Camera Talk

Nice one!

British author Ivor Mantanle wrote about the Vitessa is one of his classic camera books. I recall being put off by that massively large plunger when I first saw it.

After a while, I thought it looked sort of cool.

Voigtlander was often doing something weird with its cameras. Sometimes, weird worked, sometimes it didn't (Prominent).

How do you guys fix bellows this small? The SuperSolinette's bellow is a sieve. I fixed one tear with fabric glue but everytime I check a new pinhole has appeared

When this is the case a new pinhole appears it’s time for change the bellows
I use electrical liquid tape from the inside.

Meanwhile, getting some pictures out of the VITO II
Bat Cave NC, with the great view of Chimney Rock had this old hotel called the Old MIll Inn, we had lunch in there years ago and it was quaint... now is gone
The Old Mill Inn Gardens
The Old Mill Inn

Now it;s the tunrn for a Voigtlander VITO BL, with the weird BEWI lightmeter
Shutter is not firing even though it should be coocked.
Time to open it thanks to PF's guide in Flickr even though mine has the Prontor SVS shutter instead of the Pronto.
But my guess is that most of the disassembly will be similar
https://www.flickr.com/photos/7699588@N ... 8692588885

titrisol wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 23, 2020 9:32 pm

Now it;s the tunrn for a Voigtlander VITO BL, with the weird BEWI lightmeter
Shutter is not firing even though it should be coocked.
Time to open it thanks to PF's guide in Flickr even though mine has the Prontor SVS shutter instead of the Pronto.
But my guess is that most of the disassembly will be similar
https://www.flickr.com/photos/7699588@N ... 8692588885

Oh, you should have mentioned that on Flickr, Pablo. I purchased the large viewfinder model (which the BL is based on) a while back, and found the lens assembly to be much different than the original B. I couldn't get it to separate from the body, so I just put it back together and into storage. I did a CLA on one for a friend of mine which was slightly different than mine, so it had the better shutter as I recall. It wasn't harder to do, just different.

PF

I managed to remove the lens distance-scale only and then it looked different to yours
SO I'm stuck in there for the time being
In this example, the prontor needs a good flushing with naphta. Cocking the shutter takes force (more than usual) and then it fires properly
I found it interesting that the shutter is behind the lens, and not covered by the rear element like in the other cameras of the era.
Also the helicoid is exposed directly to the shutter mechanism, so that must be bringing gunk into the shutter.

titrisol wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 24, 2020 9:30 am

I managed to remove the lens distance-scale only and then it looked different to yours
SO I'm stuck in there for the time being
In this example, the prontor needs a good flushing with naphta. Cocking the shutter takes force (more than usual) and then it fires properly
I found it interesting that the shutter is behind the lens, and not covered by the rear element like in the other cameras of the era.
Also the helicoid is exposed directly to the shutter mechanism, so that must be bringing gunk into the shutter.

Actually all leaf shutters are exposed to the elements via the various ports where actuating levers stick out the sides. Some of them need a good cleaning after only a couple of years if they were used in a more natural environment for long periods of time, or anywhere it is dusty. Then there is always the matter of helical lubricant migrating to where it doesn't belong, which compounds the dust intrusion issue.

Keep at it, Pablo, you'll figure that Voigtlander out yet. Have you checked around for other disassembly photos or videos?

PF

PFMcFarland
Phil, I fiddled a bit with it, and there is a geared wheel in the film chamber that cocks the shutter. That was very stiff and I was afraid it owuld tear the sprockets out. I sprayed some electrical contact cleaner in the wheel chamber and that seems to have loosened it.
Shutter works fine in all speeds and is snappy, diaphragm blades and glass is clean. I will get to ths shutter at some point but haven;t yet found a video or even shots of a BL opened.
I understand is a temporary fix, but I can go around and take a few shots with the camera

PS1 - walked around the pond with a short roll of EFKE100 (got 11 shots) results later