Hamish Gill
Tech Support (and Marketing)
The Voigtlander Vito B is the best 1950's compact zone focus camera i have come across!
Many of this type of camera are made of thin materials and feel cheep, the vito b is quite the opposite, it feels very solid and is very well made!
The Vito B came in a variety of versions, mine being i suspect the cheapest version with a 3.5 color-skopar lens and 4 speed "pronto" shutter
There is also a 8 speed "prontor SVS" version and another version with a 2.8 lens
It has a solid feeling threaded shutter release, and a very long throw single push winder that pushes right around the front of the camera.
aperture is set on the front of the lens, focus in the middle and shutter speed the closest to the cameras body
Film rewind is achieved with a pop up dial on the top left hand side of the camera that doubles up as a film speed reminder. In the case of my camera this goes from 6 - 200 asa! The viewfinder is tiny on this version, but i never found it an issue. There are a few variants with larger view finders but they don't to my mind have the same lovely aesthetic and make the camera far to chunky for my liking!
There are a were a variety of extras available including a nice little lens hood
It was with this camera that I learnt the relationship between shutter speed, film sensitivity and aperture. I taught my self about the sunny 16 rule to use it without a light meter and gained a greater understanding of Aperture and DOF ... In fact i would go as far to say that this is the camera that taught me how to use a camera and not just point and shoot! It really is a joy to use, and If your ever looking for a nice compact 1950's camera this would be what I recommend every time! To top it off it actually takes very nice photos ... ill get some up when i have put another film through it!
Many of this type of camera are made of thin materials and feel cheep, the vito b is quite the opposite, it feels very solid and is very well made!
The Vito B came in a variety of versions, mine being i suspect the cheapest version with a 3.5 color-skopar lens and 4 speed "pronto" shutter
There is also a 8 speed "prontor SVS" version and another version with a 2.8 lens
It has a solid feeling threaded shutter release, and a very long throw single push winder that pushes right around the front of the camera.
aperture is set on the front of the lens, focus in the middle and shutter speed the closest to the cameras body
Film rewind is achieved with a pop up dial on the top left hand side of the camera that doubles up as a film speed reminder. In the case of my camera this goes from 6 - 200 asa! The viewfinder is tiny on this version, but i never found it an issue. There are a few variants with larger view finders but they don't to my mind have the same lovely aesthetic and make the camera far to chunky for my liking!
There are a were a variety of extras available including a nice little lens hood
It was with this camera that I learnt the relationship between shutter speed, film sensitivity and aperture. I taught my self about the sunny 16 rule to use it without a light meter and gained a greater understanding of Aperture and DOF ... In fact i would go as far to say that this is the camera that taught me how to use a camera and not just point and shoot! It really is a joy to use, and If your ever looking for a nice compact 1950's camera this would be what I recommend every time! To top it off it actually takes very nice photos ... ill get some up when i have put another film through it!
... And I've got to be honest... It's pretty dam worth knowing and getting a grip of. The funny thing is.... My nan gave me the halina knowing I was very interested in photography, and as it was a few steps back as far as modern tech was concerned, I was like oooh, wow, an old camera.... the next thing you know... I had my 78 year old nan telling me how to use it, then that was it, it hit me, like the respect I have for classic cars showing civilisation the roots of mechanical engineering, I was hooked..
