Voitlander Bessa II 6x9cm w/ Color-Skopar 105mm f/3.5 standard lens. Made in Germany. Serial #3117137. Circa 1950. "Classic" Voitlander Bessa II medium format folding camera. Uses 120 film. Built-in rangefinder. Bellows in good condition with no light leaks. Synchro-Compur shutter. Shutter speeds are 1/500 to 1 sec, B. Lens apertures from f/3.5 to f/22. Close focusing down to 3.5' or 1m. Very sharp Color-Skopar lens. This Bessa II camera is in Ex- or 7 out of 10 cosmetic condition. No dings or dents. Overall very good condition with a few rust spots on the top plate that have been polished(see photos). This will not affect the use of this fine Voitlander Bessa II camera. Good working order. This camera was CLA'D best as possible for a vintage camera in 2022. Clean optics, and lens coating. Smooth lens focusing. Smooth working lens aperture with no oil on the blades. Good shooter Bessa II camera with Color-Skopar 105mm lens.

************************************************************************************************************************

Voigtlander Bessa II is a very different machine. It is a rangefinder folding camera that makes 6x9 cm images on 120 film. It has no automatic film stop, no automatic shutter cocking, and no double exposure prevention. Focusing is achieved through an almost comically small viewfinder window with a very dim rangefinder patch. This a camera that does very little for you automatically by modern standards.   Voigtlander manufactured the Bessa II from 1950 to 1958, a period in which many of the great names of the photographic industry created their most classic designs. Voigtlander had produced cameras bearing the Bessa name since 1929 in various configurations, but the Bessa II marked the ultimate, and most advanced, iteration. The Bessa II’s most significant improvement over the Bessa I that preceded it was the combined viewfinder and rangefinder, a luxury feature for the time. I was unable to obtain a photograph that accurately showed the view through the finder, as its opening is less than a quarter inch wide, but the image below gives some idea of what it is like to look through.  The Bessa II has coated  five-element Color Heliar. Voigtlander lenses of this period, especially the Heliar, are often touted for their “plasticity”-- that is, their ability to smoothly and pleasingly separate the subject from an out-of-focus background.  The Bessa II is a handsome camera, and has a very fine fit and finish. 

********************************************************************************************************************

Nice shooter German 6x9cm rangefinder camera from Voigtlander in good working condition. Recent CLA. Great medium format camera to use with sharp Color-Scopar 105mm f/3.5 lens. Includes one(1) roll of outdated Fomapan 100 ISO b&w 120 film. Sells with no reserve at  price of $695. I have more Voigtlander "classic" Cameras and Lenses, Zeiss Ikon "classic" Cameras and Lenses, Kodak "classic" Cameras and Lenses, Rolleiflex "classic" Cameras and Lenses, German FAST lenses, Medium and Large Format cameras, lenses and accessories on my other Auctions, web page and eBay Store.