Superb! 1954 Voigtlander 6x9 Bessa II with Color Heliar lens and case. Freshly serviced, CLA'd

Cleaned, Lubricated & Adjusted. Ready for immediate use!

This is the very desirable Bessa II 6x9 Rangefinder produced in Germany after WWII. Sought after by collectors and photographers alike because of their fine design, lovely handling and great performance. The Bessa II was the final and best iteration of the classic 6x9 rangefinder camera by Voigtlander. It was a high-end camera finely finished in satin chrome, real leather and black lacquer trim. The lens serial number on this example indicates that it was produced in 1954 . It has a built-in coupled rangefinder that never leaves you guessing about the distance or the focus. It’s a lovely camera that easily slips into an unused corner of your camera bag or a backpack and yet folds out to take beautiful 6x9cm exposures on a 120 roll film. Photos alive with all the lovely colors, rich tonal rendering and details that medium format can provide. When it comes to film, bigger is better and this camera will produce a negative that is about 6 times larger than the average 35mm snapshot.

If you’ve been collecting cameras for any length of time you’ll probably have read that the Bessa II is one of the best classic 6x9 medium format cameras. The other one is the Super Ikonta. I’ve used both and I can confirm that both of them are a joy to work with.

This Bessa II is in excellent condition and to top it off, it’s been carefully Cleaned, Lubricated and Adjusted by us. The top of the line Synchro-Compur works well and all speeds (B, 1 sec- 1/500^th) are appropriate. The slow speeds buzz smoothly and the fast speeds are clean and snappy. It has an X flash sync. that’s been tested and works with a normal electronic flash. Your flash will fire correctly at any desired shutter speed. (This is of course a convenient feature for flash fill.) The built-in rangefinder is clean, works smoothly, accurately and it’s easy to use. The bellows are in great condition and completely light tight.

The lens is a coated 3.5/105mm Color Heliar lens, a superb design featuring five lens elements in three groups. It’s very clean and clear. There are no scratches, no cleaning marks and it’s capable of producing beautiful photos with modern color & B&W film.

The Heliar lens is recognized as a master piece of design. 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. 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….

It comes complete with an original Voigtlander brown leather case.

All in all, a very fine camera. I’m sure you’ll be happy with it. Load it with your favorite film and keep it handy for that perfect shot you’ve been looking for. You know the one... the one with the Ansel Adams light breaking through the dark storm clouds that leaves you wishing that you had a medium format camera with you.