The Maligned Voigtlander Prominent (The Sporty Corvair?)

This is a very interesting thread. I had to go through ebay to reach this thread!

Raid
 
I have just sent my Prominent for repair. The shutter release does not work properly.

Raid
 
I love this camera.

Sure, ergonomically it is a bit quarky, but the nokton is as wonderful as the German build.

My style of photography is leisurely wondering around and taking pics of whatever. Rarely am I on a mission. The Prominent fits this style perfectly.

I was fortunate in getting mine. Moving my Grandmother into a nursing home I found it tucked away in a drawer, pristine. Researching it I found this forum and discovered rangefinders, so it is the gift that has kept giving.

A few pics in profile and flickr, but I have not updated in forever.

Raid, I saw you got one recently (on another forum). Once you get it going I know you will love it!
 
eIII said:
I love this camera.

Sure, ergonomically it is a bit quarky, but the nokton is as wonderful as the German build.

My style of photography is leisurely wondering around and taking pics of whatever. Rarely am I on a mission. The Prominent fits this style perfectly.

I was fortunate in getting mine. Moving my Grandmother into a nursing home I found it tucked away in a drawer, pristine. Researching it I found this forum and discovered rangefinders, so it is the gift that has kept giving.

A few pics in profile and flickr, but I have not updated in forever.

Raid, I saw you got one recently (on another forum). Once you get it going I know you will love it!
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Yes, I bought one with two lenses; a 35mm/3.5 and a 50mm/1.5 with the Prominent. I got the set for very liitle money along with a 35mm/100mm Voighlaender finder and a lenshood. The camera needs to be repaired and I mailed it off already.

Raid
 
It's STILL a good camera. After all this time it's seen two G2 kits, two Leica M kits (including a Noc and MP!), and others.

Funny, the ones that stick around.
 
just got one

just got one

jdos, thanks for not one but TWO great posts on this cool little camera. I just got one, but have not had much of a chance to work with it, since I am still learning my way around a recently-acquired Contax III (sinful self indulgence in both cases, I know). I would welcome your thoughts since the last longish post on what you think of it , and what you are using it for now. Thanks.
 
I've shot a good bit with a Prominent, and I've found the 35mm Skoparon to be the sharpest of the lenses available. I shoot on the street with it by zone-focusing. That gets around the squinty-focus problem. Put a Turnit finder on top, and you have a super-clear viewfinder that can be preset to compensate for parallax at the same time you are setting the scale focus. If you don't want to spring for a Turnit, you won't find the Prominent's viewfinder useless if you only use it for viewing and don't try to focus with it.

Of the normal lenses, the Ultron impresses me as the best. The Nokton is great for certain effects and is useful in dim light, but it's too low in contrast for my taste. Of course, use a contrasty film with it and you get great results.

The 100mm lens for the Prominent cannot be accurately zone-focused, so you are thrown back on that damn dim viewfinder. Because of that, I use lenses in the 100mm range on SLRs only. Even with a Leica M3, I find focusing the longer lenses to be unnecessarily slow.

That said, the Prominent gives great results with the shorter lenses: razor sharp with warm colors and high resolution of detail: a special and especially pleasing look in your pictures.
 
It's the only film 35mm I have left, selling all the others for the Digital maw. I /emph{still} prefer it over any others.

I find the f/2 50mm to be better in contrast, but still not as biting as modern glass. I strongly suspect my Ultron would be better if I had the lens taken apart and reblackened- as the edges of the lenses are visible and bright- the paint has bubbled.

I like the 100mm. I took my viewfinder apart and though not "bright" is "bright enough."

I still use the close up kits, too, but them on my M8 these days, for which they are (I feel the price on e-Bay going up!) PERFECT, even allowing the rangefinder to be fairly accurate at such close distances.

Thanks for bringing back up this thread. I owe a rangefinder from a dead Prominent to a fellow Rangefinder Forum member. I'll try to send it off this week.
 
I recently found this site. It's nice to know that after all these years I'm not the only one who appreciates the Prominent's build etc. My Dad bought a new Prominent with three lenses and lot of other stuff from the PX in North Africa in the 50's while he was in the Service. I was born in 63' and it's the camera that he used to take all our family photos with during my childhood. He usually took slides. I remember that that camera seemed like the perfect machine to me. Made with perfect fitting parts and perfect finish. As a kid it felt like a solid block of engineered metal a real jewel and still does.

When I was around 15 or 16 he bought a pentax P&S and since he had not picked up the V in a while I came to take it over. I went through film as money allowed never doing my own processing so it was quite expensive. I have since gone though more than a few cameras but as an amature it has been impossible to duplicate some of the results that the Voightlander Prominent and Nokton 1:5 lens produced in those early years. I ramdonly take it out but am not versed in the tricks of the trade for indoor work so other automatic cameras have been needed if only for family candids. The Flash bulb unit he purchased was the weak link in the system as well as a light meter that didn't work all that well. I alway used the inverse rule or somthing like that that was taught to me when I shot out side bracketing my shots. Any way I still have it (not having used it in a while)and think I'll take it for a spin sometime soon.

For me, the tough part was alway in seeing though that small finder. I wore large glasses(still do) and that was not a good combination with the V Prominent. Were I to find a way to use that Nokton on an affordable rangefinder with a good finder not to mention a meter I think I would pick it up a lot more often. I have to keep reading about these adapters I guess. Well thanks for all the great stuff written about the Prominent. I've enjoyed reading and learning about the Prominent all over again.
 
I recently bought a prominent I off craigslist and am trying to figure out what size filters it takes...I've read a couple different things on the web--317/49 screw in, but the manual says 47mm push on. I have the ultron f/2. Anyone have experience with which filter size it uses?
 
I believe the Ultron takes the same size filters as the Nokton, either the screw-in or push-on you described (push-on is usually easier to find in my experience).

lisa said:
I recently bought a prominent I off craigslist and am trying to figure out what size filters it takes...I've read a couple different things on the web--317/49 screw in, but the manual says 47mm push on. I have the ultron f/2. Anyone have experience with which filter size it uses?
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The 50mm F1.5 Nokton uses the same screw in filters as the Polaroid 180 and Polaroid 195. They are the only screw in filters that I've ever seen go into these lenses. It is a wierd ~44.75mm or so.

I have the UV filter for the 180 on mine right now. And the Shade for the 180 works great with it as well.
 
I believe the Ultron takes the same size filters as the Nokton, either the screw-in or push-on you described (push-on is usually easier to find in my experience).


Quote:
Originally Posted by lisa
I recently bought a prominent I off craigslist and am trying to figure out what size filters it takes...I've read a couple different things on the web--317/49 screw in, but the manual says 47mm push on. I have the ultron f/2. Anyone have experience with which filter size it uses?
Click to expand...

so, it takes both the 47mm push on and the 49mm screw in ?
 
It does not take a 49mm screw in filter. It will not take a 46mm or 44mm screw in filter, either. I've tried. It uses closer to 44.75mm.
 
I'm pretty sure it takes the same push-on filters. I don't have my cameras & lenses w/me @ the moment. I stand corrected by Mr. Sweeney as to the screw-ins, never having actually found 1 from Voigtlander, or any other manufacturer, that worked w/the Noktons; I do have a generic 45-49mm step-up ring that does sort of work (though not w/my LTM version of the Nokton, which lacks filter threads for some reason), though.

lisa said:
so, it takes both the 47mm push on and the 49mm screw in ?
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Thanks. It's good to know about the polaroid filters and hood. The voigtlander hood that came with it is a push on and seems like it would slip off easily.
 
Hello,
In searching the web for Voigtlander Prominent filters etc. I have just found
the following on www.peterloy.co.uk/Stocklist.htm which might answer the question
of filter sizes:-

Voigtlander 310/49 lens hood for Prominent.Condition 4/D £22
Voigtlander 302/47 47mm yellow filter for Prominent.Condition 4/D £5.
Voigtlander 308/47 47mm orange filter for Prominent.Condition 4/D £5

Hope this helps,
Regards,
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I checked out this page...it also says the 317/49 filter is for the prominent also. I had assumed that last number was the diameter....strange
 
It might be diameter for a push on filter, perhaps a 49mm will push over a 47mm push on. It could also screw into some attachment for the lens. It cannot screw directly into any of the 50mm lenses that I have seen. It might be for a different lens, such as the 135 super-dynaret. What names...
 
IIRC, the push-on filters & hood are supposed to engage w/the knurled ridge towards the front of the lens. You can bend the metal tabs on the inside of the filter/hood inward to make them tighter.

lisa said:
The voigtlander hood that came with it is a push on and seems like it would slip off easily.
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