Re: [Leica] Leica Users digest V17 #79

[RBucha7924@aol.com]

Re: Bessa R
      Leica & the darkroom (help)
      Leica MF6

Took a good hard look at the Bessa L this past week
(no Bessa R in stock).  Was impressed, especially
with the 15mm lens.  Now if they would only make:

*Bessa R with the Leica bayonet mount (why buy
  the Bessa if it can't accept the 90mm APO ASPH
  Summicron?).

*Fisheye.  Not a large market for that lens, but about
  15% of my wedding work (I turn down as much of
  it as I can) is with the fisheye lens.  The fisheye sells
  my work, the portrait lens is for the money.

*Bottom plate same as the M6.  Why buy the Bessa R
  if it will not accept the Abrahams winder?

Of course with all these changes, the Bessa might be
the same price as a good used M6.


Need everyones feedback....

My labs are very good for printing and processing.
Very little to complain about.  The prices are at least
semi-decent, but the turn-around time is horrible.  
Just switched labs again.  One lab was 7 weeks,  the
next was 3-4 weeks.  The current lab is 4-5 weeks.

The option I'm considering is;  no more medium format.
All work to be printed below 16x20" will be Leica 35mm.
Anything larger and I'll just drag out the Toyo 4x5.

Since the labs don't offer crop cards for 35mm, I will need 
do my own printing and processing.  This will save me the 
long delivery times and expense.  The question is:

What do I do now?  I used to do my own B&W printing and
some color transparencies, but  I haven't been in the darkroom 
for 27 years! (Double exclaimation!!)

*What equipment do I need?  Any enlarger that will accept a 
  Leica lens?  Point source?  To be sure,  much has changed 
  in  27 years, what are your equipment recommendations?
  Which lens for the enlarger?

*What chemicals?  Just switched to the New Kodak 
  Portra films.  Also using XP2, APX 25, Neopan 
  1600, NPL.  How do I print and process this stuff?

*What processes?  How do I do darkroom work?
  Any books or videos by any LUG members?
  If you're very good in the darkroom, why not make
  an instructional (not even consumer grade) video
  for sale?

I'll be doing a few very large transviews for my own promo 
work (43" wide film), color and B&W prints, and my own
color and B&W processing.


Finally...

Please Leica,  no MF cameras.  An MF6x7 with a nice set of lenses
(35mm F.E., 40mm, 60mm, 90mm, 150mm) would be irresistable 
and my wife will kill me if I walk in the door with another case full 
of equipment.  then again, if it  looked like a large version of the M6,
had leaf shutters, tilt-shift lens,  inter-changable backs (I work fast 
and don't have time to load every 20 shots), all mechanical (Batteries?
We don't need no stinkin' batteries!), and accept a winder it might be 
worth dying for....

Since I'm wishing, better throw in ASPH, APO , Noctilux, and a f6.3
diffusion disk in the 150mm    ;-)
                                
                                    -Rick