I have a difficult choise: R3M or M2?

It's like the choice between a top-of-the-life Ford and a classic vintage car. More depends on your personality than on the capabilities of the camera (or car).

Cheers,

R.
 
mto'brien said:
I have an M2 and an R3A. I really appreciate the 1:1 finder, the internal meter, and the AE of the Bessa. However, if my house was on fire and I could only grab one camera, I would grab my M2 without a single thought. And I'd carry my M8 out in my teeth. And stuff all my lenses into my pants. I may just stuff them all into my pants right now for no good reason at all...

What ever you get, enjoy the heck out of it! (btw, there is a beaut of a Zeiss Ikon in the classifieds right now...not to complicate things)
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Agreed on the Ikon, my first ever RF, and I still vaguely regret selling it. The Ikon I think has the class of a Leica, and the modernity of the Bessa. I doubt you'd ever regret buying a Zeiss Ikon, especially at the price of the one in the classifieds.
 
My vote goes for the M2.
Yes, or for the Zeiss Ikon, if you really need a meter. Buy a rangefinder with M-mount!
The price of the Ikon in the classifieds is really great!
 
if you like 35mm lens, go for m2
if you like 50mm lens, go for r3A

i have M2 and RD1 (maybe the same VF as R3A/M) and I can say if you can get a nice clean viewfinder on M2, it's worth more than the R3A/M

M2 will have better accuracy finder, and almost all cosina built finder need your eye to be in center position to see the whole patch and framelines clearly. this never happen on M2. no need to center your eyes !

the worst thing about this "eye-centering" issue is that in my RD1, a slight movement of my eyes will change the patch image so critical focusing for fast lens is a pain.

if you want to take picture, what you need is just grab your camera, see thru the finder, whooops, the patch is not clear (blackened), move your eye left/right a little bit, yes now it is better, then focus, then.. wait, why the patch picture move when I move my eyes, is this already focused or not ?.. try an M2 and you'll know the difference
 
You can always resale the M2 after a year or two and probably easy get your money back. I have had my M6 for more than five years and its worth the same amount I paid for it. This will not be true of the Bess a. Try the M2 first-
 
Not difficult. Get the M2 and if it doesn't work for you, sell at minimal loss.
 
My story - thinking with my head, I bought an R2.

The advantages of the capable, modern, high tech camera were never enough to overcome the secret Leica Envy I held in my heart... and within 6 months I traded my Bessa, Canon P and modern lenses for an M3 body. I feel very satisfied about it, and my head has almost forgotten about the economics of the deal.

So, listen to your heart, it is a hobby after all and it should make you happy.

The other great piece of advice above is that you could easily resell the Leica possibly at a profit in a month or 3 if you don't like it. (That should keep your head happy)

very best regards,

Alex
 
Think +50 year old car and new(ish) car. Would you recommend a first time car buyer on a budget to buy a car made in the 50's?
Seriously: get a R3A with warranty and enjoy rangefinder shooting without uneccessary worries and troubles.
You will want a Leica sometime in the future, but you will be much better equipped to make the right choices according to your actual preferences.
 
Lflex said:
Think +50 year old car and new(ish) car. Would you recommend a first time car buyer on a budget to buy a car made in the 50's?
Seriously: get a R3A with warranty and enjoy rangefinder shooting without uneccessary worries and troubles.
You will want a Leica sometime in the future, but you will be much better equipped to make the right choices according to your actual preferences.
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That's totally true! And I own a mechanical Leica and want an M2...:D
But an R3A is a much better tool, and very well built. SO VERY beautiful too! :D (Don't hit me: black Bessas are to me a beauty, sincerely...)

Cheers,

Juan
 
Juan Valdenebro said:
That's totally true! And I own a mechanical Leica and want an M2...:D
But an R3A is a much better tool, and very well built. SO VERY beautiful too! :D (Don't hit me: black Bessas are to me a beauty, sincerely...)

Cheers,

Juan
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they are...


really wish they would break out with some chrome R4's though....
 
I was very recently in the same position when deciding on getting my first interchangeable lens RF : Bessa or M (ZI too but in the end still preferred a mechanical body). I was lucky that my friends loaned me cameras to shoot a couple of rolls - Bessa R (LTM) and M7, so I had some 1st hand experience on how each handled. In the end I decided on a Bessa coz of the modern design (more conventional film loading, 1/2000 shutter speed, etc, etc) to get me started.

An M body is still in the wishlist though, preferred choice being an M6 chrome!

Meantime, I am patiently waiting for my Bessa which is probably somewhere over the Pacific rite now.
 
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My brother in law used to work for a car dealer and their slogan was "everyone should own a sports car once". Maybe it's the same with rangefinders. For one who loves using rf's a Leica will often seem the ultimate goal. But perhaps a modern camera which is more versatile in use (built in meter, easy film loading etc) makes more sense. As someone who owns a Hexar RF, M6ttl and a Bessa, I'd choose the R3M.
 
alan davus said:
My brother in law used to work for a car dealer and their slogan was "everyone should own a sports car once". Maybe it's the same with rangefinders. For one who loves using rf's a Leica will often seem the ultimate goal. But perhaps a modern camera which is more versatile in use (built in meter, easy film loading etc) makes more sense. As someone who owns a Hexar RF, M6ttl and a Bessa, I'd choose the R3M.
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Maybe. But how difficult is it to load a Leica? And I'd be quite happy to run a TR2, 3 or 4 again. Given the choice of A TRII/III/4/4A or possibly even 5 or 6 (in reasonable mechanical order, with a sound chassis) and a new Ford, I'd have no difficulty in deciding on the TR. that's why I said in an earlier post that it's the photographer's personality, not the camera's features, which should be the deciding factor.

Cheers,

R.
 
If I were to go back to shooting 35 my choice would be the R3M. It is a much newer camera, with built in meter (which you can use or ignore) There is no need to carry an external meter. With your budget the R3M will likely be in much better condition than the Leica unless you happen to luck out.

Whichever way you go talk to the seller and ask a lot of questions about the condition and make sure you have a good return policy. Last but not least, check the classifieds here. You can see exactly what the feedback is on any of the vendors be they sponsors or general forum members.

Happy hunting
 
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