Group: Moderator
Post: 2,040 (563 liked)
Join date: April 2014
Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
|
|
on Apr 13, 2023 14:26:47 GMT
Posted: Apr 13, 2023 14:26:47 GMT
Today, this early version of the Purma Plus arrived back in its country of manufacture: Wales. Purma Plus - early versionThe details of the camera are the same as for the late version shown earlier in this thread. This arrived with a comprehensive booklet with user instructions for all the Purma models which has proved most instructive. Furthermore, the package included a boxed Purma capacitor flash unit, several boxed supplementary lenses, a boxed lens hood and an embossed leather case for Purma filters and further supplementary lenses. The camera arrived in its case which is in almost new condition.
|
|
Group: Administrator
Post: 1,371 (302 liked)
Join date: February 2017
Status: Failed treatment for L.B.A. and G.A.S,
|
|
on Apr 13, 2023 19:31:32 GMT
Posted: Apr 13, 2023 19:31:32 GMT
... Although every part of this camera is working, I'm not sure if film can be found; it takes 38x57mm pictures and used Kodak 128 film which produced 6 images on a roll. It would be wonderful to be able to run film through it again. I found a list of the discontinued Kodak 'numbered' films - and surprisingly, there are a lot of them - 128 hasn't been made since 1941. Maybe if there are some spools to be found you could cut down some larger film and make a substitute.
|
|
Group: Moderator
Post: 2,040 (563 liked)
Join date: April 2014
Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
|
|
on Apr 14, 2023 10:16:14 GMT
Posted: Apr 14, 2023 10:16:14 GMT
... Although every part of this camera is working, I'm not sure if film can be found; it takes 38x57mm pictures and used Kodak 128 film which produced 6 images on a roll. It would be wonderful to be able to run film through it again. I found a list of the discontinued Kodak 'numbered' films - and surprisingly, there are a lot of them - 128 hasn't been made since 1941. Maybe if there are some spools to be found you could cut down some larger film and make a substitute. That's very much on my mind. There's a website for those interested in very old cameras in which someone has produced a jig for slicing 120 film into a different width for one of the long-gone Kodak formats. The tricky bit will be getting the registration right as the wind-on mechanism may take a while to master until you get to know the number of turns required to get the next frame ready. It's a challenge. Since having to down-size my accommodation, I no longer have a dark room, which creates a nuisance when having to slice and dice film in the dark.
|
|
Group: Administrator
Post: 1,371 (302 liked)
Join date: February 2017
Status: Failed treatment for L.B.A. and G.A.S,
|
|
on Apr 15, 2023 21:32:09 GMT
Posted: Apr 15, 2023 21:32:09 GMT
I found a list of the discontinued Kodak 'numbered' films - and surprisingly, there are a lot of them - 128 hasn't been made since 1941. Maybe if there are some spools to be found you could cut down some larger film and make a substitute. That's very much on my mind. There's a website for those interested in very old cameras in which someone has produced a jig for slicing 120 film into a different width for one of the long-gone Kodak formats. The tricky bit will be getting the registration right as the wind-on mechanism may take a while to master until you get to know the number of turns required to get the next frame ready. It's a challenge. Since having to down-size my accommodation, I no longer have a dark room, which creates a nuisance when having to slice and dice film in the dark. Although they can be a bit awkward to get used to at first, the easiest and cheapest alternative would be a changing bag. I was in the same position and luckily found a vintage triple-layered nylon bag with longer sleeves -but- Patterson (in the UK) still makes the shorter-sleeved dual layered large bags for £25.00... www.patersonphotographic.com/product/paterson-changing-bagI've reread the article on Emulsive on loading Kodak Cine film 'short ends', which has reminded me that it's possible to slit from larger to smaller, but it isn't as simple as I'd like it, and comes at a cost to buy not only the film but a jig (or, make a DIY setup). There's also an ebay seller listing 100 foot rolls of Kodak Vision 3 50d/5203 at $99 USD if anyone wants to buy in bulk to do it more than once using the same stock. If perf holes are an issue, I suppose there are 70mm shorts for center cutting, but they might not be cheap or show up often. I found another site on old numbered Kodak films, and it suggests that 128 had 'Centre' frame numbers that I'd assume were on full length backing paper.
|
|
Group: Moderator
Post: 2,040 (563 liked)
Join date: April 2014
Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
|
|
on Apr 22, 2023 11:56:17 GMT
Posted: Apr 22, 2023 11:56:17 GMT
Here's another Art Deco-inspired camera to remove from the bucket-list: the Soho Model B. Soho Model BThe Soho Company of London manufactured this beautiful camera in 1935, taking full advantage of the new Bakelite plastic by having the body produced in a rosewood colour and using a tortoiseshell finish on the lens plate. This is complimented by maroon-coloured bellows, this being a strut-folder. The struts and other metalwork are chrome-plated. It produces eight 6x9cm images on a roll of 120 film. The lens and shutter could hardly be more basic: a 100mm f14 meniscus type behind an everset 1/50s shutter which also has a T setting. The camera uses the ubiquitous hinged, Brilliant viewfinder which pivots for either portrait or landscape use; two pivoting legs are also provided to support the camera in both orientations.
|
|
Group: Moderator
Post: 2,040 (563 liked)
Join date: April 2014
Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
|
|
on Apr 27, 2023 10:13:32 GMT
Last Edit: May 24, 2023 19:28:05 GMT by biggles3
There are some cameras which, when you pick them up, make you go: Wow! I still remember the first moment I held a Contax RTS; it was the start of a productive relationship which resulted in a couple of books being published and a Hollywood movie being made. It also started an expensive malady - GAS, with a mere 750+ Contax or Zeiss-branded items to date... The Zeiss connection has recently sparked a new interest: Zeiss Ikon. From amazing folding cameras of the 1930s to exotic rangefinders of the 1940s and '50s through to the stunning Contarex SLRs, there's much to admire - and acquire. Imho, two things define Zeiss and Zeiss Ikon's work: optical excellence and engineering prowess. And so, along comes the latest arrival: a Zeiss Ikon ICA Nixe 555. Zeiss Ikon Nixe 555This is a very large camera, standing 21cm (8.25") tall and has a startling spec for the 1920s: horizontal and vertical movements of the lens/shutter assembly; a double bellows to aid macro work; multiple viewfinders; the option of using roll film or plates; etc., etc., etc. Very impressive. The Compur shutter remains reliable after a century with its top speed of 1/250s. However, it does contain an enigma as the lens is rare - a Doppel-Amatar 13.5cm f6.8 - and pre-dates the 1926 birth of Zeiss Ikon from the merging of 4 manufacturers, including ICA of Dresden; yet the back-plate carries an embossed Art-Deco design of Zeiss Ikon's logo in a decorative cartouche. The serial number suggests it's an ICA camera from 1922 BUT that serial number is printed onto the back-plate which has the embossed Zeiss Ikon symbol. A puzzle wrapped inside an enigma... So, it's not only Yashica which created serial number mysteries... EDIT: The mystery deepens: after additional research, the Compur shutter dates from 1918/9 and the lens dates from 1920... I now suspect that this is an original ICA Dresden Nixe from 1922 which has subsequently been sent to Zeiss Ikon after 1926 to have a new back-plate fitted. Or it was simply old stock inherited from the merger and re-labelled Zeiss Ikon, or....
|
|
Group: Moderator
Post: 2,040 (563 liked)
Join date: April 2014
Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
|
|
on May 16, 2023 22:16:35 GMT
Posted: May 16, 2023 22:16:35 GMT
Continuing a newfound interest in matters Zeiss Ikon, here we can see one of the more interesting combinations: a Contaflex II with a Teleskop 1.7x accessory lens fitted. Teleskop 1.7x Contaflex IIIt's not like the Pro-Tessar accessory lenses which can be fitted to many of the Contaflex series in that it does not require the removal of the front section of the camera's lens. This uses the existing lens and adds several additional elements to change the focal length of the Tessar from 50mm (f2.8) to 80mm (f5.6). You first have to fit its cradle onto the camera's lens mount and then screw the Teleskop into place until you hear it click into position. It was often used for portrait work back in the 1960s.
|
|
Group: Moderator
Post: 2,040 (563 liked)
Join date: April 2014
Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
|
|
on May 21, 2023 19:32:04 GMT
Last Edit: Jun 8, 2023 11:22:07 GMT by biggles3
As fans of Yashica, we've become accustomed to discovering oddities and anomalies relating to model names, serial numbers and the like. So a little bit of confusion can be fun. Well, this camera seems to be an enigma, wrapped inside a conundrum, and hidden inside a mystery... Zeiss Ikon CocaretteOn the face of it, it is a Zeiss Ikon Cocarette, probably from the late 1920s. BUT, its serial number pre-dates the formation of Zeiss Ikon and yet it sports their logo. The shutter is an IBSO - there were Ibsor shutters in the 1920s so this pre-dates the Ibsor ones; Zeiss Ikon did not fit Ibsor units into their own cameras. The lens is a ' Dr. Staeble Doppel-Anastigmat Isoplast 130m f5.8' - this is the first time I have ever seen 130m on a lens - I can fathom 130mm or 13,0cm but this is a strange one. It took me a while to remove the film back (Cocarette cameras do not have a hinged back; the entire film back and gate is removed by pulling away the base plate and the film assembly comes with it - much like the removable film backs in the much later Contarex cameras) and then yet another surprise... This large camera I had assumed to be a 6x9 or greater; in fact, measurement of the film gate reveals it to be 55x110mm - now that's a very strange film size. So it would seem this model shoots a 50x90 or 50x95 image. It is beautifully engineered with front plate movements, multiple viewfinders, a spirit level and a spring-loaded bellows assembly which can be jumped to preset distances. All in all, it is one of the finest folding roll-film cameras I've seen, albeit with major limitations on the shutter speeds due to its ancient IBSO unit. But exactly what it is and when it was assembled remains, at this time, a complete enigma... EDIT: I've had a couple of people on another site asking what that cylinder above the shutter speed dial is - it is a pneumatic air-brake, which is responsible for governing the speed of the shutter. It was replaced in Ibsor shutters with a clockwork mechanism, allowing higher shutter speeds. The fastest speed available using the air cylinder was 1/150s, though as you can see this Cocarette is limited to 1/100s.
|
|
Group: Moderator
Post: 2,040 (563 liked)
Join date: April 2014
Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
|
|
on Jun 28, 2023 18:39:22 GMT
Posted: Jun 28, 2023 18:39:22 GMT
Here's a camera you don't see too often: the Pentina M. Pentina_CZJ Tessar 50mm f2.8It's made by the Dresden company that became VEB Pentacon and is one of that uncommon type, a 35mm leaf-shutter SLR. This one has the Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f2.8 lens attached and there are a further 3 lenses made for the Pentina: Meyer Lydith 30mm f3.5, CZJ Cardinar 85mm f2.8 and Meyer Domigor 135mm f4. By all accounts, they're good performers. Its Prestor-00 Reflex leaf-shutter has a top speed of 1/500s, ASA range is 6-1600 and it uses a selenium-powered light-meter. This is the rarer M version of the Pentina which features a split-image focusing aid. The viewfinder is very bright and focusing is a breeze.
|
|
Group: Administrator
Post: 1,371 (302 liked)
Join date: February 2017
Status: Failed treatment for L.B.A. and G.A.S,
|
|
on Jun 28, 2023 22:06:22 GMT
Last Edit: Jun 28, 2023 22:08:02 GMT by lumiworx
... This one has the Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f2.8 lens attached and there are a further 3 lenses made for the Pentina: Meyer Lydith 30mm f3.5, CZJ Cardinar 85mm f2.8 and Meyer Domigor 135mm f4. By all accounts, they're good performers. ... The lens very much reminds me of the slower f/4 CZJ Tessar 50mm in Exakta mount, and the CZJ Tessar f/2.8 in M42. The extremely odd thing is, they all appear to have a similar opening size/width of the front element. Usually the faster the lens, the larger the opening will be within the same 'family'. They may very well be a bit different, and may have differences in other respects that don't relate to size of openings or element diameters, but they're hard to distinguish apart when not side by side... unless you read the faceplate markings.
|
|
Group: Moderator
Post: 2,040 (563 liked)
Join date: April 2014
Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
|
|
on Jun 29, 2023 19:45:45 GMT
Posted: Jun 29, 2023 19:45:45 GMT
... This one has the Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f2.8 lens attached and there are a further 3 lenses made for the Pentina: Meyer Lydith 30mm f3.5, CZJ Cardinar 85mm f2.8 and Meyer Domigor 135mm f4. By all accounts, they're good performers. ... The lens very much reminds me of the slower f/4 CZJ Tessar 50mm in Exakta mount, and the CZJ Tessar f/2.8 in M42. The extremely odd thing is, they all appear to have a similar opening size/width of the front element. Usually the faster the lens, the larger the opening will be within the same 'family'. They may very well be a bit different, and may have differences in other respects that don't relate to size of openings or element diameters, but they're hard to distinguish apart when not side by side... unless you read the faceplate markings. An interesting observation... I don't possess either of the lenses you have referenced; in fact the only other CZJ 50mm Tessar I have is the f2.8 one attached to an Exakta Varex but I have no idea where that camera is hiding. Looking at my reference shots, it certainly exhibits the CZJ 'house style' but I'd be intrigued to find the f4 version you mentioned for the Exakta and make a comparison of those front elements.
|
|
Group: Member
Post: 415 (92 liked)
Join date: March 2017
Status:
|
|
on Jul 1, 2023 15:14:56 GMT
Posted: Jul 1, 2023 15:14:56 GMT
Love the design of the Pentina, it does not look like an SLR. While searching for more detailed information, I have found this site (in German) with lots of details and pictures: zeissikonveb.de/start/kameras/pentina-1.html
|
|
Group: Administrator
Post: 1,371 (302 liked)
Join date: February 2017
Status: Failed treatment for L.B.A. and G.A.S,
|
|
on Jul 1, 2023 21:11:11 GMT
Posted: Jul 1, 2023 21:11:11 GMT
The lens very much reminds me of the slower f/4 CZJ Tessar 50mm in Exakta mount, and the CZJ Tessar f/2.8 in M42. The extremely odd thing is, they all appear to have a similar opening size/width of the front element. Usually the faster the lens, the larger the opening will be within the same 'family'. They may very well be a bit different, and may have differences in other respects that don't relate to size of openings or element diameters, but they're hard to distinguish apart when not side by side... unless you read the faceplate markings. An interesting observation... I don't possess either of the lenses you have referenced; in fact the only other CZJ 50mm Tessar I have is the f2.8 one attached to an Exakta Varex but I have no idea where that camera is hiding. Looking at my reference shots, it certainly exhibits the CZJ 'house style' but I'd be intrigued to find the f4 version you mentioned for the Exakta and make a comparison of those front elements. Even after looking at my own photo, then comparing it to the actual lens - dug out of storage - and then comparing both to yours, I can see some things that are different with closer inspection. The f/4 has almost a double inner cone making up the inner surround. It might fool the eye into thinking the front element is larger by a small percentage. Using calipers to measure the lip diameter of the 2nd/inner cone, reads out at about 27.25mm. My caliper's pincers aren't quite long enough to go in far enough to be accurate, but I think I'd be safe to call the 'visible' diameter of the front element as 20mm. My assumption and memory of having the whole front bezel/faceplate removed once upon a time, are both hinting that the actual glass dimension is probably closer to 21mm or 21.5mm. I do like the look af Ihagee's cameras, but I've never been a big fan of the Exakta mount. Now that the pair are out of storage, I'll try some testing of the CZJ. Oddly I'm not sure if I ever have attempted it before, so I might as well!
|
|
Group: Moderator
Post: 2,040 (563 liked)
Join date: April 2014
Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
|
|
on Sept 19, 2023 18:42:33 GMT
Last Edit: Sept 19, 2023 18:44:45 GMT by biggles3
I have to admit to a fondness for those lovely old leaf-shutter SLRs from the 1960s, hence the growing number of Contaflex cameras and the like. But the one recent acquisition which has caused a very large ripple in the enthusiasts' pond is a 60-year old Fuji camera. It's a model I had not hear of until it was mentioned by a member of one of the many Facebook photography groups who was a former Fuji rep in the US. Then fate intervened as one appeared in a job lot at a UK auction house and its now resting here in Wales; the camera in question is the Fujicarex II. Fujicarex II_Fujicarex FinderIt features a selenium-powered meter (working - hooray!), a Citizen QR shutter offering a top speed of 1/500s, a large and bright viewfinder, a depth-of-field preview button, and a lovely 5cm f1.9 Fujinon-S lens. But here's where things start to get a little weird; you control the aperture and focus by using two knurled wheels on the back of the camera, roughly where your thumb rests below the lever wind, instead of using conventional rings on the lens. In 1963, many cameras did not feature a cold-shoe - typically it was an accessory which attached to the eye-piece surround and rested on the pentaprism. This has a cold-shoe where you'd expect to find the rewind crank; on the Fujicarex II, the rewind crank is to be found next to the cold-shoe but on the side of the camera. One other delightful feature of this strange creature is that very elegant, curved and angled pentaprism. The selenium cell window occupies the area above the lens and completes the front of the camera. Like several of the Contaflex cameras, while the lens is not removable, its front grouping is and can be replaced with 35mm and 80mm lenses, or a close-up lens can be attached. Of course, one of the joys of having a leaf-shutter camera is that flash sync is available at all speeds. And as a postscript to the praise for this delightfully quirky camera, it came with a Fujicarex right-angle finder which caused the former Fuji rep to go into meltdown as in all his time with Fuji through the 1960s and '70s, he'd never seen or heard of one.
|
|
Group: Moderator
Post: 2,040 (563 liked)
Join date: April 2014
Status: Long, long time Contax and Yashica user; glad to be here and hope to contribute.
|
|
on Nov 2, 2023 16:35:13 GMT
Posted: Nov 2, 2023 16:35:13 GMT
Here's something rather wonderful: a working camera dating from 1900. Mystery French plate cameraThere is nothing on the body or interior of the camera to identify it but the bezel of the lens shows: Periscopique... Paris. A little research has found an identical camera which is dated 1900 and, as the name suggests, made in France. It has a rise-and-fall front plate; apertures of f10, 16 & 22; 3 speed options (although I don't know the actual speed of the Instant setting), a reflex viewfinder and tripod bushes for horizontal and vertical use. It's beautifully made and appears to be fully functional. I have yet to acquire some quarter plates and appropriate sheet film to run a proper test but I'm optimistic that this Gallic beauty will work perfectly. Not bad for 123 years old...
|
|