Questions on Vitomatic I

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bailout

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I have just been given a Voigtlander Vitomatic I and there are a couple of bits on it I am not sure what they do. Firstly this display that is on top of the rewind lever;

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Also this lever on the side. The photo isn't great as one of the letters is obscured. They are V X M and they have a green red and yellow dot above them.

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thanks
 
Not sure about the top one, could be a film type reminder?

I think the second is the flash synch setting.
 
Thanks for the replies. I can't get the link to work at the moment but will look later.

It is a shame the camera isn't the rangefinder version. It is in great condition and everything works, clean lens etc but with the completely manual 'guess the distance' focussing I doubt whether it is of much use or value.
 
V is the self timer, X is the flash sync ans M is manual. Leave it on manual but be careful you don't accidently knock the switch to V like I did and waste half a roll of film.
As Alastair says the dial is a film indicator but I've not figured out what it means yet...

Andy
 
The codes on the top of the film rewind indicate film type.

The types indicated are for reversal, negative and B&W type film just for reminder that,s all.
 
bailout said:
It is a shame the camera isn't the rangefinder version. It is in great condition and everything works, clean lens etc but with the completely manual 'guess the distance' focussing I doubt whether it is of much use or value.
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The guesstimate focussing isn't a problem once you get used to it (if you don't want to get used to it, just send me the Vito and I'll make sure it gets used :)).

Once you look at the shutter speeds and apertures available on these models, take into account the massive leaps that have been made in the quality of faster films.. then you'll quickly realise when you do some calculations on the sunny 16 rule that the depth of field can be large enough to take into account a very wide leeway of distance guesstimation. With ISO200 and 400 films you'll not be stopped down to anything like razor-thin depths of field even on grey, overcast days.

You've got the advantage of a well-defined distance scale and a depth of field scale on the Vito.. something that many of us that use old folding cameras don't have. And we can manage to get a pretty sharp image with very little practice.

It's a tourist snapshot camera.. use it like one and you'll get good results :cool:
 
Andysnap said:
As Alastair says the dial is a film indicator but I've not figured out what it means yet...
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The manual isn't much help at translating.. until you reverse the description..

RD (UT) - reversal (slide) film, daylight (umlenkung, tageslicht)
RA (UK) - reversal (slide) film, artificial light (umlenkung, künstlich)
ND (NT) - negative colour, daylight (negativ, tageslicht)
NA (NK) - negative colour, artificial light (negativ, künstlich)
N (N) - negative, black and white (negativ)
R (U) - reversal, black and white (umlenkung)

But it's just a memory aide, it has no effect at all on the way the camera works. At least it's quite vague and could still be useful today. Almost all the specific film types on the dial of my Retina have been long discontinued.

With a credit to Babelfish for confirming my theory on the twin sets of letters by assisting my shaky translations.
 
You can a get a rangefinder attachment for a few quid like this one on my Vito C

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Useful if a little obtrusive.

Andy
 
Andysnap said:
You can a get a rangefinder attachment for a few quid like this one on my Vito C

Useful if a little obtrusive.

Andy
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But the best bit is that the rangefinder will work with any scale-finder camera you end up getting :thumbs:
 
Andy, thanks for the VXM explanation.

Alaister, I don't know about just sending it to you but I might be selling it. It was my dad's camera that he bought new in Germany in the 50s/60s and hasn't used for years. He was thinking of throwing it but gave it to me to use/sell. I love the feel of old film cameras but it is some years since I have shot film and I suspect that if I keep it with good intentions it will go unused.However, every time I look at it or open the case my resolve weakens.

Andy, I assume that is literally a range finder, ie you use it to measure the distance and then set it on the focus ring? Also it doesn't look like the camera you have it on has a light meter either, that is hardcore :D At least my Vitomatic has a matched needle meter:razz:
 
bailout said:
...Also it doesn't look like the camera you have it on has a light meter either, that is hardcore :D At least my Vitomatic has a matched needle meter:razz:
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:lol: that's not hardcore - this afternoon I was out with a camera that not only didn't have a rangefinder or lightmeter, it didn't have a lens :lol: Just a pinhole at f135, a cable release and count elephants for the exposure :cuckoo:
 
I can at least equal that ,I think.. whilst I'm doing long night exposures digitally, this evening and having a try with a couple on the RB67, my companion is not only doing long night exposures but even having a go at light painting with his first ever shots using a recently aquired Pocket Kodak No. 1 medium format folder. We can't make out anything through the viewfinder.. so it's no meter, no rangefinder (and he's only three distance settings to choose from), no viewfinder, counting elephants and running round popping his flash off at the ruins in front of us.

The results are eagerly anticipated.


Bailout.. get a roll of Poundland through the Vito and see how it goes..
 
Alastair said:
I can at least equal that ,I think.. whilst I'm doing long night exposures digitally, this evening and having a try with a couple on the RB67, my companion is not only doing long night exposures but even having a go at light painting with his first ever shots using a recently aquired Pocket Kodak No. 1 medium format folder. We can't make out anything through the viewfinder.. so it's no meter, no rangefinder (and he's only three distance settings to choose from), no viewfinder, counting elephants and running round popping his flash off at the ruins in front of us.

The results are eagerly anticipated.
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Sounds like a Hoot :thumbs: I'm 3 exposures from the end of the second roll of 120 in the pinhole camera - I'd the 6x9 film mask in so it's 8 shots to a roll. 1 roll completed, 5 shots on the second, and I lost the light so hopefully I'll get to finish the roll tomorrow and get them both souped in one dip. Nearly did the first roll on it's own this evening, but it's so cold in the utility room where I normally work, it was going to be too much hassle keeping the water at 38c for the tetenal kit - at least for one roll, only to have to do the same tomorrow :lol:


Alastair said:
Bailout.. get a roll of Poundland through the Vito and see how it goes..
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Seconded - any cheap 100 or 400iso C-41 colour film and your local cheapo processor, just to see it works. If you do decide to sell, you'll probably get the price of the film and processing extra on the price if the shots come out right. And if they don't.... well - you wouldn't want to sell anyone a camera that didn't work correctly, would you :)
 
Had a quick look at local film processing. A small local place charges £6 min and Morrisons were £4.50. By the time I have bought a film that is a fair amount to test it. Anyone got an idea what I would be likely to get for it if fully working? One on ebay at the moment is at £21.
 
Maybe upto £30 for a good working one, difficult to tell really. Sometimes they can go for a daft price other times for a tenner. Keep it for a bit and give it a try, you might find yourself converting to the path of goodness and enjoying using film. I use digi as well but the act of making a photograph with a film camera is far more full-filling.

Andy
 
If it hasn't been used in years you won't get a good price for it anyway until you put a roll through and confirm it works. Unlike fine wines, vintage cameras do not improve through disuse and not being handled. Shutters and other mechanismsseize and dry out.

Put a roll through, for £1 a roll and £4.50 developing it's worth it. As a proven working camera rather than a warderobe find the increase in value will be at least the cost of the film and developing.

On Ebay there are two examples if you include completed listings, they one you've spotted at £21 and another that failed to get a bid at £30. Both are unknown condition as far as whether they work or not.

There's a lot of very similar cameras from the 1950's.. and to my eye the Vito hasn't got the same retro appeal to me of, say, a Retina - so it's got to be a working camera rather than a shelf queen to have much value.
 
The X and M settings on the lens are pretty well universal

X for electronic flash
M if using flash bulbs.

If you're not using flash then the setting doesn't matter. If using flash then set it on X.
 
I checked today and my local shop will just develop the film for £1.50 so if I can get a cheap film I may do that. Will try scanning a negative to see if my cheap epson scanner will do it well enough to get a useful scan.

What sort of shots should I take to test it? I was thinking just general shots to test the metering and then trying to get shots at fast and slow speeds to check the shutter operation. Anything else?
 
bailout said:
I
What sort of shots should I take to test it? I was thinking just general shots to test the metering and then trying to get shots at fast and slow speeds to check the shutter operation. Anything else?
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Just take shots at varying shutter speeds and apertures, but it tends to be the longer shutter tmes which become innacurate with age, so pay particular attention to those. Run a film through it and look for well spaced exposures with no overlapping of the frames, which will show the film transport system is OK.

Any light fogging will also show up in the negs and prints, but that will usually mean just replacement of the light seals in the camera back which is a pretty simple job to do yourself.
 
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