Voigtlander Bessy as

Photos by Sylvain Halgand text by Sylvain Halgand. From the collection of Sylvain Halgand. Last update 2022-12-11 par Sylvain Halgand.

Manufactured or assembled in Germany from 1966 to 1968.
Index of rarity in France: Frequent (among non-specialized garage sales)
Inventory number: 337

See the complete technical specifications

Chronology of cameras Voigtlander

Traduction de Sylvain Halgand.

In the middle of 60's, Voigtländer tried to take shares of market in omnipresent Kodak on its own ground of format 126. For that, it launched a series of economic cameras; that of Bessy.

Bessy as of 1966 is the adaptation to Flashcube of the model “ak”. It is preserved besides the reflectors of flash for AG-1 lamp. This reflectors is swivelling and is integrated perfectly into the body (so much so that I spent several years before realizing that there existed!). The opening and the swivelling of this reflectors move a flange which is around the lens. A feature is positioned opposite a A when the reflectors is closed, opposite a flash when it is in order (as on the photograph) or opposite a second flash when it is open towards the side in order to use bounced light when the camera is held vertically

In the finder, there is a yellow framework (collimated finder) on the right side of which three pictograms appear more or less: landscape, group or portrait. The distance setting moves these three pictograms laterally, more or less masking them according to the selected distance.
The Prontor-Matic V shutter (V being drawn as that of Voigtländer) allows two speeds: 1/30 and 1/125 secondes. The choice speed is ensured by a selenium cell and the use of the flash.

The lens is Color-Lanthar 2,8/38 mm.

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