I love using Voigtlander Bessa rangefinders – I got hooked after buying a Bessa R. They all have a top shutter speed of 1/2000, which lets me get closer to shooting wide open with an f/1.4 lens on a bright day, than if I was using a Leica with a shutter speed of 1/1000. The only downside is remembering to change the frameline selector on the top of the body when changing lenses. The R4A is nice as it has framelines for wider lenses like the 21mm, so you can see what you’ll capture with that lens as you focus through the viewfinder, instead of having to frame with an external viewfinder. The “A” option on the Bessa series indicates the model has an auto setting for the shutter speed, turning it into an aperture priority setup. On trips, this saves me time, and the meters are pretty accurate for any given scene.
I shot this roll of Fuji Reala with three different lenses, and started it off during a photo walk. For expired film, it has colors with a nice punch. I used the image of the shadow on the parking garage in a show because I was happy with the composition and color.
Voigtlander Bessa R4A
Voigtlander Color Skopar 21mm f/4
Voigtlander Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4
Voigtlander Nokton 50mm f/1.5
Fuji Superia Reala 100
