Foth Flex

BobRob · Aug 1, 2016

New guy here looking for advice on getting into antique camera photography.

I've been shooting digital for a while now and while it has its place I'm looking to do something a little different and thought about picking up an old camera and learning how to develop film on my own. I'm just now getting my toes into it but yesterday while poking around a junk shop around across this:

I've done a little bit of looking around online at it but can't find much information. Do any of you experts have an opinion one way or another on whether or not this would be a good antique camera to play around with? It's only 50 bucks so I'm willing to take a shot unless one of you guys can recommend something better.

Thanks!

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compur · Aug 1, 2016

The main thing with using old cameras is making sure they work and have relatively clean lenses before buying them.

Though Foth made some wonderful cameras, I'd be surprised if the one in your photo was fully working. It looks quite beat (there's even a missing screw visible) and old enough to qualify for Medicare.

Shooting film is enough of a challenge with a working camera so I suggest getting a younger one that you can be sure is working. One way is to buy one with a guaranty online.

BobRob · Aug 1, 2016

Thanks for the reply. I took a look around online and couldn't find a retailer of older film cameras of this vintage, though I did find some sites with more info on this particular camera. I'd be getting into this area as a hobby, so if I have to deal with a steep learning curve that's fine. I'm going to go back and see what else the may have in this place as I only scratched the surface of this junque shop.

dxqcanada · Aug 1, 2016

Hmm, from what I have ben reading online ... it has a cloth focal plane shutter, very unusual for a TLR. That is one thing you need to examine before purchase ... easy to restore leaf shutters, but not cloth focal plane type.

Dave Colangelo · Aug 11, 2016

It looks like there is some serious fungus or haze going on in both the top and bottom lenses here which is reason enough to stay away from it unless you are really up for a project. There is not a ton of info about these cameras but there are some notes here and here. As dxcanada mentions it has a cloth shutter, this is both interesting for a TLR as well as a potential problem point. Cloth does not stand up very well to time (look at the covering on the camera) and the shutter needs to be far more precise than the covering. Personally I would say its not worth $40 (maybe $10) but thats just me and I have no idea if this is some super rare piece or not (its not as far as I know). For $50 you can get a much nicer vintage film camera that will most likely work better. If you want to go medium format and you like TLR's but dont want to break the bank I would suggest the older Rolleichords (just as good as the flexes but way cheaper) or any of the solid Yashica stuff. I have a beautiful Yashica 635 that takes great pictures and I think I paid like $60 for it they have made a plethora of TLR's over the years that can be had pretty cheap now.

If you are just interested in getting back into film you can find a nice 35mm camera for really cheap (like <$20 really cheap) these days and that may be easier to get processed by a lab at first while you figure out your home dev stuff. But then again cheap is all relative, if you can swing it it may be a fun project, but like any vintage restoration buy it expecting to be broken and anything that comes out positive from it is a win!

Regards
Dave

BobRob · Aug 12, 2016

^^^^^ Thanks for that info.

I bought the camera last week for $30 and will probably play around with it and see if it works. The lenses come out pretty easily and I was able to clean them off with the same stuff I use on my Nikon. They aren't perfect but it's a start. Aside from that, the focus and shutter release seem to work OK but I haven't put any film in it yet. I did find a teardown guide online so if I decide to go all in with this thing, I'll have some guidance. In the mean time, I'll shop around for something that actually works.

Dave Colangelo · Aug 12, 2016

You should look into that lens in particular, many of the old lenses are uncoated so you can use harsher cleaners on them like Isopropyl or Naphthalene which may yield better results when trying to get the fungus off. Most of the modern cleaners are made to prevent the accidental removal or damage of coatings.

If you removed the lenses independently of each other (the top and bottom) you will need to recalibrate the infinity focus on the camera. This is fairly simple to do, all you need is a piece of ground glass which you can make your self. I did this on my old rolleichord and it worked nicely. Basically you put the ground glass where the film negative would be (ground side towards the lens, and you will see an image appear on it. Use the standard focus mechanism to bring something into focus on the viewing screen, then look at the piece of glass on the film plane. Chances are the image will be a bit out of focus, you can usually adjust the front main element to bring it into focus, then there is often a bracket that can be secured to hold it in place once you have adjusted it. There may be other ways to do this as well but I have found this to be a pretty solid way.

Regards
Dave

vintagesnaps · Aug 12, 2016

For 30 bucks it might be fun to tinker with and fix it up to display. The only Foth I'm at all familiar with is the Derby. I don't know if they were very common in the US. So now you need another vintage camera to go out and shoot... and see if you caught the collecting bug.

BobRob · Aug 14, 2016

Thanks for that info, Dave. I'm sure it will be handy.

@vintagsnaps, I picked up yet his Brownie at the same shop for $5 and everything seems to be working. Just gotta get some film and start shooting

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Dave Colangelo · Aug 15, 2016

Nice Find! According to this link you will need 127 film for that camera. Kodak has officially ceased production on their 127 variants but you can still get 400 speed from ilford and 100 speed from ReraPan. All things considered the rolls are pretty pricy (for what they are) however you can make your own 127 at home by either cutting down a 120 roll (much cheaper per roll, if you search youtube you can find some how-too's on it) or spooling some 35mm into paper (this will cause a crop factor but still work). Keep in mind you only have 3 pretty slow shutter speeds and a fixed aperture so I would start with 100 speed film if you are shooting in the daylight outdoors. Not all labs will develop 127 for you but you can run the black and white at home and most tanks will accept 127 size negatives.

If you are getting into old cameras its worth it to do some reading on film types and loading methods. I have considered buying some cameras only to find out the film is completely out of production and the cameras are useless as shooters.

Post some pics once you take them!

Regards
Dave

smoke665 · Aug 15, 2016

Last month while cooling my heels in Atlanta, I found this funky little camera store. Not real big, but it's packed floor to ceiling with everything you can imagine. They buy a lot of estate sale stuff. Had an enjoyable visit there listening to the owner as he took me on a tour through history. Wings Camera and Digital