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.

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:[1] The Bessamatic has a reputation as a tricky camera to repair, although if looked after it can be reliable and pleasant to use.

[citation needed] The mechanism is very precisely made with many small components and can be damaged if any of the controls are forced.

[1] The Bessamatic also used 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.

[3]: 202  The Deluxe added a small periscope to relay aperture and shutter speed settings into the viewfinder.

[6] 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.

This article 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.