for people who like to shoot film this is a very cool camera to have...it's small and light and has a screw in mount for lenses...you can put super wide angels on this camera with a viewfinder and the quality of the image is excellent. For a fast go to wide angle (when using other cameras as well) you can't beat it.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
Bessa-L is really a very basic camera without view-finder or focusing aid. So you will have to rely on your guess and use the depth-of-field to take acceptable pictures. You won't be happy suing this one with a really fast lens. It is not what it is designed for any way. However, if you have wide angle lens - somethings that has a little wider DOF, then nothing beats this thing. I use mine with a VC 15mm Heliar. It is really compact and light package for that. I would give it a 5-star but that would be misleading. :)
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
I bought this camera for the lens, but have enjoyed the camera as well. The Bessa L camera is minimalism well done. It's very lightweight, to the point of feeling a bit plasticy. This bothers some, but the light weight is appreciated after carrying it for several hours. It has an excellent light meter and shutter. I've created some great shots using the 15mm lens. Because it has no rangefinder, it requires distance focusing and with most lens combinations, would be difficult to focus accurately. It is best kept with the wide lenses it was designed for. The 15mm Superwide Heliar lens is fantastic. Extremely wide angle with great depth of field, even when wide open. I use this lens for closeups while keeping backgrounds in the frame for context. I would highly recommend this lens to anyone using M39 or Leica M(adapter needed) film cameras who is looking for an excellent lens at reasonable price. Though great on film, I've tried this lens on micro four-thirds(adapter needed)with disastrous results and have read of similar results on the M9. Apparently, the rear of the lens is too close to the sensor. Keep it for film and enjoy. Great camera, excellent lens.Read full review
I bought this camera as a kit with a Voigtlander 15mm ultra-wide Heliar, equipped with a view finder and little else. I use it exclusively as part of this kit. The 15mm lens is always attached to the Bessa-L and the Bessa-L is always attached to the 15mm. I have never used the camera with a different lens. These are the things you need to know about this camera: - It does not have a rangefinder or a viewfinder. I guess you might use it without a viewfinder, but most people don't. To me, this is a dedicated ultra-wide angle camera. Zeiss Ikon sells a similar design (the ultra-wide Z.I), and Leica sold a similar system a few years ago -the Ig model. It has its uses, but it is not a camera for every day photography. - Because it does not have a rangefinder, it can only be used with zone-focusing. That is, you guess the distances. You can use an external rangefinder, but if the primary lens is an ultra-wide, who needs one. The 15mm Heliar has such great depth of field that at f:4.5 anything between 5ft and infinity is in focus, or close to it. - The Bessa-L can only use lenses equipped with a Leica screw mount. You can mount old Leica LTM/M39 lenses, but not M-mount lenses. Once again, this is not a problem for me because I use it as a one-lens camera. - The Bessa-L also sports a TTL exposure meter. I am not sure how the metering works, but I suppose is a simple averaging incident light meter. This is a major problem, and one of my main gripes with the system. The meter works well under conditions of even illumination, but its performance is rather deficient with large areas of light and shadow. It consistently gives readings that will seriously underexpose the shaded areas. I have already gotten used to it, and I compensate by as much as 2 stops, but it took several rolls of film before I got it right. - The main use for my system (Bessa-L/15mm Voigtlander Heliar lens) is photography in closed spaces and some funky street photography. Because of the fantastic depth of field of the 15mm Heliar, everything is always in focus. It is clear from what I just wrote that what I really wanted was the 15mm lens. Why did I buy the camera? Because I got a great deal: the kit including the Bessa-L was only 65 bucks more than the lens alone. In sum, if you want a dedicated camera for wide-angle photography, the Bessa-L is quite a viable option. If you need a multi-purpose camera to be used with multiple lenses, look elsewhere.Read full review
This is a quite specialized camera so if you are looking at it you more than likely know what you are looking for. They are very reliable since there is not a whole lot going on. Mine has been spot on with the shutter speeds and the meter seems to be accurate as well. The meter is fairly simply so its basically, on target, 1/2 stop over/under or full stop over under. You can use this with any L39 lenses but you will need a detachable view finder to frame the image. Keep in mind this camera has no range finder so all focusing is by guess work. This was really meant to be used with the 21mm and 15mm lenses and it works great with them.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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