The Voigtlander Vitomatic cameras are really heavyweight 35mm rangefinders, you can no longer find such solid constructions in modern cameras anymore. I took a measure of the Vitomatic Ia, and it came in at almost 800g! It’s exactly this same reason why 50 years later, finding a working piece in the market is really not that difficult, these machines are built to last.

I have a Vitomatic Ia and a Vitomatic II. The Ia, manufactured in 1960-1963, comes with a view finder while the II, manufactured in 1958-1959, has rangefinders built in. The “a” and “b’ models means having the meter instrument mirrored into the finder. The design and engineering of these cameras are simply amazing. Especially when you consider that these were made back in 1950s with limited technology, yet they came up with such sophisticated equipments that doesn’t even need battery to operate.

The 1a I’m having is in mint condition, both function and cosmetic. I intend to run a roll of film through it to see if I can get anything interesting. It’s definitely not easy to use, as least for someone like me who’s been on digital all this while. Found a good site with downloadable user manuals for most of the Voigtlander models. Meanwhile, I’m also gonna try to get a piece of rangefinder to go with it.

specifications … 

Voigtländer Vitomatic Ia (1960 – 1963) Viewfinder
Format:  24 x 36 on 35 mm film (135)
Optics: Color-Skopar 1:2,8  50mm
Shutter:  Prontor 500 SLK-V  B + 1 sec.. => 1/500 sec.
Misc.: Rapid wind lever, coupled lightmeter, twin match needle type

Voigtländer Vitomatic II (1958 – 1959) Rangefinder
Format:  24 x 36 on 35 mm film (135)
Optics: Color-Skopar 1:2,8  50mm
Shutter:  Prontor SLK-V  B + 1 sec.. => 1/300 sec.
Misc.: Rapid wind lever, coupled rangefinder + lightmeter, match needle type w. external read-out