Voigtlander Vitomatic II rangefinder cleaning

[johnnyrod]

I just picked up a very cheap and seemingly quite grubby Vitomatic II off the Bay of Pigs, it arrived today. Mostly working, even the selenium meter, bit of flappy leather, back of lens looks a bit grubby too, but two real problems:

The rangefinder could really do with a clean, the various mirrors etc. inside are noticeably dirty. I took the top off, also the meter, but it's a complex beast, and I couldn't work out what to do next.

The top shutter speed of 1/300 won't work. The speed ring clicks just past 1/125 but won't go anywhere near far enough for 1/300th. I expect I'll have to get into the shutter itself to figure it out, but it's a very solid stop, it's not just a sticky ring. Prontor SLK-V shutter. Any thoughts would be welcome. The rings etc. all see to turn smoothly, shutter clicks nicely. I haven't tried all speeds yet as it arrived with a film in it!

Thanks a lot
John

 

[johnnyrod]

Well I fixed the shutter problem, there was a loose screw stuck in the speed selector ring, though I can't tell where it's come from. Looks like I'm not the first person to open it up though, so maybe it was lost and replaced.

I had a stab at cleaning the rangefinder, it gives a fairly bright image now, but if anyone has any info on these then I would very much appreciate it.

About a dozen shots left on the film that was in it when I bought it, need to get on and give it a go!

 

[richard700]

My vitomatic II has some haze in the rangefinder optical path - seems to be somewhere between the surface of the first moving optic and the main viewfinder prism - I can't see any path to get in there to clean -
anyone have any experience getting in there?

 

[Grytpype]

I had a Vitomatic II for a short while and I recall that it was very difficult to clean the rangefinder optics. If I remember rightly I did it by poking bits of tissue or paper in from the side! It was a very confusing rangefinder to adjust. The camera took really excellent pictures, though, so it's worth persevering.

 

[richard700]

I figured out where the problem haze was and how to clean it -

I figured out where the problem haze was and how to clean it -

I figured out where the problem haze was and how to clean it -
Here's the steps -
(pictures here) -
https://www.flickr.com/photos/163012553@N02/albums/72157666132696908
> Remove the top cover - three screws, two on the front corner, one under the wind lever. It's was a little tight, but it wiggled off with a little patience.
> Remove the light meter front cover - one screw on top.
> Remove the light meter - two screws one in front (down deep) and the long one on the back corner. It has some posts it fits onto and wiggles free.
There are the obvious surfaces - the front and back of the cover glass.
There is a prism and a swinging lens to clean - The hardest (and the dirtiest on mine) was between the prism and the swinging lens. There is only about a half a mm gap between the two - I wrapped a small piece of moistened lens tissue around a strip of cardboard (cut from a cereal box) held it with tweezers and inserted it from the side between the two surfaces. I couldn't really get any side pressure on it so it didn't get perfectly clean, but close. And of course clean the front of that swinging lens which you can sort of reach from the top.
I had no rangefinder image before and now have a usable image.
I am really impressed with the quality and engineering that went into this little camera. Although it does appear to have a very short rangefinder base, I am looking forward to trying it out and seeing how it compares to my other rangefinders. Next I want to find a IIa with it's in-finder displays.
Hope this post helps others.

 

[johnnyrod]

Sorry just seen this, glad you got it sorted. In the end I didn't really use it - the found film was scrap, lent the camera to a friend for what turned out to be about a year, then when I got it back I ebay'd it. Nice kit though, the only ting I would want would be the IIa where the meter needle is visible in the VF.