Bought a Bessa R3A, need lens advice.

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Michaelbs

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Do you Bessa R3A owners stay with 40 and 50mm lenses?
Anyone with 35mm lens on this camera? Is it acceptable with 35mm on this particular body?

Which 35, 40, 50 mm lens would you recommend within a budget of lets say 900usd (one lens).

Preference: sharp wide open (at least center sharp) at f1.2 or 1.4.

Please advice.
 
I have Canon 50/1.4 LTM on a M6 and it's tack sharp at f1.4, pretty much across the frame except extreme edges. And it's about 300USD used, well within your budget. (I am selling one right now)
I believe Voigtlander 40 has a very good reputation and appeals to many BW shooters. Though it's also said to be less sharp than Summicrons and less contrasty (Hence favors B&W shots)

https://flic.kr/p/xpVCRJ
This is one shot with my Canon at f1.4
 
Consider carefully the frames - for me ( I wear glasses) even the 50mm frame was too tight.
I think that the sharpest fast rf lens you can find within your budget is the Nokton 50/1.5, but if you can live with f 2.0, then simply get the Planar - lenses don't get much sharper than that.
 
I have an R3A and would recommend a 50mm lens as the 1:1 VF is built for that.
The 40mm is ok, but the view through the camera is not as good. Would not use a 35mm lens as there are no frame markings for it.

50mm lens? $900 budget? New or used Zeiss Planar 50mm f2 would be my #1 choice.
Voigtlander 50mm 1.5 new or used would be my #2 (maybe tied for #1).
Used Leica Summicron 50s would be my #3. Or maybe higher..
 
Michaelbs said:
Which 35, 40, 50 mm lens would you recommend within a budget of lets say 900usd (one lens).

Preference: sharp wide open (at least center sharp) at f1.2 or 1.4.

Please advice.
Click to expand...

Any halfway modern M-mount lens should qualify for being at least "center sharp" on film. Even my 50 year old Canon 50/1.8 LTM is. Given the 40mm framelines of the R3 I´d chose a 40/1.4 Nokton.
 
50mm 1.5 nokton for me. I could never bind with the vc 40 and there is little space outside the frame lines.

If you want 35mm get a r2 a or m.
 
Thanks for your suggestions! Appreciated!
I currently own a Canon EF 50mm f1.2 L for my digital 5d3. Is there any way to make it work with the Bessa with genuine control of aperture?
 
I read that the implementation of the rf windows on Bessa R ( shorter distance than Leica M) makes it difficult to nail focus when the lens is wide open eg. Ff1.4
Is this correct?
 
If you can use the 40mm frames(i.e. you are comfortable seeing it) , go for the voigtlander 40mm. The set up is small, and 40mm is more all around. If not, plenty of fast center sharp lenses around. Maybe a used zm sonnar. Voigtlander Noktons. The Nokton f1.1 is around 1000 dollars, and was developed with the R3x in mind, I think. Can't go faster in a budget on a 50, and I hear it's center sharp.
 
So I've narrowed my options on a budget down to:
zeiss planar T 50mm zm f2. ( small, beautiful bokeh, sharp at f2)
Nokton 50 1.1 (fast but heavy)
Nokton 50 1.5 ( same league as the zeiss above)

(I have a very good offer at hand for Nokton 35mm 1.4 but I'm hesitating to put that focal length on the R3 due to the viewfinder limitations)
I have one more thing that worries me:
I have the Bessa R3a without a lens. When I look through the viewfinder the focus square isn't centered. It's a little to the left in the viewfinder and a little higher than center. Is this normal (without lens) or did I buy a defect camera?
 
This is normal for a bessa. On a leica the rf patch moves with the frame lines so it is always centered. With the bessa it doesn't. I prefer how the leica works as you can centre the frame with the rf patch. Some prefer the bessa, to others it makes no difference.
 
Summicron-C 40mm! (or the Minolta equivalent). Amazing little lens for <$400! And for <$900 you can get that and the Voigtlander 40mm 1.4 for contrasting uses...
 
Michaelbs said:
So I've narrowed my options on a budget down to:
zeiss planar T 50mm zm f2. ( small, beautiful bokeh, sharp at f2)
Nokton 50 1.1 (fast but heavy)
Nokton 50 1.5 ( same league as the zeiss above)
Click to expand...

I doubt you could focus the huge f1.1 lens wide open accurately with the short rangefinder base of the Bessa R3 cameras. This is a specialty lens, and I suspect you will find that the extra half stop just isn't worth the bulk for anything but available darkness shots. You will also see a good deal of finder blockage with it. I do have one of these lenses, and I like it a lot, but only use it on my M5, and even there it is very tricky to focus accurately.

I also use a Bessa R3A, and there is usually a Nokton 40mm f1.4 lens on it. This is a very useful focal length, and suits the camera perfectly. This is an extremely useful and versatile camera, and I think you will get a great deal of enjoyment out of it with the right lenses. By the way, a 35mm lens is still usable on it, as the entire finder field is a decent approximation.

Cheers,
Dez
 
Lovely camera. If it is 1:1 for 50mm I would take CV 50 1.5 for it.
One of the few RF lenses which are sharp wide open, it seems.
You could get it in LTM used and save for CV 35 2.5 PII used (sharp, tiny and cute) to have 35 and 50 in 900.
 
I have a Bessa R2A and used to have the Epson R-D1 (basically a digital R3A with a crop sensor). A 35 is good on the R2A, a 50-mm equivalent is spot on for the R-D1. Therefore, I would definitely get a 50 for the R3A.

My compatible 50mm lenses are the Voigtländer 50/1.1, Canon 50/1.8, and Leica 50/2. Out of these, the Summicron without a doubt. But you seem to want something faster, so I don't really have a first-hand recommendation. The 50/1.1 is not an every day lens in my book and the Canon is not really significantly faster, and it is not as good or convenient as the Summicron. It's a nice second lens in a two-camera setup and it is cheap.

You have a great camera there and many good lens options to choose from. Have fun shooting.
 
Michaelbs said:
I have one more thing that worries me:
I have the Bessa R3a without a lens. When I look through the viewfinder the focus square isn't centered. It's a little to the left in the viewfinder and a little higher than center. Is this normal (without lens) or did I buy a defect camera?
Click to expand...


Normal. I just checked mine, took the lens off and it shifts the RF patch off center. Put the lens back on and it is centered.
Funny thing is I never noticed that before because I had only looked through it with a lens on!
 
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