R3m Gas

[BillBingham2]

I would go with a R2M, just to keep the balance of things.

B2 (;->

 

[5nap5hot]

I chose a R3M over the R3A because I am currently in school for photography. We are told to shoot everything in manual. I love my camera and it is easy to adjust exposure on the fly. I was initially tempted to go with "user M2/M3" but I wanted to have a meter.
My next rangefinder will be an AE model though... the Zeiss Ikon. (wipes saliva from corner of mouth)

 

[like2fiddle]

I briefly (5-6 rolls of film) owned an R3M last August. I really, really liked the camera. The only thing was that I had problems out of the box, and it just got worse, so I had to send it back. If I were in the market for a Bessa now, I'd go for the R2A or R3A and use it in manual (can you do that?). They've been around a while and it seems like everybody likes them.

 

[haagen_dazs]

Doug is selling a R3M on the classifieds ...

 

[Richard Black]

Gray Paint

Gray Paint

Do any of you own the gray or grey colored R2/3a? Comments on the color. It looks sooooo cool on Cameraquest. What's it like in real life?😕
Tell me it is real ugly so I won't have gas anymore.

 

[Krosya]

personally, i'm turned off by a "user" M2/M3 by the fact that (even though they're Leica's) they are rather archaic(sp?)... i imagine what i'm saying is total blasphemy- but i'm just not into the bottom-plate film loading. I like the rear door, the film window, the more conventional layout in general of the Bessas. Plus, i know i can afford a brand-new R3M, whereas a user M3 is exactly that.

I'm very excited about my new toy, and maybe one day i'll get a Leica. On the contrary- i'm more likely to just get better glass for my Bessa than i am to spend the money on a Leica body.

Thats what I thought until I got a user M3. 😉
It's difficult to explain why it's better, until you actually use it. And bottom loading on M series Leicas is not that bad, just takes practice.

 

[JonathanA]

I've been thinking about picking up an R3A because I can't seem to justify only having manual but I will most likely pick one up for a second body later on if there are any still around.

 

[MRohlfing]

Do any of you own the gray or grey colored R2/3a? Comments on the color. It looks sooooo cool on Cameraquest. What's it like in real life?😕
Tell me it is real ugly so I won't have gas anymore.

Sorry, Richard, it really looks COOOL in real life, too! (Maybe you have bought it in the meantime, if not, get it as fast as possible!)
I wanted to buy a black R3A a few moths ago, and they only had the grey one in the store, so I bought that. And wow, do I like the grey color!
That beauty can even take great pictures! 🙂

Michael

 

[Richard Black]

Michael,
Are you taunting me? My first camera ever, at age 11, was your avatar and you now have the gray, or grey if you will, R3A. I am envious!!!!

 

[MRohlfing]

Michael,
Are you taunting me? My first camera ever, at age 11, was your avatar and you now have the gray, or grey if you will, R3A. I am envious!!!!

Yes, of course I am trying to stir up your GAS a little!
But I see in your signature that you have a Bessa R, which is a great camera too! (I have to sell mine now, because that GAS forced me to buy the R3A).
I like the 1:1 viewfinder and the AE of the R3A, it is heavier and feels more solid than the R. But in bright light it is often not easy to see the red LED numbers indicating the shutter speed in the finder, and when I wear my glasses it is almost impossible to see the 40mm brightlines. Luckily Voigtländer sells eyepiece correction lenses, and with such a precious little thing (Euro 35) I can see the lines quite well, when I open my eye real wide. For anything wider than 40mm an external viewfinder is needed. If you use a 35mm lens real often, you better get a R2A / R2M - it should be available in gray, too! 😀

Why didn't I keep my Bessa L for those wide lenses? 😕
Oh yes, GAS - I wanted the Bessa R, because I wanted a rangefinder.

My first camera, btw, was a Dacora-66 I got when I was seven.
The Brownie Starflash Camera - my avatar - I got as a gift much later with many other old cameras. It did not work, so I sold it few years ago. Do you have any pictures left you took with the Brownie?

Michael

 

[sinetsin]

Hi i just looking for a R3 or a R2, my doubt is about R3..the thing is that i wear glasses..and i know that gives some problems..anyone have a R3a/m and wear glasses??any comment about the problems?i read it at cameraquest but i want a personal opinon..
many thanks!!

 

[cpborello]

Sinetsin,

I checked one out in a shop a while back. I could not see the 40mm frame lines without some eye gymnastics (I don't wear tremendous glasses either). That said, if 40mm is not your thing, then it is not a big deal.

Chris

 

[Richard Black]

You are a tempter! A gray 4m would be the last straw, but a 2m would be just so cool! I like the wide angle stuff so the R3s are not that high on my list, but if I had one choice it would be, uh, I can't decide!

Yes, I found some the other day but I can't put my hands on them now. But when I run across them, I'll scan some. Taken in 1958-59 or there abouts at Wooloroc, a natural museun in Bartlesville Ok, started by one of the Phillips brothers, founders of the Phillips 66 gas company. Buffalo, wild west hand guns, and western art in a rural, wood cabin atmosphere. Great stuff.

 

[Doug]

Yes, perhaps they could be persuaded to make a run of gray R4A bodies... 🙂

 

[mfogiel]

I am fairly new to the rangefinders, and I do wear glasses. I have chosen to use Bessas over Leicas, because I feel the prime advantage of this type of camera is the compactness, light weight and fast shooting capability for b&w images.

The Leica vievfinders I,ve seen (0.58 and 0.72) didn't feel right to me. I could only see the second biggest frame, and it was already quite tight. On top of this, an M7 costs really too much for a film camera in the digital age, and the earlier versions require too much compromise with fast shooting due to the lack of aperture priority auto exposure.

So I went with the Bessas - the R4A first, and the R3A thereafter. For a glass wearer, these cameras provide almost ideal set up if you use a 28mm lens on the R4 and a 50mm on the R3. You see the frames filling the viewfinder almost entirely, but not completely, so you get the benefit of the famous "live view" around the frames for best composition and timing. The 35mm frames on the R4 are still quite usable, while both the 75mm and 90mm frames on the R3 are ok, but personally I find they are a bit of an overextension of the rangefinder concept.

I actually keep a 28mm Elmarit on the R4A and a 50mm C Sonnar on the R3A, with a 90mm Elmarit as a last resort reserve, if I really want to stay light and leave my Nikon FM3A with the Planar 85 at home.

The main disadvantage of the Bessas, to my mind, is that the compactness of these cameras causes some serious lens vignetting problem in the viewfinder, so you really have to be careful in the choice of lenses. The R4A really requires the most compact lenses, and the R3A, while less critical, also works better with the thinner and shorter versions.

So, if you plan to use the R3A with a Summicron or one of the compact Voigtlanders, I am sure you will enjoy it quite a lot, but you might be a bit bothered if you use the ultra luminous lenses.

 

[kshapero]

Hi i just looking for a R3 or a R2, my doubt is about R3..the thing is that i wear glasses..and i know that gives some problems..anyone have a R3a/m and wear glasses??any comment about the problems?i read it at cameraquest but i want a personal opinon..
many thanks!!

I use the R3M and wear glasses. no problem.

 

[kully]

The main disadvantage of the Bessas, to my mind, is that the compactness of these cameras causes some serious lens vignetting problem in the viewfinder, so you really have to be careful in the choice of lenses. The R4A really requires the most compact lenses, and the R3A, while less critical, also works better with the thinner and shorter versions.

I can't understand this, how do the Bessa RFs cause vignetting in the viewfinder? indeed, how does this happen with any RF?

Sinetsin, I don't know what your prescription for glasses is, but I found the R2a and R2m much better for me than the R3{a,m}. Yes, I could see the frames, but it was a little bit of a struggle and I didn't want that everytime I brought it to me eye.

It's not just the framelines being visible, it's the metering LEDs as well.

having said that, if you're going to use it with an external meter and only as 'wide' as 50mm then I would definitely recommend the R3{a.m}.

 

[robert blu]

Interesting thread, I take opportunity to ask if does anyone know if the R2M is quieter compared to the R ?
rob

 

[noci]

he means "vignetting" as the lens might obstruct part of the viewfinder window if it's too wide, i.e. a canon .95 would probably do that as the front diameter of that lens is bigger than the actual mount diameter, which is a typical layout of a super fast lens.

 

[kully]

Hallo Robert,

Comparing my R2m vs. nico's R in Paris - yes, the R2m is quieter.

But the difference is not such that I would pay money for it 🙂