Bessa is the best-known line of folding viewfinder and rangefinder cameras manufactured by Voigtländer, which was a dual-format camera that took 6×9 and 4.5×6 pictures on medium format rollfilm. The Bessa was introduced in 1929 and an improved version incorporating a coupled rangefinder was introduced as the Bessa Rangefinder in 1935; the line was supplemented by the single-format Baby Bessa (aka ''Bessa 46'' and ''Bessa 66''), which took 4.5×6 and 6×6 pictures, respectively. Production was interrupted by World War II; after the war, the Bessa resumed limited production, but was succeeded by the Bessa I and Bessa II (both 1950), the latter including a rangefinder. Similar rollfilm cameras manufactured contemporaneously by Voigtländer included the Petito (1924), Rollfilm (1925), Inos (1931), Jubilar (1931), Prominent (1932), and Perkeo (1950, 6×6). In 1997, the Voigtländer brand was licensed to Cosina, which subsequently introduced an unrelated line of

135 film 135 film, more popularly referred to as 35 mm film or 35 mm, is a format of photographic film used for still photography. It is a film with a film gauge of loaded into a standardized type of magazine – also referred to as a casse ...

rangefinder cameras using the Bessa name. However, Cosina also manufactured and sold a folding rangefinder medium format camera as the Bessa III (aka ''Bessa 667''; rebadged and also sold as the Fujifilm GF670) from 2008 to 2014. There also was a version with a rigid body and wide-angle lens sold as the Bessa IIIW.

Cameras

Predecessors

Voigtländer introduced its first rollfilm cameras in the 1920s; the line eventually included, in increasing order of quality and price, the ''Petito'' (1924–27; with 4-in. ''Voigtar'' lens), the ''Nirvana'' (with 4-in. ''Avus'' lens), and the ''Beatrix'' (with a choice of 4-in. lenses: ''Radiar'', ''Dynar'', or ''Heliar''). Some cameras featured 5×8 (using 129 film) and 6.5×11 frame sizes. The ''Voigtar'' lens is based on the Cooke triplet design. The ''Avus'' is a four-element, three-group design that resembles a reversed '' Tessar''. The ''Radiar'' is a typical four-element, four-group symmetric dialyte lens, while the ''Dynar'' and ''Heliar'' share similar construction, using five elements in three groups, and are considered modifications of the Cooke triplet. The early rollfilm cameras were carried forward briefly after the introduction of the ''Bessa'' with the initial ''Inos'' (1931), but later cameras in the ''Inos'' series and the ''Jubilar'' (1931–34) were simplified ''Bessa'' cameras. There also was a 6×9 folding camera with a rangefinder named the Prominent (1932), but this was later renamed and sold under the Bessa Rangefinder brand.

Bessa 6×9

File:Voigtländer Bessa mit Gebrauchsanleitung.jpg, 1930 model with ''Voigtar'' lens and three-position focusing File:Voigtländer Bessa 1935.jpg, 1935 model with ''Voigtar'' 10.5 cm lens File:Voigtlander Bessa & Bessa RF.jpg, ''Bessa'' (left) and ''Bessa RF'' (right) The initial ''Bessa'' cameras (1929–30) took 6×9 cm frames on 120 film and used a waist-level finder; a button was used to release the front, which folded down and allowed the lens to extend. These were succeeded by improved versions that added a folding frame finder (1930–35) and dual-format capability (1932–33, 3.4×5.5 cm; then 1935–37, 4.5×6 cm). The 1935 model was the basis for the ''Bessa Rangefinder'', which added improved lenses and a coupled rangefinder to assist in setting focus. Detail improvements were applied to later models, including the removal of the waist-level finder (1942) before production was suspended for World War II. After the war, production resumed until the late 1940s. ''Bessa'' cameras were available with a variety of lenses and shutters. In 1938, the ''Bessa'' (non-rangefinder) was available with either ''Voigtar'' or ''Skopar'' lenses, all with 10.5 cm focal length; the slower and ''Voigtar'' lenses were equipped with simpler shutters and three-position scale focusing with settings for Landschaft (landscapes), Gruppe (groups), or Porträt (single person portrait). The faster ''Skopar'' lens was based on the ''Tessar'' design. Prices ranged from for the ''Bessa'' with ''Voigtar'' lens to for the ''Voigtar'' . The ''Bessa RF'' was equipped with a ''Helomar'', ''Skopar'', or ''Heliar'' lens, each of which was 10.5 cm and , differing in the number of elements in each lens. The most expensive ''Bessa RF'' with the ''Heliar'' lens was listed at . In 1950, the Bessa and Bessa RF were redesigned and sold as the ''Bessa I'' and ''Bessa II'', respectively. Production ended in 1956, as the acquisition of Voigtländer by Carl Zeiss AG was completed and the firm began favoring its

camera lines, including the

Vito Vito is an Italian name that is derived from the Latin word "''vita''", meaning "life". It is a modern form of the Latin name Vitus, meaning "life-giver," as in San Vito or Saint Vitus, the patron saint of dogs and a heroic figure in southern ...

, Vitessa, and Prominent rangefinders and the Bessamatic/Ultramatic SLR lines. Closed, the ''Bessa I'' and ''II'' were and , respectively. The ''Bessa I'' was available with a choice of ''Vaskar'' (another Cooke triplet derivative) or ''Color-Skopar'' lenses, while the ''Bessa II'' was available with the ''Color-Skopar'' or ''Color-Heliar'' (both ) lenses. A version of the ''Bessa II'' was available with the ''Apo-Lanthar'' lens for color photography.

Baby Bessa and Perkeo

127 film 127 is a roll film format for still photography introduced by Kodak in 1912. The film itself is 46 mm wide, placing it between 35 mm and 120 "medium format" films in terms of size. The image format normally used is a square 4 ...

folding camera was sold by Voigtländer starting in 1933 as the ''Perkeo'', which took 3×4 cm pictures; it offered greater portability compared to the regular ''Bessa'' line. It was succeeded by the single-format ''Bessa 46'' and ''Bessa 66'' cameras, introduced in 1938 and sold until 1951, which took pictures in 645 and 6×6 formats, respectively, using 120 film. These so-called "Baby Bessa" cameras never were sold with a coupled rangefinder. Post-war Bessa 66 cameras were available with coated lenses, either a 75 mm ''Vaskar'' for or a ''Color-Skopar'' for . Production of the Bessa 46 was not resumed after the war, as the 645 format was available with the regular Bessa. The ''Bessa 66'' was updated alongside the Bessa 6×9 line and reintroduced under the revived ''Perkeo'' name starting in 1950 (6×6 format), including the Perkeo E, which added a coupled rangefinder. The ''Perkeo'' was when closed and was available in two models: the ''Perkeo I'' was equipped with a 75 or 80 mm ''Vaskar'' triplet, while the ''Perkeo II'' had the upgraded 80 mm ''Color-Skopar''. The rangefinder-equipped ''Perkeo E'' was introduced by 1954. In approximately 1955, shortly after Voigtländer was acquired by the Carl Zeiss Foundation, the Perkeo line was discontinued.

Bessa III (Cosina)

After the Voigtländer name was licensed to Cosina, the ''Bessa III'' aka ''Bessa 667'' was released in 2008, which offered dual-format (6×7 and 6×6) images in a folding body with a coupled rangefinder that adjusts for parallax. A rebadged version was sold by Fujifilm as the GF670. Later, a wide-angle version was sold, omitting the folding ability, as the 667W, with a 55 mm ''Color-Skopar'' lens. The Bessa III line was discontinued in 2014.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bessa Voigtländer rangefinder cameras 120 film cameras