bessa-r

please help i am thinking of buying a bessa-r, wich lenses can i use with it?

I don't have one of these, buy you should be able to use any of the Leica screw mount (39mm) lenses. However, some lenses might stick too far into the body, especially collapsible ones, and mess up the shutter. You might want to check with someone who knows more about this.

The R2, which is different, uses the Leica M mount.

Yor problems are solved .
This place is, I believe, one of the major importer of Bessa cameras in the US and Voigtlander lenses,of superb quality and designed for those cameras. In the case of the Bessa R you don't need any adapter and there is not worries about any of those lenses damaging the shutter curtain.
Here're some links of the same place:
Bessa R: http://www.cameraquest.com/voigrf.htm
Lenses: http://www.cameraquest.com/voigtlen.htm
Prices: http://www.cameraquest.com/inventor.htm

Regards,
Robert

The Bessas are great cameras. I would recomend the R2 before the R - it is a much more solid camera. Regarding the lenses - the R takes most LTM/L39 lenses (Leica Thread Mount - 39mm thread) the R2 takes the Leica M-lenses and with an adaptor the LTM lenses as well.

Not 100% sure about your question - which lenses in particular r in general? There are several nice wideangles in the Voigtlander family. I really like 'normal' focallengths myself. Is the Bessa-R your only camera or do you have several cameras? In my case I use it when a mediumformat is to big & heavy to bring along. The Color SKopar 50mm f2.5 is a fine lens for that use. Small & light, extremely fast and easy to use and good optics. If the Bessa-R is going to be your main camera I would recomend the 50mm f1.5 Nokton Aspherical which is a few tads sharper than the Skopar. The Nokton is a top-performer on par with Leica lenses.

The Bessas are a great range of cameras. I hope you enjoy them!

I would like to add to Henning's post and also recommend the Bessa R2. Better build quality than the R. It just feels much better in the hand. Definitely visit Steven Gandy's cameraquest website at www.cameraquest.com. I would also recommend joining the Cosina/Voigtlander mailing list that Steven runs.

As far as the lenses you can use. As Henning mentioned on the R you can use most 39mm Leica thread mount lenses. Except some of the Russian Jupiter 35mm lenses. The rear elements protrude too much on the Jupiters and hit the shutter curtain. Also, you can not collapse most of the Leica collapsable lenses as the same problem occurs.

The R2 can use all the LTM lenses with an adapter (except those listed above). It can also use any of the Leica M mount lenses.

I had an R2 for Christmas with the 35mm Classic lens. Excellent quality lens, very small. Lovely quality to the images. I'm really enjoying rangefinder photography. It's refreshing after an SLR.

Hope that helps

Mike Groves
Shropshire, England.

thank you guys, i did get the bessa-r from cameraquest and its great,simple and quick. i would recomend stephen gandy he is great to deal with. i was able to locate a couple of canon ltms a 50mm 1.4 and a 35mm 1.8 they are great lenses, my next lens will be the 50mm 1.5 nokton i have heard great thins about this lens and i hope to up grade to a bessar2 . in the real world of family, work, bills and other, it is great for some of us who cannot justify the expence of say a leica m6, m7, mp that there is the likes of a bessa r, r2 .but i still dream of m6 summicron heaven.

The Bessa's have intreged me. How plentiful are the 39mm screwmount lenses? Are they expensive and are the lenses available as good as or better than 70's and 80's vintage Nikkors?

I have gotten rid of most of my 35mm gear as I very rarely use it anymore. To me a compact camera is the blad. However there are times I wished I had something smaller. Currently what I use for 35mm is a Nikkormat FTN equipt with 28, 35, 135, 80 to 200, 43 to 86 and of course a 50mm. I realize I would not be able to get a zoom for the Bessa, but then again I very rarely use a zoom, except for the 43 to 86.

Thanks,

Eric

The lenses are as good as the Nikkors of the 70's and 80's.
Prices? Some of them around 275.00, not bad. Check the links that I gave in a post above and there you'll find information about the lenses and another link with the prices.