Voigtlander Bessa R4M Camera with No Lens and 0.52 Viewfinder - Black

I have owned several Voigtlander branded Cosina manufactured cameras...among them an R2A, R3A,R4M, and R2C. I will be frank; when they work, they are a wonderful cameras. These cameras are endowed with features which all Leica owners find desirable, not the least of which may be counted the exposure meter, three "bright" built-in finder frames, and a superbly ergonomic design. The complete deal-breaker, however, is the quality. I no longer have any of the aforementioned Voigtlander cameras (nor any of the lenses for that matter) because, quite simply, they all failed on one way or another. I should also mention that I am not a professional photographer...simply an ambitious amateur with a fondness for rangefinder cameras. To put my demands upon the Cosina cameras I have owned in perspective, I currently own two Contax IIIa and several Leica III(f&g) cameras, EACH of which have had many more rolls of film through them than all my Cosina cameras managed in total.The problems were many and varied. The R2A came to me with a horrible vertical viewfinder misalignment (Cameraquest repaired for free)...and then the meter strayed off by several stops (Cameraquest repaired for free), and ultimately the shutter jammed AFTER the warranty expired. Cameraquest charged almost $200 to repair that one. The R3 and the R4 fared much the same. It was the problems with the R2C, which finally settled the issue completely. This camera worked perfectly for approximately a year and one half...until the meter died completely. That is when I discovered very few who would condescend to provide me with a repair...and the prevailing fee was essentially the cost of a new camera. I had to settle for selling the camera for "parts" (keep in mind this camera was only 1-1/2 years old) for less than 1/5 the original price.Be forewarned. If you purchase one of these cameras, there is no doubt that you will suffer quite a shock when it must (and it WILL need to) be repaired.

If you do not know the basics from using a camera and taking pictures on film....Do not consider your self to be a master in digital photography, the old school is more solid

Sorry to hear about the previous poster's problems. Maybe I got lucky but mine has worked flawless the past 5 years. The heavy metal body feels good in the hands (i also added the grip to mine). Anything made of metal these days is rare and cool. I have put many rolls of color and bw film thru without any issues and I have 4 or 5 lenses that have also worked flawlessly and I have adapted them for use on micro 4/3s digital cameras. If you want to keep film alive this is a good alternative to digital cameras. There is something about using physical film. It's a process that everyone should try. Just be sure you find a trusted photo lab (walgreens is not going to cut it). For me the r4m has worked as advertised and always returned great photos and even added character that my digital cameras have not. I think maybe the best part about this camera is you don't need batteries! Even if the internal light meter battery dies, you can still take photos using it's mechanical shutter.