Voigtländer Bessa R rangefinder with 35mm f2.5 Color Skopar lens
Tested (I have used this rangefinder for a few years, and taken some of my favourite photos with it).
I love this camera, but I've since switched to an SLR and rarely shoot film any more so it's time to pass it on to somebody else.
Rangefinder/body
Cosmetically excellent except for the rubber surface being scratched and worn away on the back plate.
The top plate is mint; all text and print is pristine, no dings or scratches.
- Rangefinder is (impressively) bright and clear, the frame markers move with focus account for parallax
-> Note: focus patch fades between 0.7m and 1m (rangefinder is specified to focus down to 0.9m while lens goes down to 0.7m) so this is flaw with the model series rather than a fault with this camera
- Rangefinder perfectly horizontally and vertically aligned
-> Note: Frame markers are very slightly rotated clockwise (~1º); viewfinder window works as a horizontal/vertical reference
- Film advance is smooth and satisfying
- Rewind is easy with the pop-out lever
- Light meter is accurate, batteries are installed
- Self timer works
- Light seals in great condition
Lens
- 35mm f2.5 Color Skopar is compact, versatile and ergonomic, and generally cool-looking
(I was temped to keep it, but I bought this set together so it felt wrong to sell the rangefinder on its own)
- Leica Thread Mount (LTM)
- No dust inside the element, no fungus, no scratches on the glass
- Built-in lens hood is pretty sexy tbh
- Aperture movement is stepped in half-steps, clicks satisfyingly, easy to operate with one hand
- Focus is controlled with a tab, super to easy to use
- Lens in cosmetically excellent condition
- Lens cap has a felt ring so it fits snug and softly onto the lens
- Lens cap has some dings and the text is faded