Why Bessa?

more useful

more useful

better meter, 1:1 type VF, less squinting. Don't need CLA's every year or so, rewinds don't jam, film loading is 10x quicker, shutter is twice or quadruple as fast. Standard batteries, and they last forever.


krazyklod said:
Why did you choose the Bessa? And why it over other RFs like the Leica Ms, CLs Minolta CLEs etc?
Click to expand...
 
First I picked an R4M. Reason: no other brand makes a camera like that one: the best camera for wide angle (15-35mm) shooting without external finder. I got it for my 15mm lens. Then I got a second lens (a 28mm) for it.

Then I got an R3A. Reason: a second body to make a system with the R4M. With its 1:1 finder, it's really comfortable to shoot with both eyes open, so the camera is great for longer than 35mm lenses, and with its autoexposure it's very fast. I got the 40 1.4 for it, and then a 90 Summicron.

Then I liked the peculiar Bessa T (kind of a metered, ultralight Leica Barnack with faster shutter, and for no finder use or external finder use... And with a wonderful external meter readout) and got one, first for having a second body loaded with color for 15mm use... But I liked the T so much I got another one... Then I got a couple of 50's: a collapsible 3.5 and a 1.5... And for feeling a Leica I got a Barnack: a IIIF... It's nice, but I much prefer any of my Bessas...

So why do I own four Bessas? Because they're the best price/performance cameras in the market, and because they are designed by people who love photography and who know about Leicas, so Bessas are great and specific tools.

Cheers,

Juan
 
Two months in my M4 ownership and so far I miss my Bessa. I'll give the Leica another few months to grow on me, but if we don't mesh, it'll go to the classifiers and I'll be looking for an r2m. Loved the weight and handling of the Bessa and I'll even fess up to liking the looks (though not as much as the M).

The Leica was the dream of a lifetime, but the Bessa are just wonderful little cameras that for my amateur use worked filled every need aside from that of allowing me to feel like I was photographing with a legendary piece of equipment...well maybe one day the Bessas will be legendary too!
 
gentleman above said he got R4 because it's unique. same for me with bessa T. it has a 1.5 VF, supposedly the most accurate for focusing fast lenses, amd i find it just great for focusing with my bad eyesight. it has an external meter, which is just great and makes life much easier. because it has no framelines, and i had a tewe 35-135 vf just hanging around, i have ability to use any lens without distracting frame lines or makeshift approximations. i really love that thing!
 
Ampguy: The Bessa's are more advanced than I first thought. And well compared to the Leica loading anything is fast and simple.

Juan: Sounds like you've gotten a little addiction, haha. Which of the four is your favourite?

Froyd: What first attracted you to the Leicas?

Rbelyell: Don't you find it difficult to frame without framelines?
 
Krazyklod, in a nutshell, I always wanted to use one and I stumbled upon a good deal. If you look for a while you can snap up a Leica M for little more than a new Voigtlander.

I'm not giving up on the Leica quite yet, but I wanted to make the point that for some people Bessas are a better fit. That might just prove to be the case for me.

BTW- in regards to the film loading, I found that part VERY easy to get used to on the M4. Might be a little more of a pain on earlier M, but I don't think the Leica loading is as bad as I was led to believe. I kinda like it, actually. Quite foolproof.
 
I've just got a Bessa T, and so far, really enjoying it. I used to own an M6., and although I liked it, I was uncomfortable having £1000 dangling around my neck, not from a theft point of view, it just that I felt £1000 can be spent a lot better. I also used to own a Fuji Gf670, which was worth about the same, but I felt the GF670 was worth the money, the M6 never gave me that feeling. Not trying to start an argument, just how I felt.

Leica cameras are nice, but they aren't the holy grail.
 
krazyklod said:
Ampguy: The Bessa's are more advanced than I first thought. And well compared to the Leica loading anything is fast and simple.

Juan: Sounds like you've gotten a little addiction, haha. Which of the four is your favourite?

Froyd: What first attracted you to the Leicas?

Rbelyell: Don't you find it difficult to frame without framelines?
Click to expand...

KK, i have a tewe 35-135mm hot shoe attachable vf, so i set it to whatever mm lens i'm using and i get a perfect frame for each lens, just no framelines.
 
krazyklod said:
Ampguy: The Bessa's are more advanced than I first thought. And well compared to the Leica loading anything is fast and simple.

Juan: Sounds like you've gotten a little addiction, haha. Which of the four is your favourite?
Froyd: What first attracted you to the Leicas?

Rbelyell: Don't you find it difficult to frame without framelines?
Click to expand...

I love them all may sound silly, but it's just true!

If I had to pick just one forever (it doesn't happen) it would be the R3A because I've used my 28 (full finder view "a la SLR" again) on it too (+40&90) and the 1:1 finder and AE are nice, and the camera has given me no problem at all being electronic (no Bessa has, indeed)... But the cool thing is I don't have to pick one: I enjoy them all and they make a powerful system.

Ts weigh nothing! When I'm out with another camera and 400 film loaded, I carry my Ts with 50 film and 1600 film, so I can decide the aperture no matter the place and light... Those bodies are incredibly light!

Cheers,

Juan
 
I use my Canon P's the most the Canon IIs2 also a camera that gets a lot of use. But. .. ... that Bessa R has so much going for it . First the viewfinder is just so bright - much more so than any of the ones I've mentioned and then there's that fine meter, lastly all my lenses fit with that m-39 mount. Between the one Bessa and my seven Canons all my needs are met.
 
I have owned 2 Bessa's. One Bessa R and a R2A. Both were great little cameras but in the end I sold them to pay for Leica m bodies. I do miss having the R2A.. not as smooth as my M3 but it was really nice to have a built in meter and aperture priority for those days when all I wanted to do was shoot.

The one thing that I didn't like about them was how they would hang at an odd angle around the neck.
 
I bought r3m because 1:1 finder.
For me, one of the main reasons I stepped into the world of RF.

But it not all good. It has totally spoiled me.
I dont want to use any other camera. For me, both eyes open is the best thing ever.
 
Started with a Leica MP, then tried a Bessa R3M, then went for a Nikon FM2n, then an FM. Oh then I went to a Kodak Brownie, when will it end? Just joking. Thanks Mr K. Bessa's got the whole RF thing going for me again, about 7 years ago.
 
krazyklod said:
Ampguy: The Bessa's are more advanced than I first thought. And well compared to the Leica loading anything is fast and simple.

Juan: Sounds like you've gotten a little addiction, haha. Which of the four is your favourite?

Froyd: What first attracted you to the Leicas?

Rbelyell: Don't you find it difficult to frame without framelines?
Click to expand...

I suppose he was referring to the very big 1,5x RF magnification, not VF. The Bessa T has no VF at all. You always use an external one. The high RF magnification makes this body a perfect tool for 90/135mm lenses.
BTW: The Bessa T has raised on my wishlist too... It might be soon on top of it.
 
I came to the Bessa R from '70s fixed lens RF cameras and FSU cameras. With the excellent VF, modern batteries, and the ability to use a wide array of good LTM lens choices, I have been very happy with the R. I have since got an R2a that hits those same high points plus gives me the option of using M-mount lenses as well.
I haven't used a Leica, yet, but will eventually try one out. But for now, anyway, the Bessas are sufficient to my needs.
Rob
 
+1 for Bessa T - although lately, unless I'm shooting E6, I just shoot a Barnack. The Bessa meter can be distracting and it doesn't tell me much I don't already know.

I, too, like my RF view magnified. I'm sure others agree and I'm pretty sure it's why the IIIg arrived well after the M came out. Even the 1:1 of the Bessa R3 seems small for me. The RF on the Bessa T is amazing.

Now, for framing, it works the opposite way (for me). I like accessory finders with the magnification (minimization?) matched to the FOV.
 
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