Manual Focus Lenses Forum

DigiChromeEd · Joined: 29 Dec 2009 Posts: 3468 Location: Northern Ireland

Article from a 2000 edition of Amateur Photographer magazine

titrisol70 · Joined: 14 Dec 2021 Posts: 208 Location: State of Denial

Old post, but Thanks for this!!!
Voigtlanders are always great to use.
My father was a Zeiss person but Vitos were the go to camera of my uncles (Vito II, Vito CLR)
I have collected several through the years and the II and IIa are my favorites.

Easy to store in the pocket, and the Color-Skopar (4 element) is a great lens (as long as you have a lens hood)
The backdoor is quirky, and I prefer to use it with the half case so that it can't accidentally open

This one had the distance scale unreadable but I was able to get it back to life using high-visibility yellow

Voigtlander Vito II ~1953

Fortunately it came in original box with all accesories

Voigtlander Accesories for Vito II

martinsmith99 · Expire: 2013-11-18

I must admit, I put one roll through my Vito and then put it in the drawer, where it's remained for the last 10+ years.

bbsteinle · Joined: 16 May 2021 Posts: 3

I have a beautiful Vito BR that my father bought new in 1958. It produced many rolls of family photos.

Basil

martinsmith99 · Expire: 2013-11-18

Farside · Expire: 2013-12-27

Recently bought a Vitoret on a whim, not really knowing much about it. Happy to say it seems to work, but being basic there's not a lot to go wrong (apart from the usual sticky shutter, etc, but it seems to be free of faults).

Followed that up with a Vito CSR, but the rangefinder needs adjusted, so that will be attended to when I get the notion. It's a nice camera in the hand, feels chunky and well made, although those who are more familiar with the 50s and 60s Voigtlander RFs say the earlier ones were better. I'm not bothered, it feels good to me and the meter works, which is nice.

titrisol70 · Joined: 14 Dec 2021 Posts: 208 Location: State of Denial

pentaxpete · Joined: 02 Dec 2011 Posts: 697 Location: BRENTWOOD England

I did a VIDEO all about my THREE VITO's -- you can see it here :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xnyl2sysuhY&t=3s

titrisol70 · Joined: 14 Dec 2021 Posts: 208 Location: State of Denial

titrisol70 · Joined: 14 Dec 2021 Posts: 208 Location: State of Denial

A video of the folding Vitos
https://youtu.be/fAhHd8ubWg0
"In the 1950s, Voigtlander delivered a group of quality folding cameras to amateurs. Three of them hewed closely to a common design, while the fourth was a complete departure and deserves its own discussion (and someday, a video). There was a fifth folding Vito that appeared in 1980 - long after Voigtlander had departed from photography."

Vintage_Photographer · Joined: 10 Jun 2024 Posts: 132

I recently bought (almost stole it was so cheap) an early Vitomatic IIa and it's a joy to use. The range finder was out of adjustment (it was forward focusing) and on closer inspection the moving mirror was loose in the frame but my local camera shop sorted it for me.

It's an absolute joy to use and quite possibly one if my favourite cameras to run a roll of film through. In many ways I prefer it to my Kodak Retina IIIc.