Cosina's modern M-mount Voigtlander rangefinder — the Bessa-R2, mechanical shutter, TTL meter, 2002.
The Voigtlander Bessa-R2 is a 35mm rangefinder made by Cosina under the revived Voigtlander name, released in 2002. It moved the Bessa line to the Leica M bayonet, following the earlier screw-mount R and giving buyers a modern, affordable M-mount rangefinder body during the film-to-digital transition years.
It is a 35mm coupled-rangefinder camera using the Leica M bayonet mount, with a combined rangefinder-viewfinder carrying projected bright-line frames for several focal lengths. It has a mechanical cloth focal-plane shutter and fires without a battery, with a built-in TTL meter using an LED readout that requires a battery only for metering.
The M mount opens the R2 to a very wide range of current and vintage lenses, making it a flexible, budget-friendly entry into M-mount rangefinder shooting for street, travel and documentary work. Its mechanical shutter means it keeps working if the meter battery dies, which appeals to photographers who value reliability.
Check the rangefinder patch for contrast and accurate vertical and horizontal alignment, and inspect the finder for haze affecting the bright-line frames. Confirm the TTL meter and LED display respond and that battery contacts are clean; the cloth shutter should fire at all speeds without capping and works even with a flat battery. As a modern body, electronics and meter should be fully functional.