Like Leica, but without the price.
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| CC Image courtesy of Shane Lin on Flickr |
Leica had always been the pinnacle of rangefinder photography. The privilege to own one is simply a dream come true, but what about our friend Voigtländer? Is it still in the game for Leica aficionados like you and me to appreciate it's value and beauty? Well, let's find out in the new review of the Voigtländer R2A/R3A.
The Bessa R2A introduced in 2004 at Photokina alongside the R3A is basically a revamp of the R2 with the advantage of aperture priority and the ability to mount Leica glass. Both cameras are pretty identical including it's functionality and design with exception of the framelines; the R2A with 0.7x magnification, and the R3A with a 1:1 'to scale' finder - one of the first Leica M mount cameras to possess this feature. The R3A's finder, compared to other 1:1 RFs is extremely bright with easy-to-see framelines, which is quite surprising due to most 1:1 models possessing a much dimmer finder with difficult to read framelines.
Both the R2A and the R3A are battery based; meaning that without the battery, the camera's electronic shutter won't work, therefore rendering the camera practically useless. The battery used in the R2A and R3A is the 1.5V alkaline battery used in most AE rangefinder cameras.
Although the Bessas' are designed to be Leica M mountable and performs incredibly well with it, some lenses are not recommended to be used with the R bodies especially those with a deeply recessed rear lens element or a collapsible barrel. This is due to the shutter curtain that is recessed not so deeply into the camera body. Though there is a metal stopper between the lens and the shutter curtain, it is still probably not a good idea to slam in the lens as you might damage your precious glass and camera. The good thing is, if you careful enough then it would probably be fine.
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Here's a list of the not-so-recommended lenses for the Bessa R2A/ R3A:
The Bessa R2A introduced in 2004 at Photokina alongside the R3A is basically a revamp of the R2 with the advantage of aperture priority and the ability to mount Leica glass. Both cameras are pretty identical including it's functionality and design with exception of the framelines; the R2A with 0.7x magnification, and the R3A with a 1:1 'to scale' finder - one of the first Leica M mount cameras to possess this feature. The R3A's finder, compared to other 1:1 RFs is extremely bright with easy-to-see framelines, which is quite surprising due to most 1:1 models possessing a much dimmer finder with difficult to read framelines.
Both the R2A and the R3A are battery based; meaning that without the battery, the camera's electronic shutter won't work, therefore rendering the camera practically useless. The battery used in the R2A and R3A is the 1.5V alkaline battery used in most AE rangefinder cameras.
Although the Bessas' are designed to be Leica M mountable and performs incredibly well with it, some lenses are not recommended to be used with the R bodies especially those with a deeply recessed rear lens element or a collapsible barrel. This is due to the shutter curtain that is recessed not so deeply into the camera body. Though there is a metal stopper between the lens and the shutter curtain, it is still probably not a good idea to slam in the lens as you might damage your precious glass and camera. The good thing is, if you careful enough then it would probably be fine.
.
Here's a list of the not-so-recommended lenses for the Bessa R2A/ R3A:
- Leica Hologon 15/8
- Leica Super Angulon 21/4
- Leica Super Angulon 21/3,4
- Leica Elmarit 28/2,8 (first version)
- Leica Dual Range Summicron 50/2
- Leica collapsible s
- Russian collapsible s
- ...And probably almost all other collapsible lenses.
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| CC Image courtesy of Gareth Harper on Flickr |
The flash on the Bessa R2A and R3A is doable with flash sync up to 1/125th sec via the hotshoe or the PC connection. Please note though that these cameras do not have TTL flash metering as the company believes that RFs are not supposed to be used with flash, but solely used as a camera for available/natural light.
Other standard 'Bessa' hardware including the shutter lock mechanism, film rewind crank, film advance lever, film counter, viewfinder frameline selector and the shutter dial are all included in the camera, recessed on the top plate of the body, right there for the photographer to shoot quickly and decisively whilst on assignment, not mingled and mangled somewhere, hidden beneath the camera like those weird compact RF's from err... Rollei.
As a reminder; the R2A and the R3A is much the same as the R2M/R3M, except that the R2A/R3A's have electronic shutters which requires the use of batteries, but offers a much faster and accurate shooting experience on the streets than the R2M/R3M which are all mechanical, akin to the pre M7 Leicas. So speaking of choice, which one is better? Well, it is all up to you and your specific needs, so study well before buying one!
To wrap up the review, these Bessas', although having a technology that is considered by today's standards as outdated and passé, is considered as one of the necessities for street photography, especially if you're not into throwing a load of cash to invest on Leica gear. The Voigtländer Bessa R2A/R3A will work just as fine, or perhaps even better than the Leica M's with the same film and glass, so if your interested to own a Leica, turn away now because the Voigtländers are here!
*a side note again to the collectors: Voigtländer produced three blue versions with gold-embossed logos for factory assessment, so if you happen to want one, forget it because it'll be much more rarer than any Leicas out there and will cost just as much. But if today's your lucky day and you happen to bump into one, try to grab because you'll likely to never see one like that again!
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