Voigtlander RF Repair

[Two23]

A few months ago I bought a near mint Voigtlander Vitessa L--an earlier one. Unfortunately the RF quit working soon after I got it. I sent it off to repair to a long time repairman, and it came back still not working. I do believe he fixed it but it shook loose in the mail. Sent it back, he fixed it again. When I tried it the focus felt rough, and it quit working shortly after. Obviously something becomes disconnected when the camera is in the mail. Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I can send the camera to finally get it working? It's too pretty to keep it in the closet.


Kent in SD

 

[Two23]

No one on the rangefinder forum knows who can repair a Vitessa?


Kent in SD

 

[Sarcophilus Harrisii]

No one on the rangefinder forum knows who can repair a Vitessa?


Kent in SD

That's not entirely true. I repair my own Vitessas. So I know I can repair one. But I'm in Tasmania. South Dakota is a little out of my neighbourhood. I'm happy to help you do it yourself, but that is not what you asked for, is it? And I don't know your skill set. I had the impression you were looking for someone else to do it for you?

You could contact Radu at 3R, he can repair some pretty high end stuff so I don't think a Vitessa would tax him at all, and he works on Voigtlaenders according to his website. They aren't actually as bad to deal with as people seem for some reason to think they are. Yeah, you have to pop the top cover on and off to check and adjust the RF. Once you've done that a couple of times, you get the knack. They're a very unorthodox design, but not a bad one, in my view. They tend to suffer from hamfisted owners and a lack of maintenance more than anything else, I think.

There is a lot of information here at RFF about working on them (some of it written by me). If you're willing to attend to it yourself, helpful advice is available. Unfortunately I can't suggest any other US based repairers who would take one on. I only know a Tasmanian one. 😉
Cheers,
Brett

 

[Peter Jennings]

No one on the rangefinder forum knows who can repair a Vitessa?

It's a unique camera design that wasn't sold in huge numbers. There are likely few specialists out there who are familiar with it. I think many who get a Vitessa today, as Brett mentioned, try to do any repairs themselves. I've had two. With the resources available here and in the Classic Camera Repair archives (also available here) I've been able to get both working well. And for the Ultron, it was well worth the effort.

Best of luck,