Bessa-T what a nice rangefinder!

[pvdhaar]

Hi all,

I had the opportunity to scoop up a black Bessa-T 🙂 . The first thing I thought when I saw the cardboard box was: 'Hey, that's a small box!'. But imagine my surprise when it was opened and the Bessa-T proved to occupy a mere fraction of it.. This is one small camera, fits nicely in the hand, and has just the right weight. Shutter sound may not be as quiet as my Hexar AF shutter/advance in silent mode, but it still beats any other camera I've had.

Best part is the rangefinder. What a joy to have a larger than 1x magnification. This is an easy to focus puppy, so much easier than with a 0.6x viewfinder. I do expect to have to get used to the separate exposure-leds, viewfinder, and rangefinder windows though. So far, I haven't been able to really tell because the 50mm finder hasn't arrived yet. I'll be framing by guesswork untill then.

By the way, does anyone know the field of view of the Bessa-T rangefinder window? Would be nice if it matches the 90mm...

 

[Doug]

Sweet little camera, and decidedly odd! Can be quite a conversation piece. The RF field is circular, as I see it, with fuzzy edges, and covers about the same angle as a 135mm lens, looking at the short side of the viewfinder field.

 

[Jacob]

According to the Bessa T info page at CameraQuest the view thru the RF is about 300mm. I think that the accuracy of the x1.5 rangefinder makes up for the inconvinience of separate viewfinders. And the exterior LEDs makes it easy and discreet to adjust the settings when You move around in different lighting conditions. They are easily seen when You have the camera to Your eye too.
Jacob

 

[taffer]

Ahhhh what a great little secret eh ? The Bessa-T is indeed an odd machine, but IMHO, its design is masterly done to match its oddities.

For the features/quality/price I'd say is the best CV bargain out there, and in black is sure looks great 😎

 

[captainslack]

*sigh* I want one very badly. Hopefully I'll have saved up the money before Cameraquest sells out or starts charging for shipping again.