Which bessa should I grab? R or L?

[bellyface]

I've been eyeing rangefinders for quite some time, own a broni RF645, a kodak retina 1A and a fed5 with a crappy 55mm... so I've been intersted in a more refined, basic rangefinder with modest moderness 😉 I like wide angles, and standard so I thought of the 15mm heliar on a bessa L, or a bessa R.

I realize the differences mostly the fact the L is missing it's rangefinder, but can be adapted for other lenses via a rangefinder, which might have it's drawbacks, then again the R has it all, but limited with the lens framing... or maybe I have it wrong, maybe someone can steer me in the right direction?

 

[cbass]

Grab both. 🙂 They are each nice cameras.

If you prefer wides, just grab the L. The L+15mm combo is a lot of fun. You might hear some folks poo-poo the L for being flimsy but I've had mine for a while and it's proven to be pretty rugged. I really like the view through the external VFs because I wear glasses. It's sometimes a pain swapping the VFs when you change lenses, though.

I also own an R but it sees less use than the L.

My dream camera would be an AE-version of the L body (I can't afford the price of a new ZI SW 😱 ).

 

[onespeed]

which bessa ?

which bessa ?

I'd go with a contax g-1!!!
Robert,

 

[fishtek]

I've got the Bessa R, and am perfectly happy with it, but then I don't use the superwide lenses. At the price of the L, I'd sure consider it if I wanted to go wider than my current lenses. Why not get both, if your budget allows...

Actually, after thinking about it, I'd just get the R, then the wide lens, which comes with a viewfinder. For me, it'd be the 21, 'cause it's coupled to the rangefinder.

Regards!
Don

 

[dostacos]

well the R will handle the 50/75/90 not sure how well the L does with the 35, but overall the R is more versatile and it is a REAL rangefinder 😀

 

[jody]

I own both if I would own only one it would be R

 

[grizzz]

I own both if I would own only one it would be R

I would second that. I have both and the 25 stays on the L and j3 and 75 go on the R. there is no reason I couldn't scale focus the 25 on te R as well if I didn't have the L to keep it on. That would go for anythng wider as well. Of course since I have both and am dreaming of wider I would use the wides on the L and the RF coupled on the R. If I didn't have the L body they would all work on the R.

 

[bellyface]

can the 15mm heliar work on the R?

 

[cbass]

can the 15mm heliar work on the R?

Yes; you just can't use the RF patch to focus. The 25/4 will also work fine.

With either lens you can frame with the external VF and peek in the camera's VF/RF window to read the meter display.

 

[oscroft]

My Bessa gear started off exactly the same way - a Bessa-L with a 15mm seemed a beautifully inexpensive way to get into ultra-wide angle photography. And then a bit later I added a 21mm to the kit, and that gets more use than the 15 (though I love both). I recently added a Bessa-R with 35/2.5, and then bought a 75/2.5 to go with it, and I think it's wonderful kit too (I'm still waiting for my first results from the 75, but the 35 is a cracker).

So what should you get? If it's just for super-wides, I'd say get the L - it's cheaper and functions just as well (and even for the 21mm, the DOF makes a rangefinder superfluous - I feel no need to use the R with my 21). But if you might some day get longer lenses (longer than a 25, I'd say) then I'd suggest the R - I guess you could manage with guess focusing for a 28 or even a 35, but I want more accuracy for those.

But the best advice it to just accept fate and do what so many people end up doing - get both 😉