Greatest CV camera?

[sepiareverb]

No choice for FM10?

 

[kshapero]

None will ever be classic. Consumer grade stuff, all of it.

seems classic to me.

 

[Peter_S]

None will ever be classic. Consumer grade stuff, all of it.

A few rolls through the Bessa IIIW / 667W may challenge that notion. The lens certainly is as good as anything "professional" out there...and that in 120 format. OK, this is mostly about 135 here, but the 667W is worth pointing out.
Note: I owned and used Leica M6 and M7 as well.

 

[Huss]

The one I am selling!

Since I sold my R3A, I've changed my vote to any of the R4 series.
(I don't own any).
The only 35mm RF to offer frame lines for very wide angle lenses.

 

[gb hill]

I own both an R & an L. love both of them but voted & shoot the R more. Classics to me.

 

[stevierose]

R3A 1:1 finder, same guts as the Zeiss Ikon.

Ditto that!

 

[Keith]

I'll go totally against the tide and nominate the RD1. I know it's marketed by Epson and yes it's digital but Cosina built the cameras and when you pick one up it's unmistakably a Bessa.

I also think that in the future a clean working RD1 will be quite a prize and may command a higher asking price than they do currently. I treasure mine like few cameras I have owned and now use it infrequently without ever opening the digital screen because I know that this is their prime weakness ... when they eventually fracture the ribbon cable that connects the digital display to the camera.

The RD1 was the ground breaking camera in our RF world ... not the digital M. 🙂

 

[bennyng]

The RD1 was the ground breaking camera in our RF world ... not the digital M. 🙂

Indeed. It's often not given credit as the world's first digital rangefinder as well as the world's first mirrorless camera. The physical outlook is unmistakably "Bessa".

It's still my favourite digital M.

Cheers,
Benny

 

[Bingley]

It may not be a "classic," but this rig is pretty darned useful:

Camera and capuccino by bingley0522, on Flickr

 

[Benjamin Marks]

The long RF baseline on my T enables me to focus a Notilux with pin-point accuracy. It therefore brought something to the table that not even my M's could match. It was light and comparatively simple. With a Bessa Rapidwinder on there, it was a nice little package.

 

[Benjamin Marks]

I'll go totally against the tide and nominate the RD1. I know it's marketed by Epson and yes it's digital but Cosina built the cameras and when you pick one up it's unmistakably a Bessa.

...

The RD1 was the ground breaking camera in our RF world ... not the digital M. 🙂

Yeah. Gotta give it up for this. THe RD1 put digital RF on the map when others said it couldn't be done. I anticipated that camera with fervor. I am also sad that there was no RD2, (or R2D2). 😉

 

[Archlich]

The Bessa 667 Wide is awesome (the exposure indicator light is a very nice improvement over the vanilla GF670/Bessa III)...even more so after I read about the Bessa I based Ultragon wide angle prototype camera on Mr. Mechelhoff's page. It has true heritage, from not just one, but three companies - a decades old dream came true.

 

[hilltime]

Another devotee of the Olive R2. Whenever I am carrying it, always get the questions and admirations; " What is that?/ Cool camera/ Love the color!"

 

[sepiareverb]

Yes - the 667W!!

 

[KoNickon]

I'll go with the L -- it started this whole craze, really, and remains a most useful mount for superwides. I regret selling my Snapshot Skopar, but right now it has the 15 Superwide Heliar on it -- great for cramped interiors. (I actually have the version of this camera that's badged as the Cosina 103 SW.)

I have had an R, R3A, T with the Heliar, and R2S NHS (the last two from Stephen) but have only kept the L. Other cameras do what the R et al. do, and they're better made.

 

[Sustich]

I'll go with the L and the 15 Superwide as well. Going out for a day with only that combo really challenges you, in a good way!

 

[mpaniagua]

Recently sold my Olive R2 (pretty redundant with my M6 and wasn't getting much use) but keep my Olive T. Its like a Leica IF with light meter 🙂 Really have fun using it. Also, rangefinder is great for my tired eyes 🙂 Focusing is a piece of cake.

So, for me, the more innovative and fun is the T.

Regards

Marcelo

 

[traveler_101]

Recently sold my Olive R2 (pretty redundant with my M6 and wasn't getting much use) but keep my Olive T. Its like a Leica IF with light meter 🙂 Really have fun using it. Also, rangefinder is great for my tired eyes 🙂 Focusing is a piece of cake.

So, for me, the more innovative and fun is the T.

Regards

Marcelo

The T was my first rangefinder camera and it served me well. It really is classic in looks and had a pretty good rangefinder, though in the end I preferred the IIIf for its rangefinder, smaller size and build quality. The one thing I found surprising about the T was the mount. Why M mount and not LTM?

 

[Yokosuka Mike]

The Bessa-T gets my vote.

Mike

 

[Takkun]

As always, I love when old interesting threads get resurrected.

I'd vote for the R3, for the 1.0x finder. I much prefer it to the 0.68s in the digital Ms, and seems brighter than my M5. I'd think that alone makes it very unique
Build quality is obviously not to Leica or 70s tank standards, but much more refined than the original R/R2.
As for the way earlier comment disqualifying them for being "consumer grade," there's plenty of classic consumer cameras. Nikkormat, K1000, AE-1, and I'd argue some of the later AF era cameras like the Maxxum 7000 or the N8008. Hell, some call the Holga a classic.

I'd still agree the R series renewed interest in RFs and older lenses long before the mirrorless craze.