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I'm new here need advice


m6305

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Hi all,

 

I am new to this forum. I need some help from experts here. I am going to switch from DSLR to rangefineders. I am familiar with film photography as I had a Nikon F80 before I get my Nikon D70. What I like about RF is the small size of body and lenses.

 

I am thinking of getting a film RF body. Leica is too expensive for me so I might get a Bessa R2A or R3A. First I need ONE quality lens. Here I need your help. Which lens do you recomend for a newbie RF shooter? For me quality of photos is extremely important, also a lens that I may be able to use on M8 if I got one in future.

 

I have seen too many leica lenses, Voigtlanders etc I am lost I dont know which lens gives me better results. I love the leica glow effect, sharpness and contrast. Also is it difficult to get used to manual focus of RF? will I be missing many pictures?

 

thanks in advance :)

 

bahman

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Welcome to the forum Simone.

 

:)

 

You are about to get a hundred different answers I am sure, as everyone has their own favourite lenses...

 

Do you shoot wides, or do you prefer a standard or short telephoto?

 

What is your budget for the lens alone?

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Well, here are a few thoughts, but they are just my opinion and others here may well disagree. If you are looking for just one M-series lens, which will serve you well and form the foundation of your eventual rangefinder system, then -

 

* Buy the best lens you can possibly afford

 

* You will get more for your money secondhand

 

* So buy secondhand Leica or Zeiss

 

* I find the "standard" lens is my comfort and first resource, as it fits the way I see the world

 

* So a fast 50mm would be very good

 

* But if you are thinking of the M8 in your future, then perhaps a fast 35mm would be more sensible

 

John

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simone.... hi...

 

before i had leica and had enough money to buy all that stuff i dreamed, i bought voigtlander. that was some years ago when i was very young student.... so i know both :-))

 

be totally confident about voigtlander stuff. simply be confident. those are great stuff that will alow u to enjoy the photography of RF.

 

choose the body u want more and that is it.

 

about lenses.... i also know the lenses... they are simply great. not leica of course.. but i would say that the price differance does not reflect quality differance.

 

personally.... i would suggest to go for the 50mm lens. the nokton 50mm is great lens, it doesnt have the great character of old summilux (and for that matter surely not of noctilux)... and it does not have the super quality of the great summilux 50asph (and for that matter sumicron 50 too). but be sure - this is a great lens that is capable to do thing almost as good as the sumilux 50 asph. almost... it is surely good enough to make with it high quality photos if u know how to work properly....

another lens that i think is "must" for RF is the 25mm snapshot skoppar. this is a lens of freedom. i still use it from time to time and the enjoynment of it is great. quality is super... it is a lttle slow but for most of the cases (unless u do photos in low light) it is great. this lens will open to u new horizons in your approach to photo-making... im serious. that was what happened to me, and again, i still use it from time to time and not only because of sentiments.. it is simply tiny, funny and cool lens with great image quality.

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Welcome to the forum Simone.

Do you shoot wides, or do you prefer a standard or short telephoto?

 

What is your budget for the lens alone?

 

Thanks Andy :)

 

I perefer a standard lens, 35 or 50? I can pay up to $2000 for a lens. I am happy to pay for quality Leica lens probably a good used one.

 

* Buy the best lens you can possibly afford

 

* You will get more for your money secondhand

 

* So buy secondhand Leica or Zeiss

 

* I find the "standard" lens is my comfort and first resource, as it fits the way I see the world

 

* So a fast 50mm would be very good

 

* But if you are thinking of the M8 in your future, then perhaps a fast 35mm would be more sensible

 

John

 

Great advices thanks :) good you reminded me on the crop factor of M8.

 

be totally confident about voigtlander stuff. simply be confident. those are great stuff that will alow u to enjoy the photography of RF.

 

choose the body u want more and that is it.

 

about lenses.... i also know the lenses... they are simply great. not leica of course.. but i would say that the price differance does not reflect quality differance.

 

personally.... i would suggest to go for the 50mm lens. the nokton 50mm is great lens, it doesnt have the great character of old summilux (and for that matter surely not of noctilux)... and it does not have the super quality of the great summilux 50asph (and for that matter sumicron 50 too). but be sure - this is a great lens that is capable to do thing almost as good as the sumilux 50 asph. almost... it is surely good enough to make with it high quality photos if u know how to work properly....

another lens that i think is "must" for RF is the 25mm snapshot skoppar. this is a lens of freedom. i still use it from time to time and the enjoynment of it is great. quality is super... it is a lttle slow but for most of the cases (unless u do photos in low light) it is great. this lens will open to u new horizons in your approach to photo-making... im serious. that was what happened to me, and again, i still use it from time to time and not only because of sentiments.. it is simply tiny, funny and cool lens with great image quality.

 

I know what you are saying, I have seen how good voigtlander is that is why I am going for Bessa, because firstly I can not afford Leica and secondly durability is not my prioroty, my priority is an easy to use body combined with ONE super lens, I am willing to spend more on the lens than the body.

 

thanks for advice.

simone:)

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Here is a good example of the kind of photography I like, colors, contrast are just right:

 

http://www.leica-camera-user.com/people/7817-india-mumbai-jaipur.html

 

I hope the poster of these pictures (nachkebia) does'nt mind me posting his thread here.

 

I know nachkebia said he used Ziess Ikon. But I like the effect which you can see in many of these picture with darker corners, is this the effcet of a particular lens? or the type of film or is there a certain technique used to get this effect (I mean the darker corners)? Is it possible to get this effect using digital cameras without post processing?

 

I am sorry these might be dumb questions as I am a newbe in RF.

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If you like the way these images look and take this kind of shot, buy the Zeiss.

 

(It's a shame that our friend flooded the post with so many pictures, none of which comply with the rules of the forum...)

 

The darkened corners (vignetting) is a characteristic of a particular lens - some Leica lenses do it too, but not to this degree - and it can be corrected (or added, if you wish) in Photoshop.

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Why don't you get a second hand M6 or M2? Prices have dropped a lot recently since announcement of M8. Couple that with a 35/2 summicron - either 4th gen or current asph - as second hand lenses; if you ever decide to go to M8, the 35 become a 50 with the crop.

 

You should be able to pick up both body and lens for USD 2k. then just buy lots of film and have go. When I first got into RF about 7 years ago, I bought a M6TTL and 50 cron just to have a go after my Mother died. I didn't know whether I would like it, but had heard how good Leicas were. I was a Pentax MX shooter before that (although I still have my MX). It wasn't until I picked it up and used it that I realised how easy it was - and then I looked at my first HP5 negs on a lightbox - wow I was hooked!

 

Good luck

 

 

Charlie

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Simone,

 

For 2000 USD you can buy secondhand M camera (if not M6 than M4 for example) and atleast one lens. Or, as Bessa R2A and R3A are M bayonet cameras (can use Leica lenses for M cameras without problems) and money issue is important to you, you can buy one of Bessas and Leica M lens (or even two M lenses for that money). This way you can buy Leica M body when you have money for it and have no problems swiching cameras and lenses. I saw you plan to buy M8, so I can't imagine how anyone who plan to buy M8 can have money problems... :)

 

Lenses for start, by mine opinion, should be 50mm or 35mm. I think lenses with f2 (or even f2,8) as max aperture are enough, but if you can afford, and have need, can buy fast lenses (f1,4). Those lenses are more expencive and I don't know if they will fit in your budget (including camera).

 

You said you have problems to choose between various Leica and Voigtlaender lenses. I would first look at Leica Summicron. If you can aford it, OK, If you can't, there are Leica Elmar or Voigtlaender Color Skopar lenses. Or as I said before If you can afford fast lens, look at Leica Summilux. If chose Color Skopar there is one catch: only two Voigtlaender lenses are with M bayonet (that is can be used on Leica M or Bessa R2A or R3A bodies directly). Other Voigtlaender lenses are not with bayonet, but with 39mm (Leica standard) thread. That means you must to buy adapter (made by Voigtlaender) for using those lenses. You can use those lenses without adapter on older Leica cameras, that is for example Leica III (cameras made before M series), or any other camera which use 39mm thread.

Check at Leica Camera AG and http://www.voigtlaender.de to see which cameras and lenses are used with or without adapter, and to check which lenses you would like.

 

Leica lenses are best, but for money they cost Voigtlaender are great. Zeiss are between those two.

 

Regards

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I've just bought my first rangefinder – a second hand M6 with a 50mm Summicron lens. This was well within your budget. I already have a another camera with a 28mm lens, if I didn't, I think I would have gone for a 35mm lens for the Leica. I would agree with the poster who said this might be the best choice if you were thinking of an M8 in the future.

 

The rangefinder will not be replacing my SLR, but (thanks to Andy) I was able to try a rangefinder before I bought and found it very easy to focus and frame photographs.

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Also is it difficult to get used to manual focus of RF? will I be missing many pictures?

 

To this question, I recently went from an autofocus rangefinder to a Leica MP specifically because I wanted better control over the focus of my images. Though an SLR with autofocus, unlike autofocus rangefinder, lets you see what the camera focused on.

 

If you look at the type of images you pointed to that you want to shoot, you will notice that many of them have a large depth of field. With a rangefinder, you can use a small aperture with a wide angle and get this large depth of field. Then you can focus using only the depth of field scale on the lens, even anticipating your subject distance ahead of time.

 

With faster action, such as some sports or race cars, etc, a rangefinder might me more of a challenge.

 

In short, once you figure out how to take advantage of what the tool offers, you will maximize your images.

 

Cheers.

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Thanks for advices I've learned alot.

 

So, Simone, have you made the jump? What did you end up getting? My brother has the R3A and has been real pleased with it. What lens did you settle upon? Hope things have sorted out well for you.

Troy

 

Thank you :)

 

I am thinking on buying the Bessa R2A and the Zeiss 50/1.5 Sonnar. I looked at some pictures taken by this lens and I liked what I saw. I know a Leica is superior to it but I thought I can save more and add a leica lens or more lenses leter on when I really know what i want and what are my main interests :rolleyes: . This combination with a filter and a hood + shippment may cost me around 1500 USD. I probably need a good scanner too :D But I know I have to pay more than 500 USD for a good scanner to scan my films.

 

Am I on the right path? probably not you may say, cuse I am not getting Leica :o I know eventually I will be having Leica M8 and Leica lenses cause what attracted me to rangefinders in the first place was Leica and its superb lenses.

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Thanks for advices I've learned alot.

 

 

 

Thank you

 

I am thinking on buying the Bessa R2A and the Zeiss 50/1.5 Sonnar. I looked at some pictures taken by this lens and I liked what I saw. I know a Leica is superior to it but I thought I can save more and add a leica lens or more lenses leter on when I really know what i want and what are my main interests . This combination with a filter and a hood + shippment may cost me around 1500 USD. I probably need a good scanner too. But I know I have to pay more than 500 USD for a good scanner to scan my films.

 

Am I on the right path? probably not you may say, cuse I am not getting Leica. I know eventually I will be having Leica M8 and Leica lenses cause what attracted me to rangefinders in the first place was Leica and its superb lenses.

 

If you are going to compromise on anything, don't do it on the lens. Glass is everything.

 

If you are happy with the Zeiss output, then fine, but you will always think to yourself "I wonder how much better a Summicron would have been..?"

 

If I were you, I would buy the body of my choice and a used Summicron and then enjoy the results, knowing that there isn't anything better. (I have a 1960 M2 and a 1973 50 Summicron - plus a load of R stuff - and the 50 Summicron is probably the sharpest lens in the bag)

 

:)

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Please help me choose !

 

1- Used M6 0.72 TTL (Chrome) body (few specs in viewfinder), 762 (GBP) + New Leica Summicron 50/2 (Black) (729 GBP) = total 1491 GBP

 

2- Used M6 0.72 TTL (Chrome) body (few specs in viewfinder), 762 (GBP) + New Zeiss 50/1.5 Sonnar (550 GBP) = 1312 GBP

 

3- New Bessa R2a (Black) (328 GBP) + New Leica Summicron 50/2 (Black) (729 GBP) = total = 1057 GBP

 

4- New Bessa R2a (Black) (328 GBP) + New Zeiss 50/1.5 Sonnar (550 GBP) = 878 GBP

 

What advantages Leica M6 has over Bessa R2a other than better buit and durablility? what does few specs in viewfinder mean?!

 

Thanks :)

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Advantages of M6 over Bessa R2A except built and durability are as I know with M6 viewfinder brightlines are automatically set when you change lens, with Bessa you must set them yourself, and widest lens brightline at Bessa is 35mm, with M6 is I think 28mm (or 24mm). Please, correct me if I am wrong. Next, longest focal lenght lens M6 can use is 135mm, with Bessa is 90mm (reason is how viewfinder is made, not getting into technical details). There are other differencies between those two cameras, but not more advantages.

 

Few specs in viewfinder means when you look through viewfinder you will see some dirt, particles in viewfinder (or is that some small cuts on viewfinder). That doesn't have to make any problems for camera working, but can be annoying, to distract attention from subject and scene you want to photograph.

 

You can send camera to Leica service those specs to be cleaned or viewfinder to be polished or replaced. Which make camera more expencive, for price of cleaning (and shipping). Or you can learn to live with those specs.

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