Bessa R2A =) First Post

chaosteo · 01-28-2005

Hi

My name is James. This is the first time posting on this forum. I just ordered Bessa R2A with 35mm ultron. I am expecting it tomorrow. I cannot wait to get my hands on it. I hope I made the right decision choosing R2A over R3A since I am wearing thick glasses; actually over my expense to buy a Canon 20D or other great Pentax lenses, like this crazy 40mm( looks sweeter than the 40mm nokton).

Pentax 40mm f2.8 DA link

I will keep you guys posted. I hope it is as good as my T(101 set). T was kinda incoveinent sometimes.

Best,

RML · 01-28-2005

Welcome, James. Enjoy your stay here, and enjoy the Bessa!

And welcome to all those other new members that have been signing up in wave after wave! You're too numerous to welcome all individually but you're all welcome nevertheless!

pukupi · 01-28-2005

Welcome James,

The R2a was the right choice if you have thick glasses. I am using the R3a with the 40/1.4 and while I am fortunate not to need glasses for shots, would be struggling to view the 40mm frame lines if I did.

GeneW · 01-28-2005

James, I have the R2 and the 35mm framelines are very easy to see while wearing glasses. The Ultron appears to be a sweet lens -- take a look at Peter's documentary work!

Gene

peter_n · 01-28-2005

Welcome to the forum James!

You may be the first person with an R2A here so we would all be very interested in a brief report - if you can spare the time from shooting it of course!

Natalia · 01-28-2005

Quote:

Originally posted by pukupi
Welcome James,

The R2a was the right choice if you have thick glasses. I am using the R3a with the 40/1.4 and while I am fortunate not to need glasses for shots, would be struggling to view the 40mm frame lines if I did.

I am a bit nearsighted too and wear glasses almost all the time... I am starting to save for Bessa R3A because of its veiwfinder. Will it be a good choice for a glasses wearer like me?

Apple Juice · 01-28-2005

Hello everyone,

My name is AJ from Hong Kong and this is my first posting. I have been using dSLR for a while now and am now interested in trying out film photography with a rangefinder camera.

Like James, I wear glasses and I have decided to purchase a Bessa R2A which should be arriving sometime next week. I bought a 2nd hand 35mm Summicron a few months ago which has been sitting on my shelf. The wait has been long and hard especially after the R3A came out but thank God, I only have a few more days to go!

I love this forum and have been browsing it regularly for the past month. I usually shoot low light photography and hope I will learn to love the rangefinder camera.

Regards,

AJ

Huck Finn · 01-28-2005

Quote:

Originally posted by LilRedSpy
I am a bit nearsighted too and wear glasses almost all the time... I am starting to save for Bessa R3A because of its veiwfinder. Will it be a good choice for a glasses wearer like me?

Lil Red Spy, it may depend on what focal lengths you favor.

peter_n · 01-28-2005

Hi AJ and welcome to the forum also! We must be way past 1000 members by now! Good luck with your R2A and that is a sweet lens to go with it!

Tell us how it goes!

GeneW · 01-28-2005

Welcome, AJ! You're going to have a great kit to shoot with!

Nice to see all the new members on the forum!

Gene

back alley · 01-28-2005

i think we are at 1025 members!

welcome to all.

joe

Doug · 01-28-2005

Welcome James and AJ! Congratulations on your almost-arrived new R2a! Though I don't wear glasses most of the time, I'd choose the R2a as well, due to the 35mm framelines having some useful space around them.

While I'm a fan of 40 and 35mm lenses, I don't want to have to strain to see all of the frameline at once. I'll bet you enjoy the R2a...

Apple Juice · 01-28-2005

Thank you all for your kind welcome.

AJ

Natalia · 02-01-2005

I use 35mm a lot, 50mm and will be trying some portrait photography with 90mm maybe.....

Quote:

Originally Posted by Huck Finn

Lil Red Spy, it may depend on what focal lengths you favor.

Natalia · 02-01-2005

Welcome, James. I also have 20D...Are you intending to use PENTAX-DA 40mm F2.8 Limited on it? I guess there should some kind of adapter on the market.

Grant · 02-02-2005

James,
I picked up my Bessa R2A on Jan 28th here in Jpn, currently have my 1st roll about 2/3 shot. First impressions, I LIKE IT, ok I will settle down now<g>. As I wear glasses I went for the R2A over R3A, plus I dont intend(at this point anyway) to buy a 40mm lens so the choice was easy. I have looked through the finders of both cameras & I find the R2A much easier to use, the 50mm framelines are very easy to see, same for 75 & 90mm of course.

the 35mm I can see two framelines at a time the top & either the right or left but not quite both, but some people with glasses might just be able to see them all. With my glasses off the 35mm lines are easily visible & lots of space outside, one might be able to use that as an approximation for 28mm.

The other day I shot late afternoon into the evening & using the A mode really made it easy & quick, this was also a big reason for getting one of the new Bessas, I like to sometimes be able to just set my aperature & let the camera decide the shutter speed & its easy to add +/- compensation although when I wanted to add light I rotated the dial away from me at first, but the camera is set for away for -ve & towrds yr body for +ve, to me it seems it shud have been the other way around, but shud to easy to get used to it

I think anyone considering one of the new Bessa`s if they use a 35mm a lot the R2a will make people very happy

Grant

taffer · 02-02-2005

Welcome to all the recent new members !!! Now this is growing fast !

Designer · 02-02-2005

A bit late! Welcome to the club, James and AJ!

peter_n · 02-02-2005

Welcome Grant and thanks for the post on the R2A. I think that's the first report on that cam we've had here. Glad you like it! I really like the 35mm focal length so that would be the choice for me if I were to get a CV body.

Don't forget to post some pics if you get the chance!

Huck Finn · 02-02-2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by LilRedSpy

I use 35mm a lot, 50mm and will be trying some portrait photography with 90mm maybe.....

Lil Red Spy, hopefully someone will post who has one. I don't, but from everything I read the R3A will be difficult if not impossible for you to use with the 35 mm lens. Of course, you'll be able to focus better with a portrait lens & that will be a big plus, since you'll be dealing with shallow depth of field even when it's not wide open.

Keep in mind that the 40 mm frame lines show only 85% of the field of view vs the normal 87%, so even for people who can see them, the view is restricted. Granted that it's not much, but for glasses wearers, it's important to know that you're starting from a restricted view to begin with.

Of course, you can have the best of both worlds by adding an auxiliary viewfinder for your 35 mm shooting. In fact, if you use the 28/35 mini-finder, you'll have expanded your shooting range down to 28 & still have the benefit of the increased magnification for focusing. You'll just have to learn how to work with separate viewfinders for focusing & composing. If that's not your cup of tea, then the R2A sounds to me like a better choice for you.

Cheers . . .

Natalia · 02-02-2005

thanks, Huck. I am PMing you with more??????