Why so hard to find Bessa R3M's ?

znapper

znapper

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Hi

Been looking "all over the place" for a new Voigtländer Bessa R3M, but most places seem to be out of stock.

Does anyone know if this camera has been discontinued or something?

B&H is backordered "forever" :bang:
 
Yea, I actually ended up buying one on eBay from a reputable seller in Japan, free shipping for $495. :)

- But it's a little disconcerting that there are "no new" cameras to find, on the biggest sellers, like B&H and Amazon etc.
 
It could be worse.
You could have been looking for any of the Nikon S rangefinder-mount bodies, lenses or accessories, which are almost impossible to find.
 
rbsinto said:
It could be worse.
You could have been looking for any of the Nikon S rangefinder-mount bodies, lenses or accessories, which are almost impossible to find.
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Probably because they are all broken? ;)

Just kidding, I know what you're saying, some stuff gets rarer by the day =)
 
tyrone.s said:
Wow! Good price!
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Yeah, indeed, pretty good deal (lets hope the item is as described)
This one: http://www.ebay.com/itm/191682363183?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I was on the verge of buying a silver 250 year unit ($600)
It's in the box too, but it seems that it was originally bundled with the Heliar 50 F2, because this camera lack the cap for the body/lens-hole:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Unused-Voig...Japan-36561-/291557638596?hash=item43e23081c4

The silver one is more rare, but the seller is not a "top seller" and the item itself seemed to be a little iffy (although it's a unused one).
 
Well it's all relative isn't it? (I am not from the US and this is an international forum to begin with) :O

For me, the obvious is local businesses, B&H, Adorama, Amazon and then eBay.
I've seen cameraquest but don't know anything more about them, webshop looks dubious at best. Just because you are pals with the owner, doesn't mean everyone else is. :)

Is the camera still being produced?
 
Not long ago I sold a mint Rollei 35RF (in original box with all its papers) for about half the price you paid - and there seems hardly a market for these camera's
but your cam might have other specs...
 
znapper said:
Well it's all relative isn't it?
For me, the obvious is local businesses, B&H, Adorama, Amazon and then eBay.
I've seen cameraquest but don't know anything more about them, webshop looks dubious at best. Just because you are pals with the owner, doesn't mean everyone else is. :)

Is the camera still being produced?
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The owner and operator of this site is Steve Gandy, who also owns and operates CameraQuest. Steve has always provided excellent service, it has nothing to do with "being pals". He's been selling and promoting modern Voigtländer equipment in the U.S. for longer than anyone else, as far as I recall.

I would trust Steve and CameraQuest to support my Voigtländer purchases over anyone else in the U.S.

G
 
Godfrey said:
The owner and operator of this site is Steve Gandy, who also owns and operates CameraQuest. Steve has always provided excellent service, it has nothing to do with "being pals". He's been selling and promoting modern Voigtländer equipment in the U.S. for longer than anyone else, as far as I recall.

I would trust Steve and CameraQuest to support my Voigtländer purchases over anyone else in the U.S.

G
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I am sure he does (And I know he does, now that I've checked out the site more).

He does need to refurbish his web-shop though, specially put in the possibility for people to review both the site and the goods, so that any unsuspecting people dropping in, will consider placing an order.


Right now, the ordering page (and page in general), looks like something from the mid 90's, upgrade and streamline it, and I am sure more business will come as a result. ^^
 
znapper said:
I am sure he does (And I know he does, now that I've checked out the site more).

He does need to refurbish his web-shop though, specially put in the possibility for people to review both the site and the goods, so that any unsuspecting people dropping in, will consider placing an order.


Right now, the ordering page (and page in general), looks like something from the mid 90's, upgrade and streamline it, and I am sure more business will come as a result. ^^
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Hmm.

Were you actually looking for a camera or for something to critique?
 
znapper said:
I am sure he does (And I know he does, now that I've checked out the site more).

He does need to refurbish his web-shop though, specially put in the possibility for people to review both the site and the goods, so that any unsuspecting people dropping in, will consider placing an order.


Right now, the ordering page (and page in general), looks like something from the mid 90's, upgrade and streamline it, and I am sure more business will come as a result. ^^
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You seem more interested in the web site than the products and the people vending them.

G
 
Pioneer said:
Hmm.

Were you actually looking for a camera or for something to critique?
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Actually I was hoping for some pointers, and ended up getting one from eBay.

To be fair, I didn't expect to be "ambushed and critiqued" for not buying at cameraquest, just replying to that.

I can ask a third time: IS this camera actually discontinued or not?

There must be a reason why, all the main sites (in my view!) are out.
 
znapper said:
Actually I was hoping for some pointers, and ended up getting one from eBay.

To be fair, I didn't expect to be "ambushed and critiqued" for not buying at cameraquest, just replying to that.

I can ask a third time: IS this camera actually discontinued or not?

There must be a reason why, all the main sites (in my view!) are out.
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The reason is that the "main sites" never bought in to carrying Voigtlander film products in a big way. The official distributors in USA for Voigtlander is Camera Quest and Photo Village. Both are EXTREMELY knowledgeable. Neither have the big time budgets that Amazon, etc have. The R3M is very much alive and well. I have bought from both of them for over 10 years. Excellent service, you have nothing to fear. And no they are not my "pals" just good business folks. Best wishes
 
I don't think they are discontinued. If they are, the Cameraquest site generally says so.

The point people are trying to make to you is that for new Voigtlander, Cameraquest (or Photo Village) is typically the best option since most stuff is in stock. Unlike B&H and the others, which sell everything, Cameraquest focuses on Voigtlander items.

Nobody ambushed you for not buying at CQ... however, you came on here asking where to buy this stuff and the answer was Cameraquest. You assumed it was a RFF member's friend's site... and pretty much made fun of it. People were only trying to help.
 
Got my R2A from CameraQuest many moons ago. The site looks dated, but it's full of very useful information. Steve is directly responsible for getting me started on a rangefinder cameras.
 
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