Voigtländer Bessa R Lenses?

unwantedfocus · Jul 3, 2021

My Voigtländer Bessa R just came in the mail and im super happy about it, its my first rangefinder, I got lucky and bought the whole kit for 200€/237$. I had to sell my Minolta x500 for it but well... The focus ring is a little bit stiff ill see what I can do about that. Mechanics and meter work. I did some research about the Jupiter-8 lens it it looks really good. Can you guys recommend me other cheap LTM lenses?

ntenny · Jul 3, 2021

Congratulations, they’re fun cameras. I let mine go when I settled on Contax rather than LTM, but it served admirably when I had it.

Be careful about Soviet lenses; there’s a school of thought that says they may be calibrated slightly differently from the Leica standard, meaning focus will be off up close and wide open. See the article at https://www.dantestella.com/technical/compat.html for some analysis of the situation.

Depending on your definition of “cheap”, the Voigtländer LTM lenses are in many cases really nice. I think they’re all out of production now, so you need to watch the used market for them to come up. The 50/2 Nikkor is a winner of a lens and not terribly expensive; people say similar things about the equivalent Canon, but I’ve never had one and can’t speak to it personally.

-NT

gorbas · Jul 3, 2021

You can not fit Jupiter 12 to Bessa R, rear element of the lens hits back of the camera, so you need to find some other brand of 35mm lenses. Most likely Voigtländer LTM, Leitz Summaron or Canon?

Nicholas Lindan · Jul 3, 2021

Google "lubricate Jupiter-8 lens" There is one video showing the application of a small amount of mineral oil (available at most drug stores, also gun oil will work) to the helicoid and then working it in. This is, of course, anathema - but OTOH Jupiter lenses aren't that expensive if it all goes tits-up and mineral oil is a good choice as it won't outgas or thicken with time.

The alternative is to take the lens apart, clean the old grease from the helical and relube with something like #10 helical grease https://www.amazon.com/Japan-Hobby-...keywords=helical+grease&qid=1625330960&sr=8-2 or Dow Corning vacuum grease.

gorbas · Jul 3, 2021

Of all the lenses I encounter, Jupiter 8 is easies to clean and lubricate

Bazza D · Jul 3, 2021

ntenny said:
The 50/2 Nikkor is a winner of a lens and not terribly expensive; people say similar things about the equivalent Canon, but I’ve never had one and can’t speak to it personally.

I have a 50/2 Nikkor and a Canon 50/1.4. I really don't see much difference. I have never really extensively compared the two, so I am sure there are some differences but both are nice. The Nikkor has a a little closer focus distance. The Nikkor seems slightly better made but that is probably because the are slightly different generations of lens design. That being the Nikkor is mostly metal with just a black plastic band as it is a later one. The Canon 50/1.4 has more plastic. You can also find earlier Canon lenses that are all metal but I have never used one if them. The later designs are more plentiful. However, both the Nikkor and Canon I have are good, solid lenses. The Canon 50/1.4 has bit of a cult following but from what I understand the 50/1.8 is just as nice.

unwantedfocus · Jul 3, 2021

gorbas said:
You can not fit Jupiter 12 to Bessa R, rear element of the lens hits back of the camera, so you need to find some other brand of 35mm lenses. Most likely Voigtländer LTM, Leitz Summaron or Canon?

Very important information thanks.

Nicholas Lindan said:
Google "lubricate Jupiter-8 lens" There is one video showing the application of a small amount of mineral oil (available at most drug stores, also gun oil will work) to the helicoid and then working it in. This is, of course, anathema - but OTOH Jupiter lenses aren't that expensive if it all goes tits-up and mineral oil is a good choice as it won't outgas or thicken with time.

Thank you I found a video on YouTube and now it is really easy going. I used sew machine oil from Ballistol.

ntenny said:
50/2 Nikkor

Bazza D said:
I have a 50/2 Nikkor and a Canon 50/1.4.

I will look into both of the lenses thanks for the recommendation

unwantedfocus · Jul 12, 2021

Question when I select infinity focus the patch doesn't line up in the viewfinder, it seems like I have to be away at least 50 or more meters is this normal?

Bazza D · Jul 12, 2021

unwantedfocus said:
Question when I select infinity focus the patch doesn't line up in the viewfinder, it seems like I have to be away at least 50 or more meters is this normal?

Each lens will be slightly different. Check the scale on the lens to see what the focus distances are for that particular lens. If it reads 50 meter then infinity it is right if not the lens may be off. Most 50mm lenses should go to infinity at about 20 meters. If it is a longer focal length it will probably be more.

gone · Jul 12, 2021

That sounds about right. Just to ck things out, put the lens at it's closest focus distance and use a measuring tape to measure the distance from the object you are measuring from to the camera's film plane (about 1/2" from the very back of the camera). If it roughly agrees, load some film into it and shoot. These are such great cameras for those old lenses. You have a very good lens on it already, but there shouldn't be any problems finding affordable lenses for your camera.

If the camera digs into your back when it's on a strap, the optional grip will fix that. The shutters are metal and a tad bit noisy, but if you put the camera into a half case it is nicely muffled. Of course, if you have a grip on the camera, then you can't use the half case........

unwantedfocus · Jul 12, 2021

Thanks, I shot some portraits indoor and I have missed the focus pretty hard often it also didn't help that I shot a 20 year old roll of hp5 (unknowingly mixed up with fresh stock). I'm not entirely sure for now if rangefinders are for me I have to shoot a couple more rolls.

Voigtländer Bessa R Lenses?

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