This is the last camera I bought at the WYC end of month charity sale. It wasn’t in the sale, but on the outlet table inside the shop. That meant it was too good for the charity sale but still wasn’t working very well. The issue was clear once I picked it up and fired the shutter, every speed was the same. I hoped it would be something I could get fixed later so bought it. I figured I could get my money back by selling the mask that was still in the camera and is often missing. The camera also came with a case.

I sent the camera away to The Camera Repair Workshop and it was returned with all the speeds working as they should. There didn’t seem to be any other issues with the camera other than a little greening of the plate on the back but that was easily cleaned. The case was also in great condition with no loose stitching.

The bellows were intact and extended as they should. The back of the camera has two red windows, for 645 you move the film numbers from one window to the next. Without the mask, you get 6×9 shots and you just use one of the red windows. The front of the camera has two pull out levers. One is to rest the camera on if you want to put it down with folding part extended. The other is the shutter release. It is really convenient to have the shutter release there. You still have to cock the shutter the traditional way and you can use the release at the bottom of the lens. This additional button means you can hold the camera steadier while releasing the shutter. I think so anyway.

The view finder is a folding contraption on the top or a traditional glass one near the lens. This model of camera seems to give you two options for a few functions. That being said, neither viewfinder was a delight to use.

I placed the 6×4.5 mask in and loaded some expired 120 Fuji Acros and took it to Coventry. Using the camera was fine, the numbers were easy to see, the lens dials moved smoothly, but there was an issue. Once the film got to the end of the roll, the small advance dial was impossible for me to grip. I wondered if the camera needed a 620 film and 120 was a little to wide. I pulled the film out in a dark bag just to be sure it didn’t suffer any light leaks.

Then I developed it in Pyro, here are most of the results.

As you can see, I had a little trouble getting the shots straight and framed correctly. I used both viewfinders, but it didn’t really make a difference which one I tried.

I also wanted to see what the 6×9 shots looked like. So for the next roll, I took the mask out but used the same film and developer. Before loading this roll, I respooled it onto a 620 spool. I hoped this would solve the stiff winder at the end of the roll. It didn’t. The film got stuck again, so I need to look at that before I use the camera again. I did wonder if it was my tiny fingers and poor finger strength. I also have very smooth skin in that area, which doesn’t help with the gripping of the thin dial. I tried a wrench to get the film to the end. I want to be able to load more than one film at a time without having to resort to a dark bag.

Nope, it would not grip the dial and I didn’t want to cause any extra damage when everything else was fine.

So I ended up using a dark bag again. Here are the shots I took in Ossett, a town near where I live. These are 6×9 images.

The last shot was directly into the sun, hence the haze. This is not the camera to shoot into the sun with. I much prefer this format, but I will need more practice to get rid of the tilt.

While I was walking around with my sister, an air ambulance landed in the field right next to us. I live close to the base and see it often, I still get excited though. We stayed out of the way apart from this shot so I can’t tell you what happened. I can tell you about the camera though, well, maybe.

While researching this camera, I thought I could just type in Voigtlander Bessa and all would be revealed. But it turns out there are a few versions with different lenses/shutters and features. Mine has a Compur-Rapid shutter with a top speed of 1/400th. With that and the shutter release on the door this website says that makes mine a 1935 version. I didn’t find any reviews with this lens combination, maybe the f4.5 and 1/400th is a rarer version?? I have only seen one like mine for sale on ebay, but there was no mention of the mask being included or if it worked. Jim Grey has reviewed a Bessa, but with a different lens/shutter.

I definitely think I will be using mine again, if I can work out the winding issue. I had a look at it today and with the mask inside it is much stiffer. I tried squishing it in a little more and that helped, but I still ended up with a blister on my finger trying to wind to the end of a film-less 120 roll. Without the mask, it was much easier to advance the paper, but still not ‘smooth’. I gave up due to the blister issue. Before I load the camera again, I will give it another look.