Building a Voigtländer Prominent system

[VisualDarkness]

Hi!
I recently saw a Voigtländer Prominent with the Ultron 50/2 for sale here at the Swedish version of Ebay and I just had to get it. With really no experience with RF (barely with film!) I just felt it screaming my name and I won the bidding and I will get it next week. Either I will love the quirkiness or hate it.

In my search for lenses and gear for it I'm now also awaiting the official bag, a Skopar 35/3.5 and filters. I need hoods though and will the 310/47 hood fit both lenses I got? I've tried to read about it but I've read completely different things at different sites.

I guess I need a viewfinder so that I can use the 35mm and the Turnit looks nice for the system but will it be good enough for the lens combo to warrant it over just a cheaper fixed 35mm finder?

Also I don't have a lightmeter and there is a used Voigtlander VC meter (Black I) that I can get but that would probably kill the aquisition of gear like a Turnit for for me. Maybe there are cheaper options around, but it sure looks nice on the camera. What would you prioritize for a newbie at both film and RF?

I have shot intensely digital for a couple of years and is familiar to most of the basics of photography, but I'm still learning the more theoretical stuff like zone system metering and simply calculating basic things without automation. I've shot a roll with a Smena 8m, a couple with a Pentax Spotmatic maybe something I've forgotten, but I feel like Bambi on thin ice with film.

Looking forward to this new exciting part of photography for me and the new system!

 

[KoNickon]

I like this camera, though it definitely isn't everyone's favorite. Later versions of the Prominent I have a viewfinder with the frame lines engraved, but the Turnit is very nice.

 

[VisualDarkness]

I like this camera, though it definitely isn't everyone's favorite. Later versions of the Prominent I have a viewfinder with the frame lines engraved, but the Turnit is very nice.

Do you think you can ID if it has framelines or not?
http://www.tradera.com/voigtlander-prominent--auktion_1408_193576082
Serial number B 69469

 

[BW400CN]

Do you speak German?
If yes get the "Voigtländer Report 1" from Claus Prochnow - ISBN 3-00-011867-5.
There you find ANY Information about the Prominent System.

 

[Rodchenko]

The Prominent is a handsome camera. I often think of my Paxette as a baby Prominent.

 

[dabick42]

@ VisualDarkness....

Voigtlander Prominents are not for the faint hearted !

They've got more quirks and foibles than a centipede has legs.

I like them a lot and I have 3 copies of the second version (knob wind, accessory shoe, no frame lines in viewfinder), whereas the copy you've indicated is the third version (lever wind, frame lines).

They are awkward cameras to use quickly and proficiently until you've had lots of practice, but the initial suffering is well worth it because they're capable of delivering wonderfully sharp and contrasty photographs in both colour and b/w.

The 310/47 lenshood will fit the 50mm Ultron and the 100mm Dynaron, but being a push fit, it tends to scratch the chrome on the rim of the lens.

The 310/49 is the screw-on version and is preferable.

The 35mm Skoparon has a deeply recessed front element, so doesn't require a lenshood.

The Turnit 3 is an ingenious device that gives viewfinder coverage for 35, 50, and 100mm lenses. I use it frequently, but I'm equally happy using Leica 35, 50, and 90 finders and also the Kontur 50mm finder (another clever Voigtlander invention !).

All in all, it's a very likeable camera system.

It's beautifully made (even the leather camera and lens cases are works of art...), it's surprisingly heavy, reassuringly solid and very reliable.

Enjoy !

 

[VisualDarkness]

@BW400CN
Sure, my German is rusty to say the least but with some time and effort it will come back.

@Rodchenko
I almost bought a Paxette in a second hand store once, so maybe it talked to me like the Prominent did.

@dabick42
I like quirky and unusual things, like when everybody told me to go Nikon, Canon or Sony for digital I went with Pentax. When I chose a phone and people dissed Windows Phone and Nokia I just had to go with it. Maybe I just want to be different and try too hard?

Great info! the reason for the 47 hood is that it looks like I can get it cheap, for one tenth of the 49 hoods I've found.

 

[BW400CN]

http://www.rollei-report.com/ - Brigitte Prochnow sells the last Books - Claus died unfortunatly 2008

 

[VisualDarkness]

I had a good deal going for a hood Proximeter and other stuff going but somebody must have used one of the Ebay sniping programs. Oh well, next time maybe....

 

[VisualDarkness]

Anyone who have any tips on where to get Prominent stuff from? Ebay is relatively scarce, the regular places here in Sweden got nothing and most of the things I find are priced higher than Leica stuff. Is it really that rare of a system?

 

[ZeissFan]

I do not like this camera at all. Love the Ultron lens. Hate the body and how it handles.

 

[ChrisLivsey]

Anyone who have any tips on where to get Prominent stuff from? Ebay is relatively scarce, the regular places here in Sweden got nothing and most of the things I find are priced higher than Leica stuff. Is it really that rare of a system?

http://www.mwclassic.com/acatalog/O....htmlhttp://www.peterloy.co.uk/stock-list.php
http://vintageclassiccamera.com
http://www.collectablecameras.com/cameralist.htm

Some UK to look at, not flooded out with stock 🙄 but MW have some hoods, filters etc.

 

[dabick42]

@ VisualDarkness...

For Prominent gear, check out ''Vintage and Classic Camera Co.'', based in Hampshire, UK, run by a charming chap called Rob Smith.
He has 3 Prominents and a Proximeter 11 listed for sale at the moment.
Email: rob@vintageclassiccamera.com

Other sources in the UK are :

''Collectable Cameras'', based in Yorkshire.
Email: collectablecameras.com

and

Peter Loy in London.
Email: peterloy@peterloy.com

Good luck !

 

[Roger Hicks]

@ VisualDarkness....

Voigtlander Prominents are not for the faint hearted !

They've got more quirks and foibles than a centipede has legs. . . .

Seconded. I've had most of the system, I and II, either simultaneously or bits-at-a-time, including one of the mirror lenses with its box (115mm? I forget)

Utterly gorgeous fit and finish; eccentric ergonomics. I sold my last 4-lens outfit (including a mirror lens, and Nokton) over 20 years ago, and haven't really regretted it. I'd rather have Leicas.

Then again, if you want a Prominent, run it alongside an Exakta, which makes the Prominent look quite rational. Somewhere I have an Voigtländer (accessory) accessory shoe. Was that the Prominent I or something else?

Cheers,

R.

 

[dabick42]

@ Roger...

It's gratifying to know that you, too, have experienced the whimsical nature of the Prominent, Roger !

I'm a fairly recent convert to the beast - a mere 10 years or so, my first copy obtained on a whim as a little light relief from the somewhat more civilised Leica LTM'S and M's.

They're likeable rascals, though, so I'll persevere with them for the foreseeable future.

Your Voigtlander accessory shoe is possibly for the first version of Prominent, which didn't have the fitted shoe that was a standard feature on later versions.

Cheers,

Dave B.

 

[Roger Hicks]

. . . Your Voigtlander accessory shoe is possibly for the first version of Prominent, which didn't have the fitted shoe that was a standard feature on later versions.. .

Dear Dave,

That's what I thought I recalled, but I think there's another version, possibly for a "Bomb Doors" Vitessa. I'd need to check part numbers.

Cheers,

R.

 

[VisualDarkness]

Some great feedback here, thanks!
We'll see if I come back swearing or praising, or even both, after I receive the camera.

 

[Beemermark]

Anyone who have any tips on where to get Prominent stuff from?

I hate tooting my own horn, but I have he 100 mm lens, 50/1.5 Nokton, bod and VF for sale on the forum right now.

 

[VisualDarkness]

I got the camera now with the Ultron lens. The camera is in a really nice shape externally but somebody didn't know how to clean their lenses so the front element is pretty scratched, hard to say if it will affect image quality.

The self-timer didn't work but a after a real work out (my thumb is sore) it now works rather well.

Should the second shutter be closed when not cocked? As it is now it sometimes closes completely when carefully shaking the Compur unit and always directly when you start cocking the shutter. I tried to carefully clean it from the outside but no difference.

 

[KoNickon]

I think that part should fit the early Prominents and the rather rare Vito III, which is basically a folding version of the Prominent I. I'd say it's pretty dang hard to find if you're looking for it!

Dear Dave,

That's what I thought I recalled, but I think there's another version, possibly for a "Bomb Doors" Vitessa. I'd need to check part numbers.

Cheers,

R.