used bessa r question

nzeeman

nzeeman

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i have one question for you.
in last 8 months i tried to make some extra money with google adsense. first it started good - but now things got stuck. i made only 100$ till now. now i wait those 100$ to come. i was wondering - is there any chance to find used bessa r body for only 100$? any of you maybe have some in not so good condition that would sell it? and is it maybe smarter to buy some j3 or leningrad camera (i found one in belgrade for 100$) with that money?
thanks for any help.
 
You should be able to get a used Bessa R in very good condition for $175, and a beaten-up one for $150.
 
I think chances are not too good that you will find a Bessa for 100 USD, 150 looks more realistic as a lower estimate. My own 99 EUR Bessa is gone, unfortunately. However if I were in your position, I would not buy the Leningrad, since the Bessa is a much better camera IMHO; maybe there is a way you can save up these extra 50 USD from somewhere over time?
 
and also where can i look for used cameras beside ebay? - also i remembered one more problem - postage and tax. serbia is out of EU so postages and taxes are high. i will need some seller from europe. and obviously i will need at least 100$ more. well - only thing i can do is to wait my sites one more year to bring me money. :D i will have enough time to find some cheap used cam. ;)
 
Well, everything that Nzee told about tax is true - if you want to buy or you are expecting gift( my case ) from the other country, everything above 20 Euros will cost +1/3 of package value - I hope that you will
save 100$ more, Nzee - and be happy to look at parralax corrected, bright
BESSA viewfinder :)
 
FrankS said:
nzeeman, you have an R2 already, right?
Click to expand...
that would be nice :D no i dont have that one. its tooooo expensive for me. maybe you mistaken me with nikola or petardima because we were together in new year bessa giveaway. i have russian cameras only. im still behing iron curtain. :D
 
who's talking about me??? :D

ah yes I totally forgotten what I had to say...

this is mine reasoning... first.) glass makes pretty pictures! second.) you really don't need bessa (first hand experience)... btw I adore Ultron :D

when I look at photos from all different cameras that I had shoot with... I really don't remember the camera... ok... I have hard time typing this... or small vocabulary... of course there are obvious differences comparing beesa with fsu cameras...(mostly superbright VF and RF patch, and meter)... but when I think more about it... I didn't ever find camera limiting me in my style and ideas... I was even comfortable guess exposing... bessa is even louder than my fed3b... it's obviously better but... once again... i do really feel that you'll feel bad if you spend all that money on second hand bessa... ou this is confusing bunch of words...

conclusion... if I where you I would try to find good Yashica... Lynx or 35... doesn't meter... buying just the j3 (if you have good camera) sounds good to (if it's perfect example) or if you really need it, light meter... (new Sekonic L-208 in Cro is around 500kn)... used luna six is even better... and so forth...
you should really think about it hard! :D

everything said i love my Bessa and fell one with her... she is mine all-time companion...
 
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nzeeman,

can you take paypal? I've certainly appreciated the work you've done organizing the FSU photo contest the last two years, and could donate something toward a new R. maybe others would be interested?
 
Maybe you should put a link to your site in your signature, then we can all click every now and then :)
 
No old camera like a Yashica, Canonet... etc. can compare to Bessa. Bessa is a bit too plastic, but the wonderful bright VF and the contrasty sharp RF patch makes it the best camera available for us "poorer" photographers.

nzeeman: try to resist for now, save some more money and then start looking for a Bessa - best here in classifieds. I bought both my Bessas through classifieds. First a R from CA, USA (already sold) and more recently a R2 from UK. Ebay can be cheaper (but not often) but is also much more risky. And maybe when you decide to buy, some member from EU going on a holiday to Greece or Bulgaria by car could physically bring it to you so you would save taxes ;)

Good luck.
 
Spyderman said:
maybe when you decide to buy, some member from EU going on a holiday to Greece or Bulgaria by car could physically bring it to you so you would save taxes
Click to expand...

Yes, that is fantastic idea ... I am very touched with good will to help ...
I think that this year will be '' year of generosity '' on RFF ... :)
Some thoughts about BESSA: yes(Nikola) it is loud, but that is 1% to perfection - my opinion - but if you look at Zeiss Ikon, it has same( is it correct?) metal shutter ... made in Cosina factory, too. BESSA has SLR roots(same ?), but RF end ... again, in Popphoto there is nice article about modern RF cameras ... BESSA standing, shoulder to shoulder with ZI & Leica ...
in optical test, 50mm f:2 Cosinas lens has simmilar results, compared to much expensive ZI and Leica lenses.
 
(just BTW - Bessas use Copal shutters. Copal makes shutters for mobile phones, digital P&S, ...)


But let's get back to the original topic: it seems to me there is another charity movement just starting here ;)
 
To me even Leica would be loud! :D

...I would love to help if I can (I just opened paypal acc yesterday... :) ...to pay Shaocaholica for diopter for my little Bessa... I just have around 10$ there...)
 
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Bessa R in Europe

Bessa R in Europe

nzeeman said:
any of you maybe have some in not so good condition that would sell it?
Click to expand...
I do have one, waiting to put it online. I bought it from Cameraquest late last year for $175 in EX+ condition; it now has a few more scratches on the bottom but no other issues. It looks like the previous owner tried to use it with a Soviet collapsible, though. I'd be happy to pass it along at a discount, but have no better idea on how to ship it than DHL. :confused:

See user/pass RFF/rangefinder at http://tinkering.info/forSale/

Best,
/Jobo
 
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sorry guys for not answering for 5 days - but i was in my village because i got few days off. thanks for idea about helping me with site - but i will got my account banned if you click on ads from same ip address.
also thanks for contribution idea - you are really great guys but i dont know if i deserve thing like that from you. i would like to do something in return - but i will have to think about that. i think i have one small idea - i will see is it possible to do. ;)
thanks again - and now i have tyo check hat happened to fsu contest while i was away.
 
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