Bessa R2 Outfit: Good Deal?

[Kevin]

Hi all,

I just got an email from a private local person selling his backup Bessa R2 outfit. His price is 1300 Euro. Is this a good deal? Here are the specs:

Voigtländer Bessa R2 (*)
Heliar 5.6/12mm
Color-Skopar 4/21mm
Ultron 1.7/35mm
Apo-Lanthar 3.5/90mm
Double Hotshoe Adapter
Bubble Water Scale
Käsemann Polarizer Filter
77mm Filter Adapter
Linhof Tripod Ball Head
Case

*Altogether 20 Films exposed.


Just tallying up the prices from CameraQuest, the outfit (body and lenses) comes to $2211 or Euro 1788.

Thanks for any feedback,
Kevin

 

[rover]

If it is all in good condition I think you found a great kit.

 

[chug]

I think you are on to a winner with that 🙂

 

[dcsang]

Wow.. no need to go collecting all the lenses separately either.
As long as it's in good condition.. it looks like a winner.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Roman]

Yeah, marvellous deal, if everything is OK - go for it, the R2 with any 2 of the lenses mentioned would usually go for more than that.

Roman

 

[fgianni]

If you decide not to go for it, please put me in contact with the seller 😉

 

[thmk]

Wow, this is indeed a great deal.

 

[Kevin]

Well the deal gets even better. The price ís 1200 Euro, not 1300 Euro, and haggling hasn't started yet. Also, the finder for the 12mm went missing somewhere, so he is lowering the price down to 1000 Euro for the lot.

Question: Are there separate finders for the 12mm and the 21mm ??

I have an appointment on Friday to view the equipment and run a test roll through the camera. I will keep you posted and make some digi-pics there, in the event I turn the offer down and someone else wants it.

Apparantly the seller is a 60-something professional photographer who went digital but still carried the film equipment with him on his world travels during the last 3 years. He has been using that monster Kodak 14MB thing, forget the name.

That's all I know for now.

Kevin

 

[chug]

Yeah, you can buy finders alone for all the VC lenses 🙂

http://www.cameraquest.com/voigtacc.htm

Cheers

 

[Terence T]

Wow, excellent find, I'd buy it in a hearbeat.

 

[Kevin]

Well I drove to the seller and guess what?

The Bessa "R2" is a Bessar R in very used condition.
The body has missing paint and scratches all over it.
All of the lenses have been used and show it.
Very disappointing....I have to pass on this deal.

Thanks for the advice, tho.
Kevin

 

[chug]

Ah that sucks!

 

[Peter]

What kind of a photographer who will mislabel a Bessa R as a R2!

 

[Kevin]

One who cannot tell the difference between 20 rolls and perhaps 200 ??

 

[Terence T]

What kind of a photographer who will mislabel a Bessa R as a R2!

Well, there was a lot of wear on the body, perhaps the "2" bit was worn and he couldn't tell 🙂

 

[Terence T]

Kevin, didn't you try to talk him down on the prices? It might have still been a worthwhile buy at the right price, especially for the lenses.

 

[Kevin]

I told him I would think about it for a while - try to find the body I want and get back to him on the lenses. Because he wants to sell the whole lot to one buyer, he needs a few days to consider breaking it up into separate lots.

What would be a good price for just the 4 used lenses? No finders, just the 12, 21, 35 and 90 ??

 

[Roman]

The 90 usually goes for around 200 (+/- 30) Euros on German Ebay - if you can find one at all.

Roman

 

[Kevin]

What would you pay for the 4 lenses without finders? 700 Euro?

 

[rover]

I figured about 950E with the finders, so....