Soon to be Bessa R2 owner

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PaulW128

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After being a member of this esteemed forum for a little over two years, I finally pulled the trigger on my very first rangefinder. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the R2, especially the Olive R2. Call me shallow, but there is something so sexy about an olive R2 and a silver lens!

I had been checking out the classified ads and Ebay somewhat more seriously of late and by pure dumb luck, I stumbled upon an olive R2 on KEH's website. Listed as "LN-" @ $415.00. Needless to say, I jumped and it should be here in a day or two.

I also ordered from Mr. Gandy the C/V 35mm 2.5 Color Skopar, which Stephen was nice enough to ship same day!!

Will post some photos once I receive the camera and lens. Thanks for letting me share my enthusiasm. I love this forum!!! I visit every day, great bunch of people!!

Best
Paul
 
I did the same a month ago, with a black one :)
I am very please with it.
Seems a very good start in the rangefinder world
 
Two years? Wow, someone is a lot more patient than I am... :p

Anyhow, enjoy the R2. That's my "Leica" and it performs really well.
 
Thanks guys. It was tough trying to resist the urge to get a Leica m2/m4/m6 but I thought the Bessa would be a good compromise..

Best
Paul
 
Wow, I couldn't wait 5 minutes to get a rangefinder camera and bought one I totally regret. I wanted an olive bessa R2(love at first sight I am afraid) as well and am working on getting one. I am new to rangefinder photography so I hope it will be good to learn with. There's nothing wrong with aesthetics being top of the list, but sometimes it gets one into trouble.
 
Soon to be Bessa R2 owner

Today or tomorrow my Bessa R2 will arrive in the mail. As money is tight as ever, it'll take me a while before I can put some proper glass on it.

Can anyone recommend a nice budget lens (somewhere between 28 and 50mm) get me going until I can afford a proper lens unit? I don't think I can stand having this camera body lying around helpless, begging me for something to do for the next half year. :eek:

Thanks in advance!
 
Canon 50mm f1.8 can usually be obtained for less than $200. Its a screwmount lens, so you need an adapter. I'd avoid the Russian lenses. They simply do not focus right on Leica and Bessa bodies. I had one reset for proper focus up close by Brian Sweeny and it is accurate at and near the 1 meter distance but severely front focuses at middle and long distances. When set for accurate focus at middle distances it back focuses badly up close. Mine makes a nice portrait lens, but is no good as a general purpose lens. I use a 50 Summicron for that. If I needed another 50 now and wanted it cheap, I'd go for one of the old Canon rangefinder 50mm lenses. They made a f1.4, f1.8, and f1.5 versions. The f1.8 is the cheapest and is very good.
 
Voigtlander Color-Skopar 35/2.5 is a very good and not very expensive lens that will be a great starting point for an "all-around" lens, IMO.
 
second on the VC 35/2.5 and the Canon

the Canon 50/1.8 LTM is an excellent choice, though these are getting more expensive

There is also the VC 50/1.5 (also LTM) and the 28/3.5

these are by no means choices "to keep you going until you can afford proper lenses"--they are actual keepers for most people
 
Jupiter 8 50mm. A lens when stopped down a bit becomes very very nice. I have two and the price was around $15 each.

The lens is LTM. Get a cheap adapter. No need to buy the expensive one.

Here is a sample picture out of 17 rolls from my Asia trip last year... Nothing special just to show that the combination works....
 

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Chriscrawfordphoto said:
Canon 50mm f1.8 can usually be obtained for less than $200. Its a screwmount lens, so you need an adapter. I'd avoid the Russian lenses. They simply do not focus right on Leica and Bessa bodies. I had one reset for proper focus up close by Brian Sweeny and it is accurate at and near the 1 meter distance but severely front focuses at middle and long distances. When set for accurate focus at middle distances it back focuses badly up close. Mine makes a nice portrait lens, but is no good as a general purpose lens. I use a 50 Summicron for that. If I needed another 50 now and wanted it cheap, I'd go for one of the old Canon rangefinder 50mm lenses. They made a f1.4, f1.8, and f1.5 versions. The f1.8 is the cheapest and is very good.
Click to expand...

i agree, when i picked up my Bessa R i couldnt scrounge together enuff for a "great" recent lens, but i got myself a Canon 50 1.8 and i dont regret it. its a nice lens and produces good quality images.
 
Yashi said:
Jupiter 8 50mm. A lens when stopped down a bit becomes very very nice. I have two and the price was around $15 each.

The lens is LTM. Get a cheap adapter. No need to buy the expensive one.

Here is a sample picture out of 17 rolls from my Asia trip last year... Nothing special just to show that the combination works....
Click to expand...

The Jupiter 8 is sharp at all apertures when its focused right. Problem is it won't focus right on a Leica or Bessa, so you have to stop down to mask the fact that your photos are simply out of focus.
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
The Jupiter 8 is sharp at all apertures when its focused right. Problem is it won't focus right on a Leica or Bessa, so you have to stop down to mask the fact that your photos are simply out of focus.
Click to expand...

It's simply not correct - some Jupiters may not focus correct, yet many do. I used to have one that was just fine on Bessa, RD1s, Hexar RF and Leica M5. There are plenty examples here on RFF and Flickr of this as well.
 
Chriscrawfordphoto said:
The Jupiter 8 is sharp at all apertures when its focused right. Problem is it won't focus right on a Leica or Bessa, so you have to stop down to mask the fact that your photos are simply out of focus.
Click to expand...

Strange mine does. I checked some closeups and these are in focus. Maybe because I use F4 -8 with the Jupiter. It may be possible that there is a modification and I did this when I got the lens. Cant remeber.... Anyway, for me not a bad lens for the Bessa.
 

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