Hamish Gill
Tech Support (and Marketing)
Edit: Since writing this post, I have reviewed the R2A and R3A on my blog here
The Voigtlander Bessa R2A is a 35mm rangefinder camera that takes Leica "M" mount lenses and LTM (Leica Thread Mount) lenses with an adapter.
It has framing lines for 35,50,75 and 90mm selected via a switch on the top of the camera.
The viewfinder is 0.72x magnification.
It has a centre weighted TTL light meter with a LED projected shutter speed read out in VF.
I'm fairly certain the 'A' in the name stands for 'automatic' or 'aperture priority', either way, this level of automation is available on the R2A.
It has an electronic vertical focal plane shutter with speeds from 1 to 1/2000th second and bulb.
Accepts film from 25 to 3200iso.
Has a manual shutter and film advance level.
It runs off 2 LR44 batteries.
Has a non TTL hot shoe ...
... And that's about your lot.
This is my R2A.
Here you can see the frame line selector, film rewind and the fact that I'm missing the screw in eye piece.
The shutter speed control dial also allows the user to select ISO, and when on aperture priority dial in +/- 2 stops of exposure compensation.
The shutter release has a thread for either a soft shutter release or cable release. It also has a lock to prevent accidental release.
On the back of the camera there is a slot for reminding the user of the type of film is inside. There is also an exposure lock button.
The camera is made mostly from metal with a rubber grip and a few plastic parts. The quality of build is quite evident in the knurled metal film rewind.
The camera does have a very solid feel to it, and the rubber grip does work well.
The shape of the grip on the back leads the thumb comfortably to the exposure lock button.
I find the addition of Voigtlander accessory grip improves handling allowing a more satisfactory grip of the camera without having to squeeze it so tight. The grip also allows both ends of the strap to be attached to the one side of the camera which I find a more comfortable way to carry the camera. Unfortunately I find the strap then gets in the way of a comfortable hold, so I attach my strap to the opposite side of the camera, like so ...
Others, I'm sure, will find different ways to attach the strap/carry the camera etc. more suitable for them. This is just what works for me.
When the camera is set to aperture priority, ie. the user sets the aperture on the attached lens and the camera sets the shutter speed itself, the selected shutter speed is projected into the view finder.
When aperture priority is not in use, the selected shutter speed is shown as well as the required shutter speed. The required shutter speed blinks, and the currently selected shutter speed doesn't.
It's very simple, but very effective and takes little or no getting used to.
The viewfinder itself is a wonderful thing, very bright, with a very clear rangefinder. The rangefinder is coupled to the lens, meaning that adjustments to focus on the lens are reflected in the rangefinder. It also means that the framing lines are parallax corrected.
This is the best I could do as far as demonstrating the viewfinder. You can see the shutter speed has been set to 1/60th. The frame lines visible are 35 and 90mm
When selecting either 50mm or 75mm they show individually, 35mm (the widest) and 90mm (the longest) frame lines share a setting.
This is a cropped version of the above image showing the RF my indicating my Nikon F in focus.
This next image shows the RF indicating the Nikon F out of focus.
Please excuse the quality of the image, they were taken with an iphone and cropped quite a bit...
The RF base which, as I understand it, is the distance from the RF to the viewfinder is quite short, this in theory is a disadvantage especially when focusing long lenses. I have also previously owned a Leica M6, I found my shots with my 75mm Voigtlander lens were no more in focus from the Leica which has a longer RF base. Maybe under close examination or with a 90mm lens or longer, a longer RF base might be an advantage? I have never found the short RF base in the Voigtlander an issue!
So overall, how do I rate the R2A?
Well, I used to own a Leica M6, I needed a bit of cash one day and I chose to keep this camera and sell the M6! This is mainly because of the aperture priority of the R2A (I like to shoot aperture priority). The Leica M7 has aperture priority but I can't afford one of those ...
So is the Voigtlander a poor man's Leica? Well yes, in reality it probably is, but it compares very well with one! The main, and possibly only downfall of the voigtlander in my opinion is its metal shutter, it is a lot more noisy than the cloth shutter of the Leica!
The Leica will probably also last 6 lifetimes longer. I have in my 3ish years of ownership of the R2A had one issue with it where in it stopped allowing me to rewind the film, this was fixed by tightening a little screw on the top of the rewind knob. I had no issues with my Leica for the time I owned it and it was 20 years old!
The M7 also has TTL flash, I have never required this as a feature...
So yes I do rate the R2A, very highly in fact! It's significantly more affordable than the Leica equivalent, is very easy to use, handles well and in combination with pretty much any of the Voigtlander lenses takes great photos... and of course can be used with any Leica M mount or LTM lenses of which there are countless numbers available - ranging from cheap Russian optics off ebay for less than a tenner, all the way through to the top end Leica lenses at many thousands of pounds.
It is also a rangefinder, an obvious thing to say maybe, but if you are yet to experience using one, I can very much recommend it!
The R2a is about £600, is available new.
The lens in the photos is the 35mm 1.4 which is about £450.
The Voigtlander Bessa R2A is a 35mm rangefinder camera that takes Leica "M" mount lenses and LTM (Leica Thread Mount) lenses with an adapter.
It has framing lines for 35,50,75 and 90mm selected via a switch on the top of the camera.
The viewfinder is 0.72x magnification.
It has a centre weighted TTL light meter with a LED projected shutter speed read out in VF.
I'm fairly certain the 'A' in the name stands for 'automatic' or 'aperture priority', either way, this level of automation is available on the R2A.
It has an electronic vertical focal plane shutter with speeds from 1 to 1/2000th second and bulb.
Accepts film from 25 to 3200iso.
Has a manual shutter and film advance level.
It runs off 2 LR44 batteries.
Has a non TTL hot shoe ...
... And that's about your lot.
This is my R2A.
Here you can see the frame line selector, film rewind and the fact that I'm missing the screw in eye piece.
The shutter speed control dial also allows the user to select ISO, and when on aperture priority dial in +/- 2 stops of exposure compensation.
The shutter release has a thread for either a soft shutter release or cable release. It also has a lock to prevent accidental release.
On the back of the camera there is a slot for reminding the user of the type of film is inside. There is also an exposure lock button.
The camera is made mostly from metal with a rubber grip and a few plastic parts. The quality of build is quite evident in the knurled metal film rewind.
The camera does have a very solid feel to it, and the rubber grip does work well.
The shape of the grip on the back leads the thumb comfortably to the exposure lock button.
I find the addition of Voigtlander accessory grip improves handling allowing a more satisfactory grip of the camera without having to squeeze it so tight. The grip also allows both ends of the strap to be attached to the one side of the camera which I find a more comfortable way to carry the camera. Unfortunately I find the strap then gets in the way of a comfortable hold, so I attach my strap to the opposite side of the camera, like so ...
Others, I'm sure, will find different ways to attach the strap/carry the camera etc. more suitable for them. This is just what works for me.
When the camera is set to aperture priority, ie. the user sets the aperture on the attached lens and the camera sets the shutter speed itself, the selected shutter speed is projected into the view finder.
When aperture priority is not in use, the selected shutter speed is shown as well as the required shutter speed. The required shutter speed blinks, and the currently selected shutter speed doesn't.
It's very simple, but very effective and takes little or no getting used to.
The viewfinder itself is a wonderful thing, very bright, with a very clear rangefinder. The rangefinder is coupled to the lens, meaning that adjustments to focus on the lens are reflected in the rangefinder. It also means that the framing lines are parallax corrected.
This is the best I could do as far as demonstrating the viewfinder. You can see the shutter speed has been set to 1/60th. The frame lines visible are 35 and 90mm
When selecting either 50mm or 75mm they show individually, 35mm (the widest) and 90mm (the longest) frame lines share a setting.
This is a cropped version of the above image showing the RF my indicating my Nikon F in focus.
This next image shows the RF indicating the Nikon F out of focus.
Please excuse the quality of the image, they were taken with an iphone and cropped quite a bit...
The RF base which, as I understand it, is the distance from the RF to the viewfinder is quite short, this in theory is a disadvantage especially when focusing long lenses. I have also previously owned a Leica M6, I found my shots with my 75mm Voigtlander lens were no more in focus from the Leica which has a longer RF base. Maybe under close examination or with a 90mm lens or longer, a longer RF base might be an advantage? I have never found the short RF base in the Voigtlander an issue!
So overall, how do I rate the R2A?
Well, I used to own a Leica M6, I needed a bit of cash one day and I chose to keep this camera and sell the M6! This is mainly because of the aperture priority of the R2A (I like to shoot aperture priority). The Leica M7 has aperture priority but I can't afford one of those ...
So is the Voigtlander a poor man's Leica? Well yes, in reality it probably is, but it compares very well with one! The main, and possibly only downfall of the voigtlander in my opinion is its metal shutter, it is a lot more noisy than the cloth shutter of the Leica!
The Leica will probably also last 6 lifetimes longer. I have in my 3ish years of ownership of the R2A had one issue with it where in it stopped allowing me to rewind the film, this was fixed by tightening a little screw on the top of the rewind knob. I had no issues with my Leica for the time I owned it and it was 20 years old!
The M7 also has TTL flash, I have never required this as a feature...
So yes I do rate the R2A, very highly in fact! It's significantly more affordable than the Leica equivalent, is very easy to use, handles well and in combination with pretty much any of the Voigtlander lenses takes great photos... and of course can be used with any Leica M mount or LTM lenses of which there are countless numbers available - ranging from cheap Russian optics off ebay for less than a tenner, all the way through to the top end Leica lenses at many thousands of pounds.
It is also a rangefinder, an obvious thing to say maybe, but if you are yet to experience using one, I can very much recommend it!
The R2a is about £600, is available new.
The lens in the photos is the 35mm 1.4 which is about £450.
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