Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 1999/03/27
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]hello Luggers, I picked up my black 15mm Heliar and finder and Bessa body with case from Tin Cheung in Hong Kong today (HK$7,000)(US$903) and have been out taking pictures. I have fitted the lens with LTM to M adaptor to my M6s and CLE and the lightmeters appear to work in all cases. The viewfinder is very bright and clear - Leica like - but the lack of a focussing viewfinder on the Bessa body is disconcerting in the beginning, but then you begin to focus using depth of field - and it is immense - in a 15mm lens. Given that the Leica competition is the Zeiss 16mm Hologen F8 which sells for, I think, about US$3,000 in a Leica M mount Cosina should be able to sell a tonne of these lens for Leica users wanting something very w i d e but affordable. The Bessa body isn't much to write about - basically an FM 10 without finder - but nice to have as a newish LTM body - in Hong Kong you can't yet buy the 15mm without buying the body - although the 25mm Skopar is available at HK$4,200 (US$541). That seems a bit expensive to me, given the lens has no focussing cam and is another depth of field focus lens. Am looking forward to getting back the pictures. Howard Cummer.