Near Mint! 1951 Voigtlander Vito III, Rangefinder with superb 2.0/50mm Ultron lens and original brown leather case . CLA'd, Freshly Serviced!

Cleaned, Lubricated & Adjusted. Ready for immediate use

This is a circa 1952 Voigtlander Vito III 35m coupled rangefinder camera with an exceptionally fine lens. It was an expensive 35mm high-end camera designed and built to appeal to the same buyers who were considering Contax or Leica. Now-a-days those cameras are easy to find but you’ll be hard pressed to find a Vito III. That’s because the Vito III was produced in limited numbers and the photographers lucky enough to own them are generally not interested in selling them.

The Vito III appeals to both photographers and collectors because of its superb built quality, its delightful handling characteristics, and the legendary Ultron lens. The build quality is as good as anything from Leitz or Zeiss-Ikon of the same era. The Vito III uses normal 35mm film and it’s capable of producing very lovely photos thanks to its f2.0/50mm Ultron lens which combines sharpness with a very lovely rendition. This lens is a coated 6 element design. This lens was designed to compete with the very best 50mm lenses of its era, the Zeiss Sonnar and the Leitz Summicron. Many enthusiasts claim that the Ultron outperforms both of its competition. Whichever you personally favor is of course subjective but it’s obvious that this lens is in very good company! It also excels at available light photography and is aided in no small part by its an amazingly quiet shutter. The whisper quiet shutter won’t draw attention any to you, its smoothness won’t upset the camera at very slow speeds.

It comes complete with its lovely original brown leather case.

This camera is in superb condition. The coupled rangefinder works well and never has you guessing about focus or distance. Additionally this camera has been cleaned, lubricated and adjusted and everything works as it should and in case you’re wondering, it uses normal 35mm film.

The rangefinder image is easy to see and it allows you to focus quickly and easily. The bellows are in excellent condition and light tight. The top-of-the-line quality synchronized Compur shutter works perfectly. All speeds (B & 1 sec – 1/500^th) fire smoothly and all shutter speeds appropriate. This shutter is flash synched and it works with a normal electronic flash. It’s been tested and a flash will fire correctly at any desired shutter speed. (This is of course a very convenient feature for flash fill.)

The superb 2.0/50mm Ultron lens is exceptionally clean and clear. There are no scratches, no cleaning marks and it’s capable of producing lovely photos with modern color and B&W films. 

 All in all, an exceptionally fine rangefinder camera!