Excellent 1932 Voigtlander Bergheil Camera with Heliar lens. With 120 roll-film back, plate holders and case. Freshly serviced CLA’d

Cleaned, Lubricated & Adjusted. Ready for immediate use!

This is a Voigtlander Bergheil 6.5x9cm camera. It was built in prewar Germany as a top quality, double extension camera. It was carefully constructed of metal and covered with real Moroccan leather. The double extension feature of the leather bellows is a valuable feature since not only does it allow the camera to focus to very close distances with the standard lens, it also permits the use of lenses with a longer focal length as well.

 The serial number of the lens (661489) indicates that it was produced in circa 1932. It’s mounted in a quality rim set Compur shutter. This shutter has been carefully cleaned, lubricated and adjusted. All shutter speeds (T, B, 1 sec – 1/250th) are appropriate. The slow speeds buzz along smoothly and the faster speeds are clean and snappy.

The lens on this camera is the famous Voigtlander Heliar 4.5/10,5cm (105mm). (A superb design with five elements in three groups.) The Heliar lens is well known, well loved and is recognized as a masterpiece of design. It was an absolute top-quality lens of its day. For decades it was a benchmark of sharpness, but its greatness is not simply defined by high resolution. What photographers and artists love about this lens is the beautiful rendition in the fore and back-ground. It’s something the Japanese refer to as bokeh. Simply said, this lens has a gorgeous bokeh. Open up the lens or narrow the depth of field by getting closer and the focus rolls on and off silky smooth as cream… Soft out of focus foreground moves lovingly into sharp focus on your subject matter and then off again into gently blurred background. There are few lenses that do it as nicely as this. If you’ve seen it, you know what I mean. If you haven’t, well then you’re in for a treat…

The superb Heliar lens on this camera is in exceptionally fine condition. It’s clean and clear. There are no scratches, no cleaning marks and it’s capable of producing lovely photos with modern color & B&W film.

An interesting historical fact is that the Voigtlander Bergheil was Brassai’s favorite camera. This photographer used a Bergheil extensively to record images of Paris in the 1920’s and ‘30’s. If you’re not familiar with Brassai, I recommend looking him up on the internet.

Focus is easily achieved by using the distance scale on the lens bed or by focusing on the removable ground glass. The camera comes complete with its original ground glass back which features a lovely folding leather shade. Also good to know is that the lens & shutter features a quick release system which makes removal quick and easy. This is convenient if you’d like to use this Heliar lens on a modern field camera.

Included is a brown leather case (which I forgot to show) and a 6x9 120 roll-film back which will allow you to use some of the 120 roll-film you have tucked away in your freezer.

All in all, a lovely classic camera with a fine Heliar lens. The perfect camera when you want to take your time and try your hand as some classic fine art photography.