Canonet GIII -> Bessar R

[brummelisa]

Hi,

I have had a Canonet GIII QL17 a year now and thinking of getting a new camera.
I wonder if a Bessar R would fit my needs and my budget.

The things I don't like with the GIII is:

• I think the shutter-button has to be pressed to far down and this makes the camera to shake when I take the picture. (this is extremely important to me)
• The lack of changing a lens
• Even though many say that the GIII has a wonderful sharp and fast lens, I don't think I get that sharp images, but this can depend on the shutter-button
• ISO can only be set to 800 max
• The battery isn't that easy to find
• I don't think that the meter meters that accurate. Sometimes it underexpose the images

The thing that I do like is:

• It's compact
• I think it's easy to focus with it
• It's fully automatic (I don't have to set the aperture
• It's quite

I don't know the exact features of a Bessar R, but will I be happier if I get one, or what is the negative sides with it (I'm really interested to know if the shutter has to be pressed down that far as with the GIII)?

I don't have the money with a R2 etc because I just bought a Hasselblad 500 C/M and my wife would probably leave me if she knew I'm righting this now 🙂

/ Marcus

 

[rool]

The Bessa R is great, it is my main camera for street shooting.
I think it is very easy to focus with it and it is compact.
However, it is not fully automatic and it is not that quiet if you compare to Leicas.
I really like mine and think it would definitely be a very nice upgrade from the GIII.

 

[BrianPhotog]

Looking at your lists, the R seems to solve all of your GIII gripes. On your "likes" list, the only thing it doesn't satisfy (assuming that you're not wanting a Leica comparison 😛 ) is that the R has no autoexposure. The shutter is fully mechanical.

 

[rover]

The R is an excellent camera. Mate it with a 35 Ultron and you will forget your fixed lens cameras.

 

[Fedzilla_Bob]

[*]The battery isn't that easy to find

Keep the GIII, Save for an R2a. When you buy the R2a, still keep the GIII in your car's glove box.

Look on eb*y for a Wein MRB625- or search there for the px625.

 

[brummelisa]

A "soft-release" on the shutter button might help the GIII.

Bob

But don't I have to press the button the same depth (sorry for my bad language)?

You see, the thing that I have to press the shutter so deep is the main disadvantage with the GIII, so I think.

/ Marcus

 

[sbug]

The shutter release will still have the same 'throw' with a soft release. However, I have a mini soft release on my Canonet and it improved the shutter action considerably. It feels much better to me. Keep in mindthough that it will extend up from the top of the camera quite a bit and it will not thread in fully. Neither are a deal breaker for me. A full size soft release would be much to big on a Canonet, IMHO.

Marcus, I do agree with you about the throw being quite long. From my limited time playing witha Bessa R, the shutter release is much shorter although not quite as hair-trigger as a Leica. The Besa R is a great handling camera overall too.

 

[marcus]

5-6 years ago a went from a GIII to a Bessa-R and never looked back--and Bessa R's were much more expensive than they are now.I had no second thoughts on recently selling another GIII that fell my way. The only real losses are the auto-exposure and quiet shutter. You gain a better center weighted manual metering system that is more accurate, and generally not much slower to use. just put the 90mm framelines on a mid-tone and you are there when the meter says you are. If your GIII metering problems are consistant then you should be able to compensate, so don't change up just because of that. I have to set my Bessa-R 2/3 stop higher on the ASA dial to get the exposure where I want it. My GIII's lens was just adequate (yours could well be better than mine), my Bessa R lenses range from damn good to most excellent, and if it's not a good one it's easy enough to flip it. The Bessa shutter is louder, but it runs up to 1/2000 which can make a significant differance when you didn't use up the whole roll of ASA400 from the night before. While the GIII measures less, both cameras with equivelent lenses take up the same space in your jacket, pocket, camera bag, or whatever, so realistically they are the same size in that respect. The Bessa is still a small/compact 35mm camera; and it does fit the hand better. Shutter releases vary a lot, my Bessa trips with no warning, it's always a surprise, most cameras let you get the slack out of the button until you're a hair away from triggerring the shutter, worse than both my GIII's in this regard. A soft release improves this. Last, and significantly, you'll gain a truly first rate viewfinder.
-The other Marcus

 

[brummelisa]

Thanks (the other Marcus) for your long posting.

I think that I will sell my GIII for the Bessa now. The main advantage I feel is:

* Faster shutter (I don't like using ND-filter in the summer with my GIII. If I walk indoor I have to remove it) 1/2000 should make my life easier 🙂
* The fact that I can change lenses are also a huge improvment.
* The louder shutter isn't that hard (Sometimes I shoot street with my Hassy).

Anyway, thanks a lot for you replies, and I will probably show up in the Bessa-forum asking a lot about the Bessa now 🙂

/ Marcus

 

[Spyderman]

I would like to add something in defense of the Canonet:

Shutter release: yes, it releases too deep. but the soft-release should solve this.

Underexposure: if you use shutter priority the camera tends to stop down the aperture a bit more than the meter recommends. This is a very common flaw of the auto exposure system. But if you use auto exposure all the time you could compensate for it by setting lower ASA.

Sharpness: If you want to test the lens if it really focuses at the distance indicated on the scale: open the shutter on B, put a ground glass where the film normally is (I used an old damaged focusing screen with split circle rangerinder) and focus as if it was a large format camera. I found that the lens was focussed at infinity when the scale showed 10m. So I adjusted it and recalibrated the RF. I believe the sharpness of mine will improve. For more info read this thread: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22215

Non interchangable lenses: that is a fact. But it's the price for having quiet shutter and flash sync at all speeds.

And one more remark: The Canonet has shutter priority auto exposure, but the Bessa has aperture priority ! I prefer shutter priority, but it's aquestion of personal preference. Just to warn you to prepare for change.

In the end, it's just your choice. I would keep the Canonet and save for a Bessa. I have already done similar: kept the Canonet and bought a Zorki and Fed. I often found the 40 lens too short for my style. The FSU lenses are 53 mm (yes 53, not 35) and the viewfinder shows the view of about 55-60mm. So I frame as if I had a 55mm. But I can tell you Canonet-Zorki is a big difference. Especially the short focusing of Canonet (about 60 degrees rotation) vs. the long focusing of the Jupiter (200 degrees). And also the RF patch moves too little in the Canonet... Overall I like the perfect Japanese feel of Canonet, but also the imperfect tough feel of the Soviets... and if I had the money I would get a Bessa and a couple of lenses (25, 40, 75). That's my dream set.