Should I sell my Bessa III?

Well, I'm digging up this thread because I, too, am now thinking of selling my Bessa III. Not because I don't love it, I do. But if you follow me on any other forums/outlets, you'll see I switch gear up from time to time. (I sold my 'blad system after using the Bessa III for a while also). I have recently bought a Rollei 2.8f in near mint condition (ouch!) and am going to be using that for my MF for a while. Will probably be posting the Bessa III for sale after Christmas after I have time to mull it over a little more.
 
BTW Just received today John Phillips' newly published "The Classic Rollei - A Definitive Guide" via Royal Mail from Amazon UK as it isn't available in the US yet. Let's just say that "definitive" is an understatement. It's a textbook/tome (weighs more than a Rollei) that has everything you want to know about (every) Rollei, the plethora of accessories, and of course, how Rollei evolved, for both collectors and users. A "must have" for an owner of a 2.8F in mint condition. Surprisingly the Amazon UK price was better than the US pre-order. No reviews yet b/c everyone will be busy reading for a long time. LOL. Fast shipping too. Wasn't supposed to arrive till after Xmas.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Classic-Rol...=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1292566638&sr=8-1
 
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Not to hijack this into a Rollei thread but one little detail in the book that struck me was that the Leica had already been out for some time when the first Rollei hit the street at an annual photo fair, much like Photokina. Instantly, the Rollei gained recognition. Unlike the other which was mentioned in a publication as, "That little camera known as a Leica."
 
John NYC said:
Well, I'm digging up this thread because I, too, am now thinking of selling my Bessa III. Not because I don't love it, I do. But if you follow me on any other forums/outlets, you'll see I switch gear up from time to time. (I sold my 'blad system after using the Bessa III for a while also). I have recently bought a Rollei 2.8f in near mint condition (ouch!) and am going to be using that for my MF for a while. Will probably be posting the Bessa III for sale after Christmas after I have time to mull it over a little more.
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I ended up selling mine and I think the guy I sold it to sold it also a few months after. Must not have been what he was looking for afterall.

I'm currently MF cameraless which is unusual for me and it's bothering me a bit as I have loads of film to burn through. Money's a bit tight right now, though, so I'll have to wait until I get a replacement. I'm pretty much set on getting an RZ as I need one for several projects but I also need a walk around camera so maybe I'll have to get a Mamiya 7, too, although I don't see this happening anytime soon.

I actually hate selling and buying cameras. I'd rather just have what works and keep it. But what bothers me even more is using a camera that's not right for me.
 
Jamie123 said:
He might've been replying to my original post.
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Ah, well, I'm not sure if he owns one, but I think you hit some of the camera's shortcomings right on the head. I do not think you are being too fussy at all.

For me, the things you mention do not bother me. Specifically.. I don't shoot portraits with it. I've adjusted to the rangefinder issues, and don't care if if crop slightly in post since I have a hybrid workflow. I always stop way down on this camera for the type of photography I do with it. I find that the contrasty-ness of the lens is one of its advantages for the type of subjects I shoot with it.

It seems to be though, that you should going the Hassy way. I think you owned one before as I recall. They have that smoother, less contrasty look than the Fuji and Mamiya lenses do, IMHO.

So why am I personally thinking of selling then? Well, I just want some money back after buying my (too expensive) Rollei and I really don't need to have more than one MF camera at a time. I shoot 8x10 a lot and what I do with the Bessa III and that camera often overlap in style. I'm planning on shooting the Rollei wide open a lot and using a close-up Rolleinar lens frequently, two things that the Bessa III is not equipped for.

John
 
I longed for the Bessa when I read about it's specs before the official release but my enthusiasm cooled somewhat after having the one that's been travelling Australia for a couple of weeks. It didn't make the impact on me that I thought it would and I'm not exactly sure why.

Part of it is that for the price of the Bessa you can get a lot of other very good used MF gear and I've now settled on my RF645, a Hassy 500cm and I recently got a Pentax 67ii ... these cameras owe me less than what the Bessa is worth in Oz and the level of versatility is excellent. For me the Bessa just seems to have rather limited use and another issue was the lens ... looking at the images I did shoot wth the camera when I had it I'm struck by the fact that I prefer what I get from my old Iskra's Tessar clone.
 
If you don't enjoy using it then sell it. Find a camera that make you happy and your photographs will put a smile on your face.
 
John NYC said:
Ah, well, I'm not sure if he owns one, but I think you hit some of the camera's shortcomings right on the head. I do not think you are being too fussy at all.

For me, the things you mention do not bother me. Specifically.. I don't shoot portraits with it. I've adjusted to the rangefinder issues, and don't care if if crop slightly in post since I have a hybrid workflow. I always stop way down on this camera for the type of photography I do with it. I find that the contrasty-ness of the lens is one of its advantages for the type of subjects I shoot with it.

It seems to be though, that you should going the Hassy way. I think you owned one before as I recall. They have that smoother, less contrasty look than the Fuji and Mamiya lenses do, IMHO.

So why am I personally thinking of selling then? Well, I just want some money back after buying my (too expensive) Rollei and I really don't need to have more than one MF camera at a time. I shoot 8x10 a lot and what I do with the Bessa III and that camera often overlap in style. I'm planning on shooting the Rollei wide open a lot and using a close-up Rolleinar lens frequently, two things that the Bessa III is not equipped for.

John
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You are right, I used to have a Hasselblad and loved the lenses. They are exactly what I look for in a lens. If only the Hassy were 6x7!

I think I'll have to get a Mamiya RZ67II for studio work and maybe a Mamiya 7 as a walk around camera. I'm not crazy about another rangefinder but I really like to have a compact 6x7 camera. I'm also leaning towards getting into 4x5 further down the line but that'll have to wait. 8x10 is a dream but totally out of the question as that would cost me about $50/frame!

In the end I had mixed feelings about the Bessa III. It was a very nice camera and I liked it a lot - but I didn't love it. There were the shortcomings I mentioned before that bothered me but I also think I felt I had to pamper the camera too much due to it's price. I hardly ever walked around with it unfolded. Also, at the beginning I liked the idea of switchable formats as I was used to the Hasselblad but I ended up never really shooting 6x6.

All in all it was a good experience and I managed to resell it locally for almost the same amount I bought it for (minus shipping and customs) so all in all I spent about $300 on the camera and used it for more than a year. It ended up being a pretty cheap rental :)

At the moment I don't have any 120 film camera and it's killing me! Especially since just this week a photographer friend of mine who switched to digital gave me 80+ rolls of expired Portra he didn't need anymore.
 
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