The Voigtlander Bessamatic 35 mm SLR camera was made in Germany between 1959 and 1962 and 140,000 were made. The Voigtlander company was founded in 1756 and started to make cameras in 1840 so is the oldest name in cameras. The Bessamatic had a coupled selenium exposure meter the needle of which was adjusted in the viewfinder as was the split-image rangefinder.
A four-element Color-Skopar f2.8 50mm lens was fitted as standard and this had a first class reputation for sharpness and natural colour rendition. The lens was interchangeable and on removal from the camera body the Synchro Compur leaf shutter was left behind. The shutter was speeded between 1 sec and 500th sec and had flash synchronisation at all speeds.
Unusual for the period, the exposure meter could be calibrated to accept film sensitivities from 12 to as high as 3200 ASA (ISO). High manufacturing quality and excellence was evident everywhere and controls all moved with a silky smoothness. The camera had a 'rounded' easy to hold, voluptuous shape.
The camera comprised one of a trio of quality SLR cameras on offer in the late 50�s and early 60�s; the Kodak Retina Reflex III, Zeiss Contaflex Super and the Voigtlander Bessamatic.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Classic cameras - Voigtlander Bessamatic.
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