My Camera Collection

[rumblefish]

I'm not a collector or even much of a photographer. I just posted this in hopes someone might know a bit about it, or find it interesting. It was my Father's and mom just gave it to me. Besides a booklet and the leather case there's no other accessories.

 

[alphy27]

Rumblefish,
Very nifty old camera. I've never seen a Mercury II before. I'm gona have to research this one.

 

[metalnut]

get them on line

These guys http://www.purplenetwork.co.uk set me up with a cool website for my collection of tobacco pipes. Ity was designed to be useable for any sort of collection. Take a look at www.smokingmetal.co.uk to see what I mean.
Don't hide your stuff, let other collectors see and maybe let you have more information on your items.
I like the look of some of your cameras, I have a few that just never got sold when a new one was bought but I dare not start yet another collection

 

[donCarlos]

No posts in this topic for a long time... I´ve found two beatiful items at home today.

The first is probably 50´s exposure meter with original leather case:

And the second item is Zeiss Ikon Baby-Box camera, probably from the 30´s. I will try to get some suitable film and make some photos... It´s certainly easier than the digital cameras (the case is original, as well)

 

[Woodfluter]

That GE exposure meter is my dad's! I still have it. I used it for years after he did. Those old selenium meters do drift away from accuracy after a while and eventually just don't respond at all. The final fate of my father's.

Not quite vintage yet, but my Gossen Luna-Pro CdS is really wonderful, amazingly sensitive in very dim light, and stable. In-camera metering is OK, but for artificial lighting or ambient long-exposure shots, give me the Luna-Pro every time.

On separate subject, Rumblefish's Mercury II with its depth-of-field fan, looks familiar. I think I've seen it in an old photography publication my dad subscribed to, starting in the late '30s and into the early '40s. If that's helpful.

- Bill

 

[freebird]

A co-worker gave me this the other day:

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It belonged to a friend of her's and had dropped it in a river. I have no idea if it can be repaired.

can film still be bought for those old tlr's? I've got a Yashica LM that I picked up last summer for $10. and I'd like to run a roll of film through it just to see what develops.

 

[MrNewportCustom]

can film still be bought for those old tlr's? I've got a Yashica LM that I picked up last summer for $10. and I'd like to run a roll of film through it just to see what develops.

Any camera store will carry film. I've purchased 120 roll film from a store near me as recently as last summer. They had color and black and white. I still patronize that store and know for a fact that they still carry film.


Lee

 

[MrBern]

heres a website with old-school film in stock.

http://www.frugalphotographer.com/

 

[Two Gun Bob]

Great seeing everyone's old cameras, thanks to Starius for starting this thread.

Firstly, a good place to buy obscure black and white films and chemicals (including 120 and 127 size roll films) is Retro Photographic here in the UK:

http://www.retrophotographic.com

Also, hard to believe but B&H in the USA are still selling 110, 127, 620 and 828 film! See:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/con...bhs=t&shs=620&ci=336&basicSubmit=Submit+Query

I bought most of my vintage camera gear for WWII re-enactment as a Sergeant Photographer of the British Army Film & Photographic Unit. Here's a few items:

L to R: Contax II 35mm rangefinder camera with 50mm f1.5 Zeiss Sonnar lens. Zeiss Ikon Super Ikonta 120 rangefinder camera. Weston Master I exposure meter (1939 and still working fine!). Bell & Howell Filmo 70D 16mm movie camera.

Contax II as above. This one with collapsible 50mm f2 Zeiss Sonnar lenses. I have two of these cameras, both dated 1938.

Russian 28mm and 135mm lenses. Russian copy of Zeiss turret viewfinder. I also have an actual Zeiss 135mm f4 Sonnar lens and a Russian 85mm f2 lens, but no photo to hand at the moment. The Russian lenses were made for the Kiev 4 cameras.

1939 Rolleiflex Automat Twin Lens Reflex camera.

Weston Master I exposure meter, 1939.

Bell & Howell Filmo 70D 16mm movie camera, this particular camera was used for aerial filming of early radar sites from a Supermarine Walrus!

And here's the Walrus:

 

[BellyTank]

I'm not a collector or even much of a photographer. I just posted this in hopes someone might know a bit about it, or find it interesting. It was my Father's and mom just gave it to me. Besides a booklet and the leather case there's no other accessories.

I think the Mercury II shoots ½ frame 35mm- I was looking for a good one a few years back when I was looking at small, old 35mm cameras.
Got this one during that phase:

B
T

 

[MrNewportCustom]

Voightlander Vito II

A slow day at work, today, so I came home early and started cleaning out a closet. I found this camera in a case alongside another GE DW-68 light meter (now I have two!) That's an accessory cold shoe on top that held a '60s or '70s Vivitar 90 flash that was also in the case. (I put batteries in it and turned it on, but all it did was start smoking after about 30 seconds.) The shutter isn't working, but it sure looks beautiful. I don't remember buying it, so it must have been my father's.

I'm curious about the date of manufacture. Can anyone help me with that?

EDIT: Just after posting, I opened it up and started moving things around: The shutter does work! :eusa_clap It has a permanent take-up spool that indicates to me that it takes roll film. Odd-looking size, so I'm going to guess 620.


Lee

 

[Two Gun Bob]

Lee,

As far as I can see the Voigtlander Vito II is a 35mm camera; they have permanent take-up spools in most cases.

They were made with various shutters 1951-55, yours would have been made before 1953 when they added a fixed accessory shoe (yours appears to be clip-on).

Here's the instruction manual:

http://www.cameramanuals.org/voigtlander_pdf/voigtlander_vito_ii.pdf

Hope this helps!

 

[rogaleo]

filmo

cool filmo, TGBob. Here's mine. I guess it's a bit younger:

http://web.mac.com/rogaleo/iWeb/Site/Library_files/IMG_1802.jpg

I use it occasionally if I want to capture something important that should last forever. You can't say that exactly about DV & HD, can you? I also have Arri 16bl but filmo is handier.