Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2000/01/09
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]Wow. Based on the pictures, it's cute. The rewind crank is reminiscent of the older Canon LTMs. But (and this is the big but) what makes it worth $680? (remembering someone's comment about low-spec SLRs with rangefinders "glued on") This is really a product looking for a market. I won't say it's a bad camera until I see one (because I've prematurely disliked things before), but I have a few questions based on the pictures. It seems that any objection leveled at the Hexar RF could be applied to the Bessa, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. Rangefinder?! I think putting an RF on a Bessa body is great, but except for the projected framelines, it looks pretty Canonet-ish. This is probably a function of having the shutter dial so tall (otherwise you'd probably raise the top cover enough to make the camera too big). Same goes for the base length, which can't be extended much, since again, the window would end up in an inconvenient place. They probably could have (and should have) used a 1:1 finder, since 30mm BL and 21mm EBL is not a lot of focusing accuracy, even for f2 lenses. Consider what you can get with equal and greater EBL, in fixed-50mm rangefinders. Some with 1:1 finders, field-and-parallax correction, and 50mm BL and EBL rangefinders cost under $200. And the optical performance of some of these leaf-shutter models lack nothing, even against top-flight LTM lenses (I can't say that they're better than the Nokton, but I use the 50/1.8 Canon black as a benchmark - and the Canon lens lacks nothing that you can detect without a Focamat, APO-Rodagon, and a 25x enlargement - except good bokeh). I would be kind of worried about using something like an 85/2 or 85/1.5. Is that why it's shown with a 35/2.5? That probably also explains why the 75 is a 2.5. People who have gripes with the Hexar RF's 69.7mm BL and 41.5mm EBL would probably have anuerysms about this one. Of course, the faster M glass isn't available in LTM anyway, so maybe this is a moot point. Maybe it's worth paying a lot of money to get a better rangefinder mechanism (about $700-1400, depending on which M-type body). With a 35mm lens that's not much of an issue, but I can't see how you could hook a 90mm on this baby with any expectation of accuracy. Materials. (I'll preface this by saying that I love the black paint) I know the photo may be a prototype, but why did they cover the back with that crappy plastic material? It looks like they took the back off a point and shoot. And the non-matching aluminum-colored winding lever sticks out. Finally, why didn't they sink the obviously-stamped hot shoe into the top cover? The lettering is nice, but was it really too expensive to stamp (or mold) the name on? And writing "Voigtlander since 1756" is quaint, but in light of the fact that this has very little in common with older Voightlanders, which, if you'll recall, was the Cadillac to the Zeiss Ikon Chevrolet, it's almost insulting. Upshot? Who knows. Too much of this new RF stuff is vaporware anyway. I'd like to hear this one, look through the finder, kick the tires; the Bessa-L is not very quiet. The body may breathe some new life into some orphaned LTM lenses, but I don't think I'd cancel a Hexar RF order for one. The extra $800 spent on the Konica body equals greater focusing accuracy, motor drive, a top shutter speed four times as fast, autoexposure, indestructible epoxy-coated titanium body, M lenses, M lenses, M lenses... And why should Yasuhara feel threatened? This is no no way comparable, spec for spec. Speaking of Yasuhara - who's selling them? << According to my sources in Japan, Cosina will announce its Bessa-R rangefinder body later next week. Its specs are as follows: Mechanically controlled vertically-travelling leaf focal plane shutter, speeds B, 1 - 1/2000 Leica screw mount Rangefinder magnification 0.7x, rangefinder base about 30mm. Effective base 21mm (arrrgh!) Parallax-corrected selectable frame lines for 35/90mm, 50mm and 75mm lenses. TTL exposure meter, LED displays in the viewfinder. http://www.cameraguild.co.jp/retinahouse/nikki/000108nikki002.JPG http://www.cameraguild.co.jp/retinahouse/nikki/000108nikki003.JPG The retail price is projected to be 69,800 JPY or approximately 680 USD. This will nail Yasuhara's coffin, I'm afraid. Ken Iisaka kiisaka@pacbell.net Lost in Mill Valley in Marin County, California </XMP>