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Think twice before buying C-V lenses from B&H Photo!


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Chuck,

 

The "604 Area Code" is a dead giveway to the Canadian importer of Voigtländer - Camtex in Vancouver, BC. It is quite possible that B&H is getting their Voigtländer equipment there.

 

Here is a link to their website: Camtex Camera Repair*- Authorized Warranty Service Centre for Hasselblad, Mamiya, Voigtlander and Lumedine.

 

Camtex has been in business for over 30 years, went through an ownership change about 10 years ago and employs excellent European trained technicians. They should not have any trouble diagnosing your finder issue. Unfortunately, their receptionist is ......... well, I won't go further. Don't try to explain anything to her - just call and ask for the owner or for Alex.

 

With all due respect though, I second Dante's query - whenever I receive any shipment from anywhere, whether I plan to use it or not, I look through it, I touch it, I smell it...... I put it away when my curiousity has been satisfied.

 

Best,

 

Jan

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A few months ago I bought some Voigtlander lenses from B&H Photo, including a Heliar 15mm. All were delivered quickly and the lenses are great values. On the M8 I do not use the 15mm finder, so I did not immediately discover that it is horribly out of focus. Recently I decided to buy a 12mm lens, so I pulled out the 15mm finder and discovered the problem.

It's a known issue with the 15 finder. It's not a "forgiving" finder with respect to the view angle, and then there's QC. Mine was purchased elsewhere, yet also was "beyond soft" and swaped for a 21 + some extra... 21mm is as wide I'll go with the Ms.

 

Sorry yours was also off, but know that "some shared loves" exist ;)

 

rgds,

Dave

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...

 

I didn't know Photo Village was a distributor, I wish they had a better, clearer website. I went to their site first actually, as it's my preference to give them the business. They sold me a lovely 35mm Summilux in February. But the website was unclear, and made it sound like they were still selling older 35mm Noktons, the ones that didn't fit on the M8, and I was worried I'd have to send it to CamereaQuest to get it milled down. I just assumed B&H had newer stock, it said it would fit on an M8.

 

Photo Village, I assume you read this forum occasionally - please, get your website tightened up, no offense but it looks like it was coded in 1997.

 

Maybe the website is another reason people here prefer CQ. Uhhh, on second thought....

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...The "604 Area Code" is a dead giveway to the Canadian importer of Voigtländer - Camtex in Vancouver, BC. It is quite possible that B&H is getting their Voigtländer equipment there...

 

That would explain it.

 

 

It's a known issue with the 15 finder. It's not a "forgiving" finder with respect to the view angle, and then there's QC. Mine was purchased elsewhere, yet also was "beyond soft"...

 

It's a known issue to you and me, and to at least a dozen other people who have said they got "bad" examples, but it seems to be unknown to B&H.

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Guest sirvine

I'm not sure people always understand what B&H is really like. I think you have to visit the store physically to see that you are basically buying from the Wal-Mart of camera shops. In other words, the prices are low, the stock is huge, but the service is touch and go, depending on who you get on the line. Better to go with the boutiques for anything that you really, really care about a lot.

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Well I have read that he loans you a lot of gear for testing so I understand!

 

I guess my concern is that CV seems to have no warranty support in the US. Having to buy from a particular dealer in order to get service seems unreasonable. Also, I could be wrong, but it appears Cameraquest services CV themselves. Would they be the service center for CV, or just doing it for the sake of their own customers? Either way, it doesn't seem like a solid setup.

 

But hey, for 1/5 or less the cost of Leica lenses, have much can I complain??!

 

CameraQuest and Popflash loan gear for testing but I was recommending them long before RR. They both have very good reputations. I believe that CameraQuest is the USA importer for CV but I'd have to check to be sure.

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

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Hopefully I can be forgiven just this once, since for the M8 the 15mm finder is not used with the 15mm lens it came with. Only when I decided I need a 12mm lens did the 15mm finder become important.

 

I still have CV finders that I've never tried, such as the 12 mm. I often take a CV lens from the box and leave the finder as is. So you're certainly not alone. It's different if one is specifically buying a finder but sometimes the finder is just a "bonus in the box".

 

Cheers,

 

Sean

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