Voigtländer Bessa R2

Voigtländer Bessa R2

The Voigtländer Bessa R2 is a 35mm M-mount film rangefinder camera introduced by Cosina under the Voigtländer brand in 2002. It followed the Leica screw-mount Bessa R and moved the concept into the Leica M-mount system.

The camera uses the Leica M bayonet mount. It accepts M-mount lenses directly and can also use Leica Thread Mount lenses with the correct LTM-to-M adapter. For database purposes, the correct mount value is M, not LTM.

The Bessa R2 has a combined viewfinder and rangefinder with a 0.68x finder magnification. It provides manually selected parallax-corrected framelines for 35/90mm, 50mm and 75mm lenses. This makes it a practical body for the common M-mount rangefinder focal lengths.

The shutter is a vertically travelling metal focal-plane shutter with speeds from 1 second to 1/2000 second, plus Bulb. The shutter is mechanical, so the camera can still operate without batteries. Batteries are required for the built-in TTL exposure meter.

The Bessa R2 has a hot shoe, PC sync terminal, TTL center-weighted metering and flash synchronization at 1/125 second. Compared with many classic Leica M film bodies, its 1/2000-second top speed and higher flash sync speed are useful practical advantages.

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History

Development and Launch

The Voigtländer Bessa R2 was introduced in 2002 as the successor to the Bessa R. The earlier Bessa R used Leica Thread Mount, while the R2 adopted the Leica M mount. This made the R2 more directly compatible with modern M-mount lenses.

Cosina’s Bessa line revived the Voigtländer name for modern 35mm rangefinder cameras. These cameras were not traditional German Voigtländer products, but Japanese Cosina-built rangefinders marketed under the Voigtländer brand.

Relationship to Bessa R

The Bessa R2 should be kept separate from the Bessa R. The Bessa R is an LTM camera, while the Bessa R2 is an M-mount camera. The R2 also improved the body construction with more metal components and a more substantial feel compared with the largely polycarbonate Bessa R.

A simple matching rule is: Bessa R equals LTM. Bessa R2 equals M mount.

Body and Construction

The Bessa R2 is often noted for its improved construction compared with the Bessa R. References describe the R2 as using magnesium alloy and a more substantial rewind lever, giving it a more solid build than the earlier screw-mount model.

The camera was offered in finishes such as textured black and olive. Finish should be treated as variant metadata rather than part of the main model name.

Finder and Framelines

The Bessa R2 finder uses a 0.68x magnification and has framelines for 35/90mm, 50mm and 75mm. The frames are manually selected by a switch on the top plate and are parallax corrected.

The rangefinder base length is shorter than a Leica M body, so very fast or very long lenses require more care. For ordinary 35mm and 50mm lenses, the Bessa R2 is still a practical and popular rangefinder body.

Shutter and Metering

The Bessa R2 uses a mechanical metal shutter with speeds from 1 second to 1/2000 second, plus Bulb. The mechanical shutter is one of the reasons the R2 should not be confused with later Bessa R2A bodies, which use an electronic shutter and aperture-priority automation.

The camera includes a built-in TTL light meter with LED indication in the viewfinder. The meter uses batteries, but the shutter does not depend on them.

Relationship to Bessa R2A and R2M

The Bessa R2 should be kept separate from the Bessa R2A and Bessa R2M.

The Bessa R2 is the original manual M-mount R2 from 2002. The Bessa R2A is a later aperture-priority electronic-shutter model. The Bessa R2M is a later mechanical-shutter model with updated styling and a 0.7x finder.

The letter M in Bessa R2M means mechanical shutter, not Leica M mount. The original Bessa R2 is already an M-mount camera even though its name does not include the letter M after R2.

Relationship to Bessa R2C and R2S

The Bessa R2 should also be kept separate from the Bessa R2C and Bessa R2S. The R2C uses the Contax rangefinder mount, while the R2S uses the Nikon rangefinder mount. They share the general Bessa R2 body family, but the lens mount is different.

For this database, Bessa R2C should be Contax RF. Bessa R2S should only be included if Nikon S is supported.

Identification

The Voigtländer Bessa R2 is identified by its M bayonet mount, Bessa R2 name, combined rangefinder/viewfinder, 0.68x finder, 35/90, 50 and 75 frame selector, mechanical shutter-speed dial to 1/2000 second, hot shoe and TTL meter display.

Common listing names include Voigtländer Bessa R2, Voigtlander Bessa R2, Cosina Voigtländer Bessa R2, Bessa R2 M mount, Bessa R2 Olive and Bessa R2 Black. Finish names such as black or olive should be stored as variant metadata.

Collector Notes

The Bessa R2 is important because it was one of the most accessible modern M-mount film rangefinders of the early 2000s. It brought built-in metering, a modern metal shutter, 1/2000-second top speed and M-mount compatibility into a relatively compact and affordable body.

Collectors and buyers should check the rangefinder alignment, meter operation, shutter speeds, frameline selector, hot shoe, PC sync terminal, film transport, rewind lever, back door latch and battery compartment.

The Voigtländer Bessa R2 should be treated as a separate M-mount film camera because its M bayonet mount, 2002 release, 0.68x rangefinder and mechanical 1/2000-second shutter distinguish it from the LTM Bessa R, the aperture-priority Bessa R2A and the later Bessa R2M.

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Sources

• [1] CameraQuest. Voigtländer Bessa R2. https://cameraquest.com/voigtBR2.htm
• [2] CameraQuest. Voigtländer Bessa R Rangefinder. https://cameraquest.com/voigrf.htm
• [3] CameraQuest. Voigtländer Bessa R2A / R3A. https://cameraquest.com/voigtr2ar3a.htm
• [4] Camera Manuals. Voigtländer Bessa R2S / R2C Manual. https://www.cameramanuals.org/voigtlander_pdf/voigtlander_bessa_r2s_r2c.pdf
• [5] MrLeica. Voigtländer Bessa Series Comparison. https://mrleica.com/voigtlander-bessa-cameras/