Zeiss-Ikon Voigtlander Vitessa 500 AE and SE

I had a Vitessa 500 AE (or SE) a few years ago, which was damaged and I through

it away, since I couldn't find anyone to repair it at the time. Now I Bought two

Vitessa's from the Internet, one Vitessa 500AE and one Vitessa 500SE.

As I recall, my old camera had the B option available on the shutter, that

allowed shooting at night. However, neither of the two cameras I bought have

this feature, and I wander if there is another model of Vitessa 500 except for

those two.

 

I know about Vitessa 500S, 500L and 1000SR but I am sure it was neither of them,

since it took two PX825 batteries in front of the camera, unlike the other

models that take only one (or none for 500L) 625 battery from underneith.

 

Can anyone please inform me if there is another Vitessa 500AE or 500SE on

circulation? Is there maybe a model that is not electronic?

Well you've mentioned about all the different models. There's 500S & 500L, then 500AE & 500 SE, and finally 1000SR, all of them are electronic and need the PX825 ..

The Vitessa 500 models are aperture-priority auto-exposure with no manual override (except for changing the ISO speed to alter the shutter speed).

 

The 1000 SR has a mechanical leaf shutter with a top speed of 1/1000 second. It has a coupled rangefinder and a coupled light meter, but the aperture and shutter speed have to be selected manually. The batteries are only needed for light metering, and this camera has also a mechanical "B" setting. It's not that common as the 500 models, but despite its excellent Tessar the camera is still a "sleeper" and not an expensive collector's item.

<p>Does anyone know with what to replace the PX825 batteries?<br>

I've been using a CR2354 battery (3V) in one side and the other filled with coins (2 pieces of 20 EuroCent). The camera reacts but the shutter doesn't close after shooting.<br>

Can anyone tell me if this can be adjusted? Can I do this myself?</p>