Several Questions please....

The lenses for the Nikon SLR and RF aren't interchangeable. (You probably could get some custom adapter, but to use an SLR lens on a RF body would require some type of lens element that would probably degrade the image.)

I think you mean the Cosina Voigtlander Bessa series, rather than a Volt. Good cameras. Make sure the rangefinder is working properly and isn't out horizontally or vertically. The lenses for this series of cameras are very good.

Some people are using Bessa bodies and Leica lenses. In fact, the lens has more to do with the photo than the body. So you could try this route.

Others are using Leica bodies and Voigtlander lenses.

The Zeiss Ikon rangefinder and Carl Zeiss lenses are priced between Voigtlander and Bessa.

 

An alternative is the Canon P & Canon 50mm lens. It will be less than the Leicas or the Nikon rangefinder S2, which as been steadily rising over the past year. The Canons certainly will meet you need but no meter. Finding a hood is problematic.

 

Nikon SLR's have a larger Film to Flange distance than Nikon RF's, so it wouldn't require a lens element. You'd just engineer the adapter to make up that difference. You can use SLR lenses on Leica bodies in exactly this way, but of course you don't have rangefinder coupling, so you have to guess the focus. Works OK for wide angle lenses, I understand. But, that's a bit off topic - so far as general functionality and ease of management, SLR and RF lenses aren't interchangeable, and I'm not sure such an adapter even exists for the Nikon RF's...so I'm just rambling.

Moving on, I use a Voigtlander Bessa R2A, but I'd love an R3M. I firmly believe that if you buy from a reputable dealer, you should have no problems with a Bessa. The main thing people seem to worry about is rangefinder being off, but a half-decent dealer will take care of you IF this happens. I dropped mine on a timber floor, dinged my lens up really nicely, but the RF was still perfect. I don't worry about it.
A Bessa will also give you the options of an range of lenses spanning the majority of the past century, with the use of an M to Screw mount adapter. I love it to bits, see my experience here.

 

Agree with most of above, except that a Nikon SLR lens to Leica RF body adapter does not need any correction lens in it. I have one (Novoflex) that fits Leica screw thread bodies (it does not fit Leica M bodies, even with an adapter, because it fouls the lens release button).

If you have numerous Nikon SLR lenses and want to use only these, the cheapest option for you would be a Voigtländer Bessa L body plus a lens adapter, slip-on viewfinder and slip-on rangefinder. This would mean you would have to transfer focus settings manually from the rangefinder to the lens.

If you're going to buy a camera and lenses, a screw-thread Leica (IIIc, IIIf) or M2 would be cheaper than an M6 and, as others have said, you can then use any of the new Voigtländer screw-thread lenses (with rangefinder coupling). You might find that one body and one lens (35 or 50 mm) was all you needed.

Forget Nikon RFs, they date from the 1950s and are quite rare and expensive - one model was re-issued (S3) recently and was very expensive. No Nikon RF with a built-in meter, as far as I know. Many people use Voigtländer RF cameras, they're good but not as robust (rangefinder mechanism) as Leicas.

 

I'm one of those people with a Leica body and Voigtländer glass. I'm shooting with a Leica MP and a Voigtländer Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4, with which I'm extremely pleased. Good all-rounder. Perhaps not as sharp/swirly-bokeh/10-brazilian-lines-per-mm/whatever as the equivalent Solms glass, but for 1/10 of the price, awesome value.

 

Here's a quick run-down on Voigtländers:
http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/products.asp?PT_ID=290
The Bessa L I mentioned earlier (and the Bessa R) is LTM (Leica thread mount or Leica screw or M39) - it is available ludicrously cheaply secondhand and has a meter in it. All LTM lenses convert to Leica M (bayonet) with a simple and inexpensive adapter.

More here:
http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Bessa_(35mm)

 

I'd love to see photos.

 

OK, here ya go:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kavandje/tags/voigtl%C3%A4ndernoktonclassic35mmf14/

I use it mostly for candids and such, so no apologies for subject matter.

 

No apologies necessary—I tend to use 35mm for the same subject matter. I sometimes ask myself whether a Summilux or the Canon 35mm/f1.4 ought to be my dream lens—but then my next thought is always whether I would see the difference in normal, hand-held use at reasonable print sizes (it would never occur to me to print 35mm at sizes larger than 8x10).

 

Well, add the Voigtländer to your catalogue of contemplation -- it really is quite a nice lens....

 

I shot with the Pancake 35mm for a while. It's a very nice lens. Excellent build quality and great photos. If you're on a budget, I'd pick a new Cosina Voigtlander lens over a 50-year-old Canon thing any day.

 

Voightlander has a variety of bodies out at this time - and some discontinued you can still buy. If you eventually want M glass, make sure you buy a body that has an M mount. You can always use an adapter with LTM lenses, but you cannot use M mount lenses on an LTM body.

 

A used Leica M6 can be had for just a bit more than a new Bessa RF ($950 vs. $600+). I much prefer the M6 to my Bessa R3M primarily because the RF patch is better, though there is nothing wrong with the Bessa (and it can shoot 1/2000). If I were in your situation, I'd go the M6 with CV, Leica Thread Mount, or Zeiss glass. I have to CV lenses (12mm f5.6 and 35 f1.2) and I'm quite happy with them.
A good Nikon RF and good Nikon RF glass ain't exactly cheap. At least on the S2, the VF patch pretty much sucks after using a modern RF. I still love my S2 though.

 

Another suggestion if you really want a Leica M body now, is to consider some of their less expensive lenses as your initial purchase. The 90mm, f/4 Leica (forget the nomenclature and mine are half a world away at the moment) can be had for under $100 in excellent condition.

Along with the Voightlander option - which is a Cosina made system that has no connection to the original German company except that they purchased rights to the name - are Rokkor (Minolta lenses). These lenses were madein collaboration with Leica. The 40mm Summicron and it's "twin cousin" Rokkor M are very affordable and very good lenses. The Rokkor (Minolta) 28mm lens without bubbles is not cheap, but still sells for about 1/5 the price of its German cousin.

The great thing about buying Rokkor-M (Minolta) lenses is that they were made in collaboration with Leica, so they're not just Leica mount lenses, but were in part designed by the company in a team effort. How much or how little is up for speculation of course. Someone who has the information may be able to provide more precise information, but if memory serves correctly, the CL lenses were actually made in Japan by Minolta for Leica - and the later CLE era lenses were exact copies of these, with multi-coating on the lenses instead of the single coating on the CL series.

Good investments and great shooters. They'll never be worth what a Leica is worth and many will tell you they don't shoot like one either, but they also don't cost as much - and so work on the M bodies.

 

If you already have a Nikon RF then it is worth noting that, until recently, Cosina Voigtlander were making Nikon and Contax RF fit lenses. Which means you may still be able to find lenses in stock somewhere:

http://www.robertwhite.co.uk/product.asp?P_ID=1920&PT_ID=458

 

I've wondered this myself. One thought of mine is that the fewer 'features' a camera is saddled with, the more it stimulates the photographer.

I've noticed the same thing happening holding a good TLR (be it a Yashicamat or a Rolleiflex), a good MF SLR (be it a Hasselblad or a Rolleiflex SL66), or a good 35mm SLR (be it an Olympus OM-1, a Canon A-1 or a Nikon F-3): the more the camera gets out of my way, and the more it is reduced to its essential functions, the harder I work; and the harder I work, the better my chances of having good results to show for it.

I have no doubt at all that the new Zeiss Ikon and Voigtländer RFs, and the older Nikon and Canon RFs, are fine cameras capable of extraordinary results. But I did notice that if a Leica sinks its teeth under your skin, to mix a metaphor, it does not readily let go.

 

Tom, how inclined are you to switch lenses? If not so inclined, something like a konica AF may be nice for your purposes, the lens is absolutely superb and it's a very nice, robust piece for walkaround / travel. Should run you around $400, well worth the lens itself.

Now, if you want a true take-everywhere walkaround then a good old oly xa is a great pocket camera.... and it's well within anybody's budget