tony_lockerbie Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 <p>Further to my musings on the Bessamatic, I decided that it needed an airing, and a recent stay in the keepers quarters at the Greencape lighthouse seemed like a good opportunity.<br> For this outing I took my Bessamatic deluxe, which is the second version of the Bessamatic and differs from the first in having a little mirror on the pentaprism housing so you can read the speed and aperture through the viewfinder.<br> Another feature of the "deluxe" is that the chrome got shinier...and I like that! This camera was first made in 1962, and continued on until 1967 when the battery powered CS appeared.<br> The Bessamatics, as I have said before, are my favourite leaf shutter SLR, just nice to handle and they look a treat, with that lovely quality finish that Voigtlanders had before the bean counters started to ruin them.<br> The viefinders are really bright too, but like most LF SLR's you can only focus with the central split image spot, makes it a bit slow, but you do get used to it.<br> I used the 50mm Septon lens, which as the name suggests, is a 7 element design, and a truly lovely thing. It has that slight softness with good detailing that sets good German lenses apart. The only downside is that it is very prone to flare, and like a lot of German lenses of that period, a tendency to have balsam separation.<br> Now for some pictures....</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_lockerbie Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 <p>You can see the dreaded separation in the lens at the top left, doesn't affect it's performance though.<br> First pic.</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_lockerbie Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 <p>No.2</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_lockerbie Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 <p>No.3</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_lockerbie Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 <p>No.4</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_lockerbie Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 <p>No.5</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_lockerbie Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 <p>No.6</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_lockerbie Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 <p>No.7</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_lockerbie Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 <p>No.8</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_lockerbie Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 <p>No.9</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_lockerbie Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 <p>No.10</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_lockerbie Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 <p>Last one..</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_lockerbie Posted March 16, 2016 Author Share Posted March 16, 2016 <p>Thanks for viewing. All taken with Ilford Delta 100 and developed in D76 1:1, scanned on an Epsom V700.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glen_h Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 <p>Pretty nice pictures.</p> <p>For some reason Bessomatic reminds me of the early years of Saturday Night Live, which has something called a Bass-o-matic. </p> <p>Fortunately they have it on-line, so I don't have to explain it. Just don't get them mixed up.</p> <p>http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/snl40-bassomatic/2847141</p> <p>sorry for the commercial that it shows first. You have to get through that, first.</p> -- glen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Gammill Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Nice work. Don't see many working Bessamatics these days. Thanks for posting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce_z._li2 Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 <p>I have been eagerly waiting for your write-up, Tony. Beautiful machine and very nice photos. I've heard the Septon 50/2 lens is a cousin of my favorite Ultron 50/2, and it shows the good details with pleasing contrast. One thing I noticed is that the sky shows a bit of grain, which is a bit surprising considering the IOS 100 film. Is it because of the film developer combination?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin Smith Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 <p>The Septon seems to have acquired a high price too. Very beautiful camera though, I must say.</p> Robin Smith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fred_haeseker Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 <p>The Bessamatics are great cameras. A few years ago I was given one complete with the three-lens kit and found it was still working perfectly. Even the meter was accurate.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_lockerbie Posted March 17, 2016 Author Share Posted March 17, 2016 <p>Thanks Glen, maybe where they got the name idea :) Yes Mike, like all LS SLR's they don't like to be left sitting around. Both mine work well, even the selenium meters are spot on.<br> Thanks Bruce, the grain does surprise me too. My negs were a bit dense and that would account for the poor scans. The Delta I acquired recently and is way out of date, and because I'm not used to this film I just souped it in D76....got it a bit wrong!<br> Thanks Robin, the Septon has climbed in value, they are not often seen, and the Bessamatics are usually found with the 2.8 color-skopar....still a very fine lens.<br> Quite true Fred, they are very well made and only a sticky Compur shutter (or diaphragm) will let them down.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoryAmmerman Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Nice work Tony. That Sept on looks like a dandy of a lens. Shame about the separation. Hopefully it won't get bad enough to affect the performance anytime soon. Nice looking lighthouse too. Your posts always make me wish I lived near the ocean. Thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rick_drawbridge Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 <p>Beautiful beast of a camera, <strong>Tony</strong>, and your usual fine results. Your trip out to Greencape was creative and productive; "The Tower at Sunrise" is statuesque and powerful, and I like the simplicity of the window image. I can't recall ever having seen a Septon in the flesh, but it's obviously a fine performer. I've yet to get entirely satisfactory results from Delta 100... Thanks for the post.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_lockerbie Posted March 18, 2016 Author Share Posted March 18, 2016 <p>Thanks Cory. The separation has stabilized on this lens, and apart from the cosmetics, doesn't really affect the performance.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony_lockerbie Posted March 18, 2016 Author Share Posted March 18, 2016 <p>No problem Rick, the trip was very relaxing, and I did use a Nikon F2 plus a D610 as well. Didn't take that many pics though.<br> You are right about Delta, not really convinced, and I still have a couple of rolls left so I may try it in Pyrocat.<br> Attach a picture with the D610.</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinklather Posted March 24, 2016 Share Posted March 24, 2016 <p>Tony, Your 35mm work, along w/ Scott Schroeder on LFF are what I point to when I get a derogatory comment about the humble 35. I suspect most anything that held film would get a good name in your hands.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonsignore_ezio Posted March 25, 2016 Share Posted March 25, 2016 <p>Talking about Bessamatic: during a recent trip to central Germany including Braunschweig, I felt obliged to take my Deluxe along and shot a couple of slide rolls with it. The meter is accurate, yet all the photos came out grossly overexposed. The ground was covered by snow and the sky was withish and so it is possible the meter got fooled in its readings, but I rather suspect that something is amiss with the shutter.<br> So, my question: is there a DIJ way to roughly check the accuracy of the shutter in a Bessamatic? A professional checking would cost me more than the average price of the camera on German ebay. Many thanks</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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