The Ulrimate 35mm Folder

 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.

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:

That's my T100 in the background.

The Mediterranean Conservatory at the Botanic Garden

Monsoon clouds over the Sandia Mountains

Caffenol

 I'm still trying to get used to shooting my finely made but quirky Vito III.  I loaded it with another expired roll of Gekko MW 100 and took a walk around the neighborhood and into Old Town

I was pretty pleased with the results from the caffenol developer; it seemed just as good in regard to grain and tonalities as what I've been getting from my usual assortment of commercial products.

The kit of caffenol components and the recipe were courtesy of my friend, astrobeck.

Vito III Progress

 I did a couple morning walks through Albuquerque's Old Town with my Voigtländer Vito III; the film was Kentmere 400.  I have gotten a little more comfortable with the unconventional layout of the controls.  However, I am still having a little difficulty framing my shots to properly account for parallax error.

The camera's shutter seems to be working well at all speeds.  The Ultron lens is performing close to my expectations for it.  I still have not summoned to courage to try cleaning the viewfinder, but it is ok for any outdoor setting.

This was my first roll of film with a new bottle of Legacypro L110 developer.  I was pleased to see that it performed well with the Kentmere film, showing no apparent under-exposure.  When I emptied the previous half-used bottle I saw that there was a large, viscous mass at the bottom which probably indicated that some of the components had precipitated out, leaving a weakened developing solution.  For this roll I used dilution-E for 5.5 minutes at 24.5C to cope with an overly warm ambient temperature.

Voigtländer Vito III

I decided to acquire this Voigtländer Vito III recently when I came across its listing on ebay at what seemed a reasonable price.  The seller was a photographer who had made pictures with the camera.  He said the camera showed some minor signs of use, but everything worked properly.

   I was pleased to find on receiving the camera that the seller's claims were largely justified.  There is a little brassing on the lower side and a couple corners of the covering will need to be glued down.  The viewfinder could benefit from a cleaning, but it is usable, and the coupled rangefinder is accurate.  The Ultron f2/50 lens is clear, the shutter seems accurate, and the controls work smoothly.

These pictures from the camera were made on a roll of Kentmere 400 which I exposed at a stop slow for processing in PMK Pyro.  The early morning light in the riverside forest was a little on the dim side. 

The light was a better the next day during a stroll through Old Town. 

The images from the camera lived up to my expectations.  It will take some time, however, to get used to the unconventional placements and operation of some of the controls.  Focusing is accomplished by turning the knob on the top-left of the camera which also contains a pop-up rewind key.  The viewfinder window is to the right of center, so parallax must be allowed for in the opposite direction from that required by most of my rangefinder cameras. 

The placement and operation of the aperture, the shutter speed ring and the cocking lever are quite similar to those controls on my Vito II, one of the first cameras I acquired when I got back to shooting film about twenty years ago.  The Vito III is quite a bit larger than the Vito II, but still quite compact and pocketable when folded.  I'm thinking it will be fun to carry both together, one loaded with b&w and the other with color.