The Vito III was a contemporary of Kodak's Retina line and the last folding camera made by Voigtlander. I was attracted to the Vito III by my previous long familiarity with its model II predecessor.
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| Vito II and Vito III |
The five-element f/2 50mm lens is one of the finest produced by any maker in the 1950s.
Once the Synchro Compur shutter is cocked, the film advance knob and shutter release are easily accessed with the right hand.
Focusing is quick and easy on the left.
While the controls are quite logically laid out, having the viewfinder window to the right seems best suited to a user with a dominant left eye, and I find myself glancing at the camera back prior to making each shot to make sure I know the correct placement. I suppose with enough use I would get used to that feature, but it has been a challenge given the left side location of virtually every other rangefinder camera I have used over the years.
LIke the Vito II the III lacks strap lugs; that seems of little consequence with the little Vito II, but the size and weight of the Vito III make a carrying strap seem like it would have been a good idea.
Quibbling aside, the confidence instilled by the Ultron easily motivates picture making with the Vito III. Here are some pictures from a roll of Kentmere 400 recently put through the camera:
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| That's my T100 in the background. |
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| The Mediterranean Conservatory at the Botanic Garden |
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| Monsoon clouds over the Sandia Mountains |
4 comments:
Your fine photos and review of this camera makes me want one!
I recall being very impressed by pictures from the Ultron lens. The Vito III was interesting to me because I had such a high regard for the little Vito II. It took me a long time to come across one that would fit my camera budget. The very similar Prominent was not a folder and it would accept several lenses in addition to the Ultron. However, they can't often be found for anything under $300 now.
The Vito III had an every-ready case with strap - the front folds down well enough so that it doesn't cover the lens during use and so allows the user to carry the camera around the neck.
The Vito III is a superb camera with one fault, for me - it requires the user to cock the shutter separately from the wind-on knob, something that was not pursued with the parallel development and later models of the Prominent.
The Vito III was the last of Voigtlaender's cameras with integral bellows.
I've never been much bothered by the manual shutter cocking, but it is an extra step in the shooting process. The Vito I, the Retina I and the Retina II had the same feature and I liked shooting all of them.
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