Rare! Near mint, 1935 Voigtlander Virtus 6x4.5 Folder, CLAd, Freshly Serviced!

Cleaned, Lubricated & Adjusted. Ready for immediate use

This is an unusually fine example of the rare Voigtlander Virtus medium format folder. Only produced for a few years in prewar Germany not many were sold and few have survived the rigors of a world war and all the ensuing decades. The lens serial number on this Virtus indicates it was produced in Germany in 1935. It uses 120 roll-film and is certainly one of the most unusual 6x4.5 cameras you’ll ever see.

Featuring a 1930’s Science Fiction, Flash Gordon look type of design. It’s covered with knobs and buttons and a complex looking depth of field chart. An especially nice touch are the two pierced dials used to focus the camera and advance the film. They have a fine gripable texture while at the same time providing the camera with a unique look. A look that was rather fashionable at a time of when Zeppelins and aircraft design was at the cutting edge of technology and obsessed with loosing weight and mass with lightening holes. 

One of the wheels is for advancing the film and the other, interestingly enough, is for focusing. In a period when most folding cameras focused the image by using “front cell focusing” in which the first lens element is screwed in and out, this camera took a different approach. Its lens and shutter moved back and forth as a unit. This improved optical performance, especially when working up close.  

The entire camera has been carefully serviced. The Compur shutter works well and all speeds (1 sec – 1/250^th) are appropriate. The slow speeds buzz along nicely and the fast ones are clean and snappy. The viewfinder has also been cleaned to give you a fine clean view. The bellows are in excellent condition and light tight.

The lens a 3.5/7,5cm (75mm) Skopar lens (a four-element lens similar in design and performance as the Zeiss Tessar). The glass looks virtually new and it’s exceptionally clean and clear. There are no scratches and it’s capable of producing lovely photos with modern color and B&W films.

All in all, an exceptionally fine example of this rare camera. It the finest I’ve ever seen and I’m very tempted to add it to my own personal collection!