Here is an example: You choose f/5.6 and the speed sits at 1/125. You can turn the ring to adjust the shutter speed, but the aperture will always change with it. Instead, you have to use the knob on top of the body on the left-hand side.
Unlike what you might expect you cannot do so by turning the aperture ring. The camera is designed in a way that requires you to choose your aperture first. This has to do with how the exposure is adjusted which is quite different from most other SLR cameras. One of the first things you will notice when looking at the Bessamatic DeLuxe is that the aperture ring is attached to the body instead of the individual lenses. Needless to say, it becomes tricky to guess the distance though if your aperture is very small and it comes down to a few centimetres Getting the exposure right It has always worked very well for me so technically I could probably skip the split image viewfinder altogether. In fact, this is the only way I shoot with my smaller Vitomatic I as it has no other indicators. With the focus ring in this position any object in a distance between 1.2 and 3 meters will be sharp Unlike the other three is also doesn’t have a split image indicator. The Bessamatic CS has TTL CdS metering which requires a battery, while the cheaper Bessamatic M has no light meter at all. In addition, you can also see your shutter speed and aperture through the viewfinder when using the DeLuxe. The readings are visible through the viewfinder. Both the Bessamatic and the slightly improved Bessamatic DeLuxe use a light meter powered by a selenium cell. The Bessamatic (left), the Bessamatic DeLuxe (center) which I will be reviewing here, the Bessamatic M and the Bessamatic CS (right).
There are different versions, three of which you can see below. There is a counter to keep track of the amount of shots you have left and it will automatically reset once you rewind the film. The Bessamatic does not have a “quick- return” mirror which means you have to bring the mirror down by winding up the camera before each shot. Lenses are attached with the Voigtländer F. The aperture which you can set on the camera ranges from f/2 to f/22 depending on the lens. It uses a leaf shutter with shutter speeds ranging from “B” (Bulb mode) to 1/500. The first Voigtländer Bessamatic was introduced in 1958.