When I looked through my junk box, I found I had a few Voigtländer cameras to test. Then a friend gave me some cameras to sell and a few more were in that lot. So what better than a month of Voigtys, the oldest manufacturer of branded optical products?

This Voigty came from my friend’s box, and it caught my eye as it was so clean. It has that ‘vintage’ look. As I walked around with it, a few people commented on how it was a ‘proper camera’ or ‘wow gorgeous camera’

The name Vito CLR, refers to the C model, which has a Light meter and Rangefinder. It has an f2.8 50mm lens with a top speed of 1/500th. The lens being a Color-Skopar, lets me know it was produced at the end of the 1960s. It was very clean and the advance was as smooth as butter. I had to open it in a dark bag halfway through to see if the film was actually moving. It was, but wow, not even a slight resistance. There were issues, though. The rangefinder patch was so faint, I could barely see it. I ended up putting a square of black tape on the viewfinder to enhance it. The light meter wasn’t accurate either. I tried using it for the first ten shots but realised it seemed to be underexposing shots. After checking with an external light meter, I confirmed I was right. The light meter needle was reacting to light, but it would need compensating by altering the asa. As this was the first and probably only film I would try, I didn’t.

I loaded the CLR with an expired roll of HP5 and took a few shots in Wakefield, they are the underexposed shots. Then I took a cheeky trip to Lincoln as I hadn’t been there for 30 years. While there, I realised the light meter was underexposing the shots. The expired film might not have been the best choice either, but I hate waste. I didn’t know how expired it was or the way it had been stored, so it was a complete unknown.

Here are some of the results.

The only thing I remembered from my last trip to Lincoln was a steep hill. Holy Moly, I didn’t remember it being quite that steep, and I was pleased that I got up it easily, given my recent knee issues.

As for the camera, I enjoyed using it, but if the rangefinder patch had been clearer, I would have enjoyed it much more. I also took the Nikon FTn to Lincoln, loaded with the same film. I don’t usually post photos from other cameras on a new camera post, but it was in the same place with the same film. So these let you know the issues with the photos were with the film, not the camera. Here are some of the results from that roll of HP5.

Lincoln was great, the dragons in the castle ROARED!! I will go back at some point, hopefully before 30 years, as I don’t think I will get up that hill in my 80s quite so easily. Oh, and if you do go, I recommend visiting Cafe Gelato on Steep Hill. The ice cream I had there was the most delicious I have ever tasted.

This isn’t an expensive camera, many can be found on the bay quite cheaply. You can read more about it on these websites:
https://www.35mmc.com/27/02/2024/5-frames-with-a-voigtlander-vito-clr/
https://www.riessography.com/2021/12/10/voigtlander-vito-clr-a-reunion-many-years-in-the-making/
https://www.35mmc.com/31/07/2024/voigtlander-vito-clr-early-experiences-with-little-stips/
https://oldcamera.blog/2017/03/05/voigtlander-vito-clr/

In a nice coincidence, the last link also has photos taken in Lincoln for his test 🙂