what do you know about the Bessa R?

[clintk]

What can you folks tell me about the Bessa R in terms of its RF, reliability, etc?

Thanks for your time.

Clint

[back alley]

there's tons of info out there on the r clint.

rf is very big and bright, easy to use.
camera is light, almost too light. it took me a couple of rolls of film before i got a really sharp photo cause i was used to bigger and heavier cameras.
my r body & 35/75 combo seem lighter in their bag than a canon p w/ one lens attached in it's bag.
i have had no problems with mine but it hasn't been used alot lately cause i'm into heavy metal these days.

some people complain that it's hard to focus the 75 or 90 on it's short base but i've had no problems and i wear trifocals. i'm guessing they might be 'over thinking' it.
i just quick focus and shoot.

i could go on...

joe

[clintk]

Thanks Joe. I'm considering a R with a 28/3.5. I've got a L with a 15 on it. As much as I would like to guesstimate my focus, I think there will be times I want/need to be more precise.

[rover]

The R is a very nice little camera. Very light but feels solid in use. The meter, shutter and viewfinder/rangefinder are shared with the R2, though rumor has it that there may have been some minor tweaking of the RF from the R to R2. In operation, I think the R and R2 are perfect matches for 35mm lenses. Mine always seemed to be in focus when I picked it up paired with a 35. Besides the more solid construction of the R2 body, the big difference is the M lens mount. Only a big deal if you wish to use more modern Leica, Konica or the recent CV lenses. The M mount is also much faster to change lenses with compared to the screw mount of the R.

[clintk]

Good info. Thanks Rover

[Nick R.]

They are loud, though. I've just made the switch from fairly quite, fixed-lensed, leaf-shutter rf cameras, so I'm probably more sensitive to it. But to me, it's a major negative. I don't know how it sounds compared to the later R2 and R3, maybe others can fill you in. Otherwise, it's a nice handling camera with a bright view/rangefinder.

[That Guy]

I've been using my R as my primary camera for almost a year now. The RF is perfect with a 35mm lens. Focus would be easy with a 28 as well, though you'd need to use a finder for proper framing.

Mine has held up very well. I also have the L and it feels only a little heavier than that camera. Ultimately, I've been very pleased with my Voigts.

[back alley]

anything will be loud compared to a leaf shutter.
loud is also a relative thing.
i've never had someone turn around from the noise of my shutter when shooting on the street.
if i was in a church i'd take the canon p.

joe

[clintk]

Just about anything is quieter than the SLR's, digital and film, I use for work and personal projects. Thanksa again for the responses.

Clint

[wlewisiii]

Originally Posted by backalley photo

anything will be loud compared to a leaf shutter.
loud is also a relative thing.
i've never had someone turn around from the noise of my shutter when shooting on the street.
if i was in a church i'd take the canon p.

joe

It's a very relative thing.

Just as a point of reference, I use my Kiev 4a in a church on a fairly regular basis. No one has ever noticed/commented/etc on the shutter sound and it's considered somewhat loud from what I gather. OTOH, an SLR can be very distracting (cha-thunk!). I suppose If I were needing to shoot where sound was a very touchy issue, I'd probably choose my Agfa for it's leaf shutter. But, really, I think all of the RF's I've heard are quiet enough for 99% of uses.

William

[RML]

RF is big and bright.
The camera handles nicely and is not heavy.
The rewind handle is a bit of a niggle but adequate.
The shutter "clack" is louder than the muffled "clack" of my Eos 300D and much louder than "swoosh" of my M2, but most of the time people don't seem to notice or don't care.
For the price of $399 you get an R + a 35mm lens at CameraQuest; that's an offer that can't be beat.

[Roman]

My Pentax MX is definitely not as loud as the Bessa R - I don't use the R where quietness is important, but it is great for anything else, and is a perfect match with a 35mm lens...
I love the bright,large viewfinder, but a friend i Lent my R to complained about not seeing the rangefinder patch when having the eye not exactly centered over the viewfinder - had not been a problem for me, though...

Roman

[Tim]

The R is a very very good camera for the price. Team it with a good lens and it's capable of taking excellent pictures. Some early ones had quality problems, this should be all sorted now.
Good points: Great VF/RF, compact, reliable, takes great pics.
Bad points: Screw mount lenses slow to change if you're going to change lenses a lot, "feel" is not as good as an R2 or a Leica.....

Bottom line.......
It's not a Leica (with everything both good and bad that implies) but for the price it's unbeatable UNLESS you plan to swap lenses regularly. If so, get an R2.......

of course, YMMV.

tim (who had an R and loved it...until he handled an R2......until he handled an M6.....but at least at the moment can afford some indulgences)

[Tim]

Loudness of the shutter is all relative.........even the famed "quietness" of a Leica M shutter depends on what you are comparing it to.
Bottom line with this is, are you *really* going to be shooting in an environment that requires absolute silence?

As always, you have to ask yourself just what you are going to be using a camera for?

tim

[Stu :)]

What can I say about the Voigtlander Bessa R...

Fantastic springs to mind. I use to own and use two Rs, brilliant little beasty, well built and robust (even though many Leicaphiles reckon they feel plasticky, jump jump off a bridge), light weight. The view finder is amazing, both my Rs rangefinders where accurate and the light meters where great.
And for $250 new or $200 used for a newish LTM body with built in light meter and modern film take spool. It's excellent value.

With regards to shutter loudness, hasn't bothered me. Makes a nice positive "snap", which can be lost if out shooting in a breeze or in a noisy crowd.
Much quieter than a Canon EOS 3 or 5 (clic-chink whirrr...) or a Hasselblad (click... walhopf!).
On the flip side... my Zorki 4 is unnaturally quiet, I guess those Russians liked their cameras that way (apart from the Horizon 202...).

My only long standing gripe about the R is the framelines and it's more personal preference. Lose the 75mm frameline and give 35mm and 90mm their own framelines. Or add another position to the dial for 35/50/75/90mm framelines.

Stu (Who bought an R, then another, then got to play with an M3, then got to handle a M2... guess what happened next?)

[BJ Bignell]

I've only used mine for about 20 minutes with the 21mm Color-Skopar, but so far it's been good! When I get my 50mm Nokton I'll spend some more serious time with it.

The viewfinder is nice and bright, and it handles alright (I think I'll want the side grip, though). Shutter noise is fine; it's louder than my ZI Contessa w/leaf shutter, but a million times quiter than the Yashice FX-3 SLR I used to have. The controls have a good feel, and it's very light to carry around. The metering readout is easy to see in the viewfinder, too.

Since I haven't even finished one roll on it yet, can anyone comment on the metering? I know it's center-weighted, and you can find the metering pattern on the CameraQuest website, but how about some real-life impressions? Anyone find theirs to be significantly wrong, right, weird, or otherwise?

[sockeyed]

I find the metering a bit strange, in that the pattern picks up more at the top of the frame than I'm used to from using my Canon FD SLRs. It's easy for the sky to impact on my reading, I find. You can obviously work around it by tipping the camera down a bit when you're taking a reading.

[clintk]

Thanks again for all of your information. It's such a nice break from lugging around a Nikon D1H, D2H, EOS 3 and lenses. I just grab my little bag with the R3A w/40 and L w/15 and just go make some pictures.

Clint