Bessa R2A - where to buy in UK?

[lost eden]

Last year I sold my DSLR with the intention of moving to a smaller mirrorless setup & ended up getting a Sony Nex 5N. Having wanted a Leica for a long time, I figured that buying into the M mount system with a mirrorless body that takes M mount lenses & getting a nice M mount lens to put on it & use until I could justify buying a Leica M body was a good idea, so I ended up getting a Zeiss Biogon 2/35.

Unfortunately I don't use the Biogon on the Nex as much as I would like, as I find the 52.5mm equivalent focal length a bit too long. I still can't justify buying a Leica M body, but I can justify buying a Bessa R2A - if only I could find anywhere to buy one in the UK!

The only official UK stockist wants £690 new which is rather steep considering B&H sell them for £565 new (but shipping & import tax brings it closer to £690). I'm more than happy to buy used but after checking all of the normal auction sites there seems to be a surprising lack of availability! I'm happy to buy from anywhere within Europe too, as there shouldn't be import taxes involved, so if there are any European stores I should check, please let me know.

[jonasv]

Should it be new? Considering that you are thinking of making the transition to an M body later on, a second hand bessa for now would make sense, no?

There appears to be one in the classifieds for 370ish GBP, though you would need to add shipping and probably paypal

http://www.rangefinderforum.com/phot...era-body/cat/3

[lost eden]

No it definitely doesn't have to be new, in fact I would prefer second hand as you say so I can save money to put toward a Leica further down the line. I've already sent a message to the owner of that classified, but as it is in the US it will incur 20% tax on the value of the camera + shipping when it arrives in the UK which could push the price past £500.

[Lss]

Just keep looking, I see them on UK and German eBay quite often. You may need to wait a couple of weeks to find a really good deal, though.

[lost eden]

Curse my impatience! I will try though.

Hm, there is actually a grey one on ebay UK atm, but I'm not sure if I want to pay more for the 'rarer' grey when I actually want black... Patience...

[SirAlien]

I've seen them turn up on Gumtree now and then. My own r2a I bought from London Camera Exchange secondhand but in pristine condition and love it to death. :-)

[Black]

Kepp our eye out on places like http://www.ffordes.com/category/Film...lander/Cameras

and

http://www.apertureuk.com/leica.html (scroll down to the bottom of that page).

They both have new and used stuff coming in all the time.

[craygc]

I've got one in mint condition - never use it. Don't have view on a price at the moment but if you want talk about it, drop me a line. Someone should get use out of it as I don't see myself using it.

[thegman]

Check out Aperture Photographic, Ffordes or LeicaShop.com. LeicaShop is in Germany, but being the EU means no import duty.

[lost eden]

Thanks for all of the links - Ffordes I've been recommended before, when chatting to an old local photographer about Rolleiflex. In the end I decided that I actually quite like the grey finish, so this arrived with the postman today...



Only thing wrong with it is the rubber peeling slightly on one corner, which seems to be not-unheard-of & I'm sure can be fixed with a spot of glue. Now to go take some photos

[SirAlien]

Very lovely machine. :-)

[thegman]

Originally Posted by lost eden

Thanks for all of the links - Ffordes I've been recommended before, when chatting to an old local photographer about Rolleiflex. In the end I decided that I actually quite like the grey finish, so this arrived with the postman today...



Only thing wrong with it is the rubber peeling slightly on one corner, which seems to be not-unheard-of & I'm sure can be fixed with a spot of glue. Now to go take some photos

I like the grey too, it's a very handsome camera, plus by all accounts, a killer lens.