Voigtlander Vitessa

[beetcleaner]

really fancy picking up a voigtlander vitessa L on the net. quite a few have the "barn doors" not closing properly or the plunger rod needing attention. are these major problems to fix and if so who would be a good repair person to do it?

thanks beetcleaner

 

[Leigh Youdale]

Somebody must have the answer. I had a Vitessa L and also a very good repair man here in Sydney - the retired former service manager for Zeiss-Voigtlander - but there must be someone in the UK or Germany that's a lot closer to you. Even the USA. Keep asking and looking around the web for links. Camerarepair.com is one and there's a 2008 thread on APUG with some UK contacts too.

 

[Roger Hicks]

As far as I recall -- I've not had one for years -- these are fairly easily (read: reasonably cheaply) reparable cameras IF they haven't been abused or butchered by a previous incompetent repairman. The trouble is, you can never tell whether a fault is a minor glitch (old lubricants -- the usual problem with the plunger) or butchery. I'd be disinclined to buy one sight unseen nowadays.

Cheers,

R.

 

[imush]

The main weak point is the rangefinder; it is notoriously difficult to fix and adjust. Check that the rangefinder works and you can see the split image well enough.

In all other respects it is the best 35mm folder I know.