Timeless beauty , Voigtlander Vitomatic 1960

[Achim Reh]

I found this beauty in a small shop in Germany.

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VitomaticIIa by AchimReh, on Flickr[/IMG]

Voigtlander Vitomatic IIa.
This rock solid small camera weights 1.2kg . Full metal housing and body. Everything is mechanical , no battery. It is equipped with the famous Color Skopar 50/2.8 ( already the coated version) and has a built in light meter ( selen based self powered foto cell) and a coupled split image range finder.
Looking forward to be back in Sing next week and do some test shots .

 

[virtualme78]

The condition of the camera looks good!

 

[Achim Reh]

Yes, I would rate it at about 95% . Lens is perfect, all mechanics are working, light meter is working, housing is free of damage. Only issue, the viewfinder has a small crack in the glass, but it's almost invisible during normal use.

Edit: Forgot to mention, I payed around 35 SG$ for this camera.

 

[Thedraperyfalls]

It's a real beauty, have you started a roll with it? Looking forward to the results.

 

[Achim Reh]

What can I say....I could not resist to get one more of this exotic devices before I go back home to singapore tomorrow. It's fun to clean them up and dismantle them, and to bring them back to life.

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ZORIK by AchimReh, on Flickr[/IMG]

This is a Zorik-S I believe , built around 1955 (or a Zorik-1 ... not 100% sure, because the S has one more button for flash sync X/M, the -1 has no flash contact at all. Mine has a flash connector, but the button is not there) . A Russian copy of a Leica II . It has a working coupled split image range finder, and can be used with LTM lenses. I got it with a collapsing Industar 22, the Russian copy of the Leitz Elmar 50/3.5 . Would be interesting to try it out with a modern Voigtlander or Leica lens.
Film loading is a bit tricky , I tried it out and it took me half an hour before I loaded the first film ( thanks to some nice websites who saved me from damaging the shutter curtain and mechanics). After some initial work ( just half a day), Shutter , Film transport and aperture are working fine. The top of the housing is a bit used up, but maybe I find someone who can do a new plating.

 

[virtualme78]

Awesome stuffs!

 

[Achim Reh]

Update: This specific version of the Zorik camera has 2 film transport sprockets inside, one before and one after the shutter. That means , you have to cut the beginning of the film in half for one whole camera length ( around 13 to 15 instead of 11 cm, as some website recommended ) , to load it. Otherwise, the film always hangs on the first sprocket. Damn, had to take the whole thing apart to find this out . After doing so, and also cleaned and mounted the film base back correctly, film loading was more or less easy .

One thing for sure, this is not a snapshot camera, hehe
1) cut the film to size at the beginning. 2) open base plate. 3) Take the catch spool out. 4) Clip the film end into the catch spool ( attention, rotates CCW). 5) try to slide in Film and Spool smoothly ( advance training required) . 6) advance the film with the right knob and see if it moves...if not, turn the catch spool by hand till the film perforation hits the first sprocket . 7) close the base plate ( if you are sure the film is moving as intended) . 8) Move the film revers lever to "R". 9) Adjust the film counter knob to 37. 10) Move the film revers lever back. 11) advance the film to 1 12) don't forget to chock the shutter before adjusting the shutter timing , otherwise you can spoil the whole shutter mechanism. 13) look to the right viewfinder to frame your picture . 14) look to the left viewfinder to adjust the distance with she split level range finder. 15) measure the light with your external light meter. 16) set shutter and aperture . 17 ) ....you got it ...shoot...the camera makes an awesome sound, some big metal parts move the shutter curtain and fall back into place ( can't help it , the sound reminds me of loading an old stile repeating rifle) .

 

[hookonclassic]

I truly share your joy in these old camera...

 

[Achim Reh]

Thanks very much. I will post some shots within the next 2 weeks, when I find the time.

 

[zk-diq]

这是件艺术品。

 

[Achim Reh]

这是件艺术品。

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[sfoto100]

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he said these cameras u bought are arts by themselves.

 

[Achim Reh]

thanks very much