VOIGTLANDER BESSA-L User manual

INSTRUCTIONMANUAL
BESSA-L

CongratulationsonyourselectingofBessacamera.Thisislens-
interchangeablesuperwide-anglecamerawithTTLexposuremeter-
ingfunction.ThecameraislensinterchangeableviaL-mount,yetis
lightweightandcompact.Attaching15mm/f4.5or25mm/f4lensonto
thiscamera,youcanenjoyeasy-to-takesnap-photography,land-
scape,etc.

DescriptionofParts
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
(12)
(13)
ShutterSpeedIndex
ShutterSpeedDial
ShutterReleaseButton
FilmAdvanceLever
FrameCounter
NeckStrapEyelet
Self-timerLever
ViewFinder
FilmSpeedIndex
FilmRewindCrank
FilmRewindKnob
FilmSpeedSelectorDial
SynchroContact

(14)
(15)
(16)
(17)
(18)
(19)
(20)
(21)
(22)
(23)
(24)
(25)
(26)
(27)
LEDLamps
ViewfinderEyepiece
AccessoryShoe
TripodSocket
BatteryChamberLid
FilmGuideRails
RewindFork
FilmCartridgeChamber
FilmPressurePlate
FilmCartridge
Confirmation
Window
CameraBack
FilmRewindButton
FilmTakeupSpool
FilmSprockets

AttachingNeck-strap
Attachtheneck-strapto thecameraas illustrated
right:
AttachingdetachingLens
•Todetachorattachthelensfrom/ tothecamera,avoidtheplaceunder
directsunshine.
1.Alignthelensmountscrewwiththatofthecamera,then,turn
thelensclockwise.
•Payattentionnottotightenthelensscrewtoostrongly.
2.Todetachthelensfromthecamera,turnthelenscounter-clock-
wise.
Attaching/detachingViewfinder
Attachtheviewfinderbyinsertingituntilitfirmlyclicksonthe
camera'saccessoryshoe.(16)
•Whendetachingthelensfromthecamera,pullthelenstowardsyou
straightlynottoturnitforcibly.

InsertingBatteries
I.Turnthebatterychamberlid(18)counterclockwiseusinga coin
orsomethingsimilar.
2.TwoLR44typealkalinebatteriesortwoSR44typesilverbatter-
iesareusedwithcamera.
3.Placethebatteriessothatbothpositive(+)sidesareatthebot-
tomofthecompartment.
4.Turnthebatterychamberlidclockwiseuntilitclosefirmly.
BatteryCheck
1.Movethefilmadvancelever(4)tothereadyposition.
2.Lightlypresstheshutterreleasebutton(3).Nowtheexposure
meteringsystemisswitchedon.WhenoneofthreeLEDlamps
(, or)lights,thenbatteryconditionissatisfactory.Ifno
lamplights,thebatteriesneedreplacingorhavebeenloaded
incorrectly.
3.Renewbothbatteriesasnecessary.
4.Whennotusingofthecamera,alwaysreturnthefilmadvance
levertotheoriginalpositiontopreventaccidentallyreleasingthe
shutter.
Caution:Keepbatteriesawayfrominfantsandsmallchildren.Incasea bat-
teryisaccidentallyswallowed,calla doctorimmediatelyasthematerial
insidethebatteriescan causeseriousproblems.

LoadingFilm
1.Toopenthecameraback(24),pullFilmrewindknob(11)out.
Whenthebackcoveropens,theframecounter(5)automatically
resetsto"S".
2.Insertthefilmcartridge intothefilmchambersothattheproject-
ingendofthefilmcartridgeisdownward.Dothisina place
awayfromdirectsunlight.
3.Foldoutandliftupthefilmrewindcrank(10).Thenrotatethe
crankcarefullywhilepushinitdownlightlyuntilthefilmlockson
thefilmrewindfork(20).
4.returnthefilmrewindknobtoitsoriginalposition.
5.Insertthefilmleaderintothegrooveofthefilmtakeupspool
(26)andplaceitsothatthefilmperforationsengagewiththe
spoolteeth.
6.Checkthatthefilmperforationsengageproperlywiththeteeth
ofFilmsprockets(27)andthefilmslidessmoothlyalongthe
filmguiderails(19)byoperatinglightlythefilmadvancelever
(4)toadvancethefilm.
Caution:Donottouchtheshuttercurtains.
7.Turnthefilmrewindcrankgentlyinthedirectionofthearrowto
properlytensiontheloadedfilm.Stopturningthecrankwhenit
becomesstiff,andreturnthecranktoitsoriginalposition.
8.Gentlyclosethebackcoverandpushituntilitclicks.

9.Advancethefilma coupleofframes,pressingtheshutter
releasebuttoneachtime,untiltheframecounterindicates"1"
between0 and2.(lnthiscase,thefilmadvancelevershouldbe
atthereadyposition,becausetheshutterreleaseisinterlocked
whentheleverisinthestoredposition).
Thefilmrewindknobrotateseachtimethefilmisadvanced
showingthatthefilmisadvancingproperly.
*Whenadvancingthefilm,windthefilmadvanceleverslowlyandsecure-
lyuntilthefilmisfullytransportedtothenextframe.

FILMSPEEDSETTING
1.Filmspeedinindicatedontheoutsideoffilmpackage,inthefilm
instructionsoronthefilmcartridge.
2.SetFilmspeedSelectorDial(12)sothatFilmspeedindex(9)indi-
catesthevalueonFilmspeedSelectorDialcorrespondingto
thefilmused.Forexample,iffilmspeedshownonthefilmis
ISO100/21°, settheFilmspeedSelectorDialtothe100on
thedialmatcheswiththeindex.
3.ClickpointsareprovidedateachstepoffilmspeedontheFilm-
speedSelectorDial.Whensettingthefilmspeed,makesure
thatitclicks.

ExposureSetting(shutterspeedpriority)
1.Placethefilmadvancelever(4)inthereadypositionandturn
theshutterspeeddialsothattheindicatorwhitelinealigns
withthedesiredshutterspeedvalue.Thenifthedialissetat
theintermediatepositionsoftheindex,shutterspeedwillbe
incorrect.Besurethatthedialclicksatthepositionwherethe
whitelinealignswiththedesiredvalue.
2.Withbrightersubjects,fastmovingsubjectsorwiththehigher
valuefilmspeedofthefilmused,itisrecommendedtouse
highershutterspeeds.
3.RecommendedshutterspeedwithISO100/21°filmunder
typicalsituationisasbelow:
4.Tomonitorexposure,lightlypresstheshutterreleasebutton(3)
andturntheapertureringuntilthegreenmarklights.
Whentheredmarklights,itmeansoverexposure.Soturntheaper-
tureringinthedirectionofgreaterf/value.Iftheredmarklights,it
meansunderexposure,soturntheapertureringtoa smallerf/value.
Note;Outsidetheexposuremeteringrangeofyourcamera(EV4
toEV19),theexposuremeterwillnotfunctionproperlyandthe
greenLEDindicatormaycomeonindicatingincorrectexpo-
sure.
SubjectShutterspeed
StationarysubjectinsubduedLight1 ~ 1/15
Indoorsinnormalconditions1/30~ 1/60
Outdoorsonafineday1/125~ 1/250
Seasideinmidsummer1/500~ 1/2000
Mountainareawithsnow1/500~ 1/2000
Fastmovingsubjects1/500~1/2000

ExposureSetting(aperturepriority)
1.Placethefilmadvancelever(4)inthereadypositionandturn
theapertureringuntiltheindexonthelensbarrelindicatesthe
desiredf/value.
2.Thesuitableaperturevaluechangesaccordingtothebrightness
ofthesubject,thedepth-of-fielddesiredorfilmspeedofthefilm
inuse,andtypicalsettingsoftheaperturewithISO100/21°
filmareasbelow.
3. Clickpointsareprovidedeachstepof filmspeedon theFilm-
speedSelectorDial.Whensettingthefilmspeed,makesure
thatitclicks.
3.Tomonitortheexposure,lightlypresstheshutterreleasebutton
(3)andturntheshutterspeeddialuntilthegreenmarklights.
Iftheredmarklights,turntheshutterspeeddialtothehigher
shutterspeedsettingandiftheredmarklights,thenturnthe
shutterspeeddialtothelowershutterspeedsetting.Whenthe
greenmarklightsatintermediatepositionsbetweenclick,first
setthedialata clickoneithersideandmakefinecontrolby
operatingtheapertureringafterwards.
Note:Outsidetheexposuremeteringrangeofyourcamera(EV4 toEV19),
theexposuremeterwillnotfunctionproperlyandthegreenLEDindicator
maycomeonindicatingincorrectexposure.
SubjectF/value
IndoorsinnormalconditionsF/4toF/5.6
OutdoorsonacloudydayF/4toF/8
Outdoorsona finedayF/8toF/11
SeasideinmidsummerF/11toF/16
MountainareaswithsnowF/11toF/16

Composition
1.Lookatthesubjectthroughtheviewfinder.
•Astheviewfinder'slensisseparatedfromthecamera'sshootinglens,the
actualshotimagethroughthecameralensmaydifferfromthatseen
throughtheviewfinderdepending onthedistancetothesubject( asillus-
tratedright).Whenshootingthesubjectisatneardistance,paymuch
attentionsothatthesubjectiswithintheframe.
Focusing
Thiscameraisprovidedthewide-anglelensofferinga greater
depthoffield.
Turnthedistanceringofthelensuntilitalignswiththeapproxi-
matedistancetothesubjectonthedistanceindex.

Depth-of-field
1.Whenyouarefocusingona givensubject, objectsinthefore-
groundandbackgroundwillappearacceptablysharpinthepic-
ture.Therangeinwhichallobjectsappearacceptablysharpin
thepictureiscalled"depth-of-field."
2.Toobtain thedepth-of-fieldrangeatdifferentaperturesettings,
thedepth-of-fieldscaleisused.
Thedistancecoveredbytherangebetweenpairsofthesame
f/stopsonthedepth-of-fieldscaleasthef/valueusedisthe
depth-of-field.Toobtaintheactualdistancevaluesofthe
depth-of-field,readthevalueswithintherangeofthefocusing
scale.
3.Forinstance,whenthelensisfocusedona subjectata dis-
tanceof1 m withtheaperturesetatf/8thedepth-of-fieldcanbe
obtainedbyusingthedepth-of-fieldscaleasfollows:thevalues
onthedistancescalecorrespondingwiththef/valuesshownon
thedepth-of-fieldscaleareapproximately0.5mandinfinity
respectively.Thismeansthatallobjectswithintherange
between0.5mandinfinitydistancecanbereproducedaccept-
ablysharpinthepicturewiththeaperturesetatf/8.

HoldingCamera
1.Holdthecamerainthepalmofthelefthandsoastoturnthe
lensfocusingringeasilywithfingers.
2.Holdthecamerabodylightlybyandplaceyourrightforefinger
lightlyontheshutterreleasebutton.
3.Pressyourleftelbowlightlyagainstyourbodyandlookthrough
theviewfindereyepiece(15)tosteadythecameraagainstyour
face.Thenrelaxyourrightarmholdingthegrip.
FlashPhotography
Usethegriptype(brackettype)flashunit.
1.Connectthesynchrocordwiththesynchrocontactofthecam-
era.
2.Settheshutterspeeddial(2)at1/125secondorlower.
3.Settheaperture.

RewindingtheFilm
1.Whenthefilmisatitsend,theadvancelevernolongeroperates
smoothly,checktheframecounter(5)display.Iftheframe
countershowsthattheallframesoftheloadedfilmhavebeen
exposed,thefilmthenneedstoberewound.
2.Pressthefilmrewindbutton(25)onthecamerabase.
3.Foldoutthefilmrewindcrank(10)andturnitinthedirectionof
thearrow.
4.Oncethepressureeases,thefilmiscompletely woundintothe
cartridge.
5.Liftupthefilmrewindknob(11)andpullitouttoopenthecam-
eraback(24).Nowthefilmcartridgecanbetakenout.
6.Dothisina placeawayfromdirectsunlight.
Note:Ifthefilmreachestheendoftherollduringfilmadvance,thefilm
advanceleverwilllock.Rewindtheentireroll,thencompletethemove-
mentofthefilmadvanceleverandputitbackintoplace.

"B"(bulb)Setting
1.Withtheshutterspeeddial(2)setat"B"position,theshutterwill
remainopenforaslongastheshutterreleasebutton(3)is
pressed.
2.Thissettingisusefulwhenanexposurelongerthanonesecond
isrequired, suchasinlandscapephotographyatnight.
3.Besuretousea tripodand/orcablereleasewhenusingthis
longtimeshutterspeedsetting.
Note:WerecommendthatyouremovetheBatteriesfromthecameraatthis
settingtoavoidwastingthebatteries.
Self-Timer
1.Wind thefilmadvancelever(4)andfullyturndowntheself-timer
lever(7)counterclockwise.Nowtheself-timerisreadytouse.
2.Presstheshutterreleasebutton(3)andtheself-timeroperates
toreleasetheshutterinapproximately10secondslater.
3.Oncetheself-timerbecomesreadyitisimpossibletocancelit
manually.Sooperateitonlywhenneeded.
4.Theself-timerisveryusefulwhenyouwishtoincludeyourselfin
apicture,or,youcanuseitinordertopreventcamerashakein
shutterreleasinginsteadofusingthecablerelease.

Specifications
Type:35mmcamerawithfocalplaneshutterandTTLmeteringsystem
FilmFormat:35mmfilm,24x36mm
LensMount:L-mount
Shutter:VerticallymovingmetalfocalplaneshutterB,1-1/2000sec.
Self-Timer:Mechanicalself-timerwith10secoperatingtime
Exposuredisplay:RedmarkLEDOverexposurewarning
GreenmarkLEDGoodexposureindication
RedmarkLEDUnderexposurewarning
ExposureMeteringSystem:Center-weightedaveragemetering
BypressingShutterReleaseButton
ExposureCouplingRange:EV4-19(ISO100,F4,1sec.-F16,1/2000sec.)
FlashTerminal:X synchrocontact
Synchronizedat1/125secorlowerspeed
FilmAdvance:Bysingle-leveractionwith135°throwand30°stand-off
FilmRewind:Byfilmrewindbuttonandfilmrewindcrank
FrameCounter:Additivetypewithautoresetbyopeningthebackcover
FilmSpeedRange:ISO25-1600by1/3steps
PowerSource:Two1.5VAlkalinebatteries(LR44)orSilverbatteries(SR44)
Dimensions: 135.5(W)78.5(H)33.5(D)mm
Weight:320g
*Thesespecificationandexternalappearancearesubjectedtochangeforimprovementwithoutpriornotice.