The Bessa R shares its 0.72x magnification with numerous other rangefinders, from the Canon 7 to the Leica M-A, but where it really shines is in its exceptional brightness. That last observation is worth hanging onto, because that frame line selector grants all the control you could want and deftly complements one of the best viewfinders I’ve ever used. The frameline selector has just three positions, a combined 35/90mm setting, 50mm, and 75mm, corresponding to the four native Voigtländer lenses that launched with the R. The rewind crank recesses neatly in to the top plate when not in use. The shutter button is slightly oversized, domed, and has a smooth two-step action. The film advance lever is large, and can be comfortably extended away from its natural resting position for rapid shooting. The other controls on the top plate, and there are a total of five, are similarly sensible. While it doesn’t overhang the edge like the Leica M5, it is extremely easy to turn with a single finger without moving the eye from the finder. The shutter speed dial is large, with a chunky ribbed edge. None of the materials are just-so, but all of the controls are. While nothing about the camera feels nice in the manner of a Leica, as a tool the humble Bessa R leaves the Leica M-A and my Canon P for dead. This sort of thinking permeates the entire camera. Though slightly awkward visually, that added height moves the small rangefinder window far enough from the shooter’s fingers to avoid blockage when holding the camera vertically. The rangefinder assembly is tall, with a large finder window and a matching illumination window. Making the R was mostly a matter of slapping a rangefinder assembly on the top of the existing L architecture, and while functional, the resulting camera is not overly elegant. The Voigtländer Bessa R was the first modern Bessa rangefinder, and shared several things with the earlier L, including a vertically traveling shutter, TTL metering, and primarily plastic construction. If you wanted to have even the foggiest idea of what the lens was pointed at you needed to bring your own shoe-mount finder. Despite the minimalist design, the Bessa L proved popular and paved the way for progressively more complex Bessa models. The Bessa L lacked any type of viewfinder or rangefinder optics, and was little more than a light-tight box with a shutter, though curiously it did offer TTL metering. When Cosina relaunched the Voigtländer name in the 1990s, it was with some of the simplest cameras of the decade. As the M5 showed us, all deviations from the norm shall be punished, right? That aside, the Bessa is a reasonably modern camera, and a refreshing departure from Leica’s iconoclastic adherence to tradition. Threads, simple though they may be, are less idiot-proof than a good bayonet mount. Like the owners of countless Russian rangefinders, the Bessa user needs to take care to avoid cross-threading when mounting a lens. As of press time, I have two Mamiya Universals, two Canonets, a Canon P, a Bolsey, and now this Voigtländer Bessa R.Īfter Leica launched the M-Mount in 1954, the older thread mount became mostly the purview of a handful of Canon rangefinders and some other, shall we say, proletarian cameras. I seem to own a lot of rangefinders for someone who told James “I’m not a rangefinder guy,” when I signed on with Casual Photophile. But this most-charming of all Canons only served as a backup for my newest acquisition yet another rangefinder. While a Canon did make its way into my carry-on, it was the smallest my Canonet. My wife and I were traveling earlier this month, and I didn’t want to lug my usual cameras (which at times feel like a hundred pounds worth of Canon A-1, F-1, and lenses) along for the ride. None of Canon’s SLRs have combined the virtues of compactness and low weight, instead opting for durability and increasingly impressive feature sets. By the same token it’s difficult to explain my affection for old Canons.
As someone who values lightness and simplicity, it makes sense. The Voigtländer Bessa R is an oddity in my camera collection, which mostly consists of heavy Canons.