Ken,
I've only put one roll through it so far, just to test it out and make sure
it all works right before doing serious work. So far, I am impressed with
the camera and the lens. It is a totally different way of working than with
an SLR, but I'm finding that I like the framelines suspended in the middle
of the larger view. They seem very accurate to me, and it seems easier to
pick out compositions with them than it is with an SLR viewfinder.
The camera is better built than I expected a Cosina camera to be after
seeing some of their SLRs. When I lived in Santa Fe, I worked for a short
time at a camera store there that sold the FM-10, a Nikon branded Cosina SLR
and it was a piece of garbage. The top and bottom were inexpensive flimsy
feeling plastic (not the heavier polycarbonate used on cameras like my Nikon
F4 or the D70). The Bessa is totally different in feel from the FM-10. The
top plate is metal, the shutter speed dial, frameline selector lever, and
rewind crank are all metal too. The camera feels heavy and solid.
The lens impressed me most. It is a magnificent piece of machinery. All
metal, even the aperture and focus rings. Very precisely made, very tight,
and smooth. The numbers for the distances, depth of field guide, and
aperture are engraved and black filled (the lens I have is silver). It is an
expensive lens compared to most modern lenses of its focal length for SLRs.
Nikon's 35mm f2 AF-Nikkor costs about $320 new, while the Voigtlander 35mm
f1.7 Ultron is $444 new. I don't have the 35mm AF-Nikkor, but I have several
other AF-Nikkors and I imagine the 35 is built similarly to those others. If
it is like my AF-Nikkor 28/2.8 or my 50/1.4, then the Nikkor 35 doesn't hold
a candle in build quality to the Cosina Voighlander Ultron.
I have only shot one roll, so my image quality evaluation is kind of cursory
until I shoot more, but I am impressed so far. Shots wide open are very
sharp, and the bokeh at the apertures I used (nothing smaller than 5.6 so
most had soft backgrounds) is very smooth. This is based on looking at the
negs through a loupe, I need to scan them so I can show them off and
evaluate them better. The lens is definitely sharper wide open than the
Zuiko 35/2 that I have and the bokeh is smoother.
About focal length: I know 35 is a more versatile street shooting lens, but
I really like 50mm and my Zuiko 50/1.4 is my most used lens when I shoot
35mm. Same goes for my medium format work. My 80mm lenses get 90% of the use
on my Hasselblad and my 645 Of course I don't use medium format for candid
work, but even when I shoot 35mm film I tend to like the 50 a lot. Looking
at my street photos and carnival projects, Id say I use the 40mm the most (I
have a 40mm zuiko), but before I got it, I used the 35 maybe 65% of the time
and the 50 maybe 35%.
I'll write more after I get some negs scanned and even more after I get to
do more work with the Bessa.
--
Chris Crawford
Fine Art Photography
Fort Wayne, Indiana
260-747-3962
http://www.chriscrawfordphoto.com My portfolio
http://blog.chriscrawfordphoto.com My latest work!
On 1/20/09 9:29 PM, "Ken Norton" <ken@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Chris, I am VERY interested in reading about your experiences and thoughts
> about this camera. As to the lens that's on there, well, that particular
> focal length beats the snot out of 50mm in my opinion for a walk-about
> camera.
>
> AG
--
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