Contemplating a Bessa

[-doomed-]

Ive been researching and trying to narrow down my choices and Ive arrived at either the
Bessa T , low cost and from what ive been reading a good camera to use.
Its con seems to be the need for seperate finders to go with the lenses

Or im looking at a used r2a , it seems more like what im used to with my canonet .

The question here is given the choices which would be best for starting into an interchangeable RF system , going from my canonet to one of these?

And i know you can use FSU glass with the adapter , but could the turret VF be used with the t?

Or should I go with the R2A

What is good or bad about one choice over the other.

What would you choose and why?

 

[Al Kaplan]

Go wth the R2A. Those of us who grew up with the thread mount Leicas got used to seperate finders. There was no choice. M2 and M3 bodies didn't fit in a student's budget. The only advantage of the T is the high magnification rangefinder, and then only if you plan on using an 85 or 90mm f/2 or faster lens, or possibly the 50mm f/1.2 Canon lens.

Seperate finders are a pain to use and the turret finder is a huge bulky contraption.

 

[-doomed-]

Thanks for the fast reply , i hope that i can still grab that r2a i am looking at .
Im planning on using fsu glass fro the time being .

Im no pro and i like the look of some of the shots ive seen on here from some FSU glass.

 

[Avotius]

Go with the R2a, it was my first 35mm interchangeable rangefinder and I still have it despite also now having a Leica M6. It is a really great little camera and frankly you cant go wrong with piece of kit like that. A Bessa T while a good camera in its own right....well you would probably get annoyed at using external finders for everything, and if you are using FSU stuff right now but plan to maybe move up to some voigtlander lenses in the future then I highly suggest thinking ahead and getting the camera you can use for all those things.

 

[-doomed-]

My only FSU experience has been with my kiev 4 , it needs more work than its really worth so my plan is to abandon it altogether, and go with the r2a .

i was contemplating the T solely on price but it would appear that the R2A would be my better bet. Esp if i plan on using FSU glass on an adapter for the time being

 

[Avotius]

Indeed I think so. There is also the R2 which can be had a little cheaper but in my opinion its worth the extra beans for the R2a. Put your kiev 4 up in the classifieds as a camera in need of a caring home and put the extra funds to the r2a.

 

[capitalK]

Bear in mind the J-12 35mm lens will not be mountable on the Bessa as its rear element protrudes too far into the camera body.

After using fixed-lens rangefinders (Canonet QL-19, Olympus 35SP, Ricoh 500G) I bought an R2A as my first "serious" RF and I haven't looked back.

 

[-doomed-]

I took that into account , if i do get the r2a the first "real" lense ill buy will be the color skopar 35 f2.5 or the 40/1.4

 

[nome_alice]

go the R2a and get an Industar-61 L/D 55mm f2.8 for $10, unless that's too long a focal length for your tastes.

 

[-doomed-]

that sounds fine to me

 

[oscroft]

Yep, I'd go for the R2A as well.

I have a number of old FSU RF cameras, and they're great, but having to have a separate viewfinder for each lens is a pain (and with the Bessa T you haven't even got a 50 VF). The move to the bright line viewfinders of the Leica M and Bessa R cameras is a huge improvement (and they can do something that no external VF can - they have parallax correction coupled to the focus).

 

[P. Lynn Miller]

I use both a R2 and T, as my primary rangerfinders. Can't say I prefer one over the other, as they are different cameras. As for price, remember that while the R2 may cost more initially, a collection of finders is also expensive. Figure that you will pay about $150 per finder for each focal length, so it adds up pretty quickly to a total cost that is more than an R2.

But the Bessa T is a nice camera.

 

[CCCPcamera]

I have an R which I use with a J3 (50mm 1.5) and it works perfectly. I also have a cv 35 2.5 colour skopar which is awesome as well. They make a good combination and not expensive. The R is nice because you can use almost all the FSU lenses without an adapter, and a good range of voigtlander and leica (I wish) lenses as well. Although it is made of plastic if that bugs you, doesn't bug me, it's nice and light.

 

[-doomed-]

so its going to be the R2A i paid for it , its getting shipped tomorrow, now to get some lenses and an adapter

 

[-doomed-]

Indeed I think so. There is also the R2 which can be had a little cheaper but in my opinion its worth the extra beans for the R2a. Put your kiev 4 up in the classifieds as a camera in need of a caring home and put the extra funds to the r2a.

Advice taken.
Kiev 4 is up along with another acquisition i never used.

 

[-doomed-]

When looking for an adapter do i need to buy the one that brings up the framelines or no since the bessa has manual frameline selection on top?

 

[P. Lynn Miller]

It is helpful to have the 'right' adapter, but you are correct, any adapter will work since you manually select the frame-lines on the Bessa.

 

[-doomed-]

will it affect the focusing if its not the "right" adapter .
Probably not right?

 

[P. Lynn Miller]

I use a Bessa R2 and Bessa T, I have adapters for every focal length and doubles of some. I mix and match at whim, as long as you use a good quality adapter, VC, Leica, etc. makes no difference. The different focal length adapters are only to tell the camera body which set of frame lines to select. But since you manually select the frame-lines on a Bessa, you can use a 28mm adapter on a 90mm lens with no adverse affects.

Although when given the choice, I try to buy the appropriate adapter for each lens, since there may be a chance that one day I will own or use a camera with automatic frame-line selection.

 

[-doomed-]

Ah i see , makes sense then , i guess if i do decide to upgrade in the future that will be something i take into account