Voigtländer Vitessa A1955

History

Voigtländer introduced the original Vitessa in 1950, aiming at the premium end of the 35mm compact market that was then dominated by Leica and Contax rangefinders. The Vitessa's plunger advance was patented and remained distinctive through the entire production run. Early Vitessa bodies used an Epsilon shutter; by 1955 the Prontor SVS had become standard.

The "A" series represents a mid-production refinement. Voigtländer reorganized the Vitessa lens system around interchangeable front elements - a cost compromise that allowed the body to accept multiple aperture grades (Color-Skopar, Ultron, Nokton) without replacing the full lens-shutter assembly. This was distinct from a true interchangeable-lens system: the rear element and shutter remained fixed.

By 1958 Voigtländer had moved to the Vitessa L, which replaced the plunger advance with a conventional lever and added a built-in selenium exposure meter. The plunger mechanism was gone. The Vitessa L and later Vitessa T carried the name forward but represented a substantially different product philosophy.

Production of the Vitessa line at Voigtländer Braunschweig ended in the early 1960s as Japanese competition intensified. Voigtländer itself was absorbed by Zeiss-Ikon in 1956; the Vitessa continued under the combined entity through its natural run.

Why It Matters

The Vitessa A's plunger advance is the camera's central claim on history. No other widely produced 35mm camera achieved the same combination of compactness and shooting speed using a non-lever, non-knob mechanism. The rod extends roughly 35mm from the top plate when retracted; pushing it down with the right thumb while maintaining grip on the camera is genuinely faster in practice than rotating a lever, because the thumb stroke is shorter and does not require repositioning the hand.

For 1950s-era street and documentary photographers who could afford it, the Vitessa A offered a real competitive advantage in shooting pace. The Leica M3, introduced in 1954, also offered a fast advance, but at higher cost and with a different handling philosophy. The Vitessa A competed in the tier between Soviet Zorkis and full Leica pricing.

The Ultron 50/2.0 lens available for the Vitessa A is particularly regarded among collectors and users of classic German glass. It is a well-corrected double-Gauss design producing images with character typical of mid-1950s German optical engineering.

Sample Photographers / Notable Use

• The Vitessa A was used by European press photographers during the mid-1950s for whom its rapid advance offered a practical advantage over Leica and Contax bodies of the era.
• Discussed in collector literature (McKeown's Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras) as a representative example of premium German compact rangefinder design at the height of the Braunschweig manufacturing era.

References

• Camera-Wiki: Voigtländer Vitessa
• Wikipedia: Voigtländer Vitessa