Voigtlander Vito CLR – Early Experiences with little Stips

It all starts in the city of Portland, USA where my friend Claus Junker lives, someone who knows my passion for photography and cameras. In one of our regular calls, Claus told me that he had a camera saved for me. It was a gift from his aunt Resel, whom they called Stips, (which means “small”), and that he would send it to me as a gift once he had located it. He only remembered that it was a Voigtlander and that it might not be fully working.

It became a test of my patience until one day I received a call from Portland with confirmation that the camera had appeared. A co-worker of Claus would travel to Argentina to visit a relative, and with him would arrive the camera.

On the way home I opened the case eager to see what model it was. The camera was a Vito CLR and was impeccable, I later confirmed Claus’s doubts that it was not fully operational. When, after checking it, I found that the shutter blades were stuck. The years and lack of use had done their job, although it only took a few shots for them to open again. The old selenium photometer worked perfectly and the rangefinder was well calibrated too.

Some features

The legend ‘Made in West Germany’ printed on its base already gives us a clue to the quality of its construction. The camera has mounted a Color Skopar 50mm f/2.8-f/22 lens, with focus between 1m and infinity. It is a central shutter camera. This particular one mounts a Prontor LK that offers speeds from 1/15 to 1/500 (and bulb mode). Like most central shutter cameras, both aperture and speed are adjusted on the lens barrel itself.

My impressions

I found the camera very solid, with a very bright viewfinder. For some reason I was not convinced by its meter on the top, which requires removing the camera from your eye to see the matching needles of its meter. I’m sure it’s just a matter of adapting to that design characteristic. The inside of the viewfinder does not show any exposure values. That said, I think it is a beautiful camera full of the romantic style of the 60s – a glorious era in which cult cameras like the Nikon F and the Olympus Pen were designed.

Its build quality never ceases to amaze me, it seems made to last forever. It is a camera that forces you to go slowly, it will take you time to focus and decide the shutter speed and aperture, measure the light and the hyperfocal distance and it will remind you at every moment how beautiful photography is and its sometimes laborious procedure. but always exciting. Walking somewhere with this beauty and doing what I like most in silence with time on my side is a pleasure that I will undoubtedly repeat.

I would like to give a special thank you to my friend Claus Junker for giving me a memory of his family, which I will treasure with great affection. Also, thanks to the readers, and to 35mmc.com for allowing me to post and share my experience with this beautiful camera.

My Instagram is: @miganmendez

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