This is the second post of the Voighty month, and it was supposed to be about another Vito. I had four Vitos of various models in my junk box, hence this voighty theme. I took one out of the box, and it didn’t work as the advance was jammed. I took out another, and the top cover fell off. So I took out another, and the shutter was jammed. Finally, I tried this Vito, and yeah, it seemed to be working. It advanced, the shutter worked, even the light meter was responding as it should. Phew, I could carry on with the voighty month.

In the past, I would have tried to fix at least two of those from the box, but this time I felt they were just not worth it. There are many cheap ones available in much better condition. This blog is not taking a different direction, I am just at a point where I can or want to pick and choose where I spend my time.

So what about the winning box pick?

This is the Vito BL, which came from a friend. The BL was produced in the late 50s and is the same as a Vito B with the addition of a light meter, hence the ‘L’ in the name. There are two versions of the camera with different light meters. Mine has the Bertram meter with a moving needle. It does not have a range finder, so I added a hotshoe one while I was using it. For long-distance shots, it wasn’t needed, but for anything else, it was very useful.

On the top plate is a guide to set the light meter; you turn a dial to match the letter to the speed of the film. The guide starts at B for 12asa and goes to G for 400asa. The actual meter has letters from A to F, which was a bit odd. I didn’t find any information about this discrepancy on the net. The needle gives you an EV reading, which you can use to set the camera. This great blog has lots more technical details.

I loaded it with a half roll of Fuji Acros 100, which I pushed to 200. Before I loaded the film, I was not sure the camera worked as it only cocks the shutter once film is loaded. I tried a couple of shots in the garden, and everything seemed fine. Then, the camera stopped working, it was not cocking and the advance was jammed. WTF!!! I decided to try reloading the film rather than giving up. AND…it started working again.

I then headed to Leeds to see an exhibition about the Titanic, spoiler alert, I didn’t take any shots in there. Before I met my friend, I wandered around in the glorious sunshine and finished the roll so I could concentrate on the exhibition later.

Once home, I developed the roll. I could see a couple of double exposures where I reloaded the film, but other than that, the camera and meter seemed to be working well. The lens, however, had clear signs of haze, which affected the shots.

Here are the results.

When I posted some of these on Instagram, someone commented that they liked the hazy look. I really don’t. It reminds me that the camera is not working as it should. There was also a massive hair in a lot of the shots. After I saw this, I opened the camera and searched for it. I found it quite quickly, so at least that issue has been fixed 🙂 I also looked inside, intending to clean the glass, but it was beyond that. It seemed the issue was within an element. I did clean the front and back surfaces again, though.

The first shot is before, and the second is after. There is an improvement, but it is still quite hazy. It’s a pity as the meter worked a treat, and it is a good-looking camera. You can read another review here, from a less hazy example, where you can see some great shots.

So, I don’t think I will use this particular camera again, but I would recommend it if you can get one with a clear lens and a working light meter.