The many scratches, bare paint and cracked viewfinder are evidence that this baby never stays for long inside my drybox.Īnd despite the fact that I’ve never had it repaired or CLAed (cleaned, lubricated, adjusted), it has continuously served me with quiet efficiency.
When this is done correctly, the scale focusing technique can be faster than the latest, most advanced AF engine! On instances when focusing is necessary, though, the Bessa R’s RF spot is super clear and easy to use.Īs these photos show, my Bessa R has endured 14 years of constant wear and tear. Temple grounds in Koh Samui, Thailand A Buddhist monk begging for alms in Thailand A market day in Taiwan This eliminates any need to manually focus the lens before taking the shot (as long as my subject is within the area of focus). It’s a habit I’ve developed to quicken my reaction time to those unexpected photo-opportunities.Īnother technique I often use on the Voigtlander is scale focusing – that’s when I pre-focus my lens midway between the near and far limits relative to the aperture and resulting depth of field. Indeed, I often take a meter reading and adjust apertures and shutter speeds every time the light changes. The painstaking process of assessing the light and adjusting exposure while keeping tabs on the subject is welcome therapy – especially since I make my living off cold, auto-everything digital cameras. However, I love the mindful state that it puts me in. A buddha head encased in tree roots in Thailand A temple ritual in Bali Corssing a bridge in Myanmar (Pic: Lester Ledesma) Some shutterbugs might find this to be a dealbreaker since it can slow down the shooting process.
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Despite having a largely accurate centreweighed TTL meter, the Bessa R is fully manual with no AE and AF modes of any kind. Aperture settings are on the attached lens which is always the case with LTM optics. This Bessa is so simple that it has no other major controls apart from the self-timer switch out front (which nobody really uses).
I bought this camera over 14 years ago, yet today this rangefinder still lords it over my collection of classic film shooters. Just like that I became the proud owner of a Voigtlander Bessa R. “I’ll give it to you cheap – just get it off my hands because its my last unit”, said the seller. The black camera stared at me from behind the window of a secondhand photographic shop. KF article top The Voigtlander Bessa R (All pics: Lester Ledesma)