Voigtländer Vitessa T

[leicarfcam]

Anybody using this camera?
I just won one.. and downloaded the manual from Butkus.

Any tips??

 

[Truzi]

I've an earlier Vitessa with the folding lens and barn doors. Otherwise I think they are fairly similar. It was given to me, and I've not used it much.
It is a work of art, and built very well. The general "make sure the shutter speeds are correct" phrase is good advice for cameras of this vintage.

Make sure the film is taught when you load it, before putting the back on. One of the first times using it this issue caused some overlapped frames because the sprockets did not engage the film correctly.
You may also want to make sure the rangefinder is accurate before taking important pictures. A lens hood is a good idea on bright days.

 

[summicron1]

get ready for a lot of weird looks.

 

[leicarfcam]

get ready for a lot of weird looks.

I already get those..

 

[elekm]

Overall, a good camera. It has traditional focus ... the barn door models use focus by dial. My T has the EV system. The viewfinder frame shifts for parallax correction.

No big surprises. The standard lens is a Skopar, while the barn door models had either a Skopar or the Ultron.

 

[GRHazelton]

I have the Vitessa L with the barn doors. I've heard the suggestion that one hold a finger on the wind plunger when releasing it to the "ready" position to avoid shocking the mechanism, which is complex, read expensive to repair. Prepare for a shock if the rangefinder needs work, I gather that the top has to be reinstalled after each little adjustment. There was probably a jig for the factory assembly, some repair shop in Germany might have one.... A fun camera and a piece of history. Wish I had a '55 T-Bird to go with it!

 

[leicarfcam]

The Vitessa T arrived yesterday and after a shutter cleaning and adjust to restore slow speeds it seems to be working fine. The meter is also working fine and my first roll through it looks sharp and contrasty..