5 Frames with a Voigtlander Vito II

By David James

In my late teens, around 1970, a work colleague invited me round to his place to show me how to print from 35mm film using an enlarger. This moment was a total epiphany for me, and from that point, I was well and truly bitten. I saved up for a Zenit B and then got a Hanimex enlarger, plus all the kit for doing my own home processing. Later, I moved up to a Topcon Unirex, which was a superb and sadly underrated piece of kit. A spot weld on the shutter mechanism failed, and that, along with other circumstances, spelled the end of my foray into 35mm for many years.

In the last year, nostalgia got the better of me, and I started trawling around for another camera. I was going to go for an SLR, but saw an almost mint Voigtlander Vito II with Color-Skopar 1:3.5/50 (from 1951-ish, I believe), which I got for a great price. It’s obviously been well protected by the original leather case, and looks and feels like typical German precision work of that era. Having downloaded a PDF of the manual, I was keen to give it a try. I also managed to secure a virtually mint Weston Master V, as I didn’t want to guess at exposures. Like a previous reviewer of this camera, I chose Kentmere 400 to try the camera.

Using this camera is like stepping out of a modern automatic car, and into a Morris Minor. Nothing is done for you. Also, following the instructions for loading film seems to waste at least 2 frames, so I wasn’t able to get a full 24 shots. Nevertheless, the solid nature of the Vito does inspire confidence that this is a quality device. Take a light reading, set the aperture, set the shutter speed and away you go – not! The first few frames, I forgot to wind on, but was grateful that double exposures are prevented. Then, I kept forgetting to cock the shutter. Finally, in my haste, the first few frames were out of focus, as I hadn’t guesstimated the distance to the subject correctly.

People do look at you as though you must be mad, while they click away with their iPhones, but using a film camera forces you to look at the composition, and e.g. whether you need to allow for backlighting. And once you get used to it, the Vito is a joy to use. It just feels solid.

My first two shots were taken at the Weald & Downland Living Museum, where The Repair Shop is produced. These were shot using Kentmere, but I was so ‘focused’ on trying to get a good shot, that I haven’t a clue what settings I used.

The Repair Shop Downland Museum - Old Building

The following three shots were taken on Kodacolor 200 in Crete.

Harbour at Chania Town Crete Treviso Gorge Crete Treviso Gorge Crete

I am amazed that a camera that I believe to be older than me has survived, and seems to work exactly as it should.

Share this post:

Find more similar content on 35mmc

Use the tags below to search for more posts on related topics:

Contribute to 35mmc for an ad-free experience.

There are two ways to contribute to 35mmc and experience it without the adverts:

Paid Subscription – £2.99 per month and you’ll never see an advert again! (Free 3-day trial).

Subscribe here.

Content contributor – become a part of the world’s biggest film and alternative photography community blog. All our Contributors have an ad-free experience for life.

Sign up here.

About The Author

By David James
Retired former environmental scientist and IT Consultant/software developer. I got the 35mm bug in the early 1970s and owned a Zenit B as my first SLR, followed by a Topcon Unirex, an underrated camera. I'm always on the lookout for a decent vintage camera and now own a Voigtlander VitoII (1951-ish), a Pentax Spotmatic II, and an Olympus OM10, sadly without the original Zuiko lens
View Profile

Comments

Ralph Turner on 5 Frames with a Voigtlander Vito II

Comment posted: 09/03/2024

Wow, looking at the photo of the camera, it's as though we'd just somehow managed to turn the clock back 70 years and you were proudly showing us your new camera, looking at it's splendid condition. An excellent find, Sir.
Just recently I took my (somewhat later) Vito C out for a 'spin', the first time after a shameful amount of time leaving it languishing in the cupboard. Like yours, it still works fine, everything smooth, even the focussing ring moves just as you'd expect. Got some nice results, too.
Long may you enjoy using that lovely camera. Thanks for sharing.
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

David James replied:

Comment posted: 09/03/2024

Thanks for the kind words Ralph. I'm thinking of going after another vintage Voigtlander - there's something about the build quality, and mine has certainly stood the test of time.

Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

David James on 5 Frames with a Voigtlander Vito II

Comment posted: 09/03/2024

I should have mentioned: the negs were scanned with an aging Epson 3490 Perfection flatbed scanner with negative feeder. I'm thinking it may be wise to get the next batch scanned by the processing lab, as definition is not as good as I would have hoped.
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Gary Smith on 5 Frames with a Voigtlander Vito II

Comment posted: 09/03/2024

My first experience with 35mm in high school was with a borrowed Voigtländer, I picked up a VITO CLR about 2 years ago with the 2.8/50 Color-Skopar. Even the meter works great.
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

David James replied:

Comment posted: 09/03/2024

Such beautifully built cameras. Glad you also enjoyed your Voigtlander experience!

Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tony Warren on 5 Frames with a Voigtlander Vito II

Comment posted: 09/03/2024

You certainly lucked out there David, looks like new. My IIa of a few years later is in similar but not quite as mint condition and much the same specification apart from having lever wind and a Prontor shutter. It was my first quality camera which I recently bought again in a rush of nostalgia. Worth getting hold of an accessory rangefinder I have found. Thanks for the post.
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

David James replied:

Comment posted: 09/03/2024

Agreed on the rangefinder tip Tony. Thanks.

Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Steviemac on 5 Frames with a Voigtlander Vito II

Comment posted: 09/03/2024

These are fab little cameras, beautifully made and very portable. They are also fiddly so and so's and, as you rightly point out, you have to get the procedure or work flow right. The end results however are worth the effort. Now far be it for me to encourage GAS to another enthusiast, but see if you can find a working Voigtlander Perkeo to pair with you're Vito. They're nearly identical, work in exactly the same way (workflow etc), but the Perkeo gives wonderful 6x6 medium format images. I used this pairing on a holiday a couple of years ago, loaded with the same film, and both cameras, once removed from their cases, easily fitted into a lightweight jacket pockets.
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

David James replied:

Comment posted: 09/03/2024

Never heard of the Perkeo, but it seems that Voigtlander made so many model variants. "easily fitted into a lightweight jacket pockets." Yes, and will transform a lightweight jacket into a weighty overcoat!

Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Alex Hiley on 5 Frames with a Voigtlander Vito II

Comment posted: 10/03/2024

VV2, one of my favourite cameras. 35mm folder, so get the ease, compact size and number of shots that 35mm gives you, but with the character and charm of an older camera. A great feature is that the shutter button won't push down unless the film is wound on AND the shutter is cocked. So no blank shots and no double exposures. (If you test a VV2 without film then the shutter won't fire unless you open the back and wind along the spindle which engages with the sprocket holes).
The struts which hold the bellows open, lock very positively in the open position, and then unlock easily when you press a couple of buttons. Very nice.

I see you've also got a Minolta Dynax 505 si and an Olympus OM10. I don't have a 505, but I do love using autofocus SLRs, as the opposite extreme to cameras like the VV2. And the OM10 is a lovely camera, a good halfway house between fully manual and fully automatic.
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

David James replied:

Comment posted: 10/03/2024

Hi Alex - thanks for the positive comments! And regarding the Minolta, I got it for a song, and while it's easy to use, the quality of the 28-80 zoom lens isn't that great, unless I got a bad one. I'm thinking about moving it on. The OM10 doesn't have the original Zuiko, so I'm waiting to see what my first roll will turn out like using the Optomax lens it now has. But it cost me nothing.

Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Paul Quellin on 5 Frames with a Voigtlander Vito II

Comment posted: 10/03/2024

Hi David, enjoyed the article. Absolutely agree about the build quality. I have only just got into Voigtlanders and have a Vito CLR, a B and a rather tatty Vitoret, the B must have stood for Brick as that's how it feels in the hand. The two I have used so far are a delight, but I do like folding cameras, so you have got me thinking now. German cameras of this era are just great and its quite hard to go wrong if the shutters aren't sticky.
Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

David James replied:

Comment posted: 10/03/2024

Thanks Paul. With all these positive comments about Voigtlanders, the value of our cameras can only go up! I took a look at your website. Some lovely images there. You definitely have a great eye.

Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *