Anyone ever used a Voigtlander Vitoret L - questions

islandgirl_23440 · 08-09-2007

I just got in the mail a surprisingly nice looking Vitoret L. However, I am new to these cameras and don't know how to use it as far as focusing. I understood it to be a rangefinder but when I look in the viewfinder I don't see anything change when I turn the focus ring. Then I read some Vitorets had a rangefinder and some didn't. This one has a very tiny circle in the center of the viewfinder if that tells you anything. It has marks for the meters/feet starting at 3.5 going to 60 and icons for Portrait, Group, and Landscape/Infinity. Meter and shutter are working and I hope focusing is too. If this is a rangefinder and it is broken can you still use the camera guessing the distance using the icons or will the focus be not working too? I dont see the barrell move in or out when I turn it to focus, but maybe these dont? Any help appreciated. Hope Shores

By the way thanks for those who helped when I was looking for info on a Yashica ME-1. I got the camera up and working and like it a lot.

cmedin · 08-09-2007

I think the LR had the rangefinder and the L didn't... but I'm no expert on the cameras.

Abbazz · 08-09-2007

I had a Vitoret (the base model) as a first camera when I was 8. It was a very basic camera (no rangefinder, no lightmeter, speeds to 1/125s only). The lens was a single coated 2.8 Color Lanthar triplet, which had less than stellar quality, but was enough for me to snap some nice portraits of my brother standing by the window on Ilford Fine grain Panchromatic alias FP3 film. This camera must be somewhere at my parent's house; your post made me want to look for it.

Cheers!

Abbazz