5 Frames with the Voigtländer Vito C – By Nigel Haycock

By NigelH

So this is the Voigtländer Vito C which is not to be confused with the Voigtländer Vito C. The crazy re-use of model names by Voigtländer and its subsequent parent companies is one thing about Voigtländer cameras which I don’t like.

Since seeing one of these a while ago and liking the simple minimalist design, I have been looking for one ever since; eventually one appeared at a price I could swallow and here we are with this short review

Technically this isn’t really a Voigtländer at all as it was made by Balda and sold under the Voigtländer name when they were under the guardianship of Rollei – a very similar camera under the Minox brand also exists ( Minox 35) which I understand shared the same designer.

Size-wise this is very compact ( 102×63×32 mm) and since getting it late last year I have carried it around with great ease with it snugly (and often barely noticed) in my pocket.

Pictures so far show I have a light leak somewhere in this camera so I am trying to narrow down the source of that (images shown have a slight crop).  Ignoring the light leak which hopefully I can resolve, I do like using this; it’s no replacement for one of my more sophisticated rangefinder, SLR, TLR or digital options but as a keep-handy point-and-shoot film camera it is fun and convenient to use. Sometimes I don’t want to carry a heavy camera around and just want to walk with my wife, enjoying our surroundings; then if for some reason there is an opportunity to shoot some images, it is nice that this is stuffed in my pocket unobtrusively.

Rewinding is a little fiddly (make that VERY fiddly) mostly due to the small size of everything but for a simple zone focus camera that is small and easy to carry around that is a manageable issue.  Once I fix the light leak and get more used to this little pocket rocket I may do a fuller review

You can find more from me on my blog at https://carrotroom.wordpress.com/ also here @thecarrotroom plus https://www.carrotroom.com

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About The Author

By NigelH
Been taking photographs since my teens and introduced to 35mm when my father gave me his Voigtländer Vito B. I then learned 'proper' photography moving on to SLR etc etc. I still do photography just for pleasure using both digital and film and I have amassed a small collection of mostly Voigtländer film cameras. Find my blog at carrotroom.com and on Flickr https://www.flickr.com/photos/16837055@N00/ I stopped using Instagram
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Comments

Bud Lanning on 5 Frames with the Voigtländer Vito C – By Nigel Haycock

Comment posted: 24/02/2019

Re: Voigtlander Vito C, not the Voigtlander Vito C, look up the Ricoh FF1 & FF1s.
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NigelH replied:

Comment posted: 24/02/2019

Ah yes another very similar design, more like the Minox I think with the accessory shoe on the top?

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Lilianna Elrod on 5 Frames with the Voigtländer Vito C – By Nigel Haycock

Comment posted: 24/02/2019

I adore these little cameras, wanted one for years.
Nice work with yours! What film did you use?
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NigelH replied:

Comment posted: 24/02/2019

It's a great little camera to keep handy for sure and the styling is really good. I should have stated the film (some how I thought I had) oh well it was Fujifilm Pro 400 which is a nice film I have used a lot but it is not very forgiving in poor light in my opinion.

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Charles Higham on 5 Frames with the Voigtländer Vito C – By Nigel Haycock

Comment posted: 24/02/2019

That's a sharp lens.
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NigelH replied:

Comment posted: 24/02/2019

It is when I get the distance right :) There seems to be a sweet spot at 10m which in decent light makes the maximum of the DoF

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James Northcote on 5 Frames with the Voigtländer Vito C – By Nigel Haycock

Comment posted: 25/02/2019

Those landscapes are stunning
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NigelH replied:

Comment posted: 25/02/2019

Nice of you to say so, not sure I would go quite that far myself but appreciate your encouragement :)

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Michael R. on 5 Frames with the Voigtländer Vito C – By Nigel Haycock

Comment posted: 25/02/2019

Have two of these, really great little gems and sharp as hell!
What I like is the big viewfinder (and it even shows the distance symbols) so I can focus without having to put down the camera from my eye. I got mine for 20€ and 5€ with flash :-) Just DON'T DROP them on the floor...
I like these more than my Oly XA since its auto everything and I don't have to think, just open focus shoot wind.
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NigelH replied:

Comment posted: 25/02/2019

Wow! You really got a bargain at that price. In the US you can currently multiply that by 4 or even 5 these days. I will do my best not to drop them; I wish I had the wrist strap that it would have come with as that would help - its a custom fitting so looks like regular straps wouldn't fit.

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Zach B on 5 Frames with the Voigtländer Vito C – By Nigel Haycock

Comment posted: 26/02/2019

I have recently found myself carrying a small point and shoot when I take my Nikon SLRs with me, and have found them very handy for candid shots where the Nikon mirror slap would give me away. I own both an Olympus XA2 and a Rollei 35T; I didn’t shoot either for about 18 months, but I think they really have a place in my “street” photography. Great shots, and you’re right, with the zone focus only cameras, sometimes it is a little hard, but when you nail it, they can be quite sharp!
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NigelH replied:

Comment posted: 26/02/2019

It's funny how us geeky, techy, experienced photographers who have really expensive gear like the simplicity and ease of a compact point and shoot :)

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Roger B. on 5 Frames with the Voigtländer Vito C – By Nigel Haycock

Comment posted: 27/02/2019

Remarkably sharp images for a "pocket camera", on a par with those one can make with the "almost full size" Vito B.
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NigelH replied:

Comment posted: 27/02/2019

Agreed. The Vito B is a more solid and better camera but this little thing is pretty darn good and it not uncomfortable in my back pocket. I need to shoot more film through it (hopefully now without the little light leak) to get a better feel for it but it is definitely a keeper and will always be close at hand.

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Claudio on 5 Frames with the Voigtländer Vito C – By Nigel Haycock

Comment posted: 03/03/2019

I love how contrasty these tiny Minox-like lenses are. They produce very true-to-life images. But does someone know whether this oddly-named Voigltänder has got the same electronic problem as its Minox counterpart?
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NigelH replied:

Comment posted: 03/03/2019

My understanding (and I may be mistaken) is that although this looks very similar to to the Minox, that's only because it the same designer. Otherwise it's a different camera built by Balda. I don't know about the Minox problems but if the above is true then I would suspect that this has its own problems :)

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Smallest 35mm camera ever? Balda-made Voigtlander Vito C - Matt Loves Cameras on 5 Frames with the Voigtländer Vito C – By Nigel Haycock

Comment posted: 25/09/2019

[…] 5 frames with the Voigtlander Vito C by Nigel Haycock on 35mmc […]
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Rod Corkin on 5 Frames with the Voigtländer Vito C – By Nigel Haycock

Comment posted: 16/10/2022

Hello Nigel!

I'm wondering if you narrowed down the source of the light leak beacuse I have a mint condition Balda CE 35 (effectively the same camera as the VIto C) which has the same problem in the exact same part of the image. I noticed a brass screw on the interior lens housing that is quite shiny and wondered if it was causing some kind of reflection on the film. I painted it black and am running another test roll. I couldn't identify any other possible cause for the leak. I saw in Matt Murray's blog (Mat loves Cameras) he also suffered the same issue with his Vito C.
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NigelH replied:

Comment posted: 16/10/2022

Hi Rod I did! I took the camera to a dark room and using my hands to shield as much as possible, shone a torch (US: Flashlight) around the front of the camera with my eye buried as deep into the back as possible. What I saw was a tiny chink of light coming though in the top corner above-left of the lens. I experimented in moving the light and using my finger as a blocker to narrow down the specific point of light entry. It seemed that the seals around the lens, were letting light in down the side. I decided the quick fix was just to put a small piece of light seal foam inside the back where I could see the light coming in. This was enough to block the light and prevented it fogging. It wasn't a fix really just a solution with minimal effort.

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