Wishing a bessa R

[lubitel]

This weekend I had a bessa R in my hands... at a photo store. It felt so nice! The viewfinder was bright and huge! and focusing seemed like a breeze! So I am thinking, this is my number 1 on the wishlist camera.
I am confused about the prices though. The one I saw was used with a 35mm 2.5 and cost 700 Euros. Here in germany they seem to be around 800 or more euros new. On the cameraquest they have "Silver Bessa R Rangefinder Body*w/ 35/2.5" for 400 us dollars new. That seems like an unbelievable deal! is it?

 

[ray_g]

Popflash photo, our newest sponsor, has a used one for $125. Now that's a deal.

 

[thmk]

Cameraquest is hard to beat especially compared to Europe.

The best deal for Germany I found here: http://www.fotopartner.de/kameras/voigtlaender-bessa-classic-collection.php
Bessa-R with 2.5/35 for 499 Euro.

These are the lowest prices I could find. There are other shops in Germany but more expensive. The term "Demo" does not mean these cameras are really used. I already bought a "Demo" Bessa-R for 199 Euro from them and it was new.

RFF sponsor Robert White sells this kit in silver for 250 GBP (excl. VAT) or 265 GBP (excl. VAT). This would make it about 429 Euro for the silver kit or 484 Euro for the black kit (incl. VAT). Shipping from UK is more expensive then from Germany so this is about +/- 0 for the black kit.

Cheers
Thomas-Michael

 

[lubitel]

Thanks for the tips.

 

[stric]

I bought some of my Voigtlaender equipment from Cameraquest. Prices are on par with other similar on-line retailers in the USA (www.bhphoto.com and www.adorama.com come to mind). However, Cameraquest owner, Stephen Ghandi is a gread gentleman to work with. His site is very informative and his service is great as well. $400 is not bad these days given that Euro is relatively strong.
I bought my R2 about two years ago. At the time my sister lived in Japan and I asked her to get me R2 over there. It trned out to be more expensive than here in the US. For osme reasong the US prices are sometimes lower than in the rest of the world.
See if Cameraquest will ship it to Europe.

 

[Seveneer]

I bought my R with 35mm/2.5 from Robert White a few weeks back. Very good price, very quick deliery and very big grin on my face! 🙂

Not sure if they'd ship to Germany but I don't see why they wouldn't.

This weekend was the first chance I have had to use mine for any more than a few minutes. I was thrilled by the results, which are not done justice by my scanner. Looking forward to getting in the darkroom and printing a few ciba's.

ATB,
/Phil.

 

[thmk]

Robert White definitely will ship to Germany. I already ordered some stuff from them.

Cheers
Thomas-Michael

 

[thafred]

Hi!
I´m in Austria and pruchased from www.Fotopartner.de they have Demo gear and a R with 35/2,5 plus case will cost about 499! my R looked brand new...no dust/spots anywhere. they are near Hamburg i think... recomended

 

[kievnut]

I bought my Bessa R brand new from ebay (search for item 7566076731)

Shipping from USA to Sydney is only 7 days and he also provided a USPS tracing number and I can trace it all the way form USA to Australian custom -> local post office. He only charge $29 for shipping which is only a few dollars on top of the actual stamp on the pascel.

 

[satbunny]

I think I want a R, I have had it with my Zorki and I want a no frills second body. How is the R, is it reasonably ok and sound in terms of light and shutter?

 

[Kim Coxon]

I quite like the R and it certainly gives more "reliable" results than the FSU cameras. On the other hand, I can get a bit lazy with it and rely too much on internal meter etc. If you are in the Lincoln area, give me a shout and I can arrange for you to "play" with mine.

If you are looking for one, Ffordes have some quite good deals on ex demo ones at the moment either with or wthout lenses.

Kim

I think I want a R, I have had it with my Zorki and I want a no frills second body. How is the R, is it reasonably ok and sound in terms of light and shutter?

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

Robert White shipped my R3a same day that I ordered it (website), with next day UPS delivery to Portugal and a tracking number. UPS hub is in Koln so I would imagine that German delivery would be efficient.

Buying from UK means no customs or duty on goods entering another EU state, you will just pay UK VAT of 17.5% to Robert White.

Whereas buying from US *can* be expensive for duty, customs, taxes, 'handling' and on and on. Other times stuff just seems to get waved through import procedure and I pay nothing extra at all. There's no logic to it in Portugal, but other EU member states might be better organised...

 

[Goodyear]

See if Cameraquest will ship it to Europe.

I bought my R kit from Stephen. Shipped quickly and with no problems. Even passed through customs without a charge 😀 At that point RW were much more expensive - as it was I got my kit for about what RW are charging now.

 

[Mr C]

I bought my Bessa-R online from Photo Village in New York. They were the cheapest at that time. Delivery took 7 days and the staff at PV were extremely helpful.

Unfortunately I did get nailed for custom's charges but even so I still paid a lot less than if I had bought in the UK.

It's sad but true that camera gear in the UK is very expensive compared to the US.