Voigtlander Vito B (1954-1960)

Voigtlander Vito B (1954-1960)

#456

This photo is from the copy I own

History and technical features 

The Vito B is an attractive and compact 35mm viewfinder made by Voigtländer and produced between 1954-60. It has the fine Color-Skopar 50mm f/3.5 or f/2.8 lens (a four element Tessar-type) in a 4-speed Pronto or 8-speed Prontor shutter.

The Vito B was equipped with either a 4-speed Pronto (B, 1/25th, 1/50th, 1/100th, and 1/200th sec) or 8-speed (B, 1, 1/2, 1/5th, 1/10th, 1/25th, 1/50th, 1/100th, and 1/300th sec) Prontor SVS shutter, the 4-speed shutter being discontinued in 1957. The shutter is cocked by the film engaging a sprocket wheel, preventing double exposure, and so will not cock if there is not a film present; this has led some to mistakenly diagnose the shutter of a working Vito B as broken.

The self-timer mechanism can be engaged by moving the synchronising lever to the V (green) position; however, given the age of the camera and the weak governing spring, using this feature is discouraged, as it can cause the camera to stop working.

The Vito B's body is compact and rounded, a look characterised as "cute". It has some nice features including a hinged baseplate for easy loading (which also releases the back) and a milled film counter that counts down rather than up.

The Vito B body existed in two versions, the first one (1954-57) had a small viewfinder and low profile top plate. The later version (1957-60) had a larger bright-frame viewfinder; while brighter and more useful than the original Vito B's viewfinder, some enthusiasts feel that this spoiled the appearance of the camera.

Source: Camerapedia

Small, sweet little scale-focus classic from Voigtlander. One of those cameras that you really need to hold in your hot little hand to appreciate. My sample is the ‘budget’ version, with 4-speed Pronto shutter instead of the better Prontor-SVS shutter. A later model (BS) has an oversized viewfinder that while more practical, in my opinion throws off the ‘look’ of this sleek little package.

The Vito B sports the same semi-legendary Color-Skopar found on the everpopular Vito II and other Voigtlander classics. It is a sharp Tessar style lens, occasionally found in the faster 50/2.8 configuration. f8 and better is quite impressive. The shutter is very smooth and silent even in this model, and with the scale focus this becomes a great stealth camera.

Notable features: manual frame counter setting, the counter is subtractive (counts backward) so after loading set it to the number of exposures and let it count down to zero. Also the shutter is locked until you put a film in the camera, sometimes that will allow you to get a seemingly ‘broken’ one as a bargain.

Source: mattsclassiccameras.com

Specifications

Embossing on the top plate: Vito B

Lens:Color-Skopar 50mm f/3.5 filter slip-on

Aperture: f/3.5-f/22 setting: ring and scale on the lens, turns with the speed ring, according to Light Values 2-18, separate setting possible by a knob on the lens

Focus range: 1-20m + inf

Focusing: manual front element focusing, guess the distance

Shutter: Prontor-SVS leaf shutter, speeds: 1-1/300 +B. The shutter is cocked by the film engaging sprocket wheel, preventing double exposure, so will not cock if there is not a film in the camera. This has led some to mistakenly diagnose the shutter of a working Vito B as broken.

Setting : ring and scale on the lens, turns with the aperture ring, according to Light Values 2-18, separate setting possible by a knob on the lens

Shutter release: on the top plate, w/cable release socket

Cocking lever: long stroke, on the back of the camera

Frame counter: manual reset by milled film counter reseting ring on the front of the bottom plate, counts down, counter window at the center front of the top plate

Viewfinder: large 1/1 size crystal bright-frame viewfinder on tall housing

Re-wind knob: on the left of the top plate, a pop-up knob by a small lever on left side of the camera

Re-wind release: unlocks when the re-wind knob pops-up

Flash PC socket: on the left of the lens flange

Flash sync: X and M, sets by a lever on the left of the lens flange

Cold-shoe

Self-timer: set the synchronising lever to the V (green)

Back cover: hinged, a part of the bottom plate folds open to facilitate the exchange of the film cartridge as well as to open the camera's back door

Tripod socket: 1/4" (actually a 3/8" socket with a pre-installed 1/4" adapter)

Strap knobs

Body: metal; Weight: 610g

Source: Camerapedia


Model

Probably later version (1957-1960)

No serial number


Reference sites

Camerapedia

mattsclassiccameras.com

Manual

English manual

Film

Pictures taken with this machine


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