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PhotoEd

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Apr 13, 2005
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Hello everyone!

I am a Dutch photog that just got his Bessa R3a. I must say that I like the camera a lot. I'm not completely new to rangefinders because in the past I owned several Leicas (M6, M4-2, CL), Konica Hexars, a Minolta CLe and a Contax G2. Not all at once, but nicely spaced one after the other. With every camera I felt there was something missing so that's why I moved along in my quest for the perfect camera... After a lot of money spent and 38 cameras further (I know, a good photo is not because what's between your fingers, it's what is between your ears....) I finally drew the conclusion that it is non-existend. After my Rolleiflex 2.8GX was stolen late last year, I moved back to 35mm film. I bought some nice Canon FD gear on eBay and for the first time in 6 years I just bought a Rangefinder camera again.

Now about that R3a. It's a nice camera, feels okay, looks okay and has a great viewfinder. Very handy to have an automatic shutter. In fact, this was the only thing I missed in my M6. For this reason I sold my M6 and bought a Contax G2 some 7 years ago. I figured this setup was more up to speed to catch my fast moving children. Regret ever since.... :bang:
Auto focus is something that is just not my cup of tea.

The viewfinder of the R3a is beautiful, but I don't like the 40mm framelines (anyone interested in buying a brand new 40/1.4 Nokton with hood?). They're just too tight. The 50mm and 75mm are the lenses best for this viewfinder/camera. So I bought a Leica M-50/2.8 and the combination is almost perfect. The Elmar cannot be fully retracted in the body at infinity; it can at the closest focus setting up to approx. 0.8m. There is no need to worry of damaging the shutter, because the back side of the lens will rest against a little ridge in the camera. With the 50mm you really can focus and frame with both eyes open and the frame lines seem to float in space this way. Very nice!

The feel of the camera is just okay. The film advance lever has a little bit of play, the camera back closes without a positive "click", the strap lugs are wrongly placed and the rewind lever doesn't look and feel like it will live forever. For the rest it is a lovely camera for an incredible price.

So, after walking around with my new rangefinder in a far and foreign city I feel like I just came home again.... Now thinking about how to expand this set-up. Would the R3a be accurate enough to focus the new 75/2.0 APO-Summicron anyone knows?

Edwin
 
Welcome to RFF, Edwin! I love 40mm, and the Nokton seems a very attractive one... But others too have observed that the R3a's 40mm framelines are very tight. RFF member Huck has suggested before that the Rollei RF35 might be a better body for the 40mm due to lower magnification. I have a Minolta CLE, and perhaps you can relate to the idea it would be a great little partner for that Nokton! Gee, one of these days I may discover I "need" that lens too! 🙂
 
Welcome to the club Edwin! I am using a CV 75mm/2.5 with the Bessa R2 and I feel that lenses that are more than 75mm are very difficult to use in RF in documentary photography. I take great care to focus when I am using the 75mm with the short base-length of R2.
 
I've used the 90mm cron with the R2a for a bit and as Peter said, longer lenses require extra care in focusing. I'd say I get a 90% success rate with that longer lens. No doubt the higher magnification of the 1x finder on the R3a will help things out, I do feel that it's capable of handling longer glass without any major issues.
 
Hi everyone. Thanks for the warm welcome. In the past 3 months I bought my 39th and 40th camera's; Leica M6 TTL 0.58 and M6 TTL 0.85. This time for keepers. The Bessa R3a, although a nice camera, lacks the quality feeling I like. So, my love for the Bessa was a short one. The lenses give a better feeling, so I kept the 21/4 and I'm looking to buy a 28/3.5 to complement my 35/2, 50/1.4 and 90/2.0 Leica's. The Leica's are still the best, but at an extreme price.
 
By the way, I still have a brand new Sidegrip for the Bessa camera. Never been removed from the box. For just US$ 30.00 it's yours. Since I travel between Europe and the America's I can ship from inside the EU or USA.
 
Hi Ed. Welcome from Amsterdam.

How about joining us on 18 Feb in Antwerp?
 
I too have recieved my R3a this week and I have been in love with the thing since I read it's specs online. And now that it's in my hands it's like fondling a playmate. Well, not exactly but, you get the idea. I have the 40mm 1.4 Nokton and it's been a great lens. I'm still getting usied to the samll size of the rangefinder. The only other one I've used is a Mamiya 7II and an old argus and even then only briefly. have yet to develop a roll from it but I'm confident from what I've read.

I also have a 75/1.4 and a 25/2.8 lens all the way. I'm hoping it won't be too difficult to focus but I'm confident I'll become adjusted to the experience. I totally agree with the poor placement of the strap legs. It just doesn't feel right especially with a light lens attached. But I imagine with a longer/heavier lens it changes the cg so that the camera wouldn't want to flip so much.
 
So many new people lately! This is so great. I love to see new people here sharing photos and discovering how great rangefinder photography is. Welcome to the board!
 
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