Vintage Cameras - One Old Man, A Lifetime of Passion

[Saphir]

Grampa passed and left a collection of cameras that he bought new, traveled the world with, and loved passionately. There are 18 in all, each a treasured friend. Here I am offering them up to you, to give a second whirl with ....built to last - they continue to offer value to those who take advantage. The first - The Gorgeous Bantam Special: $199

Kodak's Bantam Special 1936-1948

With its beautiful Art Deco styling by Walter Dorwin Teague, the Kodak Bantam Special is one of the most beautiful camera designs ever made.



The Special's clam shell styling enabled it to become a truly pocketable, and practical carry everywhere camera. It measures only 3 3/16" x 4 13/16" x 1 13/16" deep (81x124x45mm) and weighs in at a petite 18oz. Its body is remarkably elegant, having a beautiful black enamel finish with machined aluminum die cast body.


The large chrome knob is the advance. The smaller chrome catch nearby opens the back. The chrome catch in the center side opens the camera up. The chrome catch on the bottom is just a table rest point.


It's 45/2 Ektar lens enabled the Special to take pictures in almost any light. Pre-war models generally use the German made Compur shutter and an uncoated 45/2 Ektar lens with speeds of 1 to 1/500 plus T & B. Starting around 1941, wartime demands switched the shutter to the American Supermatic shutter with a coated lens. The Supermatic's shutter ran 1/400th to 1 second, plus T&B. The Compur allowed for in-between speed settings while the Supermatic did not. The Compur also proved to be more reliable in service, while the Supermatic commands higher collector prices due to rarity. Few Supermatic Bantams were produced during and after the war, before the Special was discontinued.



The Special has separate viewfinder and rangefinder windows, very nicely done and usable. A good thing too, since the rangefinder window is a very high 8x magnification rangefinder.



The large chrome knob in the lower portion is the rangefinder focusing lever. Pushing it upward also closes the clamshell. The Compur had to be cocked with the lever on top, behind the shutter speed settings. The lever on the side would trip the shutter. Shutter speeds were set by rotating the outer shutter dial. F/stops were set by moving the bottom lever to the chosen f/stop.


If you haven't guessed it yet, the film exposure window in the back door tells the tale. The Bantam Special was made for 828 film -- a paper backed cousin of 35mm.

 

[Saphir]

Heres Camera 2 - the [FONT=&quot]Rare Eastman Kodak R B Graflex Series B Camera Circa 1900 s - $199

[/FONT] The Graflex is a single-lens reflex camera, first produced in 1898 in New York, N.Y by the Folmer & Schwing Manufacturing Company of New York, NY. In the early years it was made in a variety of formats, settling down in the 1920s to a number of long-lived models which share the same basic design and mode of operation. Most models were for sheet film, some were made for usage with rollfilm.



The Graflex vertical focal-plane shutter consists of a single curtain with a series of four slits of widths from 1½ inches to 1/8; inch. The shutter spring can be set to six different tensions. Different combinations of slit width and spring tension allow a choice of 24 speeds ranging from 1/10 to 1/1000 as well as Time. When the shutter is released, the mirror swings up and triggers the curtain to travel from top to bottom. In the last models the tension settings were reduced to a simple High and Low, permitting 8 different speeds.



The standard lenses are for the most part f/4.5 Kodak Anastigmats and, in later years, Kodak Ektars. The rare Series C, a 3¼×4¼ model, is equipped with an immense f/2.5 Taylor-Hobson-Cooke lens.



All Graflex models feature the distinctive tall focusing hood that folds under the lid of the camera.



In 1927 Kodak divested itself of the Folmer-Schwing division, which re-organized as the Folmer-Graflex corporation. Folmer-Graflex, which also manufactured the Graphic press cameras, was finally dissolved in 1973. The last of the Graflex SLRs was produced in 1963.



Most Graflex cameras were made with a revolving (actually rotating) back, abbreviated to RB, which allowed shooting in vertical or horizontal orientations without turning the camera. All were made of straight-grain Honduras mahogany covered with black Morocco leather. The Graflex back is unique: the various film holders and magazines that fit the Graphic cameras will not fit the Graflex cameras and vice-versa.



I found this info on the internet, but the one I have says "May 6, 1918" on it, serial# 127658


The 4x5 Graflex Series B (1924) had a built-in Kodak Anastigmat 6 3/8 inches f4.5 lens
[FONT=&quot]R.B. Graflex Series B 3x4 with Kodak Anastigmat F/4.5 F=5 1/2 inch 1923 to pre-1927 [/FONT]