Questions About Use of VoigtLänder Vito BL Camera.

[GiantSquid]

Yesterday a friend showed me some old stuff he got from his recently deceased grandfather. Most of it was old Free Masons stuff but he also had this old (I'm guess 40's or 50's) VoigHander camera. A brand I've never heard of which is not surprising since I'm no expert on cameras.

In fiddling with it I noticed the counter right above the lens was counting down each time I wound and released the shutter. So out of curiosity I took 3 pictures til it read down to 1, then I did what I can only assumed wound the film. Then opened the hatch on the bottom and saw that their was a roll of film in there. I don't think the film was exposed since unlike a normal film camera the film itself wasn't visible from what I saw. Either way I closed the hatch again.

My friend said I could take it home if I got whatever was inside developed. The camera seems to be in really good shape so I'm wondering how old the film inside could be. Do you think the film could be developed at your regular run of the mill pharmacy or might it require something more specialized? What size film would it most likely be? 35mm?

This thing looks like it would have been hard to use. The view finder is just a window, it doesn't actually show any changes you make to the focus. Seems like a lot of educated guess work when taking a photo. Guess you have to be good to use this thing.

Forgive the horrendous quality of my horrendous phone.

The case just says the company name on top and Germany on the bottom.

What you can't see is three colored dots. that have V, X, and M under them and a selector. I think one stops the shutter from being released, another is timed, and another is regular. The lens has three focus' rings (I'm making up terminology). The counter above the lens has a diamond and numbers 1 through 36.

The dial on the left is what I kept turning assuming thats what wound the film back into the spool. It has seemingly random letters in black and red on it. I guess the other dial on the right selects the ISO and shutter speed although I'm not entirely sure how it works. The button just above the right dial is the shutter release

On the left is the hatch I opened when I saw the roll of film in the camera.

The button on the right makes the right dial on top turn. The amount it turns is based off how much you press the button. When you release the dial goes back to where it was.

 

[compur]

You didn't mention what film was in the camera but it can most liklely still be processed except for the portion that was exposed when the camera was opened.

If you're asking how to use the camera, a manual for it can be found here (as a zip file):
Index of /voigtlander

 

[GiantSquid]

I'm not sure what film was in the camera, I couldn't really tell. All I saw was the bottom of the roll, the strip of film itself wasn't visible. The way it works is that you open the hatch on the bottom then you somehow open the back of the camera. I didn't open the back of the camera.

Like so: http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/_...Vito_B_08.JPG/629px-Voigtländer_Vito_B_08.JPG

 

[unpopular]

The Vito B is a 35mm camera. There is a door on the bottom which you use to release the film from the spindle, and looks as if you can wind the film and slip the canister out. This is kind of an odd arrangement, but you likely opened this door. There is a larger door on back which you use to place film into the camera. Until you've wound the film, obviously don't open this door!

Voigtländer Vito B - Camerapedia

(pics at bottom)

Unless the film is Kodachrome or some obscure film type, you should be able to process it easily at any place that takes 35mm film.

Original Voigtlanders are fairly highly sought by collectors, the brand still exists and is currently being produced by Cosina in Japan. They teamed with Epson to produce the R-D1 as well as with Zeiss in producing the new Ikon.