Tag: Voigtlander

The ‘V’ word.

I need help! I know, I know, a good friend said to me “don’t start getting interested in those little gem of cameras manufactured by the West German company Voigtlander. But did I listen?, NO!


Anyway, I thought I was fighting it but didn’t realise how fast the addiction takes hold of you. I just clicked on the ebay app and ‘Damn’ it was still set for the search for the ‘V’ word, and there they were, a pair of Voigtlander Bs.


As we all know, it’s better to get a pair of something, right! think of a pair of Purdey shotguns, or a pair of shoes, well maybe that’s not a good example.
Anyway there they were on the page staring back at me and they didn’t need bidding on as they were ‘Buy now’. That dreaded term ‘Buy now’ as if you can’t resist. But, I did resist for a couple of days, I think in the hope that someone else would ‘Buy now’ and leave me free to a normal life without the ‘V’ (see I can’t even say the full word, in case the affliction takes hold).
So, eventually I did buy the pair of Vito Bs which I didn’t think were overpriced as the seller said they both worked and one had a very nice brown leather case with it.

The Vito B has an unusual film load as part of the base of the camera hinges open to then allow the back to swing open. It is held in place with a very nice little catch which is typical German engineering and very detailed.


The next stage is to put film through them so we’re all set to go for a photography outing which has been put on hold for the stormy weather to pass as I don’t think these little jobies will stand getting a soaking.

Next stage on from ‘Another film camera’

The Voigtlander Vito C

So, after spending all my pocket money in one hit (£15) over Christmas at an antiques centre I was eager to see the results of said film camera. I wanted to see if all was working with the little Voigtlander Vito C so on a trip around St Albans I put a roll of Ilford HP5+ through the little camera.

Here are some of the results. Developed in Ilford Ilfotec DDX:

St Albans cathedral.
I tried some interiors too which was pushing the boundaries of the 400 ASA film and the f2.8 lens.

All appears well with the shutter speeds and I was pleased with the results. The Vito C doesn’t have a rangefinder. You can try to estimate distance to the subject but that can be a bit hit and miss and is OK when using the large depth of field that a small aperture can give you. It’s a bit more difficult at f2.8 though.

Another excuse to purchase another gadget? Of course. I thought I’d keep to quality West German engineering of the same era as the Voigtlander and bid on a couple of rangefinders on Ebay.

I ended up winning two bids and was the then the proud owner of two rangefinders. One for £2.20 and the other for £19. The £19 Watameter one was the better of the two. It was made in West Germany somewhere around the 1940s to 50s. It’s a split image rangefinder with the scale in feet also visible through the eyepiece.

The eyepiece end of the rangefinder. You look through the left hand aperture and turn the right hand wheel until the split image aligns. The distance scale is also visible in the viewfinder.
The object lens of the Watameter.

The little rangefinder looks good mounted on the flash shoe of the Voigtlander. I don’t think it’ll be very good in low light conditions though. I’ll have to wait and see.

The Voigtlander with the Watameter mounted on the flash shoe.
The rangefinder even came in a leather case which doesn’t look out of place alongside the Voigtlander case.
Had to drag out the old Weston Master V for the exposure too!

So, what’s next for the Voigtlander? having just read an article over on the Emulsive web site about pushing EI of Ilford HP5+ to 3200 I’ve decided to load it up with this film and try doing some night shots around the town at this uprated film speed. It could be tricky but I like a challenge. Who knows, I might even attempt some Street photography with this setup!