handholding bessa R at lower speeds.

[lubitel]

Whats your experience with this, guys? Sometimes I have a feeling that I can't go lower than 1/60. Well I still get decent results with 1/30, but definitely not at 1/15th. It seems that Bessa is shakier than other RFs. I dont think its my hands, cause I can handhold others (like Revue 400, or Fed 2, or minox)

how low can you go?

 

[rbiemer]

I will happily go to 1/15 if I can brace myself against something. I'll always take the shot even if I need to shoot slower but I don't ofetn like the results. If I'm situated where I can't get some added support, 1/30 is about as slow as I'm comfortable with.
Rob

 

[einolu]

Dont see why the Bessa would be shakier than others, maybe its a bit lighter, but low light shots just take practice. 1/8th is a fun speed that I find myself at too often... 😉

 

[rbiemer]

Forgot to mention that I have gotten better slow-speed results since I put a soft release on the shutter.
And as a youth I learned how to shoot a gun pretty accurately; that skill serves me well in this hobby also, I think.
Rob

 

[jonasv]

I go to 1/15th with a bessa quite often, never have any problems. But I shoot at 1/15th with my SLR too, so I guess I just don't have very shaky hands... but you're right, the bessa does feel as if it gives quite a bit of vibration, more than you'd exspect from a rangefinder.

 

[f/stopblues]

I'll go 1/15 occasionally. It seems hit and miss. I usually focus and then get both my hands on the body, make a wide base with my legs, and tuck my elbows in and rest them on my chest. Oh, don't forget to exhale!

 

[lubitel]

I usually hold my breath at slow speeds. may be that's it? may be I should be exhaling?

I have to add I am using a 50mm lens, that probably also makes a difference.
Bessa is a bit louder, it feels like its a bit shakier than say my Fed2. With an SLR i usually dont go lower than 1/60 th, because I know its going to be somewhat unsharp.

I'll have to experiment a bit more, I guess.

 

[BJ Bignell]

I find that you can really feel the shutter action on the Bessa more than some cameras; it has 'torque'. Maybe due to the fact that it has two sets of shutter curtains?

However, I don't believe it's ever affected my slow-speed shooting. Your mileage may vary, as they say.

 

[RML]

1/15 quite comfortably. 1/8 with some effort. 1/4 if I'm very lucky, and 1/2 if I feel daring. 😛

 

[kmack]

1/30 no problem, 1/15 sometimes, 1/8 maybe I don't count on it.
I take a deep breath and let it out slowly, Then I take a second deep breath and let it out slowly. When my lungs are exhaused on the second breath I squeeze the shutter and wait until the camera is quiet to breath- move again.

 

[grizzz]

Do the soft releases really work??? I have very shakey hands and would buy one in a minute if it would help. I have no luck past 1/30 and am married to a tripod or monopod with anything bigger than My Bessa's.

I also want to try that beanbag thingy someone posted about here a while ago. I can't remember it's name but I believe the local shop here carries them so I'll get one when I'm in....

 

[Nearsighted]

I just saw something on the tube last night about a bean bag devise available in small, medium and large sizes that actually screws into the tripod socket. They were different colors for different sizes. Red being the largest size. I wish I had been paying more attention. I'll try a google search and see if I can come up with a link. It looked like a cool product.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009UTQ3/104-2331363-1701502?v=glance&n=502394

This is a similar device. The ones on TV looked much cooler.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

1/15 quite comfortably. 1/8 with some effort. 1/4 if I'm very lucky, and 1/2 if I feel daring. 😛

Same here.

 

[back alley]

i am shakier these days, age i think.

but i didn't notice the bessa r being any different when i had one.

 

[simonankor]

1/8, wide open, 800 ASA... Sometimes a little softness works okay 😀

 

[PetarDima]

Whats your experience with this, guys? Sometimes I have a feeling that I can't go lower than 1/60. Well I still get decent results with 1/30, but definitely not at 1/15th. It seems that Bessa is shakier than other RFs. I dont think its my hands, cause I can handhold others (like Revue 400, or Fed 2, or minox)

how low can you go?

I am confused... Bessa is my dream cometrue( maybe, some day I'll have enuff money), but my general interest in rangefinder camera is to shoot at night- from hand , of course... some people from RFF siad : use Kiev 4 for night shots from hand... and I did.I was thinking about Bessa because of parallax problem with Kiev,but it realise button is really soft- this photo is made with it on Konica( 100 ASA!) -f:2.8, exp:1/10( from hand).

 

[Bertram2]

Whats your experience with this, guys? Sometimes I have a feeling that I can't go lower than 1/60. Well I still get decent results with 1/30, but definitely not at 1/15th. It seems that Bessa is shakier than other RFs. I dont think its my hands, cause I can handhold others (like Revue 400, or Fed 2, or minox)
how low can you go?

We had this issue some months ago here, a lot of controversial discussion until it turned out that some meant sharp , some meant acceptable sharp, some meant worth to keep anf that even for these categories the understanding was different from photog to photog.
I shoot 1/15 without any kinda support only in case of emergency, sometimes I get what my understanding of sharp is for a slide or 20X30cm print, sometimes not. This proves it is technically possible to do it.
The higher weight and the cloth shutter of a M6 are more a theoretical advantage, because slower than 1/15 the human factor gets dominant anyway.
As I said, depends all on the understanding of !"sharp" . Some folks are VERY tolerant at this point , to say the least ! 😉
Going out at night with a Bessa I put it always on a monopod, which one often can lean toward a car, a wall , a reel or a lamp post to get the tripod effect. And thus you get really "sharp" shots even with 1 sec.

bertram

 

[sf]

I usually hold my breath at slow speeds. may be that's it? may be I should be exhaling?

I have to add I am using a 50mm lens, that probably also makes a difference.
Bessa is a bit louder, it feels like its a bit shakier than say my Fed2. With an SLR i usually dont go lower than 1/60 th, because I know its going to be somewhat unsharp.

I'll have to experiment a bit more, I guess.

I usually shoot at the very end of my exhale. So I see the moment - hope it will last for another second - take a breath and let it out. At the bottom, I press the shutter. Not holding my breath, not exhaling, not inhaling. Just perfect. I have luck shooting at 1/8th with other cameras. Handheld. Leaf shutter cameras, though.

 

[wlewisiii]

Forgot to mention that I have gotten better slow-speed results since I put a soft release on the shutter.
And as a youth I learned how to shoot a gun pretty accurately; that skill serves me well in this hobby also, I think.
Rob

Agreed on both points. I use a neck strap on my Canon 7 like a rifle sling in low light. Even if I can't brace against anything else, I find it helps tremendously to brace against the strap. I generally only go to 1/15, but have been happy to try whatever to take a shot. It's always better to take a bad shot than not take one and wonder... 😀

William

 

[lubitel]

I am confused... Bessa is my dream cometrue( maybe, some day I'll have enuff money), but my general interest in rangefinder camera is to shoot at night- from hand , of course... some people from RFF siad : use Kiev 4 for night shots from hand... and I did.I was thinking about Bessa because of parallax problem with Kiev,but it realise button is really soft- this photo is made with it on Konica( 100 ASA!) -f:2.8, exp:1/10( from hand).

Dont get me wrong, I love my bessa! and I love the J-3. Since I got this combo, I almost forgot about my FSU cameras. Its just that I was surprised that my 1/15th fotos didnt come out as sharp as I normally get them. But thanks to this thread, I think its more the result of my "breathing technique" 🙂