This is not a review more a tale of disappointment.

Recently I spotted an interesting potential addition to my collection on the auction site and decided to bid.  The auction was for a Voigtlander Bessamatic which came with the very rare Zoomar lens.  The Zoomar lens was the first zoom lens ever for 35mm cameras and was invented by Voigtlander.  I was aware of the rarity of the lens and so didn’t really expect to win as my budget was limited.  As luck would have it though I won it 🙂 mostly due to the seller misspelling Voigtlander so I suspect not many people spotted it.

I then had to wait for delivery which didn’t happen very quickly and in the end the camera arrived when I was away in the UK.

On my return I was excited to get my package.

Inside was the wonderful Zoomar lens and the Bessamatic camera which is where the story turns sour.

The Bessamatic is not a light camera and the Zoomar lens is also pretty heavy and unfortunately the seller had packed the two still attached to each other.  They were well wrapped in bubblewrap which protected them from impact but there was room for movement.  There had been sufficient movement to put strain on the mount; which had given way and broken away from the camera a little.

 

It doesn’t look like a lot but the camera is inoperable.  The good news is that the lens which is the rarer part of the pair is itself is okay.  It means that I had to spend a little more money to buy another body before I can really enjoy the lens.

I have that additional body now and will try to sell the other one for spares to try to get some money back.

Bessamatic CS with Zoomar lens

Not sure what the moral of this tale is other than to maybe check that the seller knows what they are doing and be prepared that you haven’t won until you have the thing in your hand.  Also if you are selling, make sure you think about all the stresses and strain that will be inflicted during shipping and pack appropriately.

I will do a full review once I have shot a film through it.