Difference between revisions of "Vito BL"

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The [[Voigtländer]] '''Vito BL''' was  fixed lens camera introduced in 1956, and produced up until 1960.  It is part o the [[Vito B]] family with an uncoupled selenium meter.
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| image=http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1348/876041757_ac7ab9ba5b_n.jpg
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| image_text=Vito BL with Bertram meter
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|image_by= Alf Sigaro
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|| Vito BL with Bertram meter<br/><small> image by {{image author|Alf Sigaro}}</small> {{non-commercial}}
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| image_source=https://www.flickr.com/photos/89853469@N00/50776315996/in/pool-camerawiki/
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| image=https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50776315996_dce63b57f3_m.jpg
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| image_text=Bewi-Automat built-in meter
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|image_by= Pablo Coronel
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Like all other [[Vito]] models, the specifications vary due to the existance of many variants. The lens can be either a 50mm f/2.8, or f/3.5 '''Color-Skopar''', 4 element lens. The meter is non-coupled either a Bewi-Automat or a Bertram (both made by Ernst & Wilhelm [[Bertram]]), and there are significant differences between the two meters. There were even viewfinder variations (with or without a bright-line). Most cameras have a 9 speed (300-1s plus B) Prontor or Prontor SVS shutter with EV indication.
  
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The [[Voigtländer]] '''Vito BL''' was introduced in 1956, and produced up until 1960.
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==Lightmeters==
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It is convenient to think of it as being a large viewfinder [[Vito B]], with the addition of a un-coupled selenium light-meter, but the BL was introduced before that camera, so it would be more accurate to describe a Vito B as a Vito BL without a meter - except the B is 1mm taller than the BL.
 
  
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In common with other Vito models, it came in many specification variations. The lens can be either a 50mm f/2.8, or f/3.5. The meter is either a Bewi-Automat or a Bertram (both made by Ernst & Wilhelm [[Bertram]]), and there are significant differences between the two meters. There were even viewfinder variations (with or without a bright-line). The one consistent feature appears to be a 9 speed (plus B) Prontor SVS shutter (but very late models may have been fitted with a different shutter)
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'''Bertram meter''' is a needle meter that has no sensitivity adjustment according to film speed. Instead the EV scale is changed via a small knob on the back of the camera top-plate, which rotates a drum. Each EV scale on the drum is assigned a letter ID, and an engraved table on the top-plate must be used to lookup the letter setting for the film speed. This table covers speeds from 6 to 200 ASA (but once again, there may have been range variations?). The table also includes DIN and WES film speeds (Weston Film Speed ratings - found on [[Weston]] exposure meters, and were sometimes referred to by film manufactures as third party speeds). The meter needle deflects to indicate an EV based on the letter rating of the film. This needle overlaps EV zones along it's length, so the correct reading is made at the red tip of the pointer. EV zones are alternating black and white bands, where black zones have numbers and white zones do not. The EV reading is then manually transferred to the lens settings. The Bertram meter was fitted to later camera.
  
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The '''Bertram meter''' has no provision for sensitivity adjustment according to film speed. Instead the EV scale is changed via a small knob on the back of the camera top-plate, which rotates a drum. Each EV scale on the drum is assigned a letter ID, and an engraved table on the top-plate must be used to lookup the letter setting for a film speed. This table covers speeds from 6 to 200 ASA (but once again, there may have been range variations?). The table also includes DIN and WES film speeds (Weston Film Speed ratings - found on [[Weston]] exposure meters, and were sometimes referred to by film manufactures as third party speeds). There is a window in which a needle pointer deflects to indicate an EV. This needle overlaps EV zones along it's length, so the correct reading is made at the red tip of the pointer. EV zones are alternating black and white bands, where black zones have numbers and white zones do not. The EV reading was manually transferred to the lens settings. The Bertram meter was fitted to later camera.
 
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The '''Bewi-Automat meter''' had no pointer needle. There was a dial on the top-plate with an ASA or DIN film speed ring. I button on the back of the camera top-plate activated the meter, and had to be pressed for at least one second before releasing slowly. This caused aperture and shutter speed dials to rotate and align on the meter dial, and show appropriate exposure combinations, which could then be manually transferred to the lens settings.
 
  
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'''Bewi-Automat meter''' had no pointer needle but readings based on ''Exposure Value (EV)''. There was a dial on the top-plate with an ASA or DIN film speed ring. A button on the back of the camera top-plate activated the meter, and had to be pressed for at least one second before releasing slowly. This caused aperture and shutter speed dials to rotate and align on the meter dial, and show appropriate exposure combinations (EV).  The camera has a Prontor SVS shutter with EV Scale, and the meter readings are transferred to the equivalent shutter speed+Aperture settings.  Bewi-Automat meter covers a range of EV between 2 and 17 (4 to 16 for ASA 100)
 
An incident light attachment can be fitted to the honeycomb plastic meter front.
 
An incident light attachment can be fitted to the honeycomb plastic meter front.
  
 
== Links ==
 
== Links ==
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* [http://www.camera.portraits.srv2.com/vitobl.htm Voigtlander Vito BL] page at [http://www.camera.portraits.srv2.com My 35mm Film Camera Collection]
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*[https://www.butkus.org/chinon/voigtlander_pdf/voigtlander_vito/voigtlander_vito.htm Vito Manuals] page at Mike Butkus [https://www.butkus.org/chinon/index.html Camera manual library]
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*[https://www.35mmc.com/05/04/2019/voigtlander-vito-bl-by-andrew-morang/ Voigtländer Vito BL review] at [https://www.35mmc.com/ 35mmc.com]
  
 
[[Category:Voigtländer]]
 
[[Category:Voigtländer]]
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[[Category:V]]
 
[[Category:German 35mm viewfinder]]
 
[[Category:German 35mm viewfinder]]
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[[Category:1956]]

Latest revision as of 05:24, 15 January 2024

The Voigtländer Vito BL was fixed lens camera introduced in 1956, and produced up until 1960. It is part o the Vito B family with an uncoupled selenium meter.

876041757_ac7ab9ba5b_n.jpg
Vito BL with Bertram meter
image by Alf Sigaro (Image rights)
50776315996_dce63b57f3_m.jpg
Bewi-Automat built-in meter
image by Pablo Coronel (Image rights)

Like all other Vito models, the specifications vary due to the existance of many variants. The lens can be either a 50mm f/2.8, or f/3.5 Color-Skopar, 4 element lens. The meter is non-coupled either a Bewi-Automat or a Bertram (both made by Ernst & Wilhelm Bertram), and there are significant differences between the two meters. There were even viewfinder variations (with or without a bright-line). Most cameras have a 9 speed (300-1s plus B) Prontor or Prontor SVS shutter with EV indication.

Lightmeters

Bertram meter is a needle meter that has no sensitivity adjustment according to film speed. Instead the EV scale is changed via a small knob on the back of the camera top-plate, which rotates a drum. Each EV scale on the drum is assigned a letter ID, and an engraved table on the top-plate must be used to lookup the letter setting for the film speed. This table covers speeds from 6 to 200 ASA (but once again, there may have been range variations?). The table also includes DIN and WES film speeds (Weston Film Speed ratings - found on Weston exposure meters, and were sometimes referred to by film manufactures as third party speeds). The meter needle deflects to indicate an EV based on the letter rating of the film. This needle overlaps EV zones along it's length, so the correct reading is made at the red tip of the pointer. EV zones are alternating black and white bands, where black zones have numbers and white zones do not. The EV reading is then manually transferred to the lens settings. The Bertram meter was fitted to later camera.


Bewi-Automat meter had no pointer needle but readings based on Exposure Value (EV). There was a dial on the top-plate with an ASA or DIN film speed ring. A button on the back of the camera top-plate activated the meter, and had to be pressed for at least one second before releasing slowly. This caused aperture and shutter speed dials to rotate and align on the meter dial, and show appropriate exposure combinations (EV). The camera has a Prontor SVS shutter with EV Scale, and the meter readings are transferred to the equivalent shutter speed+Aperture settings. Bewi-Automat meter covers a range of EV between 2 and 17 (4 to 16 for ASA 100) An incident light attachment can be fitted to the honeycomb plastic meter front.

Links

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