Bessa R4A Review
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principe azul
Ian
Thanks for the heads-up. I want to read as much as I can about it, to dissuade me from getting one - because I've just bought a Hexar RF. 🙂
Played with an R4A in a shop. Superb finder, and, judging from a few finder comparisons, framelines that aren't undersized.
Two nitpicks in the review. It says the camera focuses from 0.5m - some confusion with the lens the reviewer used, as the rf only goes from 0.7m. It also says there's a multiple exposure lever - I'm not convinced there is, and I can't find any other reference to it.
A 0.52x finder is pretty good. With a 50mm lens, it's pretty poor in comparison with a 0.7x-0.85x SLR. But with a 21mm lens, the Bessa is still 0.52x (I think the eternal finders are about 0.42x), but the SLR becomes something like a 0.3x-0.38x view.
Played with an R4A in a shop. Superb finder, and, judging from a few finder comparisons, framelines that aren't undersized.
Two nitpicks in the review. It says the camera focuses from 0.5m - some confusion with the lens the reviewer used, as the rf only goes from 0.7m. It also says there's a multiple exposure lever - I'm not convinced there is, and I can't find any other reference to it.
A 0.52x finder is pretty good. With a 50mm lens, it's pretty poor in comparison with a 0.7x-0.85x SLR. But with a 21mm lens, the Bessa is still 0.52x (I think the eternal finders are about 0.42x), but the SLR becomes something like a 0.3x-0.38x view.
sweathog
Well-known
Just because I didn't want a Bessa enough already. Still, camera buying is a low priority until I've finished my photography course, which is going to be very expensive.
peter_n
Veteran
I like mine a lot. The only thing I don't like is the film loading, it seems clumsy in comparison to my Leicas. But the perfect camera for a 21 or 24/25mm lens. You wonder of Leica are selling so many 0.58 M bodies now this is available.
ClaremontPhoto
Jon Claremont
I think it is sloppy review.
Not just the multiple exposure thing, but also the trigger winder that takes the shot and winds on, the all metal body, the previous R3 design, and the new shutter lock.
Not just the multiple exposure thing, but also the trigger winder that takes the shot and winds on, the all metal body, the previous R3 design, and the new shutter lock.
oscroft
Veteran
In proofreading mode, I found two errors:
"Cosina is building on this by introducing a pair of compact ‘pancake’ type wide-angle lenses – a 25mm f4.0 and a 21mm f4.0 – which compliment the R4 bodies beautifully"
What, they whisper in its ear and tell it how nice it is? 😀 (He meant "complement", of course).
"Yet the Japanese-made Cosina cameras simply aren’t that far behind in terms of their overall quality, capabilities and reliability… and nor, for that matter, in terms of the lens’s optical performance."
Unless he's only talking about one lens, that should have been "the lenses' optical performance".
But back to practicality - no, I haven't spotted a multiple-exposure lever on my R4A either.
"Cosina is building on this by introducing a pair of compact ‘pancake’ type wide-angle lenses – a 25mm f4.0 and a 21mm f4.0 – which compliment the R4 bodies beautifully"
What, they whisper in its ear and tell it how nice it is? 😀 (He meant "complement", of course).
"Yet the Japanese-made Cosina cameras simply aren’t that far behind in terms of their overall quality, capabilities and reliability… and nor, for that matter, in terms of the lens’s optical performance."
Unless he's only talking about one lens, that should have been "the lenses' optical performance".
But back to practicality - no, I haven't spotted a multiple-exposure lever on my R4A either.
