The Bessa R3m has a 1x viewfinder and 40/50/75/90 framelines. They were sold in black (1000 examples of the R3M, 500 of the R2M) or silver (700 of the R3M, 300 of the R2M). The Bessa R2M and Bessa R3M, both announced in Germany around March 2006 and in May elsewhere, are the current, manual-exposure, mechanical-shutter equivalents of the R2A and R3A.Ī special 250th Anniversary Set, sold with a 50 mm f/2 M-mount collapsible Heliar lens, was also announced. These cameras feature an electronic shutter, making the camera inoperable without batteries.īessa R2M and R3M (manual rangefinder) They are currently sold in textured black or flat grey paint finishes. Both can take the trigger advance accessory. The R3A has a finder with a 1x magnification, and 40/50/75/90 frame lines. The R2A has a finder with a 0.7x magnification, and 35/50/75/90 frame lines. They are both updated versions of the Bessa R2, with the Leica M-mount and an aperture-priority automatic exposure, switchable to manual. The Bessa R2A and Bessa R3A, both introduced in 2004, are the current models in the Bessa line.
The Bessa-R's self-timer was deleted from the R2, possibly due to the packaging constraints imposed on the design by the adoption of thicker metal panels. The changes resulted in a more solid and marginally larger camera, available in either olive (with chrome detailing) or splatter-textured black paint finishes. Its quality of fabrication and overall finish was much better than the R, with magnesium alloy replacing the former model's plastic plates and a more substantial cast (as opposed to pressed) metal film rewind lever. It was an updated version, with a Leica M-mount replacing the Leica screw mount, and the ability to take the same trigger advance accessory as the Bessa-T. The Bessa R2 replaced the Bessa-R in 2002. It was available in black or silver from 2002, also in navy blue or olive (at a higher price and perhaps only in Japan). All in all it was an inexpensive, all-manual rangefinder with TTL metering at a significantly lower price than a comparably equipped Leica M camera. The body, made of polycarbonate plastics, was not comparable to that of a Leica but was solid enough. It featured manually selectable frames for 35 mm/90 mm, 50 mm, and 75 mm lenses. Although considerably cheaper than a Leica M camera, its viewfinder was comparable in function and feeling. The Bessa-R, introduced in 2000, was a rangefinder camera with a projected frame finder and a Leica screw mount. It existed in black, grey, olive and blue: five hundred numbered examples were produced for each color.īessa-R and Bessa R2 (manual rangefinder) In 2001, the Bessa-T was sold in a special kit, called Heliar 101st Anniversary (in short "T101"), with a 50 mm f:3.5 collapsible Heliar lens, for the anniversary of the Voigtländer Heliar lens design. It is now discontinued but some stock is still available. It was sold in silver or black from 2002, also in gray or olive (at a higher price and perhaps only in Japan). The Bessa-L was supplemented in 2001 by the Bessa-T, which used the Leica M-mount, could receive a trigger advance design, and had an integrated rangefinder with high magnification, but no viewfinder. On some markets, the Voigtländer Bessa-L was sold as the Cosina 107-SW. The readout consists of two red arrows pointing to a green light in between to indicate over, under, or correct exposure. The Bessa-L has TTL metering with LED readout on the back edge of the top plate with an ASA range of 25–1600 and an EV range 1 to 19 at ASA 100. Most notably Voigtländer introduced a 15 mm and a 12 mm lens, the latter being the widest rectilinear full-frame lens ever marketed up to then. The Bessa-L was mostly intended to be used with ultra wide angle lenses, with which the absence of a focusing device is not a problem.
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It could of course mount all the wide variety of 39 mm screw lenses by manufacturers as diverse as Leica, Canon, Nikon and even cheaper but often excellent Soviet lenses. It was introduced with a range of Voigtländer 39 mm screw lenses that were quite inexpensive and said to be of excellent quality. This was a finderless body with a Leica screw mount.
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The first model was the Bessa-L, introduced in 1999.