My first photos with the Bessa R

[Kragmeister]

Greetings,

Last week I got my new Bessa R with 35mm f2.5 C lens and shot a quick roll of Walmart (Agfa) 200 color print film. Had it processed at a nearby drugstore with a CD-ROM. All I can say about this is WOW! The color and sharpness of the machine prints was such that the photos looked like 3D. Attached are two of the shots. Only manipulation was to size 'em down and unsharp mask 'em in PhotoShop....

 

[pvdhaar]

Hey Greg,

that's not your backyard you're showing us, is it 😉

Kidding aside, it's great that you're having such a wow moment! Shows that the R and 35/2.5 is a killer combo.. Have fun..

 

[lubitel]

nice, sharp shots. did you scan them from prints? How much does such a killer combo cost?

 

[Kragmeister]

Hey Peter:

No, it is not my back yard 😉 . I frequent a park that used to be a farm...someone was doing privy archaeology and there are piles of antique trash laying about. Besides lots of bottles there are lots of oyster shells...odd because we're about 90 miles from the ocean. The candle and bedding...well I won't speculate.

As for the WOW factor...I'm actually thinking that the 35 f2.5 classic might be TOO sharp. I'm used to the pre-war Biogon-like bokeh from my Contax mount Jupiter-12. That is one sharp lens, but the look is smoother. I'll have to shoot more with the CV lens before I throw it away 😛 . Seriously, this is one sharp setup. Now to see how well my LTM Jupiter-8 works on the Bessa R body.

 

[Kragmeister]

Hey Lubitel,

I bought my Bessa R with 35mm f2.5 Color Skopar from Stephen Gandy at CameraQuest He is running a special on his website. I got a silver body Bessa R as a package with the 35mm f2.5 for $399 USD.

I've been using a couple of Kiev RFs, a Zorki and a couple of later FEDs and decided to get a modern camera with built-in multi frame lines in the finder.

For my puposes the Bessa R would directly replace my normal setup of a Kiev 4A with Jupiter-12 and a turret finder. I already have a Jupiter-8 in LTM but want something a bit faster like a 50mm f1.5. The best damn lens I've ever shot with is a Helios 103, a Planar style 53mm f1.8. Too bad it is only available in Contax mount. This is why I'm keeping the Kiev 4A as a backup.

 

[cbass]

Neat photos. I also own the Bessa R & 35/2.5 C combo, it's a very pleasant user setup and it has put all my other RFs out of work (some of which I have even sold). The CV lens is a real sharpy.

BTW, if the property on which you took those photos was formerly a farm, and that farm once had livestock (especially hogs) on it, then those oyster shells you saw probably came off of a New York City restaurant plate. During the later 1940s through 1960s, trash hauling companies trucked restaurant waste into the hinterlands of NJ (and probably eastern PA as well) to be used as feed for hogs and other livestock.

 

[tedwhite]

Kraigmeister: As I live on the Mexican border, my first take on your photos was that they were of a site where illegal immigrants waited to be picked up by a van driver and left stuff behind that they no longer needed after a 2-3 day walk through the desert. Then I noticed where you live and read your text. Nice shots, and that lens is, indeed, one of the best. If it's too sharp for you, merely scan the prints in a flatbed scanner and that'll soften things up a bit. Don't use a film negative scanner or you'll end up with virtually the same sharp image.

And you're assessment of the Helios 103 is my take on it also. I've got a Kiev 4AM but it's got the J8 and I'm still trying to find a Helios. Rick Beckrich loaned me a kiev last year with the Helios 103, so here I am with a weird Russian camera I've never used before and ended up selling several prints from the two rolls I ran through it, mainly because of the high quality of the images.

Ted