Vixen VX2 is made by Cosina of Japan, which also makes the current Voigtlander-branded family of rangefinders and SLRs in Leica Screw Mount and M42 (Pentax Screw Mount) respectively. They also make and sell a 'Voigtlander' branded P/K mount SLR which greatly resembles the Vixen VX-2 - to the extent that I believe it must be the same exact camera.
I have also found this exact model branded with a variety of names, from Cosina to Voigtlander to Vixen to Vivitar and I'm sure a few others. Check out this link: http://www.photovillage.com/html/vsl43.html Now, the fact is, they've been selling this model for a long, long, time - just in different forms. I have a Canon T60 which is the same basic body - most parts are interchangable, it just has a Canon FD mount and was made in the 1980's. They also made a Nikon and an Olympus and I think a few others that were just relabled. They knocked the prism off the top and called it a Bessa R rangefinder. They put the prism back on and called it a Bessaflex TM (which I bought - and paid retail - because it had the M42 mount I wanted). They sold and still sell all kinds of brand-named P/K mount SLRs. I gather that this Vixen is optimized somehow for astronomy, which I know nothing about. I do know that these camera bodies have a nice Copal Square vertical travel shutter, very nice; and a bright viewfinder. I have nothing against them - in fact, I think Cosina is one of the smarter companies out there right now, and Mr Kobayashi is a certifiable genius. Don't know if this helps, but I know a bit about Cosina/Voigtlander and I'd love to help if I can - ya'll have been very nice to me. Best, Wiggy -------Original Message------- > From: "Markus Maurer" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: RE: Vixen VX2 k-mount body for astro photography > Sent: 06 Jun 2005 13:25:47 > > Thanks Fred > greetings > Markus > > >>-----Original Message----- > >>From: Fred [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >>Sent: Monday, June 06, 2005 5:56 PM > >>To: Markus Maurer > >>Subject: Re: Vixen VX2 k-mount body for astro photography > >> > >> > >>> does anybody here know the Vixen VX2 body? > >> > >>I looked into it a few years ago, Markus, back when I was doing a bit of > >>astrophotography. I forget who it was made by (Cosina? Voigtlander? > >>Ricoh?), but I finally decided that it was unlikely to perform better than > >>the LX, so I never actually ended up getting my hands on one. > >> > >>> I wonder if the brighter viewfinder would be useful for other > >>themes like > >>> available light photography as well. > >> > >>I suspect it would, although, once again, I would think that an LX (with > >>the right viewfinder) is still going to do at least as well in dim light. > >> > >>Fred > >> > >> > >> -------Original Message-------
