【MINT!】RARE! Voigtlander Bessamatic w/ Color-Skopar 50mm F2.8 Lens -Tested-48938

Description: 【MINT!】RARE! Voigtlander Bessamatic w/ Color-Skopar 50mm F2.8 Lens -Tested-48938 In pristine condition, this camera presents itself as a stunning piece of both aesthetics and optical quality. The lens is impeccably clean, devoid of any signs of fungus, scratches, or dust. The viewfinder mirrors this excellence, offering a clean and clear perspective. A thorough examination with a loaded film confirms its functionality, including the meter and shutter, both of which perform flawlessly. For a more comprehensive view, we kindly invite you to review the accompanying video and photos.Included with this camera is the original leather case, which is also in mint condition, preserving its timeless charm. Additionally, two rolls of AGFA AGFACOLOR XRG100 film (27 exposures each) are included. While these rolls remain properly sealed, their age necessitates a disclaimer that we cannot guarantee their quality. .Camera S/N:48938, Lens:5018139 Thanks for looking. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Reviews from online may give hints why the engineering of this model make it outstanding ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ .......As I described earlier, the Bessamatic is a camera with the shutter mounted between the lens and the mirror, which makes it a rather complex beast to engineer. If you think about the shutter layout in an SLR it's obvious that when the photographer wants to compose the image the shutter needs to be open, but the film has to be protected from the light entering the lens.So the set of actions which have to happen in this style of SLR design are:As the film is advanced the shutter is openedAt the same time the aperture in the lens is fully openedalso a plate is raised or lowered across the film to stop the light enteringThe mirror is dropped down to deflect the image into the eyepiece.Once the image is composed and focused, as the shutter release is pressed the camera then has toClose the shutterLower or raise the plate across the filmRaise the mirror out of the light pathStop the aperture down to the correct setting for the exposure the photographer has selectedOpen and close the shutter for the correct amount of timeYou can see why this style of camera is more complex than the normal focal plane shutter arrangement!Camera Details.The most noticeable thing I found when I first picked the camera up and tried the shutter a few times was the feel and sound of quality engineering. This camera sounds wonderful when the shutter is cocked and fired - just like precision engineering should sound.It is quite a bulky, heavy camera, however. Quite a lot heavier to carry around than a contemporary camera of more traditional design.Loading with filmThe Bessamatic is loaded with a standard 35 mm film cartridge which is fitted into the film chamber and threaded across in front of the exposure frame and onto the take-up reel which the film advance lever turns. All that is pretty standard stuff, but the slightly out of the ordinary setting is the frame counter.On more modern film cameras the frame counter would automatically reset to 0 when the back of the camera was opened. On the Voigtlander Bessamatic it needs to be manually set to the correct setting using a thumb wheel built into the frame advance pillar. To make this work there is a small lever on the top of the camera next to the shutter release which is set to the 'R' position (this lever is also used to rewind the film), and then the thumb wheel turned until the frame advance is set to the same as the number of exposures of the film being loaded.Lens and focusingThe lens fitted to the Bessamatic is a Voigtlander Color-Skopar X 50 mm f/2.8 unit with a bayonet mount. The lens mount is actually the same basic design as used on the Retina Reflex, although there are slight mechanical differences which stop the lenses being interchangeable. It is apparently possible to modify either lens type to fit the other camera if desired, however.The focusing operation is made easier by a split lever focusing aid in the middle of the viewfinder. In my particular camera the viewfinder has quite a few black dust spots and would be better with a good clean, but I'm a bit wary of taking the top off considering how complex the camera is.Voigtlander Bessamatic SpecificationVoigtlander Bessamatic 35mm SLR cameraLeaf shutter offering 1sec to 1/500sec shutter speedsAutomatic depth of field indicatorSplit level focusing assistanceIntegrated, coupled light meterViewfinder exposure settingASA 12 to 3200 film speed rangeFilter exposure compensationFilm type indicatorTable top stand and tripod bushBayonet lens mountAutomatic frame counterFlash sync socket for X or M flashSelf TimerVoigtlander Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.8 lens

Price: 299 USD

Location: Surrey, British Columbia

End Time: 2024-08-19T08:18:34.000Z

Shipping Cost: 21 USD