NHS Bessa R2S Special set for NHS

[JonR]

So, I bought one of those special NHS Bessa R2s sets with the Heliar 50 mm f/3,5 and also the SC-Skopar 21mm f/4 - it will be a summer project to test it out, just for the fun of it!

It would be interesting to hear your opinions about this camera and the lenses which will be used primarily on my S2 and S3 I guess in the future -- what´s the opinion of the Bessa and those two lenses!??

Appreciate any comments! 🙄

Jon

 

[migtex]

Hmm 😱😱 Just did exactly the same..bought a R2S NHS.. from 4423bruni in the RFF classifieds.
In my case already have the CV 21. One of my Fav's! Incredible lens for such wide angle.
Goth some pics on the this flicker set.

 

[csxcnj]

I have one also and love it. The meter seems pretty accurate, the camera looks and feels nice in the hand and now that I've put a diopter correction eyepiece on it I love the viewfinder too.

I'll have to say that it isn't as robust as a Nikon. I was picking it up to take a shot and it slipped loose of my grip. The bottom left corner of the camera fell a whole whopping 2 inches back onto the wooden park bench I'd been sitting on. That was enough to throw the RF alingnment out at infinity. Enen though I was told by the dealer that a bump like that shouldn't have affected the camera, getting it fixed would not be covered by the warranty since I "dropped" it. So be warned. Several rolls shot since then have shown the focus to be fine at all distances. So I'm just living with the image misalignment at infinity, since it's just a "cosmetic" problem.

I love the lenses, own every one of them in S mount except the 25. I'm not as technically knowlegable as most folks on this board so can't go into the nuts and bolts of why I think they're good lenses....I just like the results 😀


CV 21...very harsh midday backlighting...



CV 21 crop of a similar shot...

CV 50 Heliar

I'm so pleased with the R2S that I'll be getting an R4A and a few lenses later this year.....

thumbnails are more cv 21

 

[JonR]

Great shots! Do you use an extra viewfinder with the 21mm or stay with the normal one knowing that what you see in the finder is not exactly what you get in the picture.... working with the extra finder is a bit combersome....Jon

 

[csxcnj]

Thanks Jon. I use the external finder when I remember to 🙄

 

[PetarDima]

Оh I just LOVE wide ... all best 🙂

 

[Tom A]

The R2S is a nice complement to any Nikon Rf. I tend to use the Nikons with 400 asa film and the R2S with any other speed film. Doing the conversion in the head when I switch to 100 or 25asa gives me a headache!
The 50.3,5 is one of the absolutely best 50's ever made by anyone! Razor sharp but without unpleasant edge. So it is a bit slow, but it is worth it. The rendition is different from any other 50 I have. There is a "roundness" to the image that is lacking in other lenses. It is not distorsion, but more of a 3D effect.
The camera body is the same as any Bessa. i find them quite rugged and unless you really bang them around they hold up fine. You can reset the rangefinder yourself if it goes out of whack. Unscrew the "shoe" on the top and that way you can access the 2 screws that adjust the vertical/hoizontal alignment.
This is one of those kits that is worth the money for the lens alone. Mine is a "pre-NHS" version and the lens is a pre-production prototype as i suggested to Mr kobayashi that he make the lens in a ridgid form so not to irritate the customers who bought the Bessa T "special". Leica at one time made a 105/5.6, a tiny lens with a similar tapered barrel and it quickly aquired the nick-name "Mountain Elmar". As the 50 is a shorter focal length I christened it "the mole-hill Heliar".

 

[csxcnj]

i find them quite rugged and unless you really bang them around they hold up fine. You can reset the rangefinder yourself if it goes out of whack. Unscrew the "shoe" on the top and that way you can access the 2 screws that adjust the vertical/hoizontal alignment.
[ /quote]


Tom, the "drop" that caused the rf on mine to go out of alignment at infinity was really more of a slight bump. Is there something else that could have caused it to go out....it was owned by someone else but sold to me with full warranty coverage,...as I said the camera focuses accurately till infinity so I'm gonna leave the hatch on my baby and not worry about it

 

[JonR]

I look forward to test the "the mole-hill Heliar" as Tom puts it.... I have read a lot of positive comments about that lens and it was really those comments that made me interested in the NHS special Bessa set!

/jon

 

[Ed Schwartzreic]

The "molehill" is an outstanding lens, and yes, it has a more rounded aspect that does, let's say, the Millennium Nikkor 50/1.4. It's color rendition is quite beautiful as well. Here is a shot I took about a week ago with it on the M8, just having got the 37mm IR-cut filter for it. The image represents about 1/2 of the original, and enlarges well to A3 size.

 

[bobkonos]

I got my R2S with trigger winder, 21, 25, 21 and 25 finders, and 85 f3.5 in 2003. I was influenced a bit by Tom A and by the ability to use my Nikon RF lenses on the R2S. I love this camera and the C/V lenses! I typically use the 25/85 combination, but lately I leave the 21 on. I think the 85 Apo-lanthar is one of the sharpest lenses I have ever used...incredibly sharp. Slow? Well, that's why there's 400 film! Seriously Jon, consider getting the 85 for your set up. Even though I am not a portrait person, this lens is a favorite of mine for buildings, car details, etc. I truly think you will like this camera a lot: clear viewfinder, sharp rangefinder, solid body,...and easy to load!

 

[BillBingham2]

I have several other Bessas (T, L, R) and agree with Tom, treat them reasonably well and they hold up fine. I have the 25/4 CV for my Nikon S2 and love it. I love the LTM version of the lens so I got it in S rather than shell out the bucks for the Nikkor.

I never really liked 21mm, I think that's because I was misusing it. I love my 15mm, but never really got into the Leica 21 I had. CV lenses rock, you will love them.

B2 (;->

 

[Captain]

A friend who is also a member here bought a R2S because he found the build quality of the lenses to be much nicer with the SC versions so he went with with the S mount version of the Bessa. (This was before the M mount versions came out) Strangely though, I find his results with the 21mm to be sightly better than that of my thread mount version which I found great in itself. I found the same when comparing the S85 with the 90 Thread mount version. Sample variation, or just a better photographer probably or simply my imagination without a side by side comparison.