Perkeo I

This is a pleasant, medium format camera from Voigtlander. it's an immediate challenger to Zeiss Ikon's Nettar 518/16 - that's, at the lower finish of the enthusiasts' one hundred twenty cameras. this is often a folding camera which inserts nicely during a (large-ish) pocket. It measures 125mm wide x 85mm high x 40mm deep (closed) or x 95mm deep (open). It weighs 483g. In 1952, Wallace Heaton were advertising this camera at £22/11/6 for the model I actually have here (that is in silver spoon and equates to £22.57 in new cash. that's love regarding £1,400 in 2013 values).

Voigtlander Perkeo I

lens: Vaskar
focal length:  75mm
apertures: f4.5 to f16
focus range: three.5 feet to eternity
lens fitting: fastened
shutter: readily
speeds: 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, 1/200
flash: F synch solely
film size: one hundred twenty

The lens could be a Voigtlander Vaskar - 75mm focal distance and most aperture of f4.5. The Vaskar is Voigtlander's cheaper lens (a dearer Perkeo I came with a Color-Skopar lens) and incorporates a triplet construction (again, resembling Zeiss Ikon's Nettar on the 518/16). I actually have nonetheless to check the results of victimization this camera, however it's a name for having soft focus within the corners. this is often not a fatal flaw on behalf of me as I actually have no want for sharp focus within the corners though i'm aware that others notice this unacceptable.

The shutter could be a Gauthier readily - four speeds being accessible of that solely 1/100 and 1/200 square measure of any interest. This shutter incorporates a delayed timer (Vorlaufwerk) that, remarkably for a camera of this age, works well. Flash synch is provided for quick flashbulbs - I will do that camera with electronic flash to check if this works also.

The shutter unharness is commonplace for the first Nineteen Fifties - primary unharness on the shutter housing and a secondary unharness button on the camera's high plate, connected to the first unharness by a lever. there's conjointly a cable unharness socket that is between the 2 - on the hinged door.  The secondary unharness incorporates a double exposure interference mechanism fitted requiring the film to be would on before the shutter are often discharged a second time. On my camera, this doesn't work okay at the instant. after I had the same drawback on my Franka Solida II, it sorted itself out once a number of shots.

Being a folding camera, there has to be a mechanism to bring the shutter/lens forward, ending with the lens precisely parallel to the film. On my camera this is often defective - atiny low strut has snapped [*fr1] manner on its length. after I received the camera, this folding mechanism barely worked so terribly badly - the lens over up at quite angle to the film plane.  This required attention with hydrocarbon to flush out mud and dirt, lubricating with clock oil and recurrent folding/unfolding to unlock the various joints within the struts.
 
Perkeo I - sunray
It currently unfolds simply and appears to place the lens parallel to the film plane, deciding entirely by eye. The check film can tell Pine Tree State however parallel things truly square measure. The broken strut doesn't appear to matter here. What doesn't work too well is closing the camera. to shut properly, the lens should stay parallel to the camera body otherwise it'll not work into the accessible area. i believe that the broken strut is there's reach this. while not this strut, my thumb has got to do its duty.

As associate degree aside, I actually have tried a replacement technique with this camera. once lubricating tiny elements, it's quite exhausting to use atiny low enough quantity of oil to precisely the correct place. obtaining that tiny quantity of oil into the linkage could be a matter of operating the linkage and hoping. now I actually have diluted the clock oil 2 elements of oil to 1 a part of hydrocarbon to supply a really liquid oil. as a result of the oil is diluted, once the hydrocarbon has gaseous i'm left with 2/3 of the number of oil I applied. Also, as a result of the oil is currently terribly liquid i'm hoping that the oil can run between the surfaces of the linkages a lot of simply before the hydrocarbon evaporates to go away a really touch of oil in situ. So far, the sole draw back I actually have seen is that the hydrocarbon is incredibly smart at wetting surfaces and has carried atiny low quantity of oil over all the surfaces round the linkages. i'm not convinced that this is often a foul factor.

Perkeo I - showing high plate
Before loading the check film, there square measure 2 things i would like to try to to. the primary is to use compressed gas to blow mud out of the within. Moving film through a camera generates atiny low quantity of electricity and this may pull any mud onto the film. After that, i would like to examine the bellows for lightweight leaks. To do this, I wait till dark (about 5 PM at the moment) and shine a torch onto the bellows at shut quarters. Viewing within the camera, any lightweight leaks can clearly show. I actually have found one terribly massive one. That broken strut i discussed earlier has scored the bellows material and created a line on pin-pricks. These can want sorting before I attempt the camera. Otherwise, the camera is sweet to travel

Yashica Electro 35 GT

A sturdy and well conceived leaf shuttered rangefinder with a very quick f1.7 lens. The "G" presumedly stand for Gold Mechanica which mention to the gold plated electric contact points. The GT and GTN was very dark but Yashica also made satin chrome versions, the GS and GSN. The GT and GTN were equal too each other with the distinction that the GTN had a hot footwear.
 
 Conspicuously a quality camera with a very pointed 45mm Color Yashinon lens it likely won't be my first alternative in this class, the Yashica is considerably larger than my Canonet QL17 III(or the Minolta Hi-Matics), in detail the body is the identical size as a little SLR like a Pentax Spotmatic or k1000. While I personally favour aperture priority to shutter speed main concern, the Yashica Electro 35 GT is aperture priority ONLY, whereas the Canonet QL17 III is shutter speed priority AND manual. It furthermore sports no less than three annoying colored lights on the peak plate(Red and amber exposure signs and a green electric electric battery check light).

whereas they were manufactured in both Japan and Hong Kong, this one was made in Japan. The accessory wide/tele lens kit and auxiliary viewfinder boasted in the base photograph was made in Hong Kong. It's an iconic and solid rangefinder, with an above average 45mm/f1.7 lens that can be selected up for reasonable(but not bargain) charges on online auctions by anyone involved in film taking photos. Click on an likeness to outlook bigger.

Leitz Visoflex II accessories

The Leitz Visoflex II was a reflex housing accesory for Leica camera bodies introduced by Leitz Wetzlar in the 1960s. The Visoflex II fitted on Leica cameras like an interchangeable lens and was available with either a bayonet or screw climb on. This accesory could alter a rangefinder camera into a SLR camera. It comprised of the Visoflex body encompassing a reflex reflector, an eye-level pentaprism magnifier (viewfinder), and a easy magnifier. The person taking photos first had to screw the reflex lodgings onto the camera body and then skid either of the examining magnifier up on the housing.

Fujifilm X20 Hands-On Preview

Fuji has made a new version of the much-beloved (by me and numerous others) X10 camera.
It appears to be a really good revise, there is now full information even in the value optical viewfinder (this is really rare, nearly unique), and according to Fuji there are important improvements to both procedure (AF etc) hasten and image value (the sensor is really good and big contrasted to most compacts). And the X10 did not suck at either. (We'll glimpse shortly if tests will support these claims.)
Oh, and you now can get it in a shiny version, I are inclined to like those a allotment.

I won't lie, I have the hots for this camera. It is a lot of camera in a small, attractive, and reasonably-priced bundle.
Not the least, attractive. If you like the look and feel of classic film cameras, it's hard to find certain thing which is as pleasant as this, and absolutely not for only six hunnert bucks.

I'd say the major contention against this camera is the astonishing Sony RX100, which has similar value but is really pocket-sized (despite an even larger sensor). Though that camera, for the identical reason, is more fiddly, and does not have the same beauty and real-camera seem.

The lens is actually good, and oddly very quick for a zoom. And it has a manual twist-zoom function on the lens itself, much better than the tiny lever on most compact cameras (including the RX100).

lecia M7 Rangefinder Camera review

A rangefinder camera is a photographic camera equipped with a coincident-viewing distance-determination apparatus, called rangefinder, which permits the photographer to assess the subject expanse and take images that are in pointed focus. The majority of rangefinder cameras show two images of the same subject, one of which moves when a calibrated wheel is turned. When the two images coincide and fuse into one, the expanse can be read off the wheel. This is called connected rangefinder. Such rangefinders have been used in 35mm cameras, such as those made by Leica, Canon, Nikon, and others for numerous years, and also in larger-format cameras such as medium format bending cameras or rigid cameras like the Mamiya 7, and even some early Polaroid cameras.

Non-coupled rangefinder cameras brandish the focusing distance and require the person taking photos to move the worth to the lens focus ring; cameras without built-in rangefinders could have an external rangefinder fitted into the accessory footwear. previous cameras of this type had separate viewfinder and rangefinder windows; subsequent the rangefinder was incorporated into the viewfinder. More up to date concepts have rangefinders coupled to the focusing means, so that the lens is focused rightly when the rangefinder images

Adox Golf S invinity

At one time Adox were a major photographic force.  German in origin, they were bought by Dupont. The Dupont company was sold to Agfa (and so became German once again) and Agfa did not use the Adox brand name so their eregistration of the name lapsed.  Almost immediately, Canadian and German companies registered the name, neither of which have any connection with the original German company (although the modern German Adox make excellent films).  The Adox name is now used exclusively by Adox Fotowerke GmbH although two companies own the rights to the name in different countries.  The Adox that made this camera are the original Adox - the owners of the name being Dr C. Schleussner Fotowerke GmbH - and the camera was made between 1954 and 1959.  it is at the bottom of the range of golf cameras.

Adox Golf S

lens: Adoxar (made by Will Wetzlar)
focal length:  75 mm
apertures: f6.3 - f22
focus range: 1m to infinity
lens fitting: fixed
shutter: Gauthier Pronto
speeds: b, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, 1/200
flash: PC connector
film size: 120

The internal construction of the Golf resembles Agfa cameras of the period.  The visible parts of the body are made of pressed steel rather than the machined die-cast aluminium alloy used by the likes of Zeiss Ikon and Voigtlander.

-The bottom and top plates are pressed aluminium which has not been anodised - it is very prone to corrosion. Again, this is very different to the practice of Zeiss Ikon and Voigtlander who used chrome plated brass.

-That is the negative part over.  The design is good, even if basic. It is easier to load than my Zeiss Ikon medium format cameras of the period, with hinged spool holders (which is also reminiscent of Agfa).

-The lens base board snaps fully open at the press of a button on the top plate and there is a double exposure interlock.

-So, more specific details.  The outside of the camera first.  The size of the camera is basically dictated by the film size - 120 - and the frame size - 60 by 60 mm.  The camera measures 135 by 90 by 40 mm when closed and opens to 90 mm. It weighs 475 grams. This is very light compared to Zeiss Ikon and Voigtlander models and is down to the use of pressed steel instead of die-cast aluminium.

-The lens is an Adoxar 1:6.3 75 mm lens.  It seems to be have been quite the fashion to have a lens name end in 'ar'.  This lens was made for Adox by Will Wetzlar (now a part of Helmut Hund GmbH). The lens is housed in a Gauthier Pronto shutter (which earns the camera the designation 'S') rather than the usual Vario shutter. This is a good, well made shutter which is unlikely to give trouble even after sixty-odd years.  Gauthier shutters were designed to run dry - that is, with no lubricant. this means there is no oil to dry out and become sticky and there is nothing to trap dust and foul the movement. I have yet to come across a Gauthier shutter that did not work right, even after sitting untouched in a drawer for forty years.

-The top plate is uncluttered. The only controls here are the shutter release and film advance.  The shutter release is a simple aluminium button, threaded for a standard cable release. The film advance is a knurled knob. Between the shutter release and the film advance is an indicator window for the double exposure interlock. The shutter release will only work if this indicator is red. When you press the shutter release, the indicator changes to white and the shutter is now locked. When you advance the film, the indicator will change back from white to red and the shutter is unlocked. It takes about a half turn of the film advance knob to achieve this.

In the centre of the top plate is a simple accessory shoe. There are no electrical contacts here and flash is connected via a PC connector on the top of the shutter housing. Flash is synchronised for fast flash bulbs.  As this camera has a leaf shutter, shutter speed is not so important as with a focal plane shutter. The manual (which I have!) says the camera will work fine with electronic flash as well.

The back of the camera has no features apart from a red window. The position of this window is dictated by the negative size which is 6 by 6 cm. 120 film has three sets of numbers on the backing paper - one for full frame (6x9),one for half frame (6x4.5) and one for square (6x6). The set of numbers for 6x6 runs down the middle of the length of film, so needs a central window.

When winding on a 120 film, you have to look through the window at the numbers on the backing paper. The numbers are typically preceded by a row of circles of increasing size to show the number is getting closer.  For those only experienced in 35 mm film (or digital), when the film is finished, there is no need to rewind. You wind on until all trace of the backing paper has disappeared from the red window - then you open the camera, carefully take out the film and stick the self-adhesive tab around the film to prevent it from rewinding.

Pentax SP 1000 review

The Spotmatics were the first autoexposure SLR - or, at least, the first successful autoexposure SLR. They built on Pentax's earlier success with the manual SLRs. Despite the name, the exposure system was not a spot system but was a centre weighted system. 

The Sp1000 (and SP500, which was introduced at the same time) built on the design of the original Spotmatic. For anyone who is used to SLR cameras from the 1960s and 70s there are no surprises here, partly because this camera helped to define the genre.

So - a general description. The camera measures 143 by 92 by 88 mm and weighs 610 g (body alone). This is heavy by modern standards - particularly compared to Pentax's later K-mount ME series. I have no objection to weight in a camera if only because weight helps with stability and results in less camera shake.

The layout of the camera is pretty much standard. On the left is a fold-away rewind crank. Around this is an aide memoire for the type of film in use. This gives the options of Empty, Panchro(matic), daylight colour and tungsten colour. The Empty setting is particularly useful as I often have more than one film camera on the go and on occasion open a camera only to find a part-used film inside.  Panchro refers to black-and-white film (which is usually panchromatic). The two colour options are for outside and inside use respectively and refer to the white balance of the film.

In the centre of the top plate is the lump of the pentaprism with the viewfinder behind. Traditionally, this is where the accessory shoe is put but the SP1000 has no accessory shoe as standard. Those who needed one could buy one as an optional extra which fitted into a groove around the viewfinder surround.

To the right of the pentaprism is the speed selector. For shutter speeds this simply turns to click-stops and it is quite possible to move directly from 1/1000 to B. 1/60 is marked with a red X to indicate that this is the electronic flash synch speed. The shutter speed dial also doubles as the film speed dial. to alter the film speed, it is necessary to lift the dial and turn. Film speeds are from 20 ASA to 1600 ASA. No DIN scale is available but the selector moves in 1/3 stop click-stops each of which is equal to one degree DIN. (For my younger readers, ASA = ISO [very nearly!])

To the right of the selector dial is the film advance lever. This is metal and is slightly curved to allow the user's thumb to access it. I prefer this to Pentax's later style of a plastic tipped lever that stands proud of the body.

The centre of the film advance contains the frame counter. This automatically resets to -2 when the back is opened. When you advance the new film to get rid of the fogged portion on loading, the counter will point to zero.

Between the selector dial and film advance and slightly forward of them is the shutter release button. This is threaded for a standard cable release.

The front of the camera has three items (the back is entirely clean). These are the meter switch and two PC (Prontor-Compur) flash connectors. The meter switch switches on the TTL (Through The Lens) meter and stops down the diaphragm. This is basically a shutter priority system.  The user sets the required shutter speed and then turns the aperture ring until the needle in the viewfinder is centred. When you switch off the meter (and you need to remember to or you will rapidly flatten the battery) the diaphragm should then open again to allow you to finesse the composition. On my specimen, this does not happen, I assume from the lack of use as it will eventually open itself. The diaphragm stop-down system operated by the shutter release works fine as this is a completely separate system.

The two PC flash connectors are marked for FP and X. FP is for fast flash bulbs and will synch at any shutter speed. X is for electronic flash and will only synch at 1/60 or slower.