The KIS/IAA Vector Imaging Polarimeter (VIP) is a new instrument for two-dimensional spectropolarimetry of the solar atmosphere. It is used with TESOS, the triple etalon Fabry-Perot interferometer installed at the German Vacuum Tower Telescope of Observatorio del Teide (Tenerife, Spain). The polarimeter is based on a pair of nematic liquid crystal retarders and a Wollaston prism. VIP and TESOS are able to observe any spectral line in the range from 450 nm to 750 nm with a spectral resolving power of about 250000 and spatial resolutions better than 0.5" (thanks to the Kiepenheuer Adaptive Optics System). Typically, the four Stokes parameters of a line can be measured at 40 wavelength points in less than 60 s, with a noise level of 1-2 x 10^-3 and a pixel size of 0.18" x 0.18" (2x2 binning). The modulation matrix of VIP is derived using the polarimetric calibration unit installed at the telescope. Here we present first-light observations of VIP carried out in November 2005. We recorded the full Stokes profiles of the 630.1 and 630.2 nm Fe I lines emerging from a solar pore and its surroundings at a spatial resolution of ~0.4". Based on these data, we discuss the performance and capabilities of VIP as a powerful instrument for high spatial and temporal resolution measurements of vector magnetic fields in the solar atmosphere.