Voigtländer Vitessa L – Plunging Forward

If you don’t have time to read this review of the Voigtländer Vitessa L, I can read this to you with the Photo Thinking Blogcast! You can find it on most podcast platforms or here.

Voigtländer Vitessa L

The Voigtländer Vitessa L is a 1950s 35mm rangefinder which appeals to many collectors due to its unique design.  To reinforce that point, I will tell you a story.

We live in an old house, and one thing about old houses is that the plumbing can be a hit and miss, even if the house has been modernised.  One day, my lovely wife Noelle called to me when a toilet had blocked and asked me to bring a plunger.  Not knowing what she wanted it for, I picked up the Vitessa L with its unique plunger style advance.

Obviously, this never happened, but it does highlight one of the unique design features of the Vitessa, the big plunger style advance and cocking mechanism.  That, along with the barn doors, make this camera a very unique camera.

Voigtländer released a few models of the Vitessa, sometimes at the same time, with various combinations of either lenses or light meters.  The “L” model like this one, itself has five variations.  This specific camera is a Version 1, as it has the Ultron lens and the chequered light meter.

I have a relatively good collection of Voigtländer cameras, and this was one that was a no-brainer.  Knowing the Ultron lens is not only the highest-grade lens on the Vitessa, but also a lens design which is quite coveted, I made sure that was the model I acquired.

What I was not sure about was whether I would like to use it though. Unique is one thing, but usability is another.  One of my biggest concerns was in the exposure value (EV) lock.  I am not a fan of that, and it is the primary reason I never liked the Kodak Retinette.

With that in mind, I had the camera repaired as it needed a service when I got it.  I then put it through its paces over eighteen months.  After we cover the camera a bit more, you can see how I found it.

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History

Voigtländer introduced the Vitessa with the Vitessa A in 1950.  It was immediately considered novel in that it has the barn door assembly and the big plunger advance on it.  The Vitessa A came in 5 versions.  The basic version has a shutter that goes to 1/500^th second, and a back that is not fully removable.

The second version adds the feature of manual parallax correction and a fully removable back for “easier” loading.  The third version has automatic parallax correction, but still no cold shoe, and the old PC socket for flash.  Version 4 has a modern PC socket on the barn door and introduced a fixed accessory shoe.

With the fifth and final version, the shutter is upgraded to a leaf shutter, rather than a focal plane.  Lens choice at the time was between the Color-Skopar 50mm f/3.5 or the more expensive Ultron 50mm f/2.

Once the Vitessa was in circulation it gained a few nicknames, primarily due to the unusual plunger advance or the barn doors.  These were the “lighthouse” or “barn” respectively.

Both the Vitessa N and L were both released in 1954 to replace the Vitessa A.  The Vitessa N had the option of the Color-Skopar or Ultron lens, with two versions of the camera.  Version 1 has uncoupled aperture and speed while Version 2 has them coupled.  No light meter is included on the N.

The Vitessa L has five versions and all of them have a light meter. Key feature is also automatic parallax correction. Version 1, the camera in this article, has an Ultron 50mm f/2 lens and a selenium cell meter with a flat square chequered design. Version 2 has a bubble covered selenium meter.  So does Version 3 but the meter has a wider range.  Version 4 goes back to the flat meter cover with the chequered design with lower sensitivity and the lens is replaced with the Color-Skopar 50mm f/2.8.  Version 5 is the same as version 4, but the slower Color-Skopar f/3.5.

After the L, the Vitessa T came out in 1957.  It has a similar body to the older Vitessa minus the barn doors.  In their place is a DKL mount where the lenses are interchangeable.  Unlike the previous models the focusing is the more traditional focusing ring on the lens.  

While there is no Ultron for the T model, it does offer a Color-Skoper 50mm f/2.8, Skoparet 35mm f/3.4, Dynaret 100mm f/4.8 and Super-Dynaret 135mm f/4.  Being a DKL mount, it has the advantage of other DKL mount lenses too.  Three versions of the Vitessa T were released, mainly with differences in the light meter.

In 1966, Zeiss Ikon/Voigtländer revived the Vitessa name in a series of 35mm compact cameras with fixed lenses.  The 500S, 500L, 500AE, 500SE and the 1000SR were aimed at a less enthusiast market.  

Roughly the same time as the compacts, they released a few 126 film instamatic cameras, the 126 Electronic, 126 CS and 126 S.

Camera Specifics

The Voigtländer Vitessa L is a 1950s fixed lens 35mm rangefinder camera.  This version, Version 1, has a Voigtländer Ultron 50mm f/2 lens.  The lens lives behind a set of two “barn doors”.  When closed, the camera flattens out, though not pocket size.  

You open the camera by pressing the shutter release on the right of the camera.  The lens pops out very fast with a big thud.  Behind the lens sits a set of bellows.  The Ultron lens on this Vitessa L has a maximum aperture of f/2 and smallest of f/22.  The lens is a modified double gauss design constructed from six elements in five groups.

Shutter speeds from the Synchro-Compur leaf shutter, range from 1 second to 1/500 second, plus Bulb.  Both aperture and the shutter speeds are marked on top of the lens and selected with the rotating ring around the lens.  The camera has an Exposure Value (EV) lock system.  As you move to select the shutter speed, the aperture also gets adjusted.  If you would like to adjust the aperture independently you can move a lever on the right of the lens which adjusts the aperture and changes the EV value appropriately.

The flash options are also on the top of the lens which are controlled by a little switch at the bottom.  To close the barn doors and put the lens away you place your thumbs on the two red semi-circles on the top and bottom of the lens and press back into the camera.  Outside the left barn door, it has the flash sync connector.

On the front left-hand side of the camera is the frame counter which sits right under the viewfinder window.  Also on the front is the expected viewfinder window itself and a little to its right is the rangefinder window.  On the left is the selenium meter window which for this version has a flat check pattern on it.

The top plate has a fair bit going on there.  On the right-hand side is the light meter zebra markings.  Next to the meter itself is a table with film speed options.  On its left is the three film speed system types.  These are DIN, ASA and WES (Weston) systems.  ASA can be used if you are familiar with ISO.  Based on your film speed, you can turn the dial which is just behind this section until it has appropriate letter at the top which matches the reference table.  For instance, a 100 ASA film would require it set to “E”.  For ISO/ASA rated film, the option ranges from 6 to 200.

To use it, the selenium meter will move the needle against an EV number of the selected set.  This relates directly to the EV number that needs to be set up on the controls which are on the lens, setting the aperture and shutter speed.

The shutter release is within the metering panel.  It has a thread within it, allowing use of a threaded remote release.

To the left of this panel is a circular focus distance and depth of field indicator.  For this camera it uses the imperial measurements in feet.  Focusing is controlled by the thumb wheel behind this.  The wheel moves the lens in and out to set the focus distance.  Focus range is from 3.25 feet (1 metre) to infinity, which is indicated by a little dot lower than 3.5, to which the manual confirms.  

On the left-hand side is the infamous plunger advance. The plunger mechanism has two functions.  The first one is when you make a photo, it advances to the next frame and cocks the shutter ready for the next one.  When the camera barn doors are closed, it is pressed down which locks them in place and then can only be released open by pressing the shutter release.

Underneath the camera is a tripod socket, film tension release and the film rewind lever.  The film rewind lever locks back into position when not used and will only stay there when the back is on properly.  The lever can also be used to stand the camera when the lens is out, otherwise it is front heavy and will fall forward.

The only other thing on the bottom is the lever to remove half the camera body.  This brings us to loading film.  To do this, insert the end of the film into the film take-up on the left, make sure the sprockets come through the holes and insert the cartridge on the right.  Do not forget to reset the counter which is exposed on the front of the camera.  You cannot reset it once you have started shooting (don’t ask me how I know).  Also set the film type which you can reset on the removed part of the body.  

There are six types of film as a reminder: N (B&W Negative), UR (B&W Reversal), TD (Colour Reversal or Slide), KA (Tungsten Colour Reversal), TND (Colour Negative) and KNA (Tungsten Negative).

Finally, the viewfinder is very plain.  No bright lines and only a rangefinder patch in the middle.  It does adjust for parallax error by moving a mask to cover some of the viewfinder. 

The Experience

I had wanted a Voigtländer Vitessa L for a long time.  As a collector, you just have to look at it and see why it deserves to be in a collection.  My chance came up when I had the opportunity to bid on many cameras in an auction in New Zealand.  I have talked about this auction a few times, so won’t go into too much detail, but I was able to get good prices due to the time zone this auction was held for the rest of the world.  It suited Australian and of course New Zealand buyers best.  That is also where I got the Voigtländer Superb, Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta C and Rollei 35.

First thing I noticed with the Vitessa is that it not a lightweight and that it feels well made.  I popped open the lens and it startled me; it comes out quickly and loud.  The camera is also in magnificent condition too, no dents, scratches and with the original leatherette still on it.  It always amazes me how I only notice the bit of glue under the leather and small stuff when I photograph the cameras for an article though.

In any case, there is where my elation ended temporarily.  The shutter was jammed, and the camera needed a service.  So, I promptly took it to Jess who runs Viva La Film here in Sydney and is my regular repair specialist.  I got a full service done, including a lens clean.  Several weeks later I got the camera back, and if you look at it even now, you will think this camera is less than five rather than seventy years old.

As soon as I got it back, I loaded some Kodak Pro Image 100 into it and slipped it into whichever bag I was going to use for the day.  Using it took a bit of practice, with the barn doors open it is a little different to hold, though not uncomfortable.  I did find the viewfinder to be a little dimmer than some other cameras, but bright enough to use in pretty much all occasions.  The rangefinder patch is also very nice and clear, I suspect I have Jess to thank for some of that.

I am not a big fan of the EV lock system on any camera.  If I was pressed to name what I would not like on this camera, that would be up there.  Having said that, I do not dislike it like I do on the Kodak Retinette.  It is a little fiddly to adjust it on the Vitessa but again, not a big pain.  Maybe someone with large hands might struggle a bit more.  What I did like is that I can disengage the locked EV pretty easily and quickly.

Loading film is another adventure with the Vitessa.  The camera literally comes apart and if out and about with nowhere to rest it, it can be quite awkward.  And then when I did forget to reset the frame counter, more than once, it meant I had to mentally track where I was up to.

Using its native metering system is quite logical.  It is worth mentioning that the meter was not working when I handed it to Jess.  She did say that she replaced the resisters, but as the original voltage is not available anymore, she used a combination to get as close to the original as possible.  She mentioned it was out by 0.05v which is negligible and means I have a working selenium meter with modern resistors.

Translating the EV value to the setting is quite easy, just need to make sure it is set on the right set of values.  After using it for a while I did put the modern cold shoe meter in, mainly because I am more used to it.  This has also been especially the case when the film speed is greater than ISO 200, for instance Ilford HP5 Plus which is ISO 400.

As I was shooting, I found the plunger advance quite good to use.  While a little unorthodox to normal camera use, it did exactly what it is supposed to, move the film and charge the shutter.  I thought it would be more awkward to reach up to it, but it became quite natural.

All this is great about the camera, but let’s now consider the Ultron lens.  I have run several black and white films through this camera, Ferrania P30, Ilford HP5 Plus, Kodak Panchromatic Separation 2238 for instance.  I love the results, while the film takes a fair bit of the credit, the details I see in the blacks is mind blowing.  Just feels silky, yet sharp at the same time.

For colour I mainly have used Kodak Portra 160 and Pro Image 100.  The rendering has a very distinct and very punchy feel to it.  Initially I thought it was where I had shot in very contrasty light, but as I kept using the camera over the months, I noticed it was consistent.  Not that I would complain, just a surprise on a lens of that age.

What I really liked about this lens is the that from f/4 onwards there is very little falloff.  The photos seem to be very crisp throughout.  Vignetting is also not very evident from there either.  The photos are well defined and balanced.  

Out of focus, or bokeh, areas are pleasant with no weird shapes to distract.  Separation of the subject at the bigger apertures is very distinct but not with that look which feels unrealistic.  This design must also be very corrected, with very little to no pincushion impact.  I think you may have guessed, I love this lens.

I started to take the camera out more and more, something I did not expect with such a quirky design.  At one point I took an unexpected and on the spot trip to Bathurst, out in the New South Wales countryside.  It was in July and specifically for a Christmas in July festival.  I really enjoyed shooting the people, ice skaters, the fair and even the town.  

In low light in the evening and within the Mount Panorama racing car museum the Vitessa was perfect.  With a leaf shutter, shooting in low speeds of 1/15 and 1/30 was not much of an issue.  Only the parallax compensation was possibly not as accurate as I would have liked.

The camera itself attracts quite a bit of attention.  Not surprising due to its quirky looks.  I had multiple people ask me how it works and why it has this big pole on it.

I have used the Voigtländer Vitessa L for over eighteen months now.  An indication of what I think of it is easily worked out by the fact I reach for it every so often.  It is a very fun camera to use, though it does have its usability drawbacks.  The results from the Ultron lens though, makes every challenge worth taking.  Calling the results as stunning is appropriate, that lens just delivers fantastic results. 

I would recommend the Voigtländer Vitessa L to anyone that likes a quirky camera which just delivers outstanding results.  While I believe the other lenses also perform well, I would personally look for models with the Ultron lens. While they are not exactly cheap now, especially with this lens, I believe the Vitessa is very good value.  Just make sure it is used as the fun camera rather than a main camera or the quirkiness may not be efficient way to shoot now.

Related Links

Mike Eckman writes how it is an oddball camera that shoots with exceptional lenses in Voigtländer Vitessa L (1954).

Stephen Gandy at CameraQuest has deemed the Voigtlander Vitessa L to be the most beautifully made, elegant, and innovative 1950’s 35mm folding camera in Voigtlander Vitessa L: Most Elegant 35 Folder.

Analog Café have cover the Voigtländer Vitessa Series in a review.