Voigtlander Vito B
Probably the Best Looking 35mm Camera
The Voigtlander Vito B is a 35mm viewfinder, fully manual camera produced in Germany between 1954 and 1959.
I should begin by talking about this camera’s superb build quality and reliability but quite frankly I need to start by stating, in my opinion, it’s the best looking camera I’ve come across!
This is the second Vito B I’ve owned, I regretted selling the last one so was delighted when I discovered this at the bottom of a recent auction job-lot purchase, even though it was in quite a state. I don’t believe in cameras sitting on shelves, I either use them or move them on, so the fact this camera has earned a space on my ‘shooter’ shelf is quite an achievement!
The Vito B was manufactured in 2 versions, the earlier having a shorter body and small viewfinder whilst the later version, my camera, is known as the ‘high top’, with a gloriously large and bright viewfinder.
Whilst the 1st impression of this camera is it’s looks, the second is it’s reassuring weight and feel, it’s fair to say the Vito B is a solid, all metal camera.
In use this solidity translates into a comfortable, confidence inspiring experience with the camera radiating quality and reliability, winding, setting exposure and focus adjustment all feel smooth, tight and accurate.
Whilst relatively small the Vito’s fixed 50mm lens is a gem, matching the camera’s overall quality and producing stunning sharp images across the range of settings and circumstances.
Picking up a Vito B for the first time there are a couple of features that might confuse - the shutter release button is primed by the film engaging with a toothed wheel internally, so winding an empty camera with the traditional external lever, and trying to fire the shutter, results in many people believing the camera is faulty. Secondly the shutter speed and aperture adjustment rings are linked, a clever feature which isn’t unique to Voigtlanders, but does take a little getting used to.
Zone focusing is straightforward by setting the outer focus ring to the subject’s distance (clearly marked in feet) with an adjacent depth of field scale being one of the clearest and easiest to use that I’ve seen.
The unusual shutter priming mechanism does result in many Vito B’s being mistakenly offered for sale as ‘for spares or repairs’, meaning they can often be picked up relatively cheaply.
With no exposure metering on-board, shooting with the Vito B requires a separate light meter, although I’ve used it extensively and reliably with the ‘sunny 16’ rule. Shooting with, for example, 200 ISO film, setting a shutter speed of 200th sec and an aperture of f16, exposures in bright sunshine have been spot-on!
The coupled aperture/shutter speed dials subsequently mean any adjustment to aperture or shutter is ‘automatically’ compensated for with a change to the other. De-coupling the two for adjustment simply requires the knurled buttons on the aperture ring to be pressed. A very simple solution which, in my experience, works very efficiently when out shooting.
Loading film is also a little unusual with the Vito, releasing a recessed catch on the base opens part of the camera base below the film cartridge and the back of the camera, allowing very good access for loading film. Rewinding film requires the small knurled lever on the side to be pushed, ‘popping up’ the rewind knob, another smooth and positive and solid feeling operation.
The film counter is displayed in a small window above the lens via a large internal dial mechanism that can be set from the bottom of the camera.
It’s probably clear to you by now that I’m a big fan of the Vito B, I sold the first example I owned after cleaning it and shooting a single roll of film, I immediately regretted it! Whilst good examples sell for a relatively good price, the Vito B is one of those cameras that deserves to be far more valuable than it is.
It’s a lot of fun to shoot with, it slows you down and makes you consider each frame, presents each composition beautifully through it’s big bright viewfinder and feels great to handle. So far both Vito B’s have been reliable and have produced beautiful results, see my gallery below.
If requiring service or repair they’re quite easy to dis-assemble and work on, the quality of design, build and operation extending to the internals.
My one frustration with the Vito B is it’s proprietary and awkward strap attachment ‘pegs’, simple round lugs which presumably fitted a Voigtlander specific strap originally. Whilst they look very stylish they’re almost impossible to securely attach a modern strap to, I generally resort to using a PeakDesign Anchor Mount in the tripod thread.
Watch Out For
If you’re looking to add some legendary German quality to your collection, the Vito B is quite readily available in on-line auctions for well below £100. Great build quality means they’re generally in good working order, maybe just requiring a really good clean, just watch out for:
the ‘high-top’ model. The viewfinder is gorgeous to use and it looks so much better than the ‘short’ version!
damaged bodywork. It’s a solid body but watch out for dents, deep scratches and particularly any damage to the lens which suggests the camera has been dropped or suffered a significant impact - the lens really is a precision component.
internal shutter priming. The shutter (and shutter button) is primed by the film engaging with an internal toothed wheel, you can’t just wind the camera and test the shutter, it needs to have film loaded. This ‘misunderstanding’ might well result in you grabbing a “faulty” bargain.
correct and positive speed and aperture adjustment. The coupled adjustment rings work great but I have found examples where the rings have been forced individually because the user hasn’t understood how they operate together
A Keeper This Time Around
With it’s clear zone focussing, fast exposure adjustment and large, bright viewfinder, the Vito B is probably most suited to street photography but it’s overall quality and especially the clarity of it’s lens means it’s a great all-round 35mm viewfinder camera that’s an absolute joy to use.
The Voigtlander Vito B deserves a place in any vintage 35mm camera collection. Whilst Voigtlander doesn’t receive the plaudits of certain other German manufacturers I think the world’s oldest manufacturer of branded optical products, still producing high quality lenses today, deserves better.
I’m not in any rush to move this example on, it’s too much fun to shoot with and the results just make me smile!
