Voigtlander
1952 Voigtlander Vito III, Rangefinder with 2.0 Ultron lens, CLA'd, Freshly Serviced!
Cleaned, Lubricated & Adjusted. Ready for immediate use!
This is a circa 1952, Voigtlander Vito III 35m coupled rangefinder camera. It was an expensive camera in its day and rather difficult to find today. Clean working examples are prized by their owners. It’s popular with photographers and collectors because of its lovely built quality, its delightful handling characteristics and the superb 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 legendary 2.0/50mm Ultron lens, which is a coated 6 element design. This top of the line lens and was designed to compete with the best lenses of its era, the Zeiss Sonnar and the Leitz Summicron. Many enthusiasts claim that the Ultron outperforms 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. Not only the shutter not draw attention any to you, its smoothness also doesn’t upset the camera at very slow speeds.
This camera is in excellent 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.
The rangefinder image is easy to see and it allows you to focus quickly and easily. The bellows are in good shape and light tight. The quality Synchro-Compur shutter works well. All speeds (B & 1 sec – 1/500th) fire smoothly and all shutter speeds appropriate. This shutter is flash synched and it’s been adjusted so that 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, just a few very light cleaning marks. (But you’ll need a magnifier to see them.) It’s capable of producing lovely photos with modern color and B&W films.
All in all, a very lovely rangefinder camera with a fast lens. Load it with your favorite film and it may just become your favorite photographic companion.