Light weight; fantastic 15mm lens

Haven't found any yet

I found a 100 year anniversary (Heliar) model when traveling in Amsterdam last week. I had the opportunity to run a few rolls of film and the results were terrific. The lens is very sharp with little distortion for such a wide lens.
The camera is a delight to hold and the metering system, on the top of the camera, was easy to see and adjust. Exposure was quite accurate in all situations encountered so far.
Highly recomnmended

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About as simple as you can get.

Fine line of lenses made by Cosina.

You can even use old screw-mount Leica lenses (if you can find the appropriate shoe-mount viewfinder).

Lack of a rangefinder or AF means you have to guess the focusing distance and rely on depth of field to cover your mistakes. (Use of wide angle lenses and stopping down makes this less of a problem, though.)

Somewhat cheesy feel (body, not lenses).

As reported by others, the lenses are fantastic. Cosina seems to be trying to hide the origins of their lenses by buying the defunct Voigtlander brand to put on their best-quality stuff, but they have nothing to be ashamed of with these lenses.

But. . . this is a review of the body, which is really only of average quality, and little more than a stripped version of Cosina's cheap generic SLR body. It gets the job done, but doesn't feel like it has long-term durability. It is a good value though, because other cameras that can mount these lenses (i.e. Leica) are quite expensive.

If you can swing the extra money, I recommend getting the Bessa R rangefinder version (or even a screwmount Leica), so you can effectively use the normal and tele lenses, too. If you just want a cheap ultrawide angle camera, though, the L setup is probably impossible to beat at its price.

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There is really nothing else quite like it. How many other 35mm camera bodies are there that don't even have a built-in viewfinder?

Good solid piece of equipment. Reliable in all conditions.

Looks great but feels cheap.

I saw many guys on this review board complaining about lack of viewfinder. My answer to you: get a BessaR. It's a good snapshot camera for outdoor photography. I won't cry if I drop it or loose it. With 15mm atached to it I have one in my pocket all the time.

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BessaR, leica M6

The 15mm lens is fantastic, The camera is simple and easy to use, the price is low for such a fantastic lens.

Quality, light metering.

I use it with the 15mm lens. This lens is unbelievably good. Bright and sharp, even in the corners of the image. I also use a Contax SLR, so I'm used to the quality of Carl Zeiss lenses and the 15mm compares well. I don't think you could get that kind of quality from a 15mm SLR lens. You even get both the lens and the body for less than you would pay for just the SLR lens.
It's great for street photography. Light and handy and the wide-angle is fun to use and you don't need a rangefinder. The body doesn't have the quality of my Contax SLR, but it feels OK and I haven't had any problems with it. I recommend buying it with a wide angle lens, instead of buying an extra wide-angle for your SLR.

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Contax 167MT