Several Questions please....

[dwdmguy]

Good Day.

I'd love a RF.

I'd love a Leica M6 but I just can't afford the glass. It's a killer.

I was wondering about the Volt R3 and thinking that would be of benefit me for a walking around every day Camera.

Or, Nikon RF which I have Nikon SLR older manual lenses but I don't know if they fit a Nikon RF?

Can you please tell me if the Nikon RF's can use the SLR lenses? If so, any models that stand out? With a Meter?

If not, what do you think about the R3M's?

Thanks tons.
Tom

[elekm]

The lenses for the Nikon SLR and RF aren't interchangeable. (You probably could get some custom adapter, but to use an SLR lens on a RF body would require some type of lens element that would probably degrade the image.)

I think you mean the Cosina Voigtlander Bessa series, rather than a Volt. Good cameras. Make sure the rangefinder is working properly and isn't out horizontally or vertically. The lenses for this series of cameras are very good.

Some people are using Bessa bodies and Leica lenses. In fact, the lens has more to do with the photo than the body. So you could try this route.

Others are using Leica bodies and Voigtlander lenses.

The Zeiss Ikon rangefinder and Carl Zeiss lenses are priced between Voigtlander and Bessa.

[Steve Bellayr]

An alternative is the Canon P & Canon 50mm lens. It will be less than the Leicas or the Nikon rangefinder S2, which as been steadily rising over the past year. The Canons certainly will meet you need but no meter. Finding a hood is problematic.

[Alex Bishop-Thorpe]

The lenses for the Nikon SLR and RF aren't interchangeable. (You probably could get some custom adapter, but to use an SLR lens on a RF body would require some type of lens element that would probably degrade the image.)

Nikon SLR's have a larger Film to Flange distance than Nikon RF's, so it wouldn't require a lens element. You'd just engineer the adapter to make up that difference. You can use SLR lenses on Leica bodies in exactly this way, but of course you don't have rangefinder coupling, so you have to guess the focus. Works OK for wide angle lenses, I understand. But, that's a bit off topic - so far as general functionality and ease of management, SLR and RF lenses aren't interchangeable, and I'm not sure such an adapter even exists for the Nikon RF's...so I'm just rambling.

Moving on, I use a Voigtlander Bessa R2A, but I'd love an R3M. I firmly believe that if you buy from a reputable dealer, you should have no problems with a Bessa. The main thing people seem to worry about is rangefinder being off, but a half-decent dealer will take care of you IF this happens. I dropped mine on a timber floor, dinged my lens up really nicely, but the RF was still perfect. I don't worry about it.
A Bessa will also give you the options of an range of lenses spanning the majority of the past century, with the use of an M to Screw mount adapter. I love it to bits, see my experience here.

[Anscojohn]

[QUOTE=dwdmguy;751533]Good Day.

Or, Nikon RF which I have Nikon SLR older manual lenses but I don't know if they fit a Nikon RF?
******
No, not really. I think they made a Contax/Nikon RF to SLR adapter, but it was suitable only for close-up work. You could make a lash-up with a Nikon F to LTM adapter; then LTM to M adapter; but it would not couple to the RF.

There are, of course, lots of LTM lenses you can adapt to the M body, though.

[nemo999]

Good Day.

I'd love a RF.

I'd love a Leica M6 but I just can't afford the glass. It's a killer.

I was wondering about the Volt R3 and thinking that would be of benefit me for a walking around every day Camera.

Or, Nikon RF which I have Nikon SLR older manual lenses but I don't know if they fit a Nikon RF?

Can you please tell me if the Nikon RF's can use the SLR lenses? If so, any models that stand out? With a Meter?

If not, what do you think about the R3M's?

Thanks tons.
Tom

Agree with most of above, except that a Nikon SLR lens to Leica RF body adapter does not need any correction lens in it. I have one (Novoflex) that fits Leica screw thread bodies (it does not fit Leica M bodies, even with an adapter, because it fouls the lens release button).

If you have numerous Nikon SLR lenses and want to use only these, the cheapest option for you would be a Voigtländer Bessa L body plus a lens adapter, slip-on viewfinder and slip-on rangefinder. This would mean you would have to transfer focus settings manually from the rangefinder to the lens.

If you're going to buy a camera and lenses, a screw-thread Leica (IIIc, IIIf) or M2 would be cheaper than an M6 and, as others have said, you can then use any of the new Voigtländer screw-thread lenses (with rangefinder coupling). You might find that one body and one lens (35 or 50 mm) was all you needed.

Forget Nikon RFs, they date from the 1950s and are quite rare and expensive - one model was re-issued (S3) recently and was very expensive. No Nikon RF with a built-in meter, as far as I know. Many people use Voigtländer RF cameras, they're good but not as robust (rangefinder mechanism) as Leicas.

[Chaplain Jeff]

[QUOTE=Anscojohn;753951]

...
There are, of course, lots of LTM lenses you can adapt to the M body, though.

Hello,

That would be my suggestion as well - start out with LTM lenses, which are much less expensive than M lenses.

Good luck!

[dwdmguy]

This is some awesome information. Thanks so much guys... I'll post what I'll do soon. I think I like the Bessa option.

So, does the Bessa come with the M mount if I can afford M lenses later or do I have to have my dealer do it?

Thanks again tons.
Tom

[dwdmguy]

Fleath, that's some great site you have there. I'll look forward reading it today.
Post more!!!!
Thanks
Tom

[kavandje]

I'm one of those people with a Leica body and Voigtländer glass. I'm shooting with a Leica MP and a Voigtländer Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4, with which I'm extremely pleased. Good all-rounder. Perhaps not as sharp/swirly-bokeh/10-brazilian-lines-per-mm/whatever as the equivalent Solms glass, but for 1/10 of the price, awesome value.