Wanna watch? Bessa L repair?

[livemoa]

I have a Bessa R2. It is a pile of crap. Rangefinder is always needing adjustment, rewind handle keeps falling off, back cover has started to fall apart twice and the leatherette, well, I think they were doing a save the glue program when mine went through the factory. That and the shutter speeds get erratic fast. My camera repair guy says they are worse than some of the older Chinese (Seagull etc.) cameras he works on. The Cosina glass is a different story.

How can the same company turn out one good, maybe even great product, and another that is almost an insult to camera buyers. If you only intend to put maybe 5 - 10 rolls a year through one it might be ok for a few years, as long as you don't bump it and upset the rangefinder .........

I almost gave mine away to somebody recently, but I liked them too much.............

[Paul Goutiere]

I have a Bessa R2. It is a pile of crap. The Cosina glass is a different story.

"The Cosina glass is a different story." Yes, it appears to be quite good. I have the "Voigtlander" 15mm Heliar screw mount and so far it looks all right.

I must say that I'm a little jumpy about the whole product line. I was considering the Bessa 6x7 folder but I'm going to wait a few years until the whole story comes out.

[Chris Nielsen]

I like typewriters.

In my closet is a fine Corona portable typewriter easily 65 years old. In the basement, sitting on a desk, just in case; is a Underwood #5 which should be close to 100 years old. The platens, now, are as hard as glass and the old Underwood is missing a foot but they both work. I don't use them often, but it is nice to know they still work..and that they are still there.

In the sixties I worked as a typewriter repairman for Olivetti Underwood in Kitchener Ontario for two years. After that I worked on the AM Varityper
composing machines patterned after the Hammond typewriter.

The skill sets I acquired during that time has allowed me to work on some cameras to a certain level. The knowledge I've gained by working on the few cameras I have worked on is by no way conclusive and I have a great respect for the people who do professional camera repair.

Cool, so you would be the man to see about my Olivetti issues, I guess??

P.S. I'm pretty sure replacement platens are available if you feel like making those machines like new again...

[Snapper]

I don't think the Bessa L was ever designed to compete with a Leica. It was a very early Bessa and things have definitely moved on. I bought my L NEW for £60, so I wasn't expecting much. But it works well, and is fun to use with a c/v 21mm or 15mm. I use it occassionally and have never had a problem.

I use an Bessa R2a mostly, and the build quality is excellent, no complaints there. But it's in no way a cheap 'n' cheerful camera - I don't call £650 cheap!

[Paul Goutiere]

Cool, so you would be the man to see about my Olivetti issues, I guess??

Alas I had not been trained on the Olivetti line of typewriters or calculators. Just the manual Underwood typewriters and the Olivetti photocopiers.

P.S. I'm pretty sure replacement platens are available if you feel like making those machines like new again...

I almost had the platens recovered on both machines but it's not like I use typewriters a lot.

[Paul Goutiere]

I don't think the Bessa L was ever designed to compete with a Leica. It was a very early Bessa and things have definitely moved on. I bought my L NEW for £60, so I wasn't expecting much. But it works well, and is fun to use with a c/v 21mm or 15mm. I use it occassionally and have never had a problem.

I use an Bessa R2a mostly, and the build quality is excellent, no complaints there. But it's in no way a cheap 'n' cheerful camera - I don't call £650 cheap!

My experience is only with the Bessa L. I have never seen a Bessa R2a, other than pictures on the net. I cannot comment.
My understanding,now, is that other cameras like the R2A are very good.

[Paul Goutiere]

So I bit the bullet and adopted a nice little Leica IIIf. Wrenched on the Voigtlander 15mm Heliar.....(no they don't fit out of the box do they?) and so far have taken about 15 test shots.

The IIIf looks better, feels better, sounds better, focuses better, repairs better but is a bit more complicated to load. Not bad!

[mhcfires]

I have a IIIa, IIIf and an M2. They are wonderful cameras. I love the heft of the camera body and the quiet snap of the shutter. My Nikon D80 is nice, but it will never compare to any of the leicas or to the old Nikon F's. Sorry that you had to relegate your Bessa to the scrap heap.