Bessa R3A, Leica M5 or Contax G2?

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Hi, This is my first post and I'm not sure this is in the correct place, apologies in advance if it is. 😱

Anyway I'm after a rangefinder, I like to shoot street, candid, reportage style mainly, I suppose I just like people. Apart from my Canon 1dnk2n, 6 months ago I brought a Olympus OM4ti with various lens and I just love film, I would say I'm shooting 80% Film now.

I'm looking for a rangefinder and would love some help please, three cameras which I've read good things about Bessa R3A, Leica M5 & Contax G2, I'm leaning towards those, AF isn't necessary but I would like AE, hence one of the reasons why I was looking at those three.

I have about £1000 but could push to £1200 if needed, if I got a cheap Bessa then I think I would look at buying a MF camera also.

Any help/ideas would be appreciated, sorry if I've been a bit long winded!

Cheers
 
for that money a second hand R2A with a cv 35/f2.5 and 75/f2.5 would do almost everything you need, and leave mony for film and euro-star tickets to Paris to take some moody autumn photos
 
The M5 does not do Auto-exposure.

The Bessa is a surprisingly good camera, well made and it takes the same wonderful lenses as the Leica. It is, however, not as well made as a Leica. In practice, this does not matter.

I have never held a Contax in my hands, so I can't give any help there.

My recommendations: Used Bessa and a MF camera. I love medium format, though. It is all about "sensor" size.
 
M5 - it's a Leica. No AE, framelines for 35-135mm lenses

R3A - Good build, has AE, electronic shutter and framelines for 40,50,75 and 90mm lenses.

G2 - AF, tunnel viewfinder (not a brightline type finder)

If you're after reliability and durability then M5, if you want the AE then R3A. I wouldn't recommend the G2, but that's just my opinion, I haven't used it, but have M6 and Bessa R2.

BTW: welcome to the forum, and I understand why you like OM-4Ti more than the tank EOS1xyz and now are looking for a RF. My brother has just bought a EOS1V and it's a huge beast compared to either my OM cameras or my rangefinders.
 
I just got an R3A, but I might have gone with Zeiss Ikon ZI, but it was a bit out of my budget. Check it out. It is supposed to have a great viewfinder and better finish (no personal experience) than Bessa - though I am happy with mine.
 
WElcome to RFF.

I use the R3a and the G1 and 2 and the OMs. The r3A is closest (to me) to the OM SLR experience when usign a 40/50mm in particular. Lovely bright viewfinder and a 28mm (with external finder) and 40 or 50mm combo would be great here. I like the 75mm heilar on the R3a too, and don't find focussing difficult.

The Gs are a more auto experience and the finders are not as nice for sure. But the lenses - such fantastic value. I had the G2 first but think I like the G1 better because of the smaller size.

I'd really like to get an M5 one day too - it or an m2 are my wish list Ms.

The minolta CLE is a grat suggestion for a very compact package (the 40mm rokkor rocks).

You might also consider the Hexar RF which is a bit of a mix between the Gs and the bessa - very well built and a 28 mm finder built in.

Lenses - well that discussion could take ages!!

good luck in your choices.
 
I have an m2 and a r3a. The r3a i got recently for 1) useable framelines for a 90mm lens and very good ones for 50mm (1:! finder is great) and 2) auto exposure/metering in general.

Since i got it i use the r3a most of the time. The m2 feels great but loading it is more cumbersome, need to use sunny16 or external meter, and well, 1:1 mag finder is much better for long lenses.
Focusing would not be a real problem but the framelines for a 90 on the m2 are ridiculously small.

However if you are a 28-to-50 shooter, you are better off with a smaller mag finder, i say forget about the r3a. If you want cheap and metered+auto exposure go for the r2a; if you have more $ go for the zeiss ikon or a m5,6,7,... or a koni hexar rf.

The low price of the Bessa's is definitely NOT linearly reflected in their quality.

I am also using a medium format rf very often. It's a fuji gw690ii. It's a huge non-metered fixed lens beast but it's worth it!
 
For many people, all roads lead to the M6, M7, or MP when you get started on the slippery slope of film RF photography. This could seem off topic, but I say this b/c I thought I could start on the Bessa R (back then), G2, classic M (M2, M5, CL) and finally ended up having an indispensable M6. (And with all the money I could have saved from not buying and selling a ton of equipment, I could have gotten an MP!)
 
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"all roads lead to the M6, M7, or MP"

I must be stuck in one of those traffic circles.
I started with a G2. Sold it, and then bought another one a year later. Sold it, and bought another G2. Sold it, and then bought a Zeiss Ikon. I thought i was happy, but then i realized i really just don't like composing/focusing a rangefinder. So, i bought another G2 kit. That will be it for me. If i end up selling the G2 again, i'll stick exclusively with SLRs.

The G2 is pretty amazing, if you don't mind the viewfinder.
 
I vote for the G2. Nothing is worse than missing a shot while loading a roll of film...the G2 is so much easier for me to load than any M. And lenses are the bargain of the century. Easily as top notch as any Leica glass. The VF is not the best but it serves the purpose, it frames the view, it's a zoom finder and parallax corrected. Plus many of the lenses focus to 0.5m. I love the feel of an M Leica but much prefer to shoot the G2.
 
digitalintrigue said:
I vote for the G2. Nothing is worse than missing a shot while loading a roll of film...the G2 is so much easier for me to load than any M. And lenses are the bargain of the century. Easily as top notch as any Leica glass. The VF is not the best but it serves the purpose, it frames the view, it's a zoom finder and parallax corrected. Plus many of the lenses focus to 0.5m. I love the feel of an M Leica but much prefer to shoot the G2.
Click to expand...

The best value for money you can pick up in lenses right now. That is, give me the G1 over the G2 any time - it is smaller, a even better bargain these days, and the difference is mostly where it does not matter. Both finders work, but are far from glorious, either AF needs discipline and control, and the updated ergonomics IMHO have ups ( nicely thumb placed AF lock) as well as downs (the focus mimicing the nuisance on the original Contax II or Super Ikonta).
 
I've owned three G1s, I like that it is smaller but the G2 appears to be more sure of itself with AF. Maybe that's just my perception? Not sure. I never use the manual focus wheel. I get more focusing errors with an M than I ever have with a G1/G2.
 
Wow, what a forum, I didn't expect such a quick and vast response, thanks guys, mind you I'm still not sure which way to go.

I do have some questions though, I wear glasses so how would either of those 3 effect my viewing, ie smaller viewfinder in the G1/G2? Also how noisy is the AF on the Contax?

As for the Bessa and M5, what sort of glass could I buy, I can't afford to put a grands worth on there straight away, are there any good 35-50mm at reasonable prices which fit?

Thanks again for all of your help.
 
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