Another newbie Bessa R owner

JamesW · 03-29-2005

Thought it was about time I registered, as I've been lurking here for about 4 months.

I bought a Bessa R from Mr Gandy at the end of November last year as a Christmas present for myself... and due to the vagaries of the US or UK post offices, it hadn't arrived by the beginning of March.

Stephen was very understanding, and dispatched another camera to me - which arrived in 10 days flat! I didn't pay customs charges, and am very pleased with the purchase. I can recommend Cameraquest without hesitation - Stephen is a gentleman and a pleasure to deal with. I'll no doubt be purchasing from him again in the future.

Anyway - I'm using a Jupiter-8 on my Bessa, and the whole experience is good fun. My only real experience with cameras to date has been with automatic SLRs like Minolta's Dynax system, and I wanted a camera that was wholly mechanical and manual, which would force me to think a little more when I'm taking pictures.

I've put through a roll of Neopan CN (I have a darkroom at my parent's house, but I wanted to see what the results of my first roll quicker than I could get up there to develop it!), and am waiting to get it back.

Anyway - just wanted to say 'hi'! I've got a lot to learn, so I'm sure I'll be asking a few questions in the not to distant future...

All the best,

James

rover · 03-29-2005

Welcome James, post some of those shots, the R with J8 is a nice combo.

wlewisiii · 03-29-2005

Welcome! That's a very nice combination that will give you a lot of enjoyment. You'll find many Jupiter fans here (I'm one of them, though I use mine on my Kievs).

William

Designer · 03-29-2005

Welcome! James, And congratulations on becoming a rangefinder man!

JamesW · 03-29-2005

Thanks for the welcome guys. I'll post some shots as soon as I get the prints back.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the Bessa and J8 perform, as it was doing research on here which led me to my purchase!

Roman · 03-29-2005

I'm very interested in your results, since I also own a Bessa R and J8, like them both - but not together, since all of my three J8 lenses don't focus correctly on the R, while they do work on all my Russian RF bodies (but then, most of my work is wide-open & close, where the different standards of Russian and 'real' LTM shows up most).

Roman

tedwhite · 03-29-2005

Welcome, James, from the tumbleweed-strewn Arizona borderlands. I've got the Bessa R with the cv35/2.5 and it's a wonderfull combination.

I've ordered a Jupiter 8 for a FED 2 Russian camera. Neither have as yet arrived. Roman's point is well taken about close focusing with Jupiter lenses on the Bessa R. However, I suspect they'll work just fine if you get away from the close stuff.

Looking forward to A) pics, and B) your impressions.

Ted

peter_n · 03-30-2005

Welcome James from another J-8 fan. I use mine on my Leica M6 and I'm very pleased with it. So far haven't noticed any focusing problems.

Stu :) · 03-30-2005

Welcome to the fold James. I too have a Bessa R and J-8. But never used them together.
My J-8 spends most of the time on my Zorki 4, but it was seen two days ago on the M2 for a bit of fun...

Stu

JamesW · 03-30-2005

Now I'm even more desperate to see the results! Should be able to pick them up tomorrow. Fingers crossed...