The film body is just like a black box that holds the film. The modern day RF bodies, like the Voigtlander has pretty accurate area metering and accurate shutter. What really matters in picture taking is the lens that you use and your composition and skill.
One advantage of the RF bodies over other cameras is the size. You can practically use it on any situation without getting your subject over conscious that you are taking their pictures. Sometimes, people might even mistaken that you are using a toy instead. With it diminutive size people feel less threatened and less shy and more willing to accept you into their environment/world. That's practically the gist of journalistic reportage in the 50's & 60's. Cameras were made small, unobtrusive, portable and most important of all SIMPLE.
I don't understand why cameras are made so complicated these days. So many metering modes, so many focusing zones, so many different kind of jumbo mumbo settings... maybe that's the only way to make consumer feel that will make their bucks worth...
But, does that mean better pictures?
Cameras like the Bessa III 667 made so simple might not appeal to the Singaporean market, but in the western world and Japanese market, it has taken the analog photography market by storm.
Anyway... back to your question... you can check out some of the pictures taken with RF bodies on my
flickr here . There are a mixture of pictures taken with the Bessa bodies, Leica M6, Nikon S, Bessa III & a couple of medium format bodies.... Also taken with different Voigtlander lenses, which shows the characteristic of the pictures.
Most of the pictures were taken using film. Some were taken using digital (mostly product shots). I am a film guy. I don't really believe better pictures, art and composition has anything to do with technology at all (maybe only the clone tool to clear the dust and level to adjust the lighting...)
One advise for any new starter into film... It's not like digital that you need to invest $2000 on a DSLR system to jump into all the mumbo, jumbo this lens, that lens VR, stabalizer, ISO6400 bodies....
You can get started with a very good tool to take superb pictures just with a S$120 GTN or GSN or Canonet or XA. All you need is some patience and understanding light and composition to take good pictures. Then invest in a entry level scanner like the Canoscan 8800F which cost about S$300 to scan your pictures, so you don't have to rely on the labs to charge you $12 for each roll of film that you send for scanning. You can do B&W developing yourself and it is relatively cheap, which might work out to less than $1 per roll of developing cost!
People always ask me whether it's worth the money to get into the digital M gears... and my reply is always "even if you buy velvia and send your slides for E6 development and scan and you do that at an average 2 rolls per week, and do that for 2 years, you will never hit the the price of a new M8.2 body.
If you are unsure whether film is for you, take my advise, get one of those fixed lens RF cameras mentioned above to try out first, you might get a good deal and even earn a profit selling it after using for 2 months.
If you find that film and RF is for you, you can invest in the Bessa bodies with a good fast f1.4 lens (35/f1.4, 40/f1.4). That will keep you happy for a while and start you shooting in most situations.
If after using the Bessa RF for 6 months to a year and God of Fortune like you so much and give you enough budget to upgrade, you can go for Leica gears... but... be warned... once you tread into the Leica world, it is a point of no return...
Hope that helps you in your decision making....
