Misplaced Pages

Voigtländer Bessamatic and Ultramatic

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.

The Bessamatic and Ultramatic were lines of 35mm SLR cameras made by Voigtländer in the 1960s, featuring a selenium meter . It uses a leaf shutter , similar to competing SLR cameras manufactured by Kodak ( Retina Reflex ) and Zeiss Ikon ( Contaflex SLR ) in Germany, rather than the focal plane shutter almost universally adopted by Japanese SLRs such as the contemporary Nikon F and Pentax Spotmatic . The Ultramatic was released in 1963, which used the same lens mount and added a shutter-priority autoexposure mode.

#31968

46-659: The leaf shutter is a Synchro-Compur unit mounted behind the interchangeable lens, which uses the DKL-mount , although lenses made for the Bessamatic are not generally compatible with other DKL-mount cameras, and the Bessamatic DKL-mount will not generally accept non-Voigtländer lenses without physical modifications. The shutter speed settings range from 1 to 1 ⁄ 500  sec plus "B"ulb. As implemented, leaf shutter SLRs have two separate sets of blades: one to control

92-458: A CdS photoresistor , retaining the shutter-priority autoexposure mode and the shutter speed and aperture periscope from the original Ultramatic, being one of the first TTL metering SLRs to have both settings displayed. The rapid return mirror was dropped from the prior Ultramatic, though, as that camera proved to be vulnerable to a jammed shutter, and the Ultramatic CS generally is regarded as

138-596: A portmanteau of Compound (from the earlier shutter design) and Uhrwerk (referring to the clockwork mechanism). A consortium of photographic companies, including Carl Zeiss AG , Bausch & Lomb (25% of which was owned by Zeiss), and AGC was formed in 1910 to acquire Bruns's Compur patent, which was provided to Deckel, who produced Compur shutters under license starting in 1911. Zeiss owned significant stakes in both Deckel and Gauthier. The earliest shutters are marked with D.R.P. ( Deutsches Reichs-Patent  [ de ] ) 258646 D.R.G.M. (Deutsche Reich Gebraumeister) for

184-483: A given focal length; to focus on an object at infinity, the distance from this single lens to focal plane of the camera (where the sensor or film is) has to be adjusted to the focal length of that lens. For example, given a focal length of 500 mm, the distance between lens and focal plane is 500 mm. The farther the focal length is increased, the more the physical length of such a simple lens makes it unwieldy. In practice, to minimize optical aberrations , instead of

230-455: A leather brake to control shutter speeds. While at Bruns & Deckel, Bruns developed the Compound leaf shutter in 1905, which had a pneumatic escapement for slow speeds. After Bruns left the company shortly thereafter, it was renamed to F.Deckel; Bruns continued to develop shutters and replaced the pneumatic cylinder with a clockwork escapement in 1910, naming the new shutter Compur as

276-675: A local hotel, the Shepherds Arms, about 100 metres distant from the camera. The masts of the ship are visible in the background. McKay's other photographic achievements include photo-micrographs, and a ‘shadow-less technique’ for photographing fossils. McKay presented his work to the Wellington Philosophical Society (the precursor of the Royal Society of New Zealand) in 1890. Starting in the mid-1970s, Japanese manufacturers introduced telephoto lenses which focused by moving

322-633: A more reliable model. By 1963, Voigtländer's chief designer, Walter Swarofsky, had developed the Bessaflex as a potential successor to the Bessamatic/Ultramatic line, using a proprietary bayonet lens mount and a focal plane shutter. However, the project was shelved as Voigtländer's parent, Zeiss Ikon, already was selling three mutually incompatible SLR systems (the Contaflex SLR, Contarex , and Bessamatic/Ultramatic). The Bessaflex project eventually

368-424: A much shorter overall design. The angle of view and other effects of long-focus lenses are the same for telephoto lenses of the same specified focal length. Long-focal-length lenses are often informally referred to as telephoto lenses , although this is technically incorrect: a telephoto lens specifically incorporates the telephoto group. A simple photographic lens may be constructed using one lens element of

414-404: A ratio less than 1. As an example, one modern lens ( Canon EF 400 mm f /4 DO IS ) achieves a telephoto ratio of 0.58 in part due to a front (converging) lens group which incorporates diffractive optics . The simplest telephoto lens can be regarded as having two elements: one (on the object side) converging and another (on the image side) diverging. Again, in practice, more than one element

460-521: A shutter-priority autoexposure mode; the camera could automatically select the aperture based on the photographer's selection of a shutter speed. In addition, the Ultramatic had a rapid-return mirror, meaning the mirror automatically reset to its lowered position after the exposure, without requiring the film to be wound on, as implemented with the Bessamatic models. The Bessamatic m was an entry-level model introduced in 1964 which has no meter at all, and

506-399: A single lens element, these simple lenses usually are constructed using several elements to form an achromatic lens . But such simple lenses are not telephoto lenses, no matter how extreme the focal length – they are known as long-focus lenses . While the optical centre of a simple ("non-telephoto") lens is within the construction, the telephoto lens moves the optical centre in front of

SECTION 10

#1733084787032

552-434: A thicker ring. Some of the lenses had better close focusing capabilities in late types. Lenses produced after 1959 are marked with yellow paint on a screw head attaching the lens flange, indicating the presence of a special cutout to transfer a lens's maximum aperture (2, 2.8, 3.4, or 4 and higher) for use with the Ultramatic and Ultramatic CS. List of Carl Zeiss Bessamatic/Ultramatic SLR DKL-mount lenses: This article

598-516: Is now out of production. F.Deckel developed the exposure value (EV) scale, also known as the Light Value Scale, which is a single number that measures scene illumination on a base-2 logarithmic scale . Each EV corresponds to several combinations of shutter speed and aperture settings that provide the proper exposure for the illumination of the scene. The EV scale was first used on Synchro-Compur shutters displayed at Photokina 1954. In

644-496: Is relatively common, although the longer 200mm and 350mm Super-Dynarex telephoto lenses are relatively rare and expensive. The Bessamatic was the first SLR to be fitted with a zoom lens, the Zoomar . This is a highly sought after collectible and is quite expensive. Originally, the lenses were labelled with either metric or imperial distance scales (type I). Later versions featured both (type II and higher). Some later types also had

690-500: Is the Compur line of leaf shutters used on many photographic lenses starting from 1911. Bruns and Deckel previously had worked together at C. A. Steinheil & Söhne ; Bruns was an inventor responsible for developing leaf shutters while Deckel was a laboratory mechanic. By 1910, Zeiss had acquired a 16.8% stake in F.Deckel. Zeiss also owned a significant portion of competitor Alfred Gauthier Calmbach  [ de ] (AGC), which

736-612: Is uncommon today. The m typically was bundled with a three-element Color-Lanthar lens to reduce costs; although the Color-Lanthar is less common than the Color-Skopar and usually more expensive now, the Tessar -derived Skopar is a superior lens. Voigtländer introduced the Ultramatic CS in 1965, updating the meter from an external selenium cell to a coupled, TTL light meter using

782-449: Is used in each group to correct for various aberrations. The combination of these two groups produces a lens assembly that is physically shorter than a long-focus lens producing the same image size. As a group, the front (object-facing) elements in a telephoto lens collectively have a positive focus, with an overall focal length that is shorter than the effective focal length of the lens. The converging rays from this group are intercepted by

828-518: The "doughnut" shape of out-of-focus highlights, are caused by the central obstruction from the secondary mirror. The heaviest non-Catadioptric telephoto lens for civilian use was made by Carl Zeiss and has a focal length of 1700 mm with a maximum aperture of f /4 , implying a 425 mm (16.7 in) entrance pupil . It is designed for use with a medium format Hasselblad 203 FE camera and weighs 256 kg (564 lb). The telephoto lens design has also been used for wide angles; in

874-586: The 1960s, and production ceased by the early 1970s. The original bayonet was introduced in 1956 with the Voigtländer Vitessa T, followed by the Braun Colorette Super II in 1957, which shared the 44.7 mm (1.76 in) flange focal distance with the earlier Exakta system. Although the DKL-mount system is ostensibly compatible across manufacturers, camera manufacturers introduced variations in

920-452: The Bessamatic / Ultramatic are highly regarded. The most common lenses found on the Bessamatic are the Color-Lanthar , Color-Skopar , and Color-Skopar X , all of which are 50 mm focal length with a maximum aperture of f /2.8 . As an alternative, the faster Septon , 50 mm f /2 , is also sometimes fitted to these cameras, and is highly prized. The 35mm Skoparex is unusual, but not hard to find. The 135mm f/4 Super-Dynarex

966-508: The DKL bayonet lens mount introduced in 1956 with the Voigtländer Vitessa T rangefinder camera , with some physical differences that left the systems mutually incompatible. In 1962/63, Voigtländer released the Bessamatic Deluxe and Ultramatic . The Deluxe added a small periscope to relay aperture and shutter speed settings into the viewfinder. The Ultramatic included those displays and added

SECTION 20

#1733084787032

1012-507: The Icarex, and Zeiss Ikon/Voigtländer wound down production of the older leaf shutter -matic SLR lines by 1969. Although the Bessamatic and Ultramatic share the same DKL-mount with the preceding Vitessa T, there are physical differences that make Vitessa T lenses incompatible with the Bessamatic and vice versa. For instance, lenses for the Vitessa T include an aperture control ring on the lens, while

1058-468: The aperture control ring is fixed to the camera on the Bessamatic and Ultramatic. Other differences to the mounting lugs make the Bessamatic lenses incompatible with other DKL-mount cameras. Within the line of Voigtländer lenses, an additional physical coupling is required for autoexposure with the Ultramatics; lenses so equipped are marked with a yellow dot on the rear flange. The interchangeable lenses for

1104-465: The case of the Olympus XA , the telephoto arrangement permitted a 35 mm focal length to fit in an extra compact camera body. Inverting the telephoto configuration, employing one or more negative lens groups in front of a positive lens group, creates a wide-angle lens with an increased back focal distance. These are called retrofocus lenses or inverted telephotos, which have greater clearance from

1150-437: The company, responsible for gas monitors, survives as Compur Monitors GmbH. Their FP3 milling machine remained in production until the late years of the 20th Century. Deckel's popular, if expensive, line of industrial tool and cutter grinders remain available for sale under the brand ISOG, a division of Precision Surfacing Solutions. Bruns designed Steinheil's first leaf shutter in 1899, followed by an updated version using

1196-429: The construction. In other words, a telephoto lens might have a focal length of 400 mm, while it is shorter than that. While the length of a long-focus lens approximates its focal length, a telephoto lens manages to be shorter than its focal length. The term telephoto ratio refers to the physical length of a lens divided by its focal length; where long-focus lenses have a telephoto ratio around 1, telephoto lenses have

1242-507: The end of the war, Deckel was also said to have produced a total of some 4100 examples of their FP1 milling machine for use in the war effort. In 1958, Carl Zeiss AG purchased F.Deckel outright and in 1976 closed down the Compur factor in Munich, consolidating production with Prontor at Calmbach. Leaf shutter production continued after the two companies were merged in 1984 until 2002. A portion of

1288-471: The exposure time, and another to control the aperture. Because the shutter and aperture are held wide open while the photograph is being composed, there is a complicated sequence of operations required once the shutter release button is pressed: The Bessamatic has a reputation as a tricky camera to repair, although if looked after it can be reliable and pleasant to use. It is certainly worth seeking out someone familiar with this model for servicing and repair, as

1334-450: The further sub-types of short or portrait (85–135 mm in 35 mm film format), medium (135–300 mm in 35 mm film format) and super (over 300 mm in 35 mm film format). The concept of the telephoto lens, in reflecting form, was first described by Johannes Kepler in his Dioptrice of 1611, and re-invented by Peter Barlow in 1834. Histories of photography usually credit Thomas Rudolphus Dallmeyer with

1380-446: The invention of the photographic telephoto lens in 1891, though it was independently invented by others about the same time; some credit his father John Henry Dallmeyer in 1860. In 1883 or 1884, New Zealand photographer Alexander McKay discovered he could create a much more manageable long-focus lens by combining a shorter focal length telescope objective lens with negative lenses and other optical parts from opera glasses to modify

1426-653: The late 1950s, Deckel introduced a bayonet lens mount which was used mainly with 35mm leaf-shutter cameras built in Germany, including the Kodak Retina IIIS , Kodak Retina Reflex S , Braun Paxette Reflex , and Voigtländer Bessamatic . DKL-mount lenses for the Kodak cameras were made by both Schneider-Kreuznach and Rodenstock , while Voigtländer made their own lenses for the Bessamatic line. DKL-mount lenses became less popular as focal-plane shutter cameras became more prevalent in

Voigtländer Bessamatic and Ultramatic - Misplaced Pages Continue

1472-567: The light cone. Some of his photographs are preserved in the holdings of the Turnbull Library in Wellington , and two of these can be unequivocally dated as having been taken during May 1886. One of McKay's photographs shows a warship anchored in Wellington harbour about two and a half kilometres away, with its rigging lines and gun ports clearly visible. The other, taken from the same point, is of

1518-726: The mounting lug profiles and inclusion of an aperture control ring to physically prevent the attachment of lenses from other DKL-mount systems. For instance, the Schneider-Kreuznach and Rodenstock lenses made for the Kodak Retina S-mount do not fit Voigtländer cameras directly; a small physical modification to the mounting lugs will make them compatible. This was intended to prevent Voigtländer photographers from using less expensive Retina lenses. DKL lens mount cameras include seven distinct variants (the earliest models released, Voigtländer Vitessa T and Braun Colorette Super II, share

1564-418: The original patent. Leaf shutters are provided in standardized sizes. Compur shutters were marketed with smaller lenses (sizes #00 to #3), while Compound shutters continued to be provided for larger sizes (#4 and #5). As introduced, the Compur leaf shutter used a dial to set shutter speeds; the early dial-set versions were succeeded by the rim-set version in 1927, which moved the shutter speed control to

1610-459: The outer rim of the shutter. A self-timer mechanism was added in 1928, which was labelled Compur S . The Compur leaf shutter initially provided speeds of up to 1 ⁄ 250  sec; the later models (denoted by Compur-Rapid ) extended the fastest shutter speed to 1 ⁄ 500 (#00) and 1 ⁄ 400 (#0) in 1935. AGC released the similar Prontor leaf shutter design in 1935. The fastest speed should be selected prior to cocking

1656-410: The primary objective with some form of negative lens in front of the mirror to correct optical aberrations . They also use a curved secondary mirror to relay the image that extends the light cone the same way the negative lens telephoto group does. The mirrors also fold the light path. This makes them much shorter, lighter, and cheaper than an all refractive lens, but some optical compromises, primarily

1702-410: The rear (image-facing) lens group, sometimes called the "telephoto group," which has a negative focus. This second group of elements spread the cone of light so that it appears to have come from a lens of much greater focal length. This same property is achieved in camera lenses that combine mirrors with lenses. These designs, called catadioptric, 'reflex', or 'mirror' lenses , have a curved mirror as

1748-414: The rear element to the film plane than their focal length would permit with a conventional wide-angle lens optical design. This allows for greater clearance for other optical or mechanical parts such as the mirror parts in a single-lens reflex camera . Zoom lenses that are telephotos at one extreme of the zoom range and retrofocus at the other are now common. Telephoto lenses are sometimes divided into

1794-468: The reputation is not totally unfounded. The mechanism is very precisely made with many small components and can be damaged if any of the controls are forced. This can easily turn a minor repair into a camera fit only for spare parts. Zeiss Ikon purchased a stake in Voigtländer in the 1940s, and acquired the remainder in 1956, but Voigtländer continued to operate as an autonomous unit. The original Bessamatic

1840-405: The same physical mount): Telephoto lens A telephoto lens , also known as telelens , is a specific type of a long-focus lens used in photography and cinematography , in which the physical length of the lens is shorter than the focal length . This is achieved by incorporating a special lens group known as a telephoto group that extends the light path to create a long-focus lens in

1886-560: The shutter, as a stiff secondary spring is engaged with the fastest speeds; other speeds may be selected after the shutter is cocked. In addition, the self-timer cannot be used with the fastest shutter speed. Early versions use three leaf blades, while Compur-Rapid versions used five. Flash synchronization was added via a coaxial PC terminal on the rim of the shutter in 1951, which bore the Synchro-Compur branding. Synchro-Compur shutters have an additional lever painted green, which allows

Voigtländer Bessamatic and Ultramatic - Misplaced Pages Continue

1932-551: The user to select electronic flash synchronization ("X") or flashbulb sync ("M"). Some Compur shutters have a trailing -P, indicating these shutters offer "press to focus" functionality. A separate button is provided that allows the photographer to open the shutter leaves to check focus on the ground glass without changing the shutter speed setting or tripping the shutter. In the early 1970s, Deckel introduced electronically controlled shutters, branded as Compur-electronic . The 4.5 V PX21 battery required to operate these shutters

1978-430: Was later renamed Prontor after its competing leaf shutter. Taking advantage of their growing knowledge of factory production methods and machinery, by about 1920 Deckel started producing "extra" machines for sale to the trade, most notably the versatile FP line of industrial milling machines . During World War II, photographic equipment production was paused and F.Deckel made fuel pumps for BMW airplane engines. By

2024-665: Was originally based on " Ultramatic CS " in Camerapedia, retrieved on 4 August 2007 under the GNU Free Documentation License . This article was originally based on " Bessamatic " in Camerapedia, retrieved on 4 August 2007 under the GNU Free Documentation License . Synchro-Compur Friedrich Deckel GmbH , also known as F.Deckel , was a German company founded by Friedrich Deckel and Christian Bruns in Munich as Bruns & Deckel in 1903. Its most famous product

2070-548: Was released in 1958, in direct competition with the Zeiss Ikon Contaflex SLR , which also was a leaf shutter SLR made in Germany with interchangeable lenses. In comparison to the Contaflex, the Bessamatic offered a more convenient, fully-coupled exposure meter, although the Bessamatic did not have an instant-return mirror; the mirror instead was dropped into viewing position when the film was wound. The Bessamatic also used

2116-573: Was revived and released as the Zeiss Ikon/Voigtländer Icarex 35 in 1966. After the Icarex was released, Voigtländer also gave the Bessamatic the same CdS TTL meter as the Ultramatic CS, releasing the Bessamatic CS in 1967. The Bessamatic CS is typically fitted with a Color-Lanthar 50 mm f /2.8 lens. The Bessamatic CS is relatively uncommon, as the Bessamatic and Ultramatic lines were supplemented and ultimately replaced by

#31968