Bessa-R? verdict?

[Tom Hoskinson]

I have a Bessa T with the 21mm color Skopar (fantastic lens!). Love the camera!

I just bought a Bessa R3A with 75mm Heliar and 90mm Apo Lanthar - very nice system! All the lenses are compatible with my M-3 Leicas.

I bought all of this stuff from Stephen Gandy at Cameraquest - I recommend him.

 

[Woolliscroft]

I love my Bessa R. It is light. It has proved very reliable, and despite its slightly fragile reputation, it has stood up well to the tough life of a camera on wet and muddy archaeological sites. I particularly like the fact that it has a built in self timer. That might not matter much to others, and you can always add an accessory timer, but I use it a lot. We have a trick for taking high level vertical pictures down into excavation trenches by holding the camera up on a 5m boom and the self timer is vital here. We do it with the lovely 15mm lens on the camera and it works a treat.

David.

 

[Ole]

I've got a Bessa-L with 21mm lens, bought from Cameraquest. Shipping was fast, prices good, and the camera and lens are great!

 

[C A Sugg]

I have an Olympus OM 2000, which I believe was also made by Cosina. Would this give me a good idea of the build quality of the Bessa R?
I've just not been able to lay my hands on one (R) around here to check out.
Charles

 

[elekm]

My general thoughts on the Bessa series:

With each successive model, Cosina improved the build quality of the camera, using a bit more metal and less plastic. The doors on the L and R are made of plastic. The door on the L is quite flimsy, and the body is very lightweight and doesn't inspire confidence. However, the camera has proven to be a good performer, although I still have some concerns about the long term.

The R added a rangefinder/viewfinder, and the meter display moved into the viewfinder. The camera seems a bit more sturdy.

The top deck of the L and R are made of plastic and not a high grade of plastic, from what I could tell. The secondary rangefinder window on my R has some rough edges -- should have been smoothed before painting, I think.

Still, neither top has cracked or been damaged, but then again I haven't dropped either camera.

The R2 brought the M mount. I haven't handled the R2 for any length of time, although I have the Rollei 35 RF, which is a clone of the R2. The back and top deck appears to be made of metal, although I don't know if that was just the Rollei or if it also applies to the R2.

Cosina also made two variants of the R2 (R2S and R2C) to accept either the old Nikon or Zeiss Ikon Contax bayonet lens.

The Bessa is essentially an R2 with only a rangefinder but no viewfinder. So focusing and composing occurs in two windows, for those who want to recreate the Leica TM days.

The R2a and R3a appear to be mostly metal. I haven't handled one, so I can only go by appearances.

On the L, R and R2, the silk-screened markings are very susceptible to wear. I was very gentle with my R, but some of the markings for the frame selector still wore away. I've also read of instances where the name of the camera has worn away after a short time.

The rangefinders of the Bessa cameras appear to be a weak point -- there are way too many reports of vertical and horizontal misalignment.

For their cost, these are really excellent cameras. You can get a new R + 35mm lens for $400 (from CameraQuest). That's a tough deal to beat. The Zeiss Ikon body is $1,400, while the Leica M7 (body only) is $3,495 and the LHSA MP (body only) is $4,950.

The Cosina Voigtlander lenses are probably the real steal here. Very good to excellent optically and mechanically.

Here's my own writeup of the R. It hasn't been updated in three years.

http://elekm.net/bessa-r/

 

[DBP]

I have an Olympus OM 2000, which I believe was also made by Cosina. Would this give me a good idea of the build quality of the Bessa R?
I've just not been able to lay my hands on one (R) around here to check out.
Charles

Below the pentaprism, the Bessa R feels exactly the same as the Nikon FM10, which I believe is largely indistinguishable from the OM 2000. The shutter, of course, is a bit quieter, due to lack of a mirror. I've used the Bessa R for about four years now, and have no complaints. The rangefinder is a good as you will find anywhere (except maybe the new ZI, which I have not handled). If I can see the subject I can easily focus on it. The lenses (I have the 15mm and the 35/2.5) are superb. Unless you have reasons to worry about durability (i.e. photojournalism) I would buy it without hesitation.

 

[elekm]

The viewfinder is excellent. The rangefinder is limited by its narrow base. With the 15mm lens, there is hardly a need to focus.

 

[rfshootist]

This camera catches my eye as a poor man's Leica. The Bessa-R 35mm lens packages go pretty cheap. I'm looking for something in this range that will produce good quality 8x10 prints. The only thing with the Bessa-R that worries me is the shutter. I'm looking for something cheap, not too classic, and has german glass (probably wishful thinking!)

I use a R and L since 2001, plus a 25, 1,5/50 and a 75. Despite of all this web babble of "cheap" and "fragile" nothing has broken, the lenses are not only optically but also mechnically absolute top class and I still wonder why Leica glass is considered by some folks to be better. For me it is partly different, that's all.

Some R of the early series had tilted framelines, some came with RFs outta alignement, nothing dramatic, could get fixed easily.
Some photogs with dumb thumbs who manage to break everything also managed to get the shutter stuck , obviously by pressing the shutter while still winding.

It's light, reliable, great light meter, superb finder and the shutter is a bit louder than a cloth shutter but you cannot burn holes in it and it has an acceptable flahs sync time.

A R plus 2,5/35 offers a sensational price-performance ratio, just buy it and get happy with a faithful companion, it's fine for all who don't need a brass tank to feel save.

bertram

 

[Woolliscroft]

With the 15mm lens, there is hardly a need to focus.

Quite right and the lens is not rangefinder coupled. You can focus easily on the distance scale there is so much depth of field.

David.

 

[Gerald Koch]

I have a Bessa R and two Bessa L's and am very pleased with them. What has impressed me most is how dead on and consistant is the built in light meter. Every frame is of the same density which makes printing very easy. Great camera!

 

[Lee L]

Sean,

Does the site software allow you to automatically resurrect the threads you start every 656 days? Were you really going for 666? Guess there really is no such thing as a swift verdict.

As for the Bessas, they all have their charms, and I recommend one of each model, perhaps two of each if you can stretch the budget. That's my goal anyway.

Lee

 

[zpuskas]

I have Bessa R and Leica M. The Bessa is a fine camera. Not on the level with Leica, but then, neither is the price. The Bessa is wll made, accurate and has an assortment of available screw mount CV and Leica lenses.
The Bessa is not as quite as the Leica and I don't get the "feel' of the camera as I do with my Leica. I'm have no regrets about the Bessa.

 

[BJ Bignell]

There's a rather good user review of the Bessa, which spans about two years, on RFF: http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=313

My comments about the camera, from June 2005:
####
I [originally commented] some time ago, back after I had received my R but before I had really used it. It's been five months now, so maybe I can make some comments...

Likes: Size and weight; quiet shutter (not as quiet as a new MP, but quiet enough); excellent metering; the viewfinder is so bright; and it's a durable camera (see ** below). I also like that it has strap lugs. Most cameras made today do have lugs, but because I've got so many oldies that don't have strap lugs, it seems like a luxury.

Dislikes: Plastic back door*, and plastic top**; VF baselength is too short to effectively focus a 13.5cm lens past 50ft [20m]; shutter speed dial is a little stiff for one-finger action.

* Plastic door: I have no problems with it currently, but I'm afraid that one day I'll drop the camera with the door open, and that it will break clean in half... Just an irrational fear, funtionally the door is excellent.

** Plastic top: I had no problems with it until I wiped out on my skateboard with the R around my neck (see Road Rash). I went down fast and hard, and the R went for a bit of a flight, followed by a good tumble. Best I can figure, she hit the concrete on one side, broke the neck strap, and went flying in the opposite direction, coming to rest on a nice section of grass. In the process, of course there was some scratching and denting. Underneath the black paint is a brassy/silver paint, and underneath that is that ugly 'white-ish plastic' colour. Ech! I suppose I could paint over it...

One reason I bought the R was that I wanted a compact travel kit with interchangeable lenses, something that was smaller and lighter than my Yashica SLRs (and zoom lenses) were. It was a good decision; it goes everywhere with me now, and it's going to be seeing a lot of the world with me soon...
####


I've been travelling and living in Europe for 8 months now, and I have to say that I'm very pleased with the Bessa as a travel camera and a user camera. Twice I've had to re-align the viewfinders, but this is not a big problem. (I'm somewhat rough on my gear, and tend to toss the camera bag onto the bed/chair/floor, let things get banged around, etc.) Otherwise, no issues. The meter is great, the VF is great, and it's a joy to use.

 

[mawz]

The Cosina SLR's are considerably lighter built than the Voightlander RF's. The design is essentially the same but the RF's get a tougher plastic or metal body and better QC. So going from an OM-2000 or FM10 or Ricoh KR-5sv to the R is definitely a step up in build quality and from teh R to the R2/R3 bodies is another step up.

 

[Eric Rose]

I have a Bessa R and have put tons of film thru it. The 35mm pancake lens is razor sharp. Good contrast and excellent for both color and B&W. I also have an older 90mm Leitz f4 Elmar which is a super lens as long as you use a lenshade and don't expect to do much backlit stuff. Also good for color and B&W. Come to think of it I was using it done at the conference. This package has traveled with me all over the world.

Now on to the shutter. I was at a family reunion 3 weeks ago and was trying to grab some candids. Seems I was tryingn to shoot to fast and started to wind to the next frame before the shutter finished doing it's thing. A jam was the result. It's currently at the hospital but the tech didn't think it was going to be a big deal. I guess I should have taken one of my motor drive Nikons for the reunion.

Oh well. If you can get one cheap I would go for it. They are a pleasure to use.