Which Bessa is for you?

Which Bessa is for you?

  • L

    Votes: 43 4.2%

  • T

    Votes: 59 5.8%

  • R

    Votes: 143 14.0%

  • R2

    Votes: 73 7.2%

  • R2M (Jahre 250)

    Votes: 16 1.6%

  • R2M

    Votes: 53 5.2%

  • R2A

    Votes: 112 11.0%

  • R3M (Jahre 250)

    Votes: 40 3.9%

  • R3M

    Votes: 91 8.9%

  • R3A

    Votes: 157 15.4%

  • R4M

    Votes: 118 11.6%

  • R4A

    Votes: 113 11.1%
  • Total voters
    1,018
Soon to be a Bessa R2 owner for the second time 🙂
Sold it after getting an M5, for no other reason that I just didn't want a lot of gear. I missed it a lot, but was looking to sell M5 for an M4-p. Again, trying to simplify and be able to use my 50/3.5 collapsible Heliar and 75 with all frame lines on one camera. Found a buyer for the M5 and sold that, but the M4-p I wanted was sold. :-(
Alas, Cameraquest had a new R2 for sale. I decided to order it and I couldn't be happier to have one again.
I just love the way it feels, the grip and weight, bright VF and all frame lines I need. Don't need batteries to operate. While the M5 was a beauty and a pleasure to use, it was heavy and inconvenient for a collapsible lens. I can hold the Bessa R2 in my hand for much longer than the M5. Faster shutter speed.
 
Aurelius said:
My "old" R3A brought back to life and use thanks to the 12 mm lens and the trigger winder. It is a heavy package now and the R3A's big finder is very useful for speedy focusing.

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That's a very nice set-up. 🙂
 
R3M Jahre with VC50 f2 heliar, VC 25 f4, and Leitz 90 f4. I needed something light to travel with my 4x5 gear for those extra shots where the tripod and big camera do not fit well.
 
A Bessa T the rangefinders fast viewfinder ideal,its almost as small as my 111f probably weighs less, but with finder seems to be the same
I bought it for the meter the price & to use i i dont have to worry about a scratch

I prefer my 111f but tend to use the T just as often as it has the meter

Stop the RV walk into a village for coffee i take my T with leather strap and 35mm vogtlander skopar and 15mm in pocket

Parked on campingcar place i take my 111f with 50mm elmar in my back pocket but not sitting on it😱

The Bessa T is my Leica M6
 
Tom A said:
Currently, a L, two T's (1 grey/1 black), Bessa R, Bessa R2. Bessa R2M,Bessa R2A (green), Bessa R3M, Bessa R3A (green), Bessa R4M (two) and awaiting a Bessa III
My Bessa R is now getting on in age - looks beaten up, but never missed a beat. The only Bessa that ever gave me a problem was the Bessa R2 - the meter diodes started acting up a while ago - at the moment I use it as a meterless body (took the batteries out) - one day I will get around to fix it - but everything else works so it is not a big deal.
Obviously I like the Bessa's!
ooops, forgot my R2S - it was not in my camera cabinet, but in my shoulder bag with the Heliar 50f3.5 on it.
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I just want to say that if anyone is into film and rangefinders they should not be embarrassed to own a Voigt (Leica owners take note), because if you look at Tom's stash and his reputation, this says it all. Bessa forever!!!😀
 
Had an R2A and sold it - just did not like the build quality. Loved the Bessa T - found it superb for street. Zone focus with a 28mm or wider, set the exposure using the road as a grey card without the need to ever raising the camera to your eye, and use an external finder for composing.
 
I just pulled the trigger on a Bessa R2A, after seeing the note in Cameraquest that the model was discontinued. I'm looking for a metered, aperture-priority body and can't afford a ZI, let alone an M7. I had an R3A and still have a Bessa T, so I have a sense of the trade-offs. A new R2A, with a warranty, makes sense to me right now.
 
Personally I don't get why anyone would choose a R2 over the R4 and R3. The R4 for me is the special one, since I had external viewfinders and there is simply no other RF camera that lets you mount the wide angles without framing issues or having to look through two separate windows for metering and framing. The R3 is special in its own right for the 1:1 viewfinder, but that is a feature that can be found elsewhere with some compromises. I have chosen the A models over the M. I know people feel differently about these things but for me AE + AE lock gets me the quickest best exposure results.
 
jamin-b said:
Personally I don't get why anyone would choose a R2 over the R4 and R3. The R4 for me is the special one, since I had external viewfinders and there is simply no other RF camera that lets you mount the wide angles without framing issues or having to look through two separate windows for metering and framing. The R3 is special in its own right for the 1:1 viewfinder, but that is a feature that can be found elsewhere with some compromises. I have chosen the A models over the M. I know people feel differently about these things but for me AE + AE lock gets me the quickest best exposure results.
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I think that's right - I mean about the uniqueness of the R4. So far I haven't felt the urge to get it because both of my wide lenses - the 15/4.5 Heliar and the 25/4 Snapshot Skopar are screw mount and lack ranger finder coupling. Scale focusing means that you look only through the auxiliary viewfinder. Works well. The only thing I don't like is having to change auxiliary finders when changing lenses.
 
I have a R3A just awesome, i like it in every respect. I had a KHRF too loud and heavy an M7 too expensive and heavy and a ZI that feels too low quality.

The R3A is not expensive and for the price is perfect.

I´d like to have a R4A but i´ve seen it´s prices going up like a rocket!
 
Monochrom said:
I have a R3A just awesome, i like it in every respect. I had a KHRF too loud and heavy an M7 too expensive and heavy and a ZI that feels too low quality.

The R3A is not expensive and for the price is perfect.

I´d like to have a R4A but i´ve seen it´s prices going up like a rocket!
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Which brings us back to he question why Cosina doesn't keep the R4 in production? Obviously rising pieces suggests a substantial demand. When you think about they started with the original R model than replaced it with the R2 and then down the road this mushroomed into six different models produced simultaneously - way beyond what the market would bear. Why not go back to a single R production model?
 
traveler_101 said:
Which brings us back to he question why Cosina doesn't keep the R4 in production? Obviously rising pieces suggests a substantial demand. When you think about they started with the original R model than replaced it with the R2 and then down the road this mushroomed into six different models produced simultaneously - way beyond what the market would bear. Why not go back to a single R production model?
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Manufacturing is a complicated business. I bet they were faced with the same problem a lot of companies are: there's still a demand for the product, but perhaps not enough demand to sell enough units to pay for new tooling. When the tools wear out, you have to make the hard decisions.
 
I think Cosina made the Bessa's as a way to promote their main products, lenses. Once they fullfil that task, they focused again on their leness. Maybe thats why they stopped making them: People started looking for VC lenses and buying them.

Regards.
 
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