Voigtlander Bessa R, Back to Basics

Hi Gang,

In case some of you didn't know what I was talking when I mentioned that I just bought another rangefinder camera, here's a picture that I shot of it over the weekend. Ever since I borrowed Martin's Leica M2 in the mid-90's, I've been hooked on shooting with rangefinder cameras. Back then, I found what I thought was the perfect (RF style) camera, a Konica Hexar AF. It was the same size and shape as a Leica M, but had all features of a modern camera: AF, motorized film advance, AE, etc. And it had a fantastically good 35mm lens (non-interchangeable). Technically, it wasn't a true rangefinder because it was auto-focus, and so did not have a "real" rangefinder, but it had a traditional viewfinder layout with parallax compensated bright lines in the viewfinder. Since it lacked a real rangefinder, I could not accurately or conveniently focus the camera in manual mode. Eventually, the Hexar's limitations annoyed me enough to force me to sell the camera. Interestingly, the Hexar has gained a legendary status as a great street camera by virtue of its incredibly quiet shutter and excellent lens. My old Hexar, which was the original version that had the super-quiet silent mode, would be worth twice as much as I sold it for now. You can read more about the Hexar on Stephen Gandy's site:

Hexar article here

After I sold my Hexar, I was without a solid RF camera for a while. Over the last 7 or 8 years, I picked up some interesting vintage rangefinder cameras such as the Yashica Lynx 5000e, and the Yashica Electro 35 GSN.

Last year, I discovered the world of FSU (former Soviet Union) rangefinder cameras. These quaint and quirky cameras are a whole sub-specialty in themselves. The 3 that I have, 2 FED's and a Zorki, are very nice to shoot, and the Russian lenses are good performers. The problem is that these cameras are so old that they are not as reliable as I would like. They all need a good CLA that I don't have the time for right now.

Finally, I discovered the Voigtlander Bessa, a modern day throwback to all the rangefinder cameras that came before. The Bessa is made by the Japanese company, Cosina. I will refer you to an excellent website devoted to the camera, so I won't go into all the details again here. What I like about this camera is that it is all manual: focus, exposure, film advance, etc. It has a built-in, TTL light meter, and it uses LTM (Leica screw mount) lenses. The viewfinder is reputed to be as bright and clear as a Leica M series camera.

I've seen many people disparage the camera as feeling "cheap" because of the plastic top and bottom plates, and the rubberized back plate, but to me, it feels pretty nice. I also like the short throw of the film advance lever. My camera came with a Voigtlander 35mm f2.5 Skopar Classic lens. I also plan to use my Russian 50mm lenses on this camera. I just finished my first test roll, so I can't tell you the results yet. I managed to snag this camera and lens on Ebay for $320. The same combo is selling for $425 from Voigtlander's US distributor, so I think I got a great deal.

So why all the fuss about rangefinders? If you've never tried one before, you should. RF cameras force you to "see" the world a little differently than slr's. Because the camera does not have the pentaprism and mirror box of a SLR, the cameras are usually smaller, lighter, less conspicous, and quieter than SLR's. This makes RF cameras more suited to certain types of shooting then SLR's, such as PJ work, street shooting, travel, and certain types of portraiture where you need to get more up-close and intimate with your subject. Also because there is no mirror box to deal with, lens designers have more freedom to optimize the design of wide to superwide angle lenses (this was more important when designers did not have CAD).

You can read more about the Voiglander Bessa R at this excellent site: Bessa R Site.

Thanks for reading.

-- Warren