Old and oddball cameras

markc

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I was wondering what some of the cameras were that people used here. Have anything interesting that you use that isn't a modern SLR?

Argus C3, "The Brick" - I had a couple of these, but didn't use them much. I bought them mainly because I like funky cameras and I wanted to see what they were like. I donated them to the local community darkroom for their yearly yardsale. I wish I had kept one now, even if it was just to sit on my shelf. They aren't kidding when they call them "the brick". Damn, they're heavy!

The ubiquitous Holga - Mine doesn't have the flash. Uses roll film. Costs about $15. One shutter speed, two apertures (sorta), take-a-stab-at-it focusing, no double-exposure prevention, manual film winding, light leaks, abberations, vignetting... and people love them.

My favorite of the oddballs, the Agfa Clack - Beautiful creamy images. Definitely not sharp, but a very different feel from the Holga. 6x9 exposures. One fixed shutter speed plus "bulb". One aperture. Has a flip down plastic lens for close up shots, and another that's a built-in yellow filter! Hand wind and no double exposure protection, like the Holga, but no vignetting or light leaks. Got mine from eBay, where they occasionally appear. My first had the inner workings of the manual advance knob disintergrate on me, so I picked up another one. Love this camera! I wish I had a better way to scan medium format.
 
Haven't you visited the "Collector's Corner" section, Mark?

PBailey posts a lot of photos from his collection of vintage gear, and Mitica100 and I use a number of cameras that would be considered odd by today's standards.

Here's a recap of my "users" (cameras that get taken off the shelf and used at least once a year):

16mm cams:
Viscawide 16 STD: swing lens pano cam that uses 16mm film (I hand roll from 16mm Pan-X movie film)

35mm cams:
Pentax K-1000
Pentax ZX-5*
Pentax ME Super
Pentax Spotmatic 500*
Pentax Spotmatic 1000
Widelux F6**: swinglens pano can; 6cm frame on 35mm film
Nikonos II: underwater
Konica C35
Olympus Epic Stylus**
Olympus Pen D: shoots half frames on 35mm film
Voightlander Vito B
Corralis 360 Degree camera (Spinshot proto-type): Has a handle and a pull cord that spins the camera. Uses 35mm film; takes a neg about 12" long

MF cams:
Pentax 67II*
2 Ansco Titan 6x6*: I carry one of these with me everyday
Zeiss Ikonta C Tessar*
Rolleiflex 3.5E Planar**
Norita 66**
Beseler rollfilm pinhole cam*

LF cams:
Calumet Graphic View
Anniversary Speed Graphic
Super Speed Graphic*
Graph Check Sequence Camera*: takes 8 35mm sized (roughly) frames on 1 4x5 sheet

* Cameras that have been used in the last two weeks
** Cameras that would have been used in the last two weeks if they didn't need repair :cry:

I took the Graph Check out yesterday with the pola back; I'm still figuring out the exposure, but here's what I got. It's way underexposed (this cam has apertures of "dull, normal, and bright"). I'm also still figuring out the timing.

33%3A3282723232%7Ffp54%3Dot%3E232%3B%3D6%3A4%3D%3A83%3DXROQDF%3E23234%3B%3A37424%3Aot1lsi
 
I've been wanting to get an Agfa Clack for a while now. I've seen 8x12s that were stunning (for a plastic camera) from one of these.

It's little bro is the Agfa Click, which shoots 6x6.
 
My Vito could really use a CLA, but it's low priority compared to the other gear, such as the Widelux and the Rollei.

I loved the Widelux. It worked flawlessly until a long winter hike gummed it up. I sent it off to Tempe Camera Repair, but they stopped servicing Wideluxes. I've found other repair places, but I haven't sent it yet. And now the Rollei has priority. Someday I'd love to get to use a 120 size Widelux. If you are into Widelux stuff, check out Jeff Bridges' (the actor) site. He carries a Widelux F8 with him on movie sets, and shoots BW. It's pretty cool.

There are some of my Widelux pics here:
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3408
Almost all my panos are either from the Widelux or cropped from 4x5. You can tell the Widelux shots because they are printed full frame with the black border.

The Norita 66 is a pretty nice MF SLR, and they go pretty cheap. Normally comes with a razor sharp, super fast (for MF) 80mm f/2 lens. I heard it was designed by the guy who made the Nikon F, but Nikon didn't want to do MF cameras.
 
That Widelux looks to die for. Where's my ebay speed-button?? :lol:

And your Rock City portrait is one amazing image, Matt. I'm absolutely smitten with it.
 
I recently inherited a Polaroid SX-70 Land camera Model 3. Not the SLR type. It's a neat folding camera, with leather like panels on the outside and rubber bellows inside. I was excited that maybe it was worth something...turns out they are dirt cheap.

It's special to me because my grandmother bought it for my grandfather back in the day.

I think I can still find the Polaroid film to use in this camera, I'll have to try it out.
 
I think I can still find the Polaroid film to use in this camera, I'll have to try it out.

Mike, you run Time Zero Polaroid film through this camera. Depending on your source, it's anywhere from $9-12 for a pack of 10. It's a square format film, approx. 3.25x3.25. This is the film I use to do SX-70 manipulations. The SX-70 cameras are tricky little buggers, but you can get nice images. If you get an image you like, you might want to try this technique. It's..... fun. :D
 
Right now I'm searching for an affordable 135mm lens for my Super Graphic. The rangefinders and focus assist are set up for 135mm. I'm hoping to be able to start doing some hand held shooting with it, ala Weegee.
 
i was on apentax website and saw, with comparing technical-data of all the
pentax 35 slrs of then , that the ME Super always beat any other spec on
points. They are definately good 35mm cameras. I was looking at a very
straight and clean looking Nikon F4 today , on sale in a camera shop for
UK£ 540 which would be about US$820. it had a 28-80mm lens on it. I'd
rather buy one of those and keep using 35mm roll-film than buy a digital,
My aim is to use the pentax k system and build up a nikon one. Then I
want to have a medium format set-up for portraiture.

OFF TOPIC
there is so much more to the film vs digital debate than just pixels.
roll film is magic, its crystals, analogous. all the films are different.

the great benefit i think for continuing to use film media is your capturing
technology is always high-res enough, at least for the next 20 years.

let the labs have to spend on having the latest scanners. we can go where
we like the get the best data, and not have to buy into the curve
of tech roll-outs, as digital gets close but never as close as celluloid for
a source-image.

the traditional cost factors in photographer involve ridiculous overheads,
becase photographers have always offered a print-making process.

the digital age has allowed photographers (with TWAIN capture devices)
to now just deal in image data. if the client wants paper-output thats
someone elses service (which can be outsourced).

i'm not denigrating beautiful handmade, handtinted prints made in a
darkroom. but i think, unless these are being supplied as part of a
portraiture brief or similar, that is more in the fine-art domain which
is a very tough market.

this is a commercial outlook i have rather than an arty one.
im not interested in the idea of being a famous photographer, i want
to be a commercially-successful one with an Operation.




ksmattfish said:
Haven't you visited the "Collector's Corner" section, Mark?

PBailey posts a lot of photos from his collection of vintage gear, and Mitica100 and I use a number of cameras that would be considered odd by today's standards.

Here's a recap of my "users" (cameras that get taken off the shelf and used at least once a year):

16mm cams:
Viscawide 16 STD: swing lens pano cam that uses 16mm film (I hand roll from 16mm Pan-X movie film)

35mm cams:
Pentax K-1000
Pentax ZX-5*
Pentax ME Super
Pentax Spotmatic 500*
Pentax Spotmatic 1000
Widelux F6**: swinglens pano can; 6cm frame on 35mm film
Nikonos II: underwater
Konica C35
Olympus Epic Stylus**
Olympus Pen D: shoots half frames on 35mm film
Voightlander Vito B
Corralis 360 Degree camera (Spinshot proto-type): Has a handle and a pull cord that spins the camera. Uses 35mm film; takes a neg about 12" long

MF cams:
Pentax 67II*
2 Ansco Titan 6x6*: I carry one of these with me everyday
Zeiss Ikonta C Tessar*
Rolleiflex 3.5E Planar**
Norita 66**
Beseler rollfilm pinhole cam*

LF cams:
Calumet Graphic View
Anniversary Speed Graphic
Super Speed Graphic*
Graph Check Sequence Camera*: takes 8 35mm sized (roughly) frames on 1 4x5 sheet

* Cameras that have been used in the last two weeks
** Cameras that would have been used in the last two weeks if they didn't need repair :cry:

I took the Graph Check out yesterday with the pola back; I'm still figuring out the exposure, but here's what I got. It's way underexposed (this cam has apertures of "dull, normal, and bright"). I'm also still figuring out the timing.

33%3A3282723232%7Ffp54%3Dot%3E232%3B%3D6%3A4%3D%3A83%3DXROQDF%3E23234%3B%3A37424%3Aot1lsi
 

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