Why oh why?

[ywenz]

The whole point of the RF experience is quality in compact size. So why did Cosina put the strap loops at much a bad location on the R2A!!! With my compact, yet lovely CV 35 f/2.5 Pancake 2 lens, the camera is horribly balanced and the camera back will NOT lay flat against my body. It totally ruins the picture taking experience! And no, I do not wish to add a handgrip or buy a heavier lens to resolve this balance issue.

Why can't it just "work"?

 

[Phantomas]

Hehe, yep, a common discomfort experienced by many users, but not by me. That’s because mine came with trigger-winder from the start.
Not to endorse extra money spending, but getting a sidegrip or trigger-winder will solve your problem. Plus both make holding the camera more comfortable.

 

[maddoc]

The whole point of the RF experience is quality in compact size.

... buy a Leica, problem solved. 🙂








:angel:

 

[ywenz]

Hehe, yep, a common discomfort experienced by many users, but not by me. That’s because mine came with trigger-winder from the start.
Not to endorse extra money spending, but getting a sidegrip or trigger-winder will solve your problem. Plus both make holding the camera more comfortable.

A grip will also not allow me to use the half case that came with the camera.. 🙁

I simply do not understand why they placed the loops there... :bang:

... buy a Leica, problem solved. 🙂

Use to own a Leica M6 kit.. figured it wasn't worth the money so I sold it.. perhaps that is the price of admission for properly positioned strap loops.

 

[Austerby]

They didn't "place" them there - they inherited them from the SLR chassis that the Bessa is based upon. They weren't a problem for the balance of the SLR.

There are a number of sources on the interweb describing the genesis of the model and its inheritance.

 

[maddoc]

Sine the CV 35/2.5 P II (?) and Bessa are not to heavy, how about a wrist strap / or Y-strap ?

 

[pau3]

Do you mean that your camera is hanging around your neck or shoulder instead of
being in your hands while shooting?

 

[Bassism]

I'll second the Y strap. I've been using my home made version with all of my cameras and I absolutely love it. No balance issues with anything I've tried it on, and it's more comfortable and more conducive to shooting to boot.

 

[ywenz]

pau: obviously the neck straps do not pose a balance problem when the cam is held in my hand.

Inherited the design from SLR or not, they obviously didn't retain the mirror box from the SLR, why would they have retained the strap loops?

 

[pesphoto]

Have you tried adding a side grip? It seems to help.

 

[ywenz]

Hi pes: Yes that what I gathered, but why even have to get grip to achieve such a fundamental characteristic of camera?

 

[pesphoto]

is it that extreme with the R2A? MAybe velcro it to your chest 🙂

 

[.ken]

Do you mean that your camera is hanging around your neck or shoulder instead of
being in your hands while shooting?

i second that 😉

 

[Al Kaplan]

Stick a heavy 85mm on any camera and watch the balance shift too far the other way. My Leica M3 has end mounted lugs while the M2 bodies have them canted forward. We've all been wondering about that for 51 years now. If you can't be with the cant you love then love the cant you're with.

Then there's alway the choice of the two lug M5 if you really want to learn how to curse.

 

[ywenz]

is it that extreme with the R2A? MAybe velcro it to your chest 🙂

It is that extreme and it would be better if the camera stays in that position, but it doesn't. When you walk or move, the camera bottom rocks against your chest and pivots around the strap attachment loop..

Stick a heavy 85mm on any camera and watch the balance shift too far the other way. My Leica M3 has end mounted lugs while the M2 bodies have them canted forward. We've all been wondering about that for 51 years now. If you can't be with the cant you love then love the cant you have.

I wouldn't complain if a telescope attached to my Bessa R2A doesn't balance properly.. However, I'm complaining about a nice little 35mm lens to go with the nice little R2A body for a compact package which the RF is made for.

 

[BillBingham2]

Trigger Winder solves all your problems. It will allow you to hang your camera over your right shoulder in a quick draw fashion. If it fit the L I would have had one on my L. I love the accessory for the way it allows a camera to hang. IMHO much better.

It will assist with combing your hair in the morning, will shine your shoes and will make you more attractive to the opposite sex!

B2 (;->

 

[pesphoto]

hmmm, well my R isnt as extreme, but I dont hang it around my neck. ITs either hangin on my shoulder or usually I wrap the strap around my hand and carry it that way.

 

[Al Kaplan]

pesphoto has the right idea. I do the same thing, a camera or two hanging from my shoulders, another dangling from a wrap or two of "neck" strap around my wrist.

 

[ferider]

I used to have a Cosina-made OM2000. The lower part of the body was almost identical to the Bessa R's, including shutter, fim rails, etc., and also strap lugs.

So I suspect it's for historical reasons. With an SLR lens the OM2000 was very well balanced ....

Roland.

 

[Tom A]

I once asked about the strap lugs on the Bessa Rf's. The answer I got was that as the designs harked back to the various SLR's that Cosina made for other manufacturers, the strap lug placement was "fixed" as a change would mean a completely new body casting and back door. Part of the problem is the swing open back door where the locking mechanism and the hinge precludes a shifting of the lugs. The additional cost for a new casting and new body cover would have raised the price of the Bessa considerably.
I tend to use the grips and winders to balance the body, unless I put a heavier lens on it (35/1.2, 50f1.5 or the Summicron 75f2 on the Bessa IIIM/A).