James Bardolph Photoblog

My Voigtlander Bessa R2M is busted again.

This piece fell off the viewfinder.

Look at all the dust in the viewfinder.

I thought it was time to buy an R4M for the wider framelines, but did I want another temporary upgrade? I decided to buy the Leica M6 instead.

I have my suspicions that my 35mm f1.7 Ultron lens is screwed as well but I’m still doing tests. The whole front half of the lens is loose; basically everything after the focusing ring is currently only loosely connected to everything before and including the focusing ring. The lens literally rattles when I walk down the street with the cam hanging from my back. Once I buy a new lens, both the R2M and this lens will be going to Japan for repair.

Recent shots with the Bessa have been mostly out of focus. I took a test roll with the Leica to see if the lens was OK. Delta 400 developed in XTOL, and The Massive Dev chart for iPhone.

These shots were at f/8 so you can’t really tell if the focus is a little off or not.

f/2.8 or 4, can’t remember which.

f/2. Focus has apparently gone walkabout.

Focus should be on the woman but appears to be on the bag of the guy on the left.

Fine focus, slow shutter.

So some of the shots are off – is it a busted lens, or a back focus problem? Blah.

I want to buy the 35/1.2 Nokton, but Severin tells me Voigtlander lenses have back-focus issues with Leica cameras. I’m not sure if it was just one lens he tested or if it is a known common problem. Summicrons are too expensive. Zeiss in an option. More research needed.

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