with clean color heliar + working shutter for $200?

I didn't. In fact, when i told it to my friend, he directly call the seller and make a deal !!
Did i have lost a treasure?

I don't think so. After a roll of film done, my friend showed me the result (it was a nice set of pictures), but he don't like it as he get ONLY 8 of them. Basically he is a 35mm shooter, so shooting MF is not what he is used to.

So at the end he offered the bessa set to me, in trade for contax II+sonnar 50mm, and cash for $80. I don't have $200 free for it, but for that deal i have free contax II set I can let go, and $80 in my pocket. So the deal is done. Still a great deal right? What do you think?

 

[oftheherd]

I don't have a clue what those cameras and lenses should cost anywhere, much less where you are. However, if both you and your friend are happy, it is a good deal. And you have a camera you will be happy with.

 

[pb908]

thanks oftheherd,
here it is, just arrived yesterday.

I just notice that on heliar, the coating give me kind of "brown/yellow" cast while on skopar mostly blue.
I'll try to share pictures when the result is processed.

any idea what to expect from Heliar ? anyone know/give me clue of it's character (compare to a skopar)?

 

[batterytypehah!]

I hope you're good friends! You got a much better deal. Take a look at ebay. All recent completed auctions for Bessa II with Heliar are well above $1000. Congratulations and be sure to post your pictures.

 

[graywolf]

The Color Heliar is near the Planar/Xenotar range of quality from all I read, while the Skopar is a Tessar type. That said, probalby all you will notice is a bit of different in contrast with it, unless you are into scanning your negatives and pixel peeping the scans. You are not likely to notice much difference in an 11x14 print. Most of the extra corrections in the higher end lenses show in the extreme corners and with extreme close up focusing.

If there is a real readily noticeable difference, there is something wrong with the bad lens; dirt, fungus, cross threaded, set off infinity, out of adjustment RF, etc. Especially with older lenses there is often a lot of difference from lens to lens. Sometimes a excellent cheap lens is better than an average expensive lens.

 

[pb908]

Few from my Heliar

Few from my Heliar

here are some of my result, i don't know if you can see heliar signature, specially from the one wide open. but what I can say, wide open this heliar exceed my expectation, focus area is sharp (even sharper than my color-skopar), while the bokeh is so smooth. all taken with 10years old expired Tmax100 (I have a hard time to put this old film into development reel, so I bent few area of the film specially the side area, forgive me for unperfect development you can see from the picture), scanned 1200dpi with HP G4050 scanner + vuescan, no crop, small contrast adjust from photoshop.

1. my friend, wide open, close distance (around 1-1.2 meter). the left area probably from a bent film. is that heliar signature ?



2. street scene, around f11


3. another street scene, around f8


I'll try some color film to see how it perform.
will share some more later.