Owners who use the Vito III will enjoy a very high quality camera that will provide excellent images. Using the camera will force you to pay attention to the basics and involve you in the image making process from the very first layer of determining  proper exposure, setting the composition and adjusting the focus.

Based on the more well known Prominent chassis, the Vito III is an extremely well built, robust camera. At first glance one would not be far off base to think that this camera was a 120 folding camera—it's big and beefy. Bigger than than its competitors, Retinas, Contessas and Vitessas, but better built than any of them. It features few luxuries but its basic mechanical design shows great emphasis on quality. The focusing mechanism is a real thing of beauty with a huge cam, and rotation through approximately 270˚ allowing very fine and accurate focus. The superimposed range/viewfinder is mechanically very well made with every aspect of its operation adjustable. The rangefinder has a 40.2mm baseline which is more than adequate for the Ultron 50mm f2.0 lens but like other Range/Viewfinders found in the Vito's competitors it's is a bit dim with minimal eye relief.

The Vito III is a folding design camera for compact and almost pocketable  convenience but unless you are Captain Kangaroo you will find your pockets woefully inadequate but if you are the good captain then you can put 3 of them in each pocket. Its folding mechanism is very well designed and holds the lens rigidly in just the right position. This mechanism is very strong and will last through many thousands of duty cycles.

The film advance mechanism is also very well built in keeping with the rest of the camera and is easy and straightforward to use.

There are several design quirks that I just don't understand. The first is the complete lack of strap lugs and the second, having the focusing knob coaxial  with the rewind knob makes for unbalanced camera handling.

The Vito III is an easy camera to use with all controls conveniently located but not always where you would expect them to be I.E...the focus knob is located  under the rewind Knob as opposed to around the lens.  The camera is on the large size but fits you hands quite well. The camera is quite basic but provides everything necessary to provide superior images under a wide variety of lighting conditions—just remember to bring you own lightmeter.

A well serviced Vito III is very quiet and is ideal for candid street photography. Carrying it around can prove a bit of a challenge  as there are no strap lugs and you would either have to have large pockets or use a wrist strap screwed into the tripod socket.

The image quality should prove acceptable to even persnickety photographers under all but severe lighting conditions. The lens uses first generation coating technology so flare can be a problem. The 6 element Ultron 50mm f2.0 is very sharp with good contrast when you pay attention to lighting. Color saturation is decent especially for a camera designed in the late 1940s and marketed in the early 1950s

My overall conclusion is that the Voigtländer Vito III, while a great camera to use is more suited to the collector than a user.

A good Vito III will prove a challenge to find but do preserve, adding one to your collection will prove a worthwhile endeavor. Like all cameras of this age some problems will prove quite common but there are no specific problems related specifically to the Vito III. These problem include:

• The Compur Rapid shutter is quite durable but many will  be sluggish and stick at the slower speeds. Easily corrected through a routine shutter overhaul.

• Range/viewfinder appears hazy or cloudy occurs in virtually everyone of these cameras due to age. This condition is easily correctable by qualified technician. Note: optical cement separation and de-silvering is common in cameras that have been stored in damp conditions or that have suffered impact trauma. This is correctable but can be expensive.
   
• Focus stiff this is due to the primitive grease used having ossified. This is also correctable during routine servicing.

• Cosmetic parts will prove very hard to find so try to fine the nicest one you can. As with any collectable camera cosmetics are the most important determinant of value and appreciation potential.