Voigtlander Vito
by Paul Cowan
Title
Voigtlander Vito
Artist
Paul Cowan
Medium
Photograph - Medium Format Film
Description
The very first version of the Voigtlander Vito 35mm camera - and still in working condition. This camera was designed to use with unperforated film, which lacked the sprocket holes familiar on the edge of 35mm film. To measure off the 24mm of each frame, the film ran over a roller with a raised, rough edge. In the next version of the camera this would be replaced with sprockets. The distance the roller had moved was transmitted using simple rods and cams in the top housing so that once the next frame had been reached the wind-on knob locked. The roller in this camera had got a bit sticky over the years, but it was an easy job to clean and lubricate it, bringing it back to life.
This is probably an early post-war model - production resumed in 1947, as it lacks the built-in yellow filter of the wartime model.
In its day, the Vito was possibly the best 35mm compact camera available and it is still a capable performer today, though the lens - a four-element Tessar-type Color Skopar - has less contrast than modern lenses.
This photo was shot using a Pentacon Six medium format camera, a type that was designed in 1955, and Fomapan 200 black and white film. The quality is not perfect but I believe it meets the professional standards expected in the era these cameras were made, which was the objective of the project.
Uploaded
February 23rd, 2013
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