Voigtlander Vitoret F

Voigtlander had an entry-level camera line sold parallel to the high-end models, the Vitoret. It seems there was an unofficial convention by the camera makers to name their bottom line with pet names ending with ‘tte’, such as the Jubilette, Baldinette, Gloriette, Lordette and so on. Voigtlander dropped the ‘te’ at the end and added ‘re’ to the Vito, so the Vitoret was born.

The Vitoret name covered a basic camera line of  35mm or Rapid viewfinder and rangefinder models, made from 1962 to 1970. Pocket and novelty cameras were made till the late 1970s, and after that, more point-and-shoot by Ringfoto, who bought the Voigtlander brand name. The early models were made in Germany, where later production was moved to Singapore, perhaps following Rollei.

The Vitoret F subscribes to the low-end camera type, far from the class and quality of the Vito line. With only three speeds to select from, it has a neat flash bulb mount hidden under a pop-up cold shoe. A mighty 15v battery mounted at the side is for flash use only, so the camera is independent of external power. The winder also cocks the shutter, unlike the Vito models, where the film perforations drove the shutter spring. A bright, large viewer, bottom frame counter and front-mounted trigger were inherited from the Vito models.