[arnold]

Can't wait to try it out.

I haven't use my K since it came back from Eric, but the H2, which is similar with the way the lens works, I have. If you press the release slowly, you will first hear the lens shut down, then as you continue to press, the shutter fires. Don't half press the shutter and then release it, because the camera will consider the picture taken, and you will have to rewind to the next frame. It's a lot of fun using these beautiful well made machines.

[Jean Poitiers]

The wonderful Pentax K and zebra Auto-Takumar 55/1.8 combination, sitting (securely) on my bannister

Wow ... that and the instruction guide are quite nice ... lucky you ... great presentation, too ! Salut, J

[Agnostic]

After long thoughts I pulled the trigger on my Christmas' present:

Nice!

I'm thinking about getting a Leica M or Bessa R body this year but right now I'm thinking more about glass...
What Leica M mount lens would you buy if you had a maximum of 1000$/750Euro to spend?

Lens would be used on a Leica M mount body and a NEX for digital so I,m thinking either a 35mm or 50mm, would prefer a 35mm I think.
Considering a used Voigtlander 35/1.2 Right now

[Cuthbert]

Nice!

I'm thinking about getting a Leica M or Bessa R body this year but right now I'm thinking more about glass...
What Leica M mount lens would you buy if you had a maximum of 1000$/750Euro to spend?

Lens would be used on a Leica M mount body and a NEX for digital so I,m thinking either a 35mm or 50mm, would prefer a 35mm I think.
Considering a used Voigtlander 35/1.2 Right now

Well, I got this M5 for 500euros, which is not too bad for a Leica....

I'm not familiar with Bessa (I think they're quite ugly, sorry Bessa users) but there are other good rangefinders around also for cheap, if you're just a 50 mm and a 35 mm shooter an humble Zorki 4k or 6 can be a good choice, otherwise the Canon 7 is excellent...for the lenses the traditional choice is the Summicron dual range that allows you to shoot at SLR distances ( 0.45 mt) and can be found for relatively cheap.

35 mm...Summaron or also a Soviet Jupiter 12, I use them both and I can't see the difference besides that the J12 for some strange reasons ad f2.8 is faster than the Summaron, that's of course a setup with vintage lenses, modern ones are different and give a different result.

This is a shot of a Jupiter 12 taken with my M3, not the best one, I've to add, I improved a lot in the last months:



This is a Summaron open at f2.8, shot a 1/30 s, hand held camera in a dark & cool London store:

---

Last edited by Cuthbert; 12-28-2013 at 06:10 AM.

[unixrevolution]

Nice!

I'm thinking about getting a Leica M or Bessa R body this year but right now I'm thinking more about glass...
What Leica M mount lens would you buy if you had a maximum of 1000$/750Euro to spend?

Lens would be used on a Leica M mount body and a NEX for digital so I,m thinking either a 35mm or 50mm, would prefer a 35mm I think.
Considering a used Voigtlander 35/1.2 Right now

I own a Bessa R2 and a Leica M2, so I have some experience with both. The Leica has the nod for build quality, but I find the Bessa and its built-in meter greatly increase usability. Also, not having that maddening loading system as found on a Leica, the Bessa is much easier to get film in and out of. My bessa is a green R2 with black leather. Build quality is very good, RF accuracy is good, and the viewfinder is very bright and clear. THe framelines are nice, and parallax-corrected. It also has a hot-shoe, 1/125 flash sync speed (rather than 1/50 like almost all Leicas) and 1/2000 top speed. The batteries for the meter are totally standard. I also like the sensical ISO wheel/shutter speed dial combo like on a K1000/MX and the fact that the shutter speed dial is easier to turn than the one on my Leica. The Bessa is easy to operate without ever taking it from your eye. Unlike an M5 or a Leica CL, it also doesn't have the meter mounted on a pole, which means you won't crash a collapsible lens into the metering cell like you can with an M5/Leica CL.

The Leica is better built, as I said, and also quieter. The bessa's shutter is fairly loud for an RF...I'd say a K-5 is quieter, but a K10D is not. The Leica also automatically brings up the 35/50/90 framelines with my lenses on their special M adapters, but the Voigtlander must be switched manually (The Leica doesn't really allow for terribly convenient manual switching though.)

All 3 of my lenses are LTM lenses on M adapters and they all work beautifully (LTM lenses tend to go for cheaper, and I actually like the idea of being able to get a Leica III or canon P later and use all my lenses on it.)

I have a 35mm f/2.5 Color Skopar, which is a quite affordable 35 and it is amazingly sharp. I've heard Voigtlander's Nokton 35/1.4 is also quite sharp, and is under $1000 brand new. It's also a lot more compact than the 1.2.

The 50 I have is a ruined Leica 50/2.8 collapsible with a hazed front element, and a not-at-all-ruined Jupiter 8 50/2 rigid lens. The Jupiter has shitty build quality but makes amazing photographs.

My long lens is a Canon Serenar 85/2 that is simply mind-blowing...super sharp with amazing Bokeh. I love it.

The Leica is worth about $800, has no meter or hotshoe (not that I care about a hotshoe) and must be loaded with at least 4 hands. The Bessa R2 is actually wonderful....it cost me $350, has a built-in accurate meter, a better top shutter speed and flash sync, easier loading, and is just plain fun to use.

I'm not taking anything away from Leicas...My M is a "Till death do us part" camera, but my bessa has been just as good to me.

EDIT: Digital option: I have an NEX-5N with cheap Leica M adapter from Amazon and the combination works beautifully, even with the M>LTM adapters on my lenses.

[TomB_tx]

Nice!

I'm thinking about getting a Leica M or Bessa R body this year but right now I'm thinking more about glass...
What Leica M mount lens would you buy if you had a maximum of 1000$/750Euro to spend?

Lens would be used on a Leica M mount body and a NEX for digital so I,m thinking either a 35mm or 50mm, would prefer a 35mm I think.
Considering a used Voigtlander 35/1.2 Right now

I've used Leicas since 1968 when I got a new M4, which I still use. (And used Pentax since 1965!) All the M's are nice (I have most), but rangefinders are a big change. Besides Bessa, the Zeiss Ikon ZM is a good alternative.
For 50mm M lenses I highly recommend the Zeiss Planar ZM in your price range. Even new it is under $1,000, and is very close to the Leica Summicron ($2,200). The Voigtlander Nokton 50 f1.5 is also a great lens, and the older LTM mount version can be found well under $1k.
For 35s, a used v2 Summicron (1969) can be found in you range, but the Zeiss Biogon (2.0 or 2.8) will out perform it. I really like the Voigtlander 35 f1.4 for its small size, but there seems to be a lot of sample variation. The Voigtlander 35 2.5 has a great reputation, and is a bargain. I recently added a 35 Summarit, and it is great, but used runs $1500.

[gofour3]

This is a Summaron open at f2.8, shot a 1/30 s, hand held camera in a dark & cool London store:

Nice! The second shot wouldn’t happen to be “Johnson's The Modern Outfitter”? It reminds me of a store on King’s Road that I went to in the 1980’s.

Phil.

[Cuthbert]

Nice! The second shot wouldn’t happen to be “Johnson's The Modern Outfitter”? It reminds me of a store on King’s Road that I went to in the 1980’s.

Phil.

Actually the shop is Lewis Leathers, historic leather jackets' maker:

Lewis Leathers - Original and Best since 1892

And a little expensive, indeed. I've two of their jackets. Here you can see my blue Super Sportsman in another Jupiter 12 shot outside Red Dot Cameras:

[gofour3]

Actually the shop is Lewis Leathers, historic leather jackets' maker:

Lewis Leathers - Original and Best since 1892

And a little expensive, indeed. I've two of their jackets. Here you can see my blue Super Sportsman in another Jupiter 12 shot outside Red Dot Cameras:

Nice selection of jackets, I’ll have to check it out when I’m in London next year.

I’ve been buying my jackets from Schott N.Y.C the last few decades.

Schott leather jackets and motorcycle apparel

Phil.

[Cuthbert]

Nice selection of jackets, I’ll have to check it out when I’m in London next year.

I’ve been buying my jackets from Schott N.Y.C the last few decades.

Schott leather jackets and motorcycle apparel

Phil.

I've a Schott 613 and a PER2, but even if they are indeed good jackets they are in the same league of Lewis Leathers, or Aero Leather Clothing from Scotland.

Alas, to get one of these jackest you have to wait for months, I placed my order for a horsehide Super Phantom on September and it's not ready yet.

[Nesster]

Schott 61

I’ve been buying my jackets from Schott N.Y.C the last few decades

Sigh, I had a Schott bomber style jacket I bought in a Philly army/navy store, with money I'd planned for a more illicit buy that fell through I wore that thing till I grew out of it, and held onto it in case my kids were into the style. None were.

[arnold]

Lewis Leathers - Original and Best since 1892

I still have my Lewis Leather motorcycle jacket from the time I owned a BMW R1000. It is a large size, and is full length (not waist level). It didn't get much wear, but I couldn't bear to throw it out after I stopped riding MC. I would be willing to part with it to someone who would have an appreciation and for personal use.

[Cuthbert]

Nice bike! I know another photographer from another board who crushed his BMW few weeks ago...

Unfortunately for the jacket I can't be of help, I wear size 36 or 38.

[shampeon]

Just acquired a very clean ME and SMC M 50mm f1.7. I used my mom's Spotmatic when I was a kid, and learned a bit about SLRs with a crappy Rebel S II as a young adult before getting into DSLRs. But yeah, this is what a film camera should feel like.

[nild]

Just acquired a very clean ME and SMC M 50mm f1.7. I used my mom's Spotmatic when I was a kid, and learned a bit about SLRs with a crappy Rebel S II as a young adult before getting into DSLRs. But yeah, this is what a film camera should feel like.

have fun with it – you'll love it.

New in my collection – K 135/2.5



First tests on a digital cam showed nice results – looking forward using it on my MX,