I am following your advice........

<P>There were many advices given in this forum about why we have to

consider other rangefinder cameras that are less expensive. Mr.

Kaplan is one of the biggest advocate of this idea. I wanted to use

the LTM lenses, but do not want to deal with the hassle of cutting a

leader = wasting two frames and having an obsolete design

collectable like a Leica LTM series body.

 

<P>So I bought this highly praised Bassa R and put my collapsible

LTM 5cm cron' on the camera. And guess what ? The collapsible cannot

fully retract and now becomes a rigid lens set up. If I were to know

this before, I would not have touched it. I wanted compactness and

the LTM glass. It's not working.

 

<P>What now ?

Try a Leica CL. I have two of them and my collapsable 50mm Summicron collapses all the way with no problem, whether the shutter (and lightmeter arm) is cocked or not. CL's are available used for $300 and less.

Did you ask about the lens being collapsible in a Bessa R? You didn't collapse the lens into the camera... did you? I hope not, because it may damage the shuttercurtain.

 

The Cosina Voigtlander lens that would make that outfit very compact is the 35/f2.5 mm pancake and its successor.

 

Good luck with the next purchase!

The failure of collapsibles to collapse fully on Bessa bodies is well known and I'm sure if compactness and collapsibility was highlighted as a key criterion, people would have mentioned it.

 

I personally don't find the collapsible Summicron that compact when collapsed. Even on Leica bodies, I use the collapsible Summicron as a rigid lens with wonderful smooth imaging quality. If it really is important for you to collapse it, what others have done in your situation is fit a band of masking tape or electrician's tape around the barrel of their collapsible so that it will collapse part way but not far enough to damage the camera.

 

I hope this helps. I own a Bessa R and use both collapsible and rigid summicrons on it and it is a wonderful screw mount platform.

 

All the best.

If I recall correctly my advice was to buy an adapter and use your screw lens on an M body- would that have been significantly less compact that the Bessa outfit? (I don't know, I've never used a Bessa).

Collapsible lenses should not be full collapsed on CL and M5 models due to interference with the metering arm. If the shutter is not tensioned, there will be no interference. The potential for a crash is there. The solution was a wrap of Dymo Label Tape around the barrel to keep the lens from fully collapsing. I do not remember the proper width tape to use.

Yes, that is what Leica recommended about collapsable lenses when they brought out the CL. But it just isn't true for the 50mm Summicron. It doesn't go back far enough to touch the meter arm, even when fully collapsed. I know: I have done it with 2 different CL's.

Some years ago I got a CL as a pelon in a trade because it had a defective meter arm. After three tries with the techies it still didn't work right so I had the meter arm and all its ganglia removed. Since I have used the Sunny 16 for years I didn't miss the metering and the CL had much the feel of the old Barnacks plus the improved VF. It was one of my favorite cameras until it was stolen. I am still looking for another CL with defective meter at a price I can't refuse and I will repeat the surgery. With or without the metering, the CL is one of the most ergonomic cameras I have encountered. I think it would be a howling success should Leica revive it!

Mr. Kaplan suffers from late middle age senescence(SP.?). I would not look to him for advice, particularly regarding "screw" mounts as he definitely has some screws loose!<div></div>

Thanks, Paul. I know you shot that with your brand spankin' new M7 because you were so jealous of that little red Leica pin I had on my cap. They were giving them out on Leica Day at Dale Labs. And that eager look of rapt attention on my face? One hour of listening to you talk about your newly acquired Rolleiflex "White Face" in cherry condition was more than enough! Thanks for picking up the tab at Jimmy's Place, though.

What Andy said. Leica lenses work very well on Leica cameras. Why bother with Bessas?

Because however nice Leicas are, Bessas are neat, snazzy little machines at a fraction of the cost, with great lenses to boot. Designed by guys who know how to market as well as produce. Guys who know you can have a lot of fun roaring around in a Nissan even though you've got a Ferrari in the front driveway. :-)

I don't know how to solve your problem. I use a beautiful Leica M2 that I'm buying from Al, and also have a couple of Canon screw mount lenses hangin' around the house, with adapters on them, and they work great. I'm not into the new, exotic stuff. I shop at GW for clothing (that's: Goodwill), so I'm cool with old and not at all picky.

 

I took some photos of Al's blessed Monkey today at the SF Zoo, and did some of these with my M2 and my Oly digital.

 

Every job has it special tool.

 

Here is a photo from today taken by my friend Yaron at the zoo with my digital camera taking care of Monkey and his new girlfriend.<div></div>

<P>Thru the good grace of the forumer who sold me the Bessa R, inside the camera, there is a stopper to prevent the protrusion to go further and hit the verticle shutter.

<P>Excuse my suspecion, but how many of you are dishing out free advice when you have never touch nor play with a Bessa and a LTM lens together. Some obviously did, like Ronald who suggested putting a Dymo type there to remind and prevent further protrusion, now that's real advice, and not just hypothetical answers to a problem that you don'tknow the answer, because you can do more harm than good to your fellower forumer(s) who is asking the question.

 

<P>This is a Leica forum. Buying a cv lens would be totally OT, and a pancake lens has a different focal length.

 

<P>Thanks to the real bloke, and feel sorry for the ones who answer for the answer sake because now that I have spent my 450 dollars for something that is not functional.

 

<P>I still need a solution or I am forced to buy an old S series Leica, something which I don't want in the first place.

 

<P>Sandy

"This is a Leica forum. Buying a cv lens would be totally OT, and a pancake lens has a different focal length."

 

You make your buying decisions based on your membership of this forum? Bizarre.

CV lenses are not OT here.

 

There is probably no camera that fits all your requirements. The Leica Ms are bigger and more expensive. The Bessa R is cheaper but still big and doesn't allow the lens to collapse. The LTM cameras are small and cheap but you don't want to trim the leader (though this only takes 30 seconds, can be done in batches before you go out, and doesn't really waste film that wouldn't be exposed anyway).

Okay, Sandy, this might freak you out ... it certainly does me .... but here goes.

 

Like I said, the failure of callapsibles to collapse on Bessa bodies is well known. I have two collapsible Summicrons. One an M-Mount, Serial 1379xxx and the other is a screw mount, serial 1219xxx. They were made like two years apart. I think one is 1956 and the screw mount version is 1954 or something like that. When I bought them, I expected neither to collapse on my Bessas.

 

The M-Mount collapsible will not collapse on my Bessa R2. Now here is the funny thing ... the screw mount version, serial 1219xxx DOES collapse completely and cleanly into my Bessa R with no problems at all! Hellelujajh!!!!!

 

So here is what I perceive to be the ONLY real solution to your problem. Trade in your collapsible Summicron for a version that WILL collapse on your Bessa R. I can assure you that I have direct experience of at least ONE example, serial 1219xxx that WILL collapse on Bessa R.

 

I am sorry for your difficulties, but there really is very little anyone can offer as a solution here. Hope this helps a little bit. All the best.

<p>To : Another Bob,

<p>To learn from your own mistakes ---> smart

<BR>To learn from others mistakes ---> wisdom

<P>I, of course will not trust most of the jokers here anymore than before, but there are people who are smart and wise on the forum, you just have to find them. Eliot Rosen is a prime example of a wise and experienced one, and there are several others, very far and few in between though. I am not sure about you.

<P>To : Federick Muller,

<P>Thanks for the information. My LTM 5cm cron' has a serial # of 1043xxx; my Summitar 5cm has a serial # of 509xxx.

<P>I believe you are correct and it is very kind of you to analyse the situation for me. Just like I told Another Bob, there are good and wise people here, you just have to find them, and you are one of them.

<P>Much Thanks

<BR>Sandy

I still don't understand why you can't simply use an adapter- (I presume from previous threads that you own several M cameras). This was suggested to you by several people in response to your original question. I presume that you were already well aware of this option but preferred to use a screwthead body of some type.<p>

 

I suppose compactness must be another concern. Is the Bessa R really significantly much more compact than an M? <p>

Sandy - You seem to misunderstand cutting the lead for an old screwmount Leica. Cutting is simple - you can make a template, or just count along 21 sprocket holes from the longest side of the tongue of the film. This gives your lead which is much the same length as the amount of film you would pull out of the cassette to load most 35mm cameras. I get 36 or more negatives from my Ia.

 

No need to be worried about losing two frames - for whatever reason.

 

But you've opted not to buy LTM - so that's the end of it - unless you change your mind.

 

Rob

did I read correctly that Paul Neuthaler got a new M7? Jeeze, I'm taking another look at the MP.

 

Congrats. Let us know how you like it!

 

 

PS: wow, Sandy, somebody sent you on a long hike.