Bessa-questions from a newbie

[EmilGil]

Hello guys,

I found this marvellous site a few days ago surfing the net for information on the CV Bessas. Their rather modest price and the brilliant optics caught my eye the other day as a back-to-basics-camera but I have a few questions. My biggest problem is that I live in Sweden and I have only found one retailer here, conveniently located on the other side of the country. It's some 4h by train away so I can't just stroll over and have a look. This retailer also charges well over $1000 for a new Bessa R2A/R3A, but from what I understand both Steven Gandy and Robert White are professional dealers that ship to Sweden. I won't buy without touching one though, I guess I'll just have to take a weekend trip later this year.

My questions are:
I'm thinking of going completely manual, i.e. the R2, to have a working camera even without batteries. I have a Hasselblad, but it is a bit bulky to take along for a Sunday walk even though you certainly look professional to many people when you're using it. Buying a R2 will almost certainly mean buying second hand. Is the aperture priority on the R2A worth it? I like the idea of being totally battery independent...

I searched the forums a bit to find information on the combination of RF and glasses but I didn't find much. I've abandoned the R3A because of this, from what I understand it is pretty hard to use with glasses. How are the R2/R2A's from this point of view?

Which lens(es) do I choose? My first idea was to get just a 50mm, but on the other hand I like candids and portraits for which this focal length might not be ideal. Is the combination 35+75mm a better option? Its a few hundred $ more though... I bought a 50/1.8 with my SLR but after acquiring a 85mm I never use the 50mm. A 35 Ultron and a 75 Heliar is approx. $700 at Cameraquest, a 50 Nokton is half that. My getting-back-to-basic idea was to have a small camera for taking pictures, not to worry about whether I have the right lens mounted. What do you say?