Voigtlander Bessa R2/3A Vs. Hasselblad XPan

[lewis-richards]

Hi I am considering getting a camera which I will be mainly using for street / documentary photography. However I'm torn between which of the two in the title I should aim to getting. I will have a chance to borrow both the R2a and the xpan off my friend before I go out and buy one but until I am able to borrow them I was wondering if anyone on here would be able to let me know about them both if you have used both of them and which you prefer and why? ... Any help would be very much appreciated.

Thanks,

 

[holmburgers]

These seem like radically different cameras in my opinion. Ok, maybe not radically but the Hassy is an ultra panoramic with a limited range of lenses whereas the Bessa is basically a standard 35mm rangefinder that accepts nearly a century of lenses.

Personally, the Hasselblad seems like a lot of fun, but for a practical 24x36mm I"d go for a Bessa. I think you could however do some very interesting street photography with the Xpan.

edit: Isn't there a substantial price difference as well?

 

[Jim Noel]

The Bessa is smaller and lighter, but not much lighter.
The X-Pan is a marvelous camera and the ability to go wide for one or two frames when desired is a tremendous asset. It is the one camera in my past which I wish I had not sold.
Both have excellent, highly accurate meters.
Given the choice I would go with the X=Pan.

 

[thegman]

For me, I'm all set for 35mm cameras, so the XPan would be different enough to attract my attention.

 

[5stringdeath]

Yea wow ...

XPan would be nice to have since you can do pana's with it. Great glass, but limited choices of lenses. Well built.

I like Bessa's and the lens choice is wide and varied. Bodies aren't as well built but not shabby.

Price difference will be steep .. used XPan's still command a good price, and the glass even more so.

For the street aesthetic and kind of shooting I think either would make a great tool (if money is no object)

 

[lewis-richards]

I thought that having the option of being able to go pano with the camera would be a nice addition in some street photography. But then we might end up with the possibility of having too much open wasted space in a photograph. But it does shoot normal 35mm too. The lack of lenses isn't really an issue to me as I don't usually have loads of different lenses as I like to work to a fixed range. Having the Xpan with 45mm and a 90mm I think it is is probably enough. At least I will be able to have a try of them before I go out and buy one.