Quietest Bessa

[dtc]

Which Bessa is the quietest? If there is one? Any one comparable to the Leica M's?

thanks,
Dave

 

[ghost]

r3m and r2m. the new shutter is noticeably lower in volume and duller in tone. i have a video clip if you want.

 

[dtc]

That would be great. my e-mail is phiur at nycap.rr.com

or my aol screename is phiur

thanks.

 

[back alley]

the leicas have a cloth shutter curtain and the bessa cams have a metal shutter - there will never be a similarity or a bessa or zi as quiet as a m camera.

 

[kshapero]

The bessa R3M or R2M

 

[kevin m]

If the R2M/R3M are quiter, are the R2A/R3A as well? That would be good news.

I have a Bessa L body that came 'free' with a used 21mm lens purchase, and the damn thing is loud enough that people heard me firing the shutter at the county fair. :bang: I call it the 'cuisinart' shutter, because it sounds more like a food-processor than a camera to me. 😀

 

[gregg]

I had an R2M and it was considerably louder than my M6. I can't speak to other VC cameras but I sold the R2M and bought a 2nd M6 so I could shoot on movie sets and in church settings. All that said the R2M seemed quiter than the R2A when I was playing with them in the shop...

 

[kshapero]

Used to have an R3A. The R3M is quieter by a small amount.

 

[BrianPhotog]

I had an R2M and it was considerably louder than my M6. I can't speak to other VC cameras but I sold the R2M and bought a 2nd M6 so I could shoot on movie sets and in church settings. All that said the R2M seemed quiter than the R2A when I was playing with them in the shop...

Overkill or over-thinking?

I have a friend who shoots on location officially for diferent production companies (I'm from RPV, Calif). He shoots a Hassey. Some actors are known to take shots during filming, too...one of the Bridges bros (don't remember which) likes to shoot an X-Pan while waiting in the wings for his cue. When I was younger my stepmother was an exec producer for (this is dating me, I know) "Soul Train" and I used to wander from TV set to TV set with a Pentax K1000 or Minolta X370 in hand, occasionally taking snaps...next time I fly back to visit my family I really need to look through my JHS and HS negs. I know I've got some cool stuff in there 😛

"Quiet on the set" doesn't mean absolute quiet.

Here in Taiwan I often shoot at temples, including during "quiet" ceremonies and at no time have either of my Bessas (an R2 and R2a) disturbed the warshippers.

 

[Mazurka]

This one's quieter than any Leica M up to the M7, let alone the Cosinas:

 

[kully]

Kevin, the Bessa L is certainly louder than the Bessa R2a.

I've noticed the trigger winder seems to dampen the sound too.

However.

I used to think my R2a was quite loud, but I had the good fortune to meet a bloke in China with an R2a (I couldn't beleive it either). From about 10 feet away in a quiet outdoor place the shutter sounded quite benign (a little 'shnick') - and it wasn't him having a 'special' shutter because I asked him to take a photo of me with mine and it sounded the same.

Having the ear so close to the camera was making me more paranoid (for want of a better word) than I should have been.

 

[cbass]

Using the lower half of the VC camera case will noticeably reduce the shutter noise from the Bessa L or R and probably the R#M, R#A, etc. as well.

Plus, it'll help protect the camera from damage. I use the bottom half of the case on my R body all the time; best $1 (thank you, PhotoVillage!) that I ever spent.

 

[RyanG]

I haven't shot with a leica, so I can't contend to that effect. But I do know that my R3M produces just a small, but satisfying, *chick*. Personally I really like the sound it makes. I'm used to a bronica sq-ai, which gives forth quite the *Ka-chunk*. The R3M, while noticeable in a quiet environment and with your ear right next to it, is fairly discrete within the presence of environmental noise. Before buying it I was worried about how loud it would be. But now that I'm out there and shooting with it, I've seen (or, heard) how little it imposes.

 

[Fred]

I shoot with a Bessa R, L and an M, yes the M is a lot quieter but in real use it's remamkable how the Bessa can be used without being noticed. The R2 onwards are quieter though.