New Voigtlander Bessa-T

[alexander_grekhov]

Cosina announced new Voigtlander Bessa-T body with Leica M mount:

<p>

<a

href="http://www.cameraquest.com/VCBessaT.htm">http://www.cameraquest.

com/VCBessaT.htm</a>

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Weird, controversial design at least...

[paul_chefurka]

It's nice to know there are still some seriously gonzo camera

designers out there. What a risky, weird and wonderful product! And

if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then Tom Abrahamsson

must by feeling very flattered today - they've essentially duplicated

his RapidWinder on the new camera.

 

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I wonder when their M6-killer will come out - an M-mount version of

the Bessa-R? Speculation is next year, but you never know.

Apparently the CEO of Cosina has said he'd never do anything to hurt

Leica economically, but a bit of stiff competition could be just what

the gnomes of Solms need!

[kens]

Certainly an interesting market/product approach. Good for the

industry and us - the pot needs a little stirring now and then.

 

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Recent comments by Leica top brass (public comments at least)

indicated they welcomed the filling out of this lower end. It's not an

area Leica was particularly willing or able to invest in, and Leica

thinks it's a good breeding ground for future M buyers.

 

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Now if someone decides to go head-to-head with the M, that will be a

different story, I'm sure.

[nesrani]

Finally a cheap way to have a backup body for the M series lenses.

With the low reliability of the M (in my experience) in humid

climates, I'll be getting one of these to back up my two M6's as soon

as they come out. Also good for lenses you have to mount an external

finder with anyway, such as the 24. I could easily see dedicating one

of these to the 24.

 

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I also love the rapidwinder. Great news for Tom, I'm sure!

 

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This is terrific news for anyone depending on the M camera, I think.

[andrew_schank]

Its pretty obvious at this point Voigtlander can produce a feature

laden M6 competitor if they choose to. I'm glad they have made their

first camera in an M mount, as I have no interest in owning a screw

mount camera at this point (my first camera was a screw mount Fujica

SLR a long time ago). Maybe in a year or two they will offer a Bessa

R type camera with a few more features like an AE shutter and TTL

flash for 1/3 the price of an M6 that will be a killer second body.

I'm not so gung ho on the retro seperate finder style of the new "T",

and think they may be a hard sell no matter the enthusiasm that Gandy

has for it.

[alexander_grekhov]

Below is Tom Abrahamsson's review he posted on CVUG mailing list:

 

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---

 

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Now I can "spill the beans" about the Bessa-T. It is a non-

viewfinder, but

rangefinder equipped Bessa body with an M-lens mount. Think about it

a bit!

You have to focus through a small window at the back, move your eye

to the

viewfinder for the lens you are using for framing and then shoot.

Initially I

was skeptical when I saw the camera last year in Japan. I have a very

bad

track record with external viewfinders - most of them are lost,

broken or

small pieces of essential glass fall out of them. When they work,

they are

great. Bright and contrasty as well as rather pricey and bulky. Like

most of

you have kept some of them around for years, not knowing why, but at

last I

have found a use for them. The Bessa-T is weird, no two ways about

it, but in

some strange way, it works! I have had one now for a couple of weeks

and put

about 25 rolls through it. Lenses have varied from 21mm to 75mm focal

length

and when I find my 90mm finder, I will try out that one too.

With the lenses up and including 35. I use the camera as a

hyperfocal camera

with a "focus" checker built in. Now and then I would check that my

range was

within the focus and occasionally I would fine-tune using the cameras

rangefinder. One can shoot fast and furious that way and have a

reasonable

rate of success. With lenses longer than 35 (or 35 in very low light)

it is a

slower process. You carefully focus and then move the eye to the

finder and

frame. It sounds a bit clumsy and for anyone weaned on M

rangefinders, it

takes a while to get used to. What really helps is the quality of the

rangefinder. It is very bright and contrasty, the focus snaps in and

out very

quickly and precisely. There is a diopter control on the ocular -

seems to

handle at least +2 to -1 diopters correction. I found that with the

21 and 24

I shot similar to a Bessa-L, you wave the camera in the general

direction and

shot with less concern for precise framing. The focus was a nice

feature when

shooting wide-open, even a wide-angle lens will show focus loss when

shot

wide open without precise focussing. Where the Bessa-T shines is with

the

35/1,4, the fast 50's and the 75/1,4. The base of the rangefinder is

about 38

mm and the magnification is 1,5 so the baseline is 58mm, more than

enough to

give you precise focus even with a 75/1,4 wide-open.

My 75 is a fairly late one with the built in hood and I could notice

a

slight shadow in the rangefinder when focussing close from the hood

intruding. Not enough to make it useless, just something one had to

think

about. The trick was to push the hood back for focus and pull it out

for

shooting. Clumsy, maybe but it worked and that is the key. The 75 is

not an

easy lens to focus on the M6 as we have seen on the LUG, but with the

Bessa-T

it was a "snap". The "tunnel" vision that you get with the

rangefinder (those

who use screw-mount Leicas know what I am talking about) forces you

to be

very precise with the focus and "lock" it in. Yes, it is slower than

with an

M, but for portraits, I think it would work very well.

The meter is the same as in the Bessa-L or R and the readout is on

the back

of the camera. You can see the diodes (red-green-red) when you focus

or frame

the shot and correct quickly. The meter works very well (it rivals

the M6

meter for precise reading and uses far less batteries), but as you

have no

idea what the coverage is, you have to be careful with strong light

sources

throwing it off, particularly with wider lenses.

Another feature that is close to my heart is the Voigtländer

Rapidwinder!

Yes, I now have competition at last. It is a very slick unit that can

be

attached and removed from the camera (although why anyone would want

to

remove it I can't understand) without fogging film. It is smaller and

lighter

than mine, it has a small, shallow grip with 2 straplugs attached so

that you

can carry the camera vertically (a la M5!). The lever is longish

and 'flops"

down and locks in place. The "unlock" mechanism is neat, you just

push the

lever backwards about 30 degrees and it frees it and you can fold it

up. Good

idea, but the main problem is that if you push it by mistake, it has

to be

folded up and then down again to lock. It feels flimsier than mine,

but mine

might be a case of overkill. The action is smooth, but it has more

inertia

than the Rapidwinder and a tendency to "high-spot" about halfway

through the

cycle. It is an almost essential piece of equipment as the eye of the

shooter

is more centered on the Bessa-T with the top-mounted viewfinder and

there is

precious little room for the finger to pull on the top-mounted

advance lever.

Even a right eye focusser is a bit squeezed there.

The M-mount worked very smoothly and any of my M-lenses went on

without

problems with the lens-lock or focussing roller.

The whole construction of the Bessa-T feels much more solid than the

Bessa-R

or L. The rubber cover has a changed texture that makes it less

slippery and

the controls are somehow tighter and more positive. The advance lever

on the

top is now black and has a ratcheted clutch in it, so that you can do

multistroke advance (also possible with the trigger winder on the

bottom).

I am not sure where the Bessa-T fits in the rangefinder camera

firmament,

but however weird it sounds, it actually works very well. I can see

it being

used for wider lenses as a substitute M camera, but I think it will

really

come in to play for very tight precise focussing with high speed

lenses,

particularly when shooting wide open. Next experiment will be with

the

Noctilux at close range at f1!

Voigtländer also supplied me with a 21/4 and the 28/1,9 Aspheric. I

had seen

both of these lenses at various times before. The 21/4 is in the same

mount

as the 25/4 Snap-Shot Skopar, a truly small and pocketable 21! It

couples to

the rangefinder and so far it has proven it self a very competent

lens. I

have not had time to shoot extensively with it, but from the negs, it

looks

sharp right across the board. Once I have had a chance to print

something

from this lens, I will let you know. The price is evidently going to

be

around $500 including the finder (which is much better than the Leica

21

finder!).

The 28/1,9 Aspheric looks gorgeous, it looks and feels like a Leica

lens! It

is not a small lens, roughly the same size as a Summicron 28/2, but

with a

much smarter hood. It does not protrude into the finder of the M-

camera as

much as the 28/2 hood. Performance again, so far so good, but I need

to print

stuff shot with it to really judge it. Mine is a chrome version and

it really

looks slick on a chrome M2 and balances well with a M2/Rapidwinder

combination.

Boy, I think Voigtländer has done it again. The Bessa-T is strange,

but in a

good way, the 21/4 is truly a lens you can stick in a pocket and

carry

everywhere and I suspect that the performance of the 28/1.9 not going

to be

inferior to the 28/2 and most likely at a price that makes it highly

competitive.

Stephen Gandy has pictures of this stuff on his web-site:

http://CameraQuest.com/VCBessaT.htm. To my knowledge, my Bessa-T is

the first

one in North America. For those who are serial number nuts, it is

000001 (and

the 21/4 is 000006) so obviously very early production samples. Now

we all

know about the Bessa-T, the 21 and the 28. I wonder what's next from

Cosina/Voigtländer.

Tom A

 

<p>

 

Tom Abrahamsson

Vancouver, BC

Canada

www.rapidwinder.com

 

[Robin Smith]

Yes, this is weird. Sometimes I really wonder what Voigtlander are up

to -- why not just go the whole hog and make an M6 competitor instead

of all this mucking about? The only value I can see here is the fact

that it may be better than an M6 when using lenses wider than 28mm. I

cannot imagine the hassle of seriously full time going back to the

idea of focussing with one window and then going back to a non

parallax corrected viewfinder, especially for 50mm + lenses. This does

seem to me to be taking a rangefinder obsession to extremes! I like

most others will surely wait for an M6 clone and not use this

ergonomic nightmare.

[wilhelm]

I hope, I really pray, that the separate finders will have 100%

coverage of the image, like the II-IIIf cameras. I am tired of

having a lot of stuff show up around the edges of my negatives.

[jay_.]

I don't get the point of the Bessa-T at all. Quirky just for the

sake of being quirky? Cosina already has the Bessa-R, what would

have been wrong with just putting an M bayonet mount on it? From my

viewpoint the Konica Hexar RF is so far the only worthy alternative

to a Leica M body.

[dan_brown4]

I am going to have to think about this. Sure seems like a good

2nd body for your ultrawide. Does this mean al the V lenses are

going to be built with the M mount?

[andrew_schank]

You run into all the problems that people shooting with rangefinders

back in the 1940's had--like chopping heads off because of no paralax

compensation. To use it with my current lenses, I'd have to purchase

a finder for my 35, 50 & 90, which would cost more than camera body.

Then fumbling around putting in the right finder for whatever lens I

stuck on the body would get old pretty quick. Need a quick fill

flash?-pull out your side flash bracket you happened to have in your

pocket. Seems like taking a backward step 50 years or more in camera

design. Makes my M3 seem modern.

[michael_darnton1]

Maybe they should have called it the M-IIIa---what Leica would have

done in 1937 if they'd thought of bayonet lens mounts, and were

willing to sacrifice the viewfinder to do it. With any luck the next

Cosina product will make the big leap to 1954, and be worth buying.

[mark13]

I think a lot of us are missing the point. Cosina probably aimed this

right straight at the Japanese home market. They are in love with the

older rangefinders, screw-mount lenses and accessory view finders. It

however sure would be nice if they really did build a low-end M6

competitor.

[nesrani]

Well, Andrew, what you describe are pretty much the limitations of

the M6 with a 24 mounted - expensive accessory viewfinder, and no

flash in the shoe, plus parallax estimation. If you use wideangles a

great deal, as I do, the M6 doesn't seem like such a good deal. I

recently got a 50 M lens and realised that this was still the best

combo for the M series in terms of viewfinder.

 

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I just see the new T as a wideangle body. The rapidwinder affair is

very useful, I already have them on my M bodies. And in a pinch you

could use it for longer lenses. So a wide-angle + backup, for about

1/4 the price of an M6+rapidwinder seems like a good deal to me.

Maybe I was a little overenthusiastic when I first saw it, but I

still think it would be a useful body.

[michael_darnton1]

Robert--It would have made a better W/A camera if they were in the

custom of making W/A lenses with the ability to move a rangefinder. As

it is. . . . tits on a bull, as they say. I think this camera is going

to be one of the classical camera jokes. You'd think a modern company

could do better than put irrelevant window dressing on a 1930 design,

rather than improving a design that's within steps of greatness

(think of the R with a bayonet mount, rapid winder, longer RF base,

maybe aperture-priority auto.)

[paul_chefurka]

There's been a lot of criticism levelled at Cosina (here and

elsewhere) over the Bessa-T, but I have to say I love it when a

serious company does something this extravagantly odd. Not every

camera out there has to beat or even emulate the EOS-1v, the F5, or

even the M6. There has to be room in this world for the quirky, the

off-beat and the downright eccentric. Who knows what Mr. Kobayashi

is thinking? Who cares? I see this camera as a pure expression of

joy, and I'm so thankful it's not yet another anonymous amorphous

blob of microchipped plastic.

 

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We can argue all we want about what we would have made if we were

that same Mr. Kobayashi, but the fact remains that he has brought a

camera to the world whose purpose isn't immediately apparent. You

actually have to think about it; you have to try and decide how you

would use it, and whether or not it would fit with your style. And

in the process you actually have to think about what your style is...

 

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Those of you who think it's an idiotic piece of gear are under no

compulsion to buy one. Those of you who can think of a possible

niche for it in your work can buy one and try it out with little

financial risk. Those (like me) who think it's a cool "objet d'art"

but just isn't going to be practical given the way they shoot can

pass on it but continue to admire a company that is prepared to

ignore the received wisdom of the Nicanoltax pundits and blaze its

own trail.

 

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And let us not forget that Cosina is proving itself to be a most

prolific generator of new gear. Who knows what is going to leap from

their febrile imaginations into the camera stores in the next year or

two?

 

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My reaction is that it's great to see a camera company that looks

like it's having some fun for a change.

[andrew_schank]

it goes without saying that if you don't like something, don't buy

it. My complaints about them bringing out this camera and not

something more useful to me are purely selfish. I want to buy a

$550.00 M body with 1/125 flash sync, hot shoe, TTL meter, at least 3

frames for 35, 50, 90mm. Basically an slightly updated Bessa R would

do fine- I'd buy one tomorrow and so would thousands of other M

users. Isn't that what its all about, putting something out that your

potential customers really want to buy?

[paul_chefurka]

Perhaps they figure that there are potential customers that really do

want it - that happy band just happens not to include us :-( I agree

that the Bessa-M you describe would be very attractive to a lot of

people, me included. You can never have too many bodies to mount

that fabulous Leica glass on.

 

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I just sold my 24 Elmarit-M because I don't like using external

viewfinders. Anyone who would do that is certainly not a customer

for the Bessa-T!

[david_kelly1]

"Yes, that's my life: keeping a certain distance from things." -

Cartier-Bresson, when someone noticed he had marked 4 meters on his

lens with red nail polish.

 

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Anybody who shoots very much on the street, and especially if he or

she shoots a 28 or wider, will recognize this as a perfect tool,

allowing a convenient check of focus and exposure just before the

action starts, at which time, forget about them, just wind, frame,

shoot. Perhaps Mr. Yokabashi is channelling Oscar Barnack[and

Willi Stein]......

[david_kelly1]

that should read "Kobayashi" i sure don't want to disrespect

this wonderful guy! -boy that dyslexia is really kicking

in..............

[john_collier]

It looks to me to be the perfect body for the 21mm and 24mm

Leica lenses which require a separate finder regardless. You

have a rangefinder for when it is too dim to zone focus and you

can adjust the exposure without bringing the camera to your eye.

During the day it should be a fine body for lenses of 50mm or

lower. I think that I will buy one but I would appreciate it if you

would not tell my darling spousal unit that just yet.

 

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Cheers,

[msitaraman]

This may be a controversial camera, but it seems like a reasonable

configuration for anyone who uses an auxiliary viewfinder a lot.

 

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I use the 50 and 90 brightlines quite a bit (on a .85 TTL M6-go

figure!) and for me the brightlines are terrific for street and

sitting portraiture.

 

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The BessaT provides the same functionality, though it would have been

nice to have autoexposure-I can see this camera will be a bit slow

with top deck match diode metering.

 

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As for parallax problems, I can see that happening too, unless you

can train yourself to avoid it, as M camera users train themselves to

do many little things while using their old fashioned cameras-but

loose framing is a given.

 

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If it had been any smaller it would have gotten my immediate and

total attention. You've got to give Cosina a lot of credit for being

imaginative.

 

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Its been a good 50-60 years since 35mm camera configurations were

standardized, and this is a refreshing, if retrogressive, departure

from the formula. Who knows? It may work for some.

[victor_randin3]

Except of parallax problem that does exist I saw another one: seems

it isn�t a vibration-free camera, as far as it is equipped with a

metal vertical-travelling-curtains shutter Copal (old type with 1/125

sec synch).

[jon_harkness]

How many of you guys would like to see nikon convert the Nikon FM

into a rangefinder with M mount? The FM has a proven track record and

you could use the MD12 motor. Much better quailty than the plastic

voigtlander.

[msitaraman]

If you mean the new FM3A with the AE shutter that also works without

batteries, I'd be first in line to buy one with an M-mount.

Especially if it had sophisticated spot metering like the OM-4T.