Voigtlander Prominent RF

D

Durr3

Established
Local time
9:03 AM
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
69
Does anybody like the Voigtlander Prominent FR cameras from the 1950s?
I just bought 2 of them and some lenses along with an Exakta 66 MF camera.
Are these worth keeping or should I sell them? Anybody use on before?
thanks
 
The lenses are great.

The lenses are so good, it is worth putting up with the body.

cock the shutter manually before advancing the film when using 1/500th of a second.

But worth it.
 
I've got one I use quite a bit. The focus knob doesn't bother me, but the advance knob really grates on my fingers. I have the 35mm skoparon and the 50mm ultron, and I like both. I don't think I would search for this camera, as it is pretty awkward (I'm always hitting my nose on the back,) but if you find a good deal on one, I would buy it.
 
I did like mine as the build quality of the camera and optical quality of the lenses were great. However they are a bit clunky to get used to. An odd design indeed - very much a mixture of old and new ideas. Probably for that reason I did not use mine as much as I might have and eventually sold it to fund an M3. But I would not want to put you off as they were fun to use while I had it. The leaf shutter is very quiet - much quieter in fact than Leica M shutters (and if you are so inclined will allow flash sync at all speeds.) I found some limits though. If you have a full set of lenses you really need the optical viewfinder in the accessory shoe as the body only caters for the 50mm lens. Also the focus knob on the left is a bit odd to use till you get used to it. Finally the built in finder in mine was a bit small and pokey. Later versions had bigger finders though.
 
Thanks to all. I bought these over the phone and will pick them up next week. Can't wait to give it a try. I got the 35, 50, 100, 180 lenses and a VF. I will let you know how it turns out....
 
One other comment thats worth noting. The Prominent has that Voigtlander chrome that is almost bullet proof. Honestly you could build armoured vehicles from it. Unlike the Leica satin chrome which wears very easily, the Voigtlander chrome never seems to get very worn. I have seen dozens fo Voigltlander Vitos, Prominents etc and they all look cosemtically brand new.
 
Lovely camera, superb lenses, excellent build quality, ergonomically... a bit interesting. You got the mirror box as well, then?

I sold my last outfit (similar to yours) about 20 years ago, because my interest in 'new, old' equipment has been waning for decades and it was surprisingly valuable.

Cheers,

R.
 
My 50mm is the "ultron" f2 model. Both of these look good, but what do I use to clean the chrome? This is going to be fun.

thanks
 
Last edited:
Which is more desirable? The Prominent 1 or the Prominent 1.5 with the lever advance.
I have both, but I may sell one of them and a couple of lenses.
 
I don't want to hijack the thread, but since there seems to be a few people with good knowledge about the Prominent gathered in this thread, so I'd like to ask:
I've got a Prominent 1 with a Nokton f1.5, and I'm having back-focusing problems. Is this a common problem? And do anyone know how to access any calibration screw in the camera body to fix it?
 
Durr3 said:
Which is more desirable? The Prominent 1 or the Prominent 1.5 with the lever advance.
I have both, but I may sell one of them and a couple of lenses.
Click to expand...


I have a Prominent I, with the 35 / 50-1.5 / 100 lenses and the Turnit-3 finder.

The build quality is second to none. The ergonomics are strange, as noted above.

For a user camera, the Prominent 1.5 or II are probably more desireable for the larger VF window and for a permanent accessory shoe. The I has a clip-on shoe.

The early lenses also require a proprietary Voigtlander filter - common aftermarket filters do not fit.

There are friendlier cameras to operate, but I'm not ready to ditch my Prominent...
 
I have the Prominent I with the 50/1.5 and a 35mm/3.5 and the turret finder. Built quality is amazing. I should get an adepter for the Nokton.
 
Last edited:
Tveljus said:
I don't want to hijack the thread, but since there seems to be a few people with good knowledge about the Prominent gathered in this thread, so I'd like to ask:
I've got a Prominent 1 with a Nokton f1.5, and I'm having back-focusing problems. Is this a common problem? And do anyone know how to access any calibration screw in the camera body to fix it?
Click to expand...

A wild guess, but the rangefinder mechanism probably isn't too much different than its bigger cousin, the Bessa II 6X9 folder. Remove the Voigtlander name plate via the screws on top and there should be access to adjust horizontally & vertically.

Here's a more detailed thread that may get to the root cause of your problem:
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1495
 
Thank you for the link Mr Smith, although I just found out that there's probably not the camera body's fault, but rather my Nokton lens. (I tested it on my Bessa R2S with the adapter, seems to have the same back focusing probs)

I haven't tested it for focus shifting due to aperture yet, but then again I haven't read anything about those kinds of problems with the lens. I've tried searching the forum on info of back focus-problems with the Nokton, but I haven't found anything so far. You wouldn't have any tips?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom