Bessa shotgun, or why is the Bessa so loud?

ISO

ISO

Established
Local time
10:32 AM
Joined
Mar 7, 2007
Messages
158
Location
London
View My Gallery
I never fired a real weapon in my life, but I think the Bessa R2 comes close to it. I am just testing this beautiful olive Bessa R2, which I am interested to buy and use for street photos. But it turns out this beauty is a beast. I think people must get scared when you "fire" the camera on them. You can be happy, if people are not even getting aggressive by that sound. Doing streetphotos unnoticed - forget it. This is by far the loudest camera I ever had in my hands. Do not get me wrong, there is some really nice stuff on a Bessa, especially the VF. But the shutter sound and the strap lug design, is IN MY OPINION a reason to never ever buy a Bessa. Where do you use the Bessa ? Somebody uses a Bessa for street photographie ? ...and is there a way to absorb the shutter sound? Maybe someone can tell me why the shutter makes this horrible sound? Was it the intention of the CV designers to make a shotgun ?

This is MY personal experience and thoughts on a first check of the functions on THIS olive Bessa R2 and is based on personal experience I have with other cameras.
 
Last edited:
the shot from a gun is way louder than the from a bessa, believe me.

i do street shooting almost exclusively and have never had anyone look up when i have fired off ANY camera on the street.
not a bessa or a leica or a zeiss ikon or a fixed lens camera or a mamiya 6 or a ......
 
Thanks. So which is the loudest? bessa or a leica or a zeiss ikon or a fixed lens camera or a mamiya 6 or a ......???
 
Olympus 35 SP RD RD, XAs 🙂, Canonet, Konica S2, Minolta 7 and 7SII, Konica S3 , Yashica Electro, Rollei 35 🙂, Contax G2 ....

I am not saying the Bessas are bad cameras. Bessas are even great for the price you pay, but...
 
Last edited:
A group of us were comparing shutter sounds just last week. The general consensus was that the Bessa shutter is not that much louder than a M6 shutter - I DON'T WANT TO START A SHUTTER LOUDNESS WAR!! -. The Bessa shutter has a sharper metallic click versus the lower frequency, softer sound of the M6. The M6 would be less noticeable in a quiet environment, but street shooting, the shutter sound is buried in all the background sound. The Bessa sounds loud when pressed up to your face, but in reality it is not that notieable. You would be more apt to be noticed on the street just because you are pointing a camera at someone, not because of the shutter sound IMHO.

Mike

Disclaimer: results may vary and are subjective. The opinion above does not imply that Cosina Voigtländer camera are better or quieter than other cameras nor does it necessarily reflect the opions or policies of RANGEFINDERFORUM.
 
Sorry CVBR3M, that was not my intention. Argument? No, sure a shotgun is way louder, but this Bessa R2 is the first camera I really notice the sound of the shutter. Maybe it is just the one I have, but believe me it is very loud compared to my other cameras.
 
It's so loud because it has two curtains, (four really), all metal, and they have a fast top speed. There is less body vibration though than a slr because of no mirror.
I think they sound great and refined, love the way they sound.
Most cameras today go 'beep' for the shutter sound, and I'd think anyone younger than about 25 won't even recognize the sound a bessa makes as a shutter, or the bessa as a camera, since it has no screen and won't make telephone calls.

Nobody can hear anything on the streets of boston, since all have earbuds in.
 
Last edited:
Use a nice thick leather half case (like a Luigi). It will make a significant difference.

Leicas are quieter but you cann't burn a hole in a Bessa curtains. There is no
free lunch.

Roland.
 
ISO, you are 100% right ... yes, I was asking myself the same question, but
we can't do nothing about that ... roots of this fantastic camera are in Konica SLR models ... If you(or Petar Dima) was on Mr.K - s place, BESSA would be cheap but quiet camera ... few days ago I tried to take a shot of my friend - he was talking, he didn't saw camera in my hands - when I've pressed shutter realise button,
he looked at me as I shoot with gun( as you said ) ... we must shoot with
loud , but in every other way perfect BESSA.
Regards, Vlad.
 
Thanks. I want to say this again, the Bessa is a really nice camera, has one of the best VF and has a nice range of shutter speeds. I am working on, to like the shutter sound as well. I already told myself, "now that is a camera", when clicking the button. As said before I never tested this one in the streets and was just worried that people will notice this sound more than the -klick- of other cameras. I think it is a great camera for the price and what you can do with it...
 
Last edited:
I use a Bessa R and the shutter is not any louder than my Leica IIIF. As biomed pointed out, the frequency is different. My Mossberg 590 is much louder when fired, much, much louder.

If you want something really quiet get something with a leaf shutter and no mirrors. A Century Graphic with a 6x6 roll film holder for instance would be nearly silent and give you a great big negative.
 
Last edited:
It's all in your mind. I shoot with my bessas in the street all the time and no one pays any attention. Matter of fact I have grown to like it. Lets me know I got the shot off. My Canonet is so quiet sometimes especially in a noisy environment I couldn't tell if the shutter clicked off or not until I advanced the film lever. I prefer to here something.
 
the more you use a camera the less you notice it.

the sound you are noticing is likely more the type of sound then the actual decibel level. i did a check with my spl (sound pressure level) meter and the bessa was not significantly louder than other cameras i had on hand. (the results are posted here somewhere)
 
back alley said:
the more you use a camera the less you notice it.

the sound you are noticing is likely more the type of sound then the actual decibel level. i did a check with my spl (sound pressure level) meter and the bessa was not significantly louder than other cameras i had on hand. (the results are posted here somewhere)
Click to expand...

But that's because you compared it to the ZI ....

🙂 J/K

Seriously, I am always amazed when people are concerned about shutter noise but do not
use a half case. A really low hanging fruit.
 
almost quite right rollie.

the sound of the bessa r4m and the zeiss ikon are very disimilar yet the level of sound is very close.
and the worst part for me is i cannot decide which sound i prefer. when shooting the r4 i like THAT sound but when shooting the zi i like THAT sound too.
 
thomasw_ said:
roland, i see you are addicted to sonnars; by any chance are you a fan of the biogons...the 35/2, the 28/2.8 or 25/2.8?
Click to expand...

I like the size and behavior of my v3 Summicron.

But one day, I'll do like you and will get a 28/2.8 (remember
who recommended it to you 🙂 )

I do like my Hassi Distagon, too. Cheers,

Roland.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

das
Ode to the Voigtlander Bessa R4 Series
Replies
18
Views
2K
Sonnar2
Sonnar2
P
Voigtlander bessa r2m mechanical question
Replies
2
Views
765
CameraQuest
CameraQuest
V
Bessa R film door movement
Replies
4
Views
1K
NNMark
N
A
Bessa RF 6x9 beam splitter replacement
Replies
10
Views
491
PRJ
PRJ
Z
Bessa R - Does this have a faulty rangefinder?
Replies
2
Views
953
rfaspen
rfaspen
Back
Top Bottom