Voigtlander Vito Automatic 35 mm camera

This Voigtlander Vito Automatic is the second Voigtlander camera I’ve bought in the last couple of months. I bought a Voigtlander Vito B for £5 a few weeks ago, but I didn’t splash out as much on this camera – it cost me 99 pence!

Voigtlander Vito Automatic Images

Voigtlander Vito Automatic Description

This is a 1960s viewfinder camera with a selenium cell which controls the camera’s aperture, making it a fully automatic ‘point and shoot’ model.

There is a neat ‘green dot’ exposure system which shows up in the camera viewfinder. If the dot is green it’s OK to shoot – if it is red there isn’t enough light, so you need to switch to flash instead.

Unfortunately in my camera the viewfinder is completely misted over, so I can’t see either the ‘green/red dot’ or in fact the subject of the picture! Still – it was only 99p.

The exposure system is novel. The camera shoots at only one shutter speed and that is set by the speed of the film fitted to the camera. A 12 DIN (12 ISO) film will set the camera to shoot at 1/30 sec and a 24 DIN (200 ISO) will set the shutter speed to 1/500 sec. Once this is set, the aperture is controlled via the selenium cell, with the indication in the viewfinder as mentioned above.

In the camera handbook it warns about using the correct speed film for the type of photography you are attempting – i.e. a fast film to capture action. It really makes you realise how fortunate we are today with digital sensors and adjustable white balance after the shot has been taken!

The Vito Automatic is similar to the Vito B in the quality of the engineering, but as well as the automatic exposure there are a few other differences to that model.

For example, the film advance lever will cock the shutter irrespective of whether there is a film in the camera or not. The film chamber is the more normal door on the back rather than the trap door on the bottom of the camera which the vito B has. Also, the lens fitted to this camera is a Lanthar 50 mm f/2.8 which is not of the same quality as the Color Skopar 50 mm fitted to the Vito B and I would guess this is a more ‘mass market’ camera than my other Voigtlander.

Voigtlander Vito Automatic Specifications

• Voigtlander Vito Automatic 35mm viewfinder camera
• 50mm f/2.8 Lanthar lens
• Single shutter speed 1/30 – 1/500 controlled by film speed
• f/2.8 – f/22 aperture range
• Cable release socket thread in shutter button
• DIN 12 to 24/12 to 200 ISO
• Flash sync socket
• Count down frame counter
• Pop-up rewind knob
• Film type reminder on rewind
• Cold shoe accessory bracket
• Distance markers on the focus ring for portrait, group and landscape.
• Ser No: 5882063
• Manual available on-line here.