Voigtlander Bessa R2a

The R2a is a really charming camera, and a very viable alternative to a Leica. 

It's compact, relatively well made, easy to operate, fairly unobtrusive, and reasonably inexpensive. Instead of spending time and money sampling the plethora of pocket rangefinders from the 1960s and '70s, many people would be much better served if they'd spend a little extra and pick up one of these cameras to get the real rangefinder experience from the get-go. If you've spent time with a Leica it's obvious the first time you pick a Bessa that there's a difference in the quality of manufacture, but the rangefinder in the Bessa is so many times better than even a good pocket rangefinder like a Canonet QL17 or Electro 35, and so close to a Leica M that it makes the shooting experience so much more enjoyable. In fact, if I were to start shopping all over again, I would probably have bought this camera first instead of an M2 and saved my pennies down the line for an M6 or MP or the like. Don't get me wrong, I love my M2, but the R2a has it where it counts and is honestly a better day-to-day camera.

All that being said, I don't really shoot the R2a much, partially because most of my shooting is done with a Leica M8 (I just prefer working digitally at the moment), and when I do want to shoot film I want that connection with the older ways of doing things and I prefer to use my M2. I do, however, keep the R2a as a good backup, and it's easier for me to switch from shooting the M8 to shooting the R2a largely because of the built in light meter...the viewfinder also doesn't scratch my glasses like the one on the M2. You know, if Voigtlander would see fit to produce a digital version of the R2a for a somewhat less than an M8 or M9, I think I could be compelled to buy it.

Why did I get the R2a and not the R2m? Because I've never really found fully mechanical cameras to be sufficiently more reliable than electronic ones. Why didn't I get an R3a? Because I use a 35mm lens as often as I use a 50mm lens, and the R3 cameras don't have 35mm framelines. What about the R4a? The R4 models have too small of a 50mm frameline area because of the differences in viewfinder magnification. Also, I don't think any of the other models came in gray paint, and I just like the way it looks.

If you're looking for the rangefinder experience and this is your first step into these cameras, my recommendation would be to not spend the money on the actual Leica bodies, but to get a Bessa and spend the extra money on your lenses instead. What about the Leica CL? The Bessa is easily the better camera and likely the more reliable one as well. I did ultimately sell the R2a, and most of my film photography in the last several years have been with medium format cameras, but I've always sort of thought this was maybe a camera that I should've kept.