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Waynemel
Tinkerer
Username: Waynemel
Post Number: 184
Registered: 08-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, December 09, 2010 - 09:24 am: | 
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I recently read somewhere that the CS version of this camera was more mechanically reliable than the earlier, non-CS version. Can anyone confirm this?
I am interested in the Ultramatic, but don't really what to inherit mechanical problems (I've worked on a couple of Bessamatics, so I've come close to suicide). I prefer the look of the earlier camera. |
Brett
Tinkerer
Username: Brett
Post Number: 10
Registered: 07-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 27, 2011 - 04:30 pm: |
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According to one of the Matanle books the CS was an improvement but exact reasons why this is the case are not discussed. Being a later model one would hope the manufacturer would have made improvements. Personally I prefer the looks of the CS myself but I have not done the Ultramatic trip yet being pre-occupied with Contaflice lately. I do have an original model Bessamatic I had to tweak when it arrived and which continues to perform well and which I've run a dozen or so rolls through.
Regards,
Brett |
Thomas_mann
Tinkerer
Username: Thomas_mann
Post Number: 11
Registered: 04-2007
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, June 27, 2011 - 05:50 pm: |
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Waynemel
The Ultramatic CS dropped the instant return mirror feature of the early version, which it seems had taken the engineering a step beyond the comfort zone. This appears to have made all the difference to the reliability. I've never had a problem with my CS, although the meter battery requires a workaround as the mercury types it was designed for are unavailable. If you have the correct lens it can be set to choose the correct aperture, rather like the 'A' setting on Pentax KA mount cameras.
The Ultramatic seems much heavier and bulkier than the Bessamatic, too. The rare last model Bessamatic with CS meter is probably the one to have!
regards
Thomas Mann |
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