fresh bessa R3a owner in need of some answers

[backstein-420-]

hi! i'm new to this forum so greetings to everybody. just got myself an "almost unused" r3a from a german second hand camera shop. i have got that 40mm 1.4 lens as well. i like the solid feel of it and also the huge finder but it seems to have some strange behaviors, to which i'm not used to yet.

question one is about the viewfinder and its eyepoint:
the viewfinder patch is only bright and contrasty if my eye is about 1cm away from the ocular so the camera is no longer touching my head at all - thats okay for horizontal shots but its very uncomfortable for vertical shots because i used to stabilize the camera by pressing it to my cheek and forehead. there seems to be a small portion or a a very "small" position (viewing angle) with very low tolerance that makes focussing possible when having the camera directly at my eye - but finding this position in fast action - when shooting street for instance - is a real pain in the butt. can anyone of you confirm my experience? do i have a misaligned vf, or do i just need more practice? :bang:

question 2: outdoors, not nly in bright sunlight, the shutter speeds are really hard to read 😱, and also only clearly visible if viewed from a certain angle i got the battery depleted signal already twice.. maybe i should change them.. is this readout better with your camera?

question 3: film advance seems to be a bit on the rough side - sometimes i can hear the film canister creak inside the camera? that normal also?

question 4: how do you hold the camera vertically to get enough support and still being able to focus? i already tried with my thumb as a spacer in between the camera and my cheek or forhead but its still not optimal..

thanks for reading, have a nice weekend. c

 

[Larry H-L]

Welcome and congratulations on the R3a and 40mm. Great combo.

Q1: Is there an external, rubber coated, round eye piece on your camera? It is possible that someone changed it to a different diopter, other than the "stock" one. You should be able to put your eye right up to it, tightly.

If the eye piece looks "indented," and the glass is rectangular, your eyepiece diopter is missing. Bessa viewfinders are VERY good and easy to use, you shouldn't have trouble.

Do you wear eye glasses?

Q2: All LED readouts can look dim in really bright light. But I would invest in some new lithium or silver batteries) not alkaline.

Q3: I usually hear nothing from the canister. Are you sure that it is properly seated and loaded? Could be just a noisy, tight, canister. Do you bulk load?

Q4: I shoot film advance lever pointed down, nose pushed against the middle of the back film door. Others put the film advance up, and press the camera against their forehead.

I hope this works out for you.

Larry

 

[backstein-420-]

hey larry! thank you very much for your time!

there is a round rubber eyepiece on the back. i already checked it - it's just plain glass without any optical correction, i take it for a dust barrier and a safety for not scratching your eyewear. no - i don't wear glasses and it doesn't do any better if i take off the diopter. when i get to close with my eye, the patch becomes faint.

thanks for the tip with the nose to the back when shooting vertically - i guess you're telling me to use the right eye instead of the left one that i always use when shooting vertically. it helps a bit with the rangefinder patch but the lens is very hard to focus because the lever is pointing to the bottom of the camera and the whole thing is not easy to support with the left hand while focussing. shooting with both eyes open is also not so great when using the right eye in vert. orientation.

i'm going to try out a silver battery. maybe that helps - they should also work better in cold weather.

maybe i pulled the film too tight with the rewinder when loading it, but i always do it like that to ensure correct transport right from the start..it's not so bad anymore after passing the half of my first roll but still feels a bit harsh.

i remember when i started using my beloved minolta 7sII - it was also a pain to start but now i'm pretty fast with it.

thanks again, c

 

[Larry H-L]

Bessa viewfinders are somewhat sensitive to keeping your eye "centered" in the viewfinder to see the RF patch clearly. Try keeping your eye still and slightly moving the camera around. If you are centered, the patch should become very clear.

 

[backstein-420-]

i can confirm that. i spent some time shooting today and i seem to find the right place for the eye more and more easily, i think i'll be very happy with how the camera works in a few more days- the lithium batteries you suggested are also a good thing. i think the LEDs are a bit better to see now. i'm also curious about the first roll of film i finished today.. agfa apx 400@800. cheers and happy shooting. c

 

[Leigh Youdale]

Yep. I think we all find that there is a "sweet spot" with the viewfinder. It was quite an achievement to get a 1:1 viewfinder anyway and I guess the disappearing frame edges is a small price to pay for that.
Be careful not to overtighten the film on loading. I do tighten it to some extent, but very gently until I feel a slight resistance so that when I start to advance the film I get an indication that the film is travelling through the gate. I once "lost" an entire film because I hadn't secured the leader properly and had tightened the film so much it pulled out of the takeup spool when I (thought) I advanced the film - plus I didn't check the rotation of the rewind knob as I went along.
Another reason not to overtighten is that you can actually cause marks or scratches on the unexposed film in the canister before you even expose it. This is not just a Bessa thing. Any 35mm film camera can suffer the same way.

 

[backstein-420-]

after 2 weeks with it

after 2 weeks with it

... i manage to hit the sweetspot instantly when bringing the camera to the eye. it works like a charm, focussing is fast and easy and the build qualtiy still keeps amazing me.