New Bessa R2a user

[alecto]

Last week I got rid of my Bronica RF645 and in its place got a brand new Bessa R2a with the 21mm color skopar. I really loved the Bronica but I felt quite limited by the number of lenses available and being a poor student I couldn't afford to have both.

Holding the Bessa for the first time was very refreshing; it is superbly put together, more so than any camera I own or have owned previously. This is actually the first 35mm rangefinder I've owned and the size difference compared with the medium format kit makes me feel much less restricted when shooting and it is so much less invasive in public.

I have only scanned a couple of images I thought looked interesting so far but I think this lens is an excellent general walkabout lens, more images to come.

Now to start saving for the 35mm f2... and maybe a 50... and that 15 looks interesting too...😀

 

[capitalK]

Do you have the 21mm viewfinder? It helps a lot on that camera. Welcome to the club 😀

 

[capitalK]

Which soft-release is that?

 

[Pickett Wilson]

The R2a is my favorite RF. Use it much more than my Leicas. Good job with the 21.

 

[alecto]

Unfortunately I don't have the finder for the 21, I would have bought the screw mount version of the lens which comes with the VF but it was slightly more expensive to do so and I haven't struggled too much composing to the edge of the R2a's viewfinder. The soft shutter is a nice little Nikon one from fotodiox.

 

[Tom A]

The 21f4 Skopar is a small gem of a lens. Sharp, straight and, apart from the speed, about as much wide angle as one needs in most cases.
For a 35, look around for a deal on the 35f1.4 Nokton - a very good, fast 35 that wont break the bank either,
The 50's are plentiful - but for the money, nothing beats the 50f1.5 VC - as good as a pre asph Summilux and a bargain.
The 15f4.5 Heliar is more of a speciality lens - it is really wide, I mean REALLY wide - but fun to use.
Good shots, like the top black/white one (but I tend to favor black/white).

 

[Kozhe]

I like the first shoot a lot!

I´m getting a r3a today and I was planning to use it with a 35mm Jupiter 12, although it seems it won´t fit due to the size of the rear element. Anybody tried?