Voigtlander Vitoret: Test/Review

The Voigtlander Vitoret is a relatively inexpensive camera manufactured in the 1960s in Braunschweig, then-West Germany. It’s pretty simple compared to its fancier cousin, the Vito, and it came in different versions – with an exposure meter, rangefinder, and other features – but this is the simplest of them – set your aperture (f/2.8-f/22), shutter speed (1/30, 1/60, 1/125 and bulb), estimate distance/focus, and click. The long stroke film advance cocks the shutter and it has a large viewfinder. Underneath, it keeps track of how many shots you have taken. It’s got a Prontor leaf shutter and a Lanthar 50mm/2.8 lens, or like mine) if built for export, a Vaskar 50mm/2.8 lens.

I’ve seen other folks get some pretty nice pictures with their Vitorets, but mine didn’t turn out great and honestly the camera did the job but it wasn’t that fun to shoot, in terms of feel, shutter sound, etc. I actually forgot I had film in it for quite awhile – some of the shots were taken in Mauritius, and then later in Madagascar, and then I forgot about the film (Fuji 400H) for a year or so, and that may have contributed to the loss in photo quality. some of the issues I blame on waiting so long to develop the film, but a good 50% of the shots were also blurry – maybe my fault for failing to estimate distance accurately, but not a lot of room for error Here are a few sample shots:

Rocks and Water
Rocks and running water, Mauritius. The camera did a good job here.
Salt Production
Evaporating sea water to get salt in Mauritius
On the Path
Walking around the neighborhood in Madagascar
Ducks and Geese
More scenes from Madagascar. I find it odd that some of the ducks appear to be transparent?
Laundry Point

Overall, meh camera but still working nicely nearly 60 years after manufacture. I may put a roll of black and white through it in the future, but for now it’s going on the shelf. See more photos shot with the Voigtlander Vitoret here.

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3 Responses to Voigtlander Vitoret: Test/Review

  1. Pingback: Recommended reading : Down the Road

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