Monday, January 28, 2008

Update: Gene's R3A & Nokton 40/1.4

Photo: copyright Gene Wilburn

On a stopover at Gene's Sunday morning, I was able to play with the Bessa R3A & Nokton 40/1.4. The grey finish of the camera is absolutely gorgeous. If I were to get an R3A it would definitely be the grey. And the Nokton is certainly smaller than I ever would have imagined.

Likes:
  • Nokton size and smoothoperation
  • Solidity of the Bessa
  • Brightness of the Bessa viewfinder, and layout of framelines

Not-so-likes:
  • Handling of the Bessa. Its shape feels a bit odd/clunky, especially compared to my 35SP. That might be because Gene had the inexpensive half case on, though. While decent protection, I don't like half cases unless they are luxurious ones such as the Luigi case.
  • While overall the VF is great, I found using it with spectacles not optimum. I'd need to wear my contacts for best results
  • Shutter sound. While not terribly loud, louder than my Olympus 35SP and a Leica. I think maybe the pitch and metallic quality might be what stood out
Sadly, Gene says this sample has jammed three times, so it is back to the vendor for replacement.
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1 comment:

Gene Wilburn said...

Still waiting for the replacement.

Because I don't wear glasses when viewing, I didn't find the 40mm framelines a problem, but everyone who wears glasses has commented that they couldn't see the framelines.

No, Bessas are not as quiet as Leicas or fixed-lens RF's with leaf shutters. But compared to SLRs they're not particularly noisy either.

I *could* get a luxurious Luigi case for the R3 (he makes them) but it would be at half the cost of the camera itself... think I'll stick to the simple half case :-)

12:09 PM

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