Post by nikkortorokkor on Jul 31, 2010 0:47:12 GMT -5
For me, the answer is definitely IIb!
I have long wanted to sample the highly regarded Walter Voss Diax - preferably a IIa or IIb, both of which include a built-in rangefinder.
Finally, I bit the bullet, put heart over common-sense and placed a "must-have" maximum bid on a IIb with the desirable Schneider-Krauznach Xenon f2.0/50mm lens. I paid about 2/3 of what I was prepared to go to in order to reel one in.
The camera doesn't disappoint. It's dusty and a little scuffed/corroded but un-dented. The lens is smudgy but clean of fungus and the Synchro Compur shutter actually clicks, though it is very dozy.
And the Diax reputation? 1st impressions are that it is well deserved. The IIb is reassuringly heavy and really pleasant to handle; the viewfinder is a little squinty, but good by 50s standards and the rangefinder patch has that magic x-factor which makes focussing a pleasure. The IIb appears to compete well with the Kodak Retina IIa, Agfa Ambi-Silette and Voigtlander Vitessa as queen of the 1950s German mid-price rangefinders.
Now I'm looking for the lenses...
I have long wanted to sample the highly regarded Walter Voss Diax - preferably a IIa or IIb, both of which include a built-in rangefinder.
The distribution of Diax-products in New-Zealand was organized by T.A. Macalister Ltd, 12 Albert St. Auckland C.1 after having finalised arrangements with Gardener&Salmon (Australia) in 1952 (Australasian Popular Photographer, June 1952)Thus, Diax crop up regularly in New Zealand, but until now I have always been outbid on our local web auction.
Finally, I bit the bullet, put heart over common-sense and placed a "must-have" maximum bid on a IIb with the desirable Schneider-Krauznach Xenon f2.0/50mm lens. I paid about 2/3 of what I was prepared to go to in order to reel one in.
The camera doesn't disappoint. It's dusty and a little scuffed/corroded but un-dented. The lens is smudgy but clean of fungus and the Synchro Compur shutter actually clicks, though it is very dozy.
And the Diax reputation? 1st impressions are that it is well deserved. The IIb is reassuringly heavy and really pleasant to handle; the viewfinder is a little squinty, but good by 50s standards and the rangefinder patch has that magic x-factor which makes focussing a pleasure. The IIb appears to compete well with the Kodak Retina IIa, Agfa Ambi-Silette and Voigtlander Vitessa as queen of the 1950s German mid-price rangefinders.
Now I'm looking for the lenses...
