Just did an interesting test: shot half a roll of some test material with the R2A with the bessa 40 mm f1.4 (at f1.4) 2 - and then rewound the film, stuck it in Matt's m6 with the Leica 35 f1.4 , did ten more shots of the same test material, then put the bessa 40mm on the Leica and shot the same stuff with it. All one roll. Same processing. Tmax 400 / tmax developer.
The subjective feel of the two cameras is different. Of course Matt had a winder and a hand grip; but besides that the focusing knob was a bit bigger, and the lens was smoother to focus (though that might just be because the 40mm is new and still stiff); but it also seemed like it was a touch easier to focus with the M6 - though I'm not exactly sure why.
But with the right accesories - I'm sure that I would be very happy with the R2A (though as Markus notes, I should look at the R3A as well). It's mostly the lens quality I'm interested in comparing right now.
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Honestly - as Matt suspected, I couldn't really see a difference in resolving power between the Leica and the Voigtlander lens - wide open. In fact, the biggest difference in real life is probably how good your focus is when shooting wide open. There were some shots from the Leica lens that looked tack sharp, and some from the Bessa that looked right on. When either was focused properly - there is no difference.
I did two prints, one with each lens of the same subject from the same place. Both lenses go beyond what the grain of the film can manage. The Leica lens print was more contrasty - but that's about it.
So it's a keeper.
3 comments:
Toronto Matt got an R3A and a handful of lenses a few weeks ago. Start here and click next (though he's still got his 10D):
http://www.thenarrative.net/archive/000897.php
If you click the comments link, you'll see the lens and film used. He's using Kodak's C41-friendly B&W, which doesn't seem nearly as nice as what you're getting with HP5.
Damn, Luke, that looks good (was watching Pirates of the Carribean with galfriend and her eldest son last night (at his urgent request), and this guy has that pirate thing going on. Matt's done good.
Since I use Ilford XP2 Super a lot (that other chromogenic b/w film), I can tell you that scans are effortless, between long tonal scale and the ability to use Digital ICE while scanning. I'm champing at the bit to print all this stuff out on my own Epson 4800 when I get it (maybe Dave will be so kind to run a test print of some of my scans on his 4800, even though I'm already sold on the thing). HP5, as well as most other conventional b/w films, has somewhat more acutance, but XP2 holds its own in many respects. I shoot with both now, depending on project and mood.
Again, given Cosina's relationship with Zeiss, they clearly have the technical chops to make product up-to-snuff with certain established standards. If they're good enough for Zeiss, well, how bad can Mr. Kobayashi be, even on a "bad" day?
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