Taking the leap - what is a good price for a Bessa R?

[fymmot]

It's been coming for some time, but I've finally decided to abandon my (sometimes not so) trusty FSU camera and invest in a Bessa R instead. I borrowed one for a few minutes and was blown away by the gorgeous viewfinder and the overall feel of the camera compared to what I'm used to. Since then, I haven't been able to enjoy my poor Zorki as much as I did before... 😉 Anyway, I have been monitoring eBay the last couple of days trying to get a feel for how much they go for but there have not been that many auctions lately. The "Buy it now" option on the other hand seems more than a little expensive at 500 USD.

So my question to you guys:
What would you consider a reasonable price for a Bessa R body today? and how much is too much?

Regards, Tommy

 

[breezerburn]

Hi Tommy,

I think 500 USD is too much. I've bought my Bessa R recently at 160 Euro (about 200 USD) body only. In fact, the total amount for the body plus the CV 28 mm 3.5 and CV 50 mm 2.5 was 500 Euro (+/- 640 USD).

Good luck!

Guillermo Pérez

 

[richardhkirkando]

I'd think $200-250 would be about right, maybe a little less if you're lucky. If you're not finding anything in that range, be patient, they don't seem to come up for sale too often.

 

[chris00nj]

Bessa R at $500 is way to much. I bought mine for $195 and sold it for $185 a couple years later.

I think it's gone up a bit actually recently, because of the devaluing of the dollar versus the yen. The Bessa R3a used to cost $569 new, and now it $719. In 2009, there were 100 yen to the dollar, now there is only 75.

 

[David Murphy]

A good price is less than $250. Most, but not all are in pretty good shape still. It's a very fine camera.

 

[dbarnes]

It's been a year or two, but I bought three Bessa Rs in the $200 range. The R is a lot of camera for the money!

 

[crispy12]

A different camera, but I bought the R2 for the equiv of US$260. Very good condition except for some paint loss.

 

[fymmot]

Thanks for all your input and advice! I did get a little impatient so I ended up paying equiv of 290 USD for a black (supposedly) unused Bessa R. I'm waiting anxiously for it to arrive now. I live in Sweden so my options were limited to EU sellers. If I were to buy from the US, I would have to pay a sales tax of 25% plus other tariffs. It's just not worth it.

I wish I could find a nice 35 mm lens to complement my Jupiter-8, preferably a Color Skopar, but the current prices puts it out of my range for the time being.

 

[Rogrund]

If I were to buy from the US, I would have to pay a sales tax of 25% plus other tariffs. It's just not worth it.

I live in Sweden too, and I have bought a lots of stuff from all over the world, e.g. a Bessa R from Cameraquest, and I have never paid sales tax or customs fees. But I guess it could happen. Good luck with your Bessa! 🙂

 

[umcelinho]

taxing from USA to EU can happen, when I got my 15mm Heliar in July '09 I bought it from Cameraquest and received it in Madrid, and I had to pay tax/tariffs.

 

[fymmot]

No camera, but I have bought clothes from an American website on two separate occasions and had to pay both times. And I think 50 EUR is the lower limit when taxes start to apply.

I guess I could ask nicely to have the package marked as a gift, but major eBay sellers probably don't not wanna break the rules like that.

 

[tyrone.s]

Thanks for all your input and advice! I did get a little impatient so I ended up paying equiv of 290 USD for a black (supposedly) unused Bessa R. I'm waiting anxiously for it to arrive now. I live in Sweden so my options were limited to EU sellers. If I were to buy from the US, I would have to pay a sales tax of 25% plus other tariffs. It's just not worth it.

I wish I could find a nice 35 mm lens to complement my Jupiter-8, preferably a Color Skopar, but the current prices puts it out of my range for the time being.

Sounds like a good price for an unused Bessa! As with all used gear you can only buy what you see on the day. Often it's more convenient and timely to buy closer to home - even if it costs few bucks more. The Bessa's finder is delightful!

 

[ampguy]

I have a minty one in box, chrome in the classifieds, for way less than $500. However, for $500, it's still a steal, they're discontinued, they take better photos and have better meters and faster shutter speeds than Leica's.

Just get one that works and looks perfect, with perfectly aligned VF/RF and take great photos.

You will have less issues than any Leica M6, M4P, or M8. I've owned multiples of all of those, and while they look sexy and all, they break, need expensive CLA's, and are really very old designs, technically.

 

[raid]

I paid $100 for a very clean Bessa R a year ago. It needed a minor repair (another $50). So now I have a black R that is 100% functional for $150. It even came with a camera case.

 

[Bingley]

Thanks for all your input and advice! I did get a little impatient so I ended up paying equiv of 290 USD for a black (supposedly) unused Bessa R. I'm waiting anxiously for it to arrive now. I live in Sweden so my options were limited to EU sellers. If I were to buy from the US, I would have to pay a sales tax of 25% plus other tariffs. It's just not worth it.

I wish I could find a nice 35 mm lens to complement my Jupiter-8, preferably a Color Skopar, but the current prices puts it out of my range for the time being.

That's not a bad price for a Bessa R, if "unused" means, essentially, "new." They're great cameras. Save your crowns for a 35 Color-Skopar: it's really a perfect 35 lens for this camera. I'd also recommend looking at Canon 35s, such as the 35/2.8, which can be found in good shape for $250-300 USD.

 

[fymmot]

Save your crowns for a 35 Color-Skopar: it's really a perfect 35 lens for this camera. I'd also recommend looking at Canon 35s, such as the 35/2.8, which can be found in good shape for $250-300 USD.

I'm definitely aiming for the skopar but that Canon looked fine as well. Thanks for the tip! I'm keeping my eye out for all and any 35 LTM lenses in my local classifieds but they don't seem to come up too often.

 

[fymmot]

It arrived today and I'm very happy! However, it was neither black nor 'unused'. Instead, what I received was a chrome body, reasonably minty but with a prominent beauty mark on the front leatherette, and some scratch marks on the back. I guess that's what you get for buying an article with a description only in Spanish. I don't really mind though, I bought it for shooting and not for keeping on a shelf. I figure it will get roughed up some eventually anyways...

The viewfinder is absolutely amazing,better than I remembered! I can't wait to try it out but the batteries in the camera turned out dead. So tomorrow I'm buying new ones, loading up a roll of TMAX100 and hitting the town... 🙂