The camera comes with the original Voigtlander case, however the case needs some slight repair. But then again, I'm an anachronism in myself. rather than the 1/1000 or 1/2000 available in the focal plane shutters of that era. I personally like leaf shutters and don't mind that the top speed is limited to 1/500 sec. This allows the camera to flash sync at all speeds. Rather than using cloth focal plane shutters, the Bessamatic borrows the Compur leaf shutter design for the shutter from the Contaflex. Using the text or images on this website without permission on an ebay auction or any other site is a violation of federal law.Īlso unique is the depth of field indicators on the lens barrel move while you adjust the aperture! Unlike every other camera where the depth of field indicators are these little markings (f/4, 8, 16) on the focusing scale, the Bessmatic has 2 moving needles that mark the DOF precisely on the focus scale.So no more guessing what the DOF for f/6.3 is. What's also unique with the Bessamatic is the the meter match needle is displayed within the viewfinder (like a Pentax Spotmatic), rather than sitting outside on the camera body. It's of course all-mechanical except for the selenium light cell which sits above the lens on the prism mount. The camera winds and fires like a miniature swiss watch.
VOIGTLANDER BESSAMATIC REPAIR PROFESSIONAL
The Bessamatic was oriented to the advanced consumer (nowadays called the prosumer) or professional photographer. Even now, the Zoomars are quite the collector's item. The Bessamatic is unique in having the first zoom lens on a camera, the 36 - 82mm f/2.8 Zoomar. The shortest lens available on the Bessamatic is 35mm. This limits the shorter end of the focal length a bit, but isn't a problem with longer lenses. But unlike the Contaflex in which the last couple of lens elements remain behind the Compur shutter in the camera, the entire lens system in the Bessamatic is removable.The Compur shutter remains in the camera. The Voigtlander has an interchangeable lens system, like the Contaflex III/IV. Using the text or images on this website without permission on an ebay auction or any other site is a violation of federal law. It also had the world's first zoom lens, the 36-82mm Zoomar. It features: 1) an uncoupled selenium cell reflective light meter and 2) interchangeable lenses - two things that were still very cutting edge in the late 50s. The Voigtländer Bessamatic is a 35mm SLR camera made by the Voigtländer division of the Zeiss-Ikon conglomerate in the late 1950s.