I usually frame, focus, meter, and hope for the best. Practice has improved my odds considerably, making hope less a part of my photography strategy. But given that I shoot with whichever of my classic cameras feels right on a given day, it’s hard for me to know most of them deeply and be sure of what I’ll get from them.
But a well-designed, highly functional tool sometimes makes up for what I lack. I had one of my last rolls of discontinued Kodak Plus-X spooled into my Nikon F3HP and was driving through Crown Hill Cemetery looking for interesting subjects. The cemetery is bisected by 38th Street, but a grade separation featuring a concrete-arch bridge creates easy connection between the north and south portions of the enormous grounds. There was more light under that bridge than this film and my 50mm f/2 AI Nikkor lens captured — but didn’t the F3 do a great job of setting exposure to keep detail in both the light and dark areas? This might just be my favorite shot of the year.
The more Kodak Plus-X I shoot, the more I love it for its rich blacks and low grain. I wish I could shoot it forever. Alas, Kodak discontinued it four years ago. It was only through the Film Photography Project’s cache of cold-stored expired stock that I had any at all. But now it’s out of stock at the FPP. I’m going to move on, probably to Kodak T-Max 100. But not before shooting the last two rolls chlling in my fridge.
I shot one of them in my Canon EOS Rebel, but you might recall that its shutter was busted. Thank goodness I figured that out before I sent the Plus-X in for pointless processing. I fished the leader out of the film can and dropped the cartridge into my reliable Nikon F3HP, as it needed some exercise. I also attached my 50mm f/2 AI Nikkor lens, and took the camera along from time to time over the next few weeks.
That was such a colorful day! And the color shots I got on the same day were lovely. But there’s something about a cemetery that just begs to be shot in black and white.
I also took the F3 along on the elders’ retreat. The shots overlooking the lake turned out best.
Such sure tones everywhere in these lakeside shots. And the Nikkor delivered the sharpness.
I liked this one best because of the wonderful reflection.
I took a couple shots around the church. I liked this one best, of one of the concrete blocks that separate our parking lot from the alley.
I finished the roll around the house. I love shooting this trio of trees on the golf course behind my house. That tree in front is an ash tree and it’s dead, thanks to the emerald ash borer. The golf course will eventually have to remove it, and then this favorite subject will be forever altered. I doubt I’ll like it as much.
I had a yellow filter on that afternoon, and shot my leafless front-yard trees against this sky filled with wispy clouds.
Come back on Friday, and I’ll show you my favorite shot from this roll. It’s just a perfect exposure.
Several of my camera-collecting and -blogging friends have Voigtländer Vito IIs and get outstanding photographs with them. So I was pretty darned happy when one was donated to the Jim Grey Home for Wayward Cameras.
I have a warm spot in my heart for little 35mm folding cameras like this. Closed, they slip into a coat pocket. Open, they offer strong optics. On the Vito II, those optics are the 50mm f/3.5 Color-Skopar, of four elements in three groups, with a blue-tinted coating. That lens is backed with one of a few different shutters. Mine features the Prontor-S, with speeds of 1, 1/2, 1/5, 1/10, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, and 1/300 sec., plus bulb. I’ve seen Vito IIs with Compur-Rapid shutters with a top speed of 1/500 sec.
It’s the Vito II because when it was introduced in 1949, it replaced a similar, prewar camera called Vito. Both cameras take 35mm film, but the earlier Vito apparently could use the film on simple rolls, whereas the Vito II could take only the 35mm cartridges we know today. Vito IIs were made well into the 1950s with some running changes. Later Vito IIs, for example, came with an accessory shoe on the top plate.
It’s not obvious how to open the Vito II. Press the button on the camera’s bottom, and the door springs open. To close the Vito II, press the two tabs inside the door and push the door until it latches.
The Vito II works much like any other 35mm folder: wind, set aperture and shutter speed (guess exposure or use a meter), cock the shutter, frame, guess at subject distance and set the focus ring accordingly, press the button. In case it’s not obvious, the button is on the door.
The Vito II locks the shutter against accidental double exposure, but you can override it by lifting the lever to the right of the viewfinder on the camera’s back. This feature also prevents the camera from firing when there’s no film inside, but you can work around it should you come upon one and wish to see if it works: open the back and turn the toothed shaft until it stops. Then you can cock the shutter and press the button.
I’ve shot a couple other Voigtländers: the Bessa (review here) and the Vitoret LR (review here). Other capable small folders I’ve reviewed are all Kodak Retinas: the Retina Ia (here), the Retina IIa (here), and the Retina IIc (here). Or check out all of my camera reviews here.
I tested the Vito II with one of my last, precious rolls of Kodak Plus-X. I used a metering app on my iPhone to gauge light. The Vito II came along back in August when my older son and I spent an evening together before he headed off to Purdue for his freshman year. We walked through Crown Hill Cemetery, past the military graves.
I loved the shadows on this family plot marker. What an unusual last name.
We had dinner and a walk on Monument Circle. Christ Church Cathedral is the only building on the Circle that does not have a curved front.
I moved in close enough to the Lacy Building that it’s hard to see its facade’s curvature.
I’m not wild about the composition of this photo but I do love all the details.
All of the test roll’s photos came out slightly overexposed. A quick hit of the Auto Levels command in Photoshop Elements fixed that, sometimes at the cost of making grain more pronounced. It is clear that my Vito II could use a good CLA to get its shutter right. One great thing about such a simple camera: there’s little mystery about what’s wrong.
The Vito II’s tiny viewfinder made it hard for me to line up shots well, so many of my photos came out at wacky angles. Fortunately, Photoshop Elements offers tools that let me correct that, too.
Finally, several shots on the roll came out fuzzy, a couple times because of camera shake but more often thanks to misguessed focus. Needing to guess focus and exposure keeps me from shooting cameras like this more often. I prefer the precision of my 35mm SLRs. But I want to use my 35mm folders more. They’re wonderful little cameras.
So I decided to try again, right away, but this time shoot Sunny 16 and set focus for wide depth of field. The Vito II’s focusing ring includes ∇ and O symbols to help with this. ∇ is for nearer shots, about 8 to 16 feet away, and O is for shots beyond 16 feet — when using slower films and apertures of f/5.6 or narrower.
So I loaded some Kodak Gold 200. I immediately regretted choosing ISO 200 film on a camera with no 1/200 sec. shutter speed as it complicated my Sunny 16 calculations. But I guessed okay enough through the whole roll. This is North United Methodist Church on North Meridian Street.
I went out to visit my older son after he was all settled in at Purdue, and we went to Scotty’s Brewhouse for dinner. I’m especially happy with this shot, as I guessed everything about it and it turned out all right.
How many times have I shot these three trees on the golf course behind my home? They are always an interesting subject. But like many photos on this roll, it required considerable Photoshop tweaking of levels and contrast and brightness to bring out the details.
I carried the Vito II everywhere for a few weeks. I needed some new jeans, so I stopped at Penney’s one morning. (Does calling it Penney’s show my age?) I ended up buying a pair of Levi’s 501s. I haven’t had a pair of those since I was in my 20s.
I think I did all right — not great, but all right — with Sunny 16 and the camera’s easy focusing marks. Photoshop corrected my exposure sins, which fortunately were minor. I’ll have to play more with this technique. I’d also like to get this Vito II CLA’d for better performance. It was an enjoyable little shooter, and I know it’s capable of great things.
If you like old film cameras, check out all of my reviews here! To get Down the Road in your inbox or feed reader, subscribe here.
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