Voigtlander Bessa III 667

[David A. Goldfarb]

Threads merged.

 

[whlogan]

Got mine today. Great! Everything I expected it to be. Hung it right round my neck and started taking pictures..... works likes one would want it to.
Ooo! Aaa! Starting out with 6x7's...TriX, of course and I'll post when developed. I like it.

 

[sanking]

Mine arrived this morning... Here she is with her older sister...

I would love to see what you have to say about some high resolution scenes photographed with the old Bessa II and the new Bessa III.

Sandy King

 

[guyjr]

stealthman - actually you can dry fire it! It took me a few days, but I finally figured out how - open the back up! I tried all the shutter speeds with the back open this way and they all fire off as flawlessly as I can tell... and yes, I totally agree about the silence - it definitely defines the standard in silent shooting.

 

[tony lockerbie]

Wow Stealthman, a Bessa 11 and Bessa 111 together, I'm seething with jealousy! Look forward to your results from these cameras side by side. A had a couple of Bessa 11's, one with the Heliar, and one with the Skopar, both unfortunately didn't have very good parallelism with the lens standard, too much slop. How is yours?
Interesting to see how the lens compares to Fuji GW's for sharpness, it's pretty much the standard to judge by.
Tony

 

[whlogan]

Bessa III

Got my Bessa III today. Loaded film; hung it right round my neck and snapped off a few pictures and more tomorrow. Does everything it says it will. A mighty fine camera. Like it!

 

[stealthman_1]

Guyjr...Thanks!!! That does indeed work..and low and behold...my shutter works

I'd wanted a Bessa II for a long time, bid on several on the auction site and never won. When the III was announced, I bought a decent II to keep me from wanting the III...that didn't work out so hot:rolleyes: The II is a really nice shooter and I'm a sucker for the format. Water temp is almost up to 38 and I've got 4 rolls of color negative shot today to put in the Jobo and three b&W to soup in D76. I'm very interested to see the results!

 

[Alex Bishop-Thorpe]

There's a very good chance I may have to sell an organ and try and get one of these if I keep reading these sorts of topics.

 

[RobertV]

For using it's a very simple camera with great specifications but you can only see the real quality when making an enlargement to 40x50cm. My scans are made with a V500 and they are OK for the internet but only by making a real big photo you can see how much in detail the 56mmx69mm negative is.
Indeed, I only needed the manual how to open the back cover .

I am just shooting some pro 160C now, next will be some B&W on slow speed (iso 25) or ATP1.1 Tech Pan.

 

[whlogan]

After a long day of shooting I am a bit puzzled as to why they didn't figure out how to make the light metering system compensate for filters? Doesn't seem to me that it would be that hard. I use a #22 filter on B&W film and set the camera for +2 exposure stop on the comp dial and shot away, but I am not convinced that wil really do the job. Tried to get a reading with out the filter and then set the +2 on the comp dial....I noticed the "A" will flash if the comp dial is off 0, meaning I guess it is off 0. But what else? Might have to go the hand held meter and set it myself as I do with old Rolleis and get good negs..... but after developing tomorrow we'll see, shan't we? Any ideas, guys?
Logan

 

[stealthman_1]

I've added lots of Bessa III pics, Color and B&W to my Flickr page, link in signature.

 

[RobertV]

Any color neg?

Here a negative C41 scan from Fuji pro 160C. The lab can handle the 120 roll film but they can only print 6x4,5 or 6x6. 6x7cm is not possible on their Fuji Frontier machine.

 

[whlogan]

The First Two Rolls

The Negs look fine, but negs done in diafine always look good. One Trix and One Rollei Super Pan 200. The Tri X @800 and the Superpan @ 200. The Superpan did not tell me about the clever stick on tape at roll end and I dutifully licked the tape and stuck it in my vest pocket and lost the last 3 ... my wife, clever gal, figured it out and fixed it for me so we didn't loose the whole thing. Negs look very sharp and nicely contrasty. Once they dry I'll scan some in and post a few.
Fun camera to use... smooth and easy, previous comments about filter factors notwithstanding. Keep tuned.
Logan

 

[stealthman_1]

On the non-TTL lightmeter. The leaf shutter blades are closed except when shooting. Without a focal plane shutter or an elaborate mirror and flapper system like a Hasselblad, a TTL lightmeter is not in the cards. A Mamiya 7 II doesn't have TTL either. New at B&H with 80mm f4 lens, it's $3700...

 

[pollux]

are we supposed to be thankful and happy about this rehash of a limited basic camera, where portability and roll film is the only thing good about it? fixed lens and a dodgy winder.

 

[flatulent1]

are we supposed to be thankful and happy about this rehash of a limited basic camera, where portability and roll film is the only thing good about it? fixed lens and a dodgy winder.

Supposed to be? No, of course not. But then there's no point for you to be peeing on our parade, is there? No, I didn't think so.

 

[whlogan]

Well, perhaps the "basic camera" aspect and roll film are what many of us find needed and so attractive! The winder, by the way is not dodgy, whatever that may mean. Fixed lenses might even make one stop and think and study before the shutter was pushed. Digital guys just snap of 5 or 6 hundred and hope one or two come out. Think, people! Ansel will love you better iof you do!

 

[jp80874]

.... A Mamiya 7 II doesn't have TTL either. New at B&H with 80mm f4 lens, it's $3700...

This may have more to do with Mamiya marketing in the US. The same kit at Robert White in England is ₤1725 or $2868 today. On eBay I see two dealers in Hong Kong price waring the same kit between $1900-$2000. Duty and shipping added, warranty at point of sale.

John Powers

 

[sanking]

I've added lots of Bessa III pics, Color and B&W to my Flickr page, link in signature.

So, how about some comparison shots with your old Bessa II?

Sandy

 

[stealthman_1]

I just got back from a couple days in Eastern Sierra...would have stayed longer, but way too many people...can't wait for fall to thin the flocks. I did a side by side of a very weathered board in Bodie on PanF that I've been meaning to shoot LF for a while. Should get them in the can tomorrow...I'm curious too....

 

[coriana6jp]

I finally had a chance to take my Fuji 667 out the other day. I carried it along in addition to my 4x5. My initial impressions are quite favorable, its lighter and much more compact that than Mamiya 7 it replaced. The view finder is bright and easy to focus in even low light conditions. The shutter is quiet, almost too quiet. Outside in the places I go, half the time I couldn't hear the shutter fire. The camera feels much more solid than the M7.

My only dislikes are, I don't like the film winder too much. I find the M7 to be much easier to advance to the next frame, though I suspect the 667's winder mechanism is built a little better. The focusing knob( for lack of a better term) is not quite as easy to use again compare to the M7, it took me a while to get use to it.

I haven't developed any of the rolls from the other day yet, but will soon. Overall, I am quite satisfied with the camera.

Gary

 

[sanking]

What is the US source of the Fuji/Voigtlander Bessa III?

Sandy King

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Steven Gandy was taking orders.

 

[photobum]

Has anyone heard of a delivery date for the NY shops?

 

[fatboy22]

Well now I have gone and done it! GAS!!!!!!!!! I could not take it anymore, had to order one of these fine cameras and see if they live up to the hype. Ordred from Steven Gandy via EBAy, he has 4 left any takers. On a more serious side I know this camera is very expensive but as a medium format film shooter how often do we get a new camera introduced these days. I recently got into folders myself and was so impressed this camera seemed like the next step for me being as it has a meter built in. Guess I will have to work a little more overtime to pay this little purchase off, oh well you only live once.

Got any shots to post whlogan or other users of this fine camera? Really would like to see more examples!


Jamie