Vito II teardown

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KoNickon

Nick Merritt
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Some months ago I got a Vito II in rough shape -- folding mechanism is jammed open; shutter fires only at B and 1/300; lens needs to be cleaned internally (rust on the shutter leaves and aperture). Bellows are in bad shape too. Camera was probably on display for years and this is the result. Thought I'd try and get it working, though it came with a bunch of other cameras in similar condition so it cost me basically nothing.

Can someone point me toward a good set of step by step instructions for taking it down? I've managed to remove the lens assembly (pretty uncomplicated, though that's as far as I can get).

I already have a Vito II in nice shape which does help in terms of seeing how the folding mechanism should work, but that only helps so much. Thanks!
 
Assuming the shutter is a Compur or a Prontor there should be info on line - I'd check out Chris Sherlock's Retina videos and find the closest matching shutter.

He doesn't seem to have done a folding Vito but he has done a Perkeo II that might give you some clues?

Sorry, the best I can do.
 
Muggins said:
Assuming the shutter is a Compur or a Prontor there should be info on line - I'd check out Chris Sherlock's Retina videos and find the closest matching shutter.

He doesn't seem to have done a folding Vito but he has done a Perkeo II that might give you some clues?

Sorry, the best I can do.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the helpful note! I actually got the folding mechanism solved -- a small stop on the body had gotten bent out of place. The next challenges are the lens and the shutter (Prontor-SV). Right now the shutter only fires at B and 1/300, the top speed. And maybe I can live with just 1/300! But I'll definitely look around online for more info on the Prontor, which has always struck me as less finicky than the Compur line.

I am trying to budge the rear element/lens group, which is badly in need of cleaning. It looks like it should unscrew. I may need to put in a little penetrating oil to loosen it up. As for the shutter, the way in would be by removing the front lens group -- but I see no grub screws to remove. I recall seeing somewhere that they are underneath the distance markings, which are on a black band just behind the knurled focus grip. And I recall from what I saw then that this would be a major hassle.

As for the bellows, they might be beyond saving, though I'll try the liquid electrical tape route. Maybe there's a replacement bellows -- who's that guy, Sandeha Lynch (great name)?
 
KoNickon said:
Thanks for the helpful note! I actually got the folding mechanism solved -- a small stop on the body had gotten bent out of place. The next challenges are the lens and the shutter (Prontor-SV). Right now the shutter only fires at B and 1/300, the top speed. And maybe I can live with just 1/300! But I'll definitely look around online for more info on the Prontor, which has always struck me as less finicky than the Compur line.

I am trying to budge the rear element/lens group, which is badly in need of cleaning. It looks like it should unscrew. I may need to put in a little penetrating oil to loosen it up. As for the shutter, the way in would be by removing the front lens group -- but I see no grub screws to remove. I recall seeing somewhere that they are underneath the distance markings, which are on a black band just behind the knurled focus grip. And I recall from what I saw then that this would be a major hassle.

As for the bellows, they might be beyond saving, though I'll try the liquid electrical tape route. Maybe there's a replacement bellows -- who's that guy, Sandeha Lynch (great name)?
Click to expand...
 
I have three Vito II cameras and have always thought of them as the best travel cameras because of their compactness and excellent lenses. There are some notes on the repair of my first with a Prontor shutter on my old website (preserved on Mike Eckman's site):
8910 copy.jpg
 
mconnealy said:
I have three Vito II cameras and have always thought of them as the best travel cameras because of their compactness and excellent lenses. There are some notes on the repair of my first with a Prontor shutter on my old website (preserved on Mike Eckman's site):
View attachment 4887039
Click to expand...
Thanks for this! I thought I had checked his site but didn't see it. So now I know what I'm dealing with regarding the front lens group. I don't have any of those flexi-clamps, so those may well be in my future if I want to get at the shutter.
 
KoNickon said:
Thanks for the helpful note! I actually got the folding mechanism solved -- a small stop on the body had gotten bent out of place. The next challenges are the lens and the shutter (Prontor-SV). Right now the shutter only fires at B and 1/300, the top speed. And maybe I can live with just 1/300! But I'll definitely look around online for more info on the Prontor, which has always struck me as less finicky than the Compur line.

I am trying to budge the rear element/lens group, which is badly in need of cleaning. It looks like it should unscrew. I may need to put in a little penetrating oil to loosen it up. As for the shutter, the way in would be by removing the front lens group -- but I see no grub screws to remove. I recall seeing somewhere that they are underneath the distance markings, which are on a black band just behind the knurled focus grip. And I recall from what I saw then that this would be a major hassle.

As for the bellows, they might be beyond saving, though I'll try the liquid electrical tape route. Maybe there's a replacement bellows -- who's that guy, Sandeha Lynch (great name)?
Click to expand...
Yes, Sandeha Lynch - he's actually a member here. He isn't doing as much as he was, I don't think, but I can't remember details. There's someone in the UK as well who I can look up for you, but the T-word will be an issue.
 
Muggins said:
Yes, Sandeha Lynch - he's actually a member here. He isn't doing as much as he was, I don't think, but I can't remember details. There's someone in the UK as well who I can look up for you, but the T-word will be an issue.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Whether it's worth the cost is another question, but having the information will be great, t-word or not. I don't think there's anyone in the US who does these, but I'm happy to be proved wrong.
 
Sandeha is no longer making bellows he hasn't made before - I would try him as *someone* must have done a Vito before.

Failing that: Custom Bellows

Good luck, & let us know you get on!
 
Muggins said:
Sandeha is no longer making bellows he hasn't made before - I would try him as *someone* must have done a Vito before.

Failing that: Custom Bellows

Good luck, & let us know you get on!
Click to expand...
Thanks! As a Villa supporter it would be nice to give a Birmingham firm my business! But I'll seek out Sandeha also. Appreciate the information.
 
Good go see another Vito II being resuscitated. 🙂

The one I have was in a batch of "junk" cameras that the local art museum in Palo Alto was tossing into the bin. The guy trucking the box out to the bin was good enough to let me fish around and pull out four or five cameras intended to be pretty shelf queens. One of them was a Vito II.

It sat on my bookshelf for almost a decade and then, one day about two years ago, I picked it up and found that it was just filthy but almost worked. So I sent it to Advance Camera for a full service/repair/CLA. It came back absolutely beautiful and works perfectly ...


Voigtländer Vito II​

I've since acquired the accessory shoe attachment and the Kontur accessory viewfinder, already had a rangefinder and a clip-on light meter. It's a super little camera and makes beautiful photographs!


Captured In Concrete - Santa Clara 2025
Voigtländer Vito II + Ferrania P33​

enjoy! G
 
Advance Camera advised me in December that they are no longer working on Vitos (I sent in a IIa), and they returned it to me. I’ve sent it to Zacks Camera Repair and is in queue.
 
Bbsteinle said:
Advance Camera advised me in December that they are no longer working on Vitos (I sent in a IIa), and they returned it to me. I’ve sent it to Zacks Camera Repair and is in queue.
Click to expand...
A shame to hear that ... They probably just got overwhelmed and parts are getting pretty difficult for the Vitos.
I'm glad I had mine done when I did.

G
 
Bbsteinle said:
Advance Camera advised me in December that they are no longer working on Vitos (I sent in a IIa), and they returned it to me. I’ve sent it to Zacks Camera Repair and is in queue.
Click to expand...
Hmm, Zacks -- not too far from me. I'm looking at the shutter/lens and wondering if that's something they can help with.
 
Got the lens cleaned. Thanks to Muggins's suggestion to seek out Chris Sherlock's videos on shutter overhauls, I was able to figure out how to remove the rear lens element (he worked on a Perkeo but it's basically the same shutter). I had not been exactly sure just what needed to unscrew. It was quite stuck. I applied some penetrating oil with the blade of a knife (Liquid Wrench brand) and let it sit for almost 24 hours. It came free after a little bit of firm effort with a rubber stopper.

The inner surface of the rear element had rust powder all over it from the shutter blades but came clean easily. I was able to remove most all of the rust from the rear of the shutter blades. The back of the second element, just in front of the shutter, needed cleaning but had no rust powder on it, even though the front surfaces of the shutter blades also have rust on them. Now the glass on the Color-Skopar is quite clear all the way through.

On to getting the shutter working on all speeds. I may need to get the flex clamps mconnealy recommends in #5 above, though. I'll also look at Chris Sherlock's video some more, but it would be great (though cheating) if I can get some lighter fluid into the shutter and free it up.
 
KoNickon said:
Some months ago I got a Vito II in rough shape -- folding mechanism is jammed open; shutter fires only at B and 1/300; lens needs to be cleaned internally (rust on the shutter leaves and aperture). Bellows are in bad shape too. Camera was probably on display for years and this is the result. Thought I'd try and get it working, though it came with a bunch of other cameras in similar condition so it cost me basically nothing.

Can someone point me toward a good set of step by step instructions for taking it down? I've managed to remove the lens assembly (pretty uncomplicated, though that's as far as I can get).

I already have a Vito II in nice shape which does help in terms of seeing how the folding mechanism should work, but that only helps so much. Thanks!
Click to expand...


Good luck. The Vito II was my first 35, back around '54. Great little camera. Burned up a lot of Plus-X and Tri-X with it, and some Kodachrome.
 
KoNickon said:
Got the lens cleaned. Thanks to Muggins's suggestion to seek out Chris Sherlock's videos on shutter overhauls, I was able to figure out how to remove the rear lens element (he worked on a Perkeo but it's basically the same shutter).
Click to expand...
Delighted to be of service, Nick. Hopefully onward and upward!
 
Onward: Based on mconnealy's writeup above I went looking online for flexiclamps of the right size to remove the front lens group, as he describes. They are not to be found anywhere online in that size, as far as I can tell. I took a chance and used a strap wrench -- snap! What the f--- did I do? Turns out that I had forced the front group past the minimum focus stop. There are two small cutouts on the distance ring that are bent inward to create the infinity and minimum focus stops. They hit a larger stop on front plate of the shutter (with the aperture markings). The minimum focus stop is now slightly distorted and doesn't contact the stop on the shutter plate. So to fix this I would need to bend the minimum focus stop back for it to prevent the lens from unscrewing all the way. (It raises an interesting question: Given that this is a zone focusing camera, could I effectively focus more closely than the camera would otherwise permit? Or is the lens design limited such that this would yield distorted images? I'm interested in knowing folks' thoughts on this.) It appears there is only one set of threads that will let the front group line up at infinity, but I will need to carefully confirm this when things get put back together.

OK, on to the shutter itself, which is why I needed to remove the front cell in the first place. After removing the locking ring and the top plate, I saw rusting inside, notably in the speed control gearing. No wonder the slower speeds are inoperative, since the mechanism seems seized up. I applied some penetrating oil, the same as I used to free the rear element, to the rusty spots and pivots but with no results. I was hoping this would free up the pin that rides along the speed setting plate, but that pin does not budge. Maybe I should be trying something else, like naphtha? I had thought naphtha didn't work on rust? Suggestions welcome.

I haven't removed the speed mechanism from the shutter assembly. Maybe I need to, but that's the sort of thing that scares me. Chris Sherlock's video indicates you just remove two screws, but I really doubt it that easy!

Thanks for "listening." Advice welcome!
 
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