Gentilmente oferecida pelo Daniel. Muito obrigado!
This photo is from the copy I own
History and technical features
The Baldessa is a range of modestly priced 35mm viewfinder and rangefinder cameras produced by Balda in Germany from c.1957 to the late 1960s.
Baldessas have an unusual folding film advance key in the base - requiring a 180° turn, along with a spring-out rewind crank. On the simpler models, this along with the front-mounted shutter release and the frame counter to the left of the viewfinder ocular leaves the top plate empty except for the accessory shoe. Early models have a removable back; later examples are hinged.
The Balda Baldessa Ia (or Balda Baldessa 1a) is a 35mm rangefinder camera introduced by Balda Kamera-Werk in 1958, about ten years after founder Max Baldeweg fled Socialist Dresden to reestablish his company in the soon-to-be West German city of B ünde. The Baldessa Ia and its sister model the Ib are basically identical to the original Baldessa I with the addition of a coupled rangefinder. The Baldessa Ib then went a step further by also including a built-in light meter.
he Baldessa 1a was introduced in 1958, and adds a coupled rangefinder to the Baldessa I design. It was available with a Color-Westanar or Baldanar 45/2.8 lens in a Prontor-SVS shutter.
I love unusual cameras and am happy to say that the Baldessa Ia boasts a number of peculiar design choices. First off, the Baldessa Ia’s top plate is completely barren apart from the cold shoe. Instead, the shutter button (which has a threaded socket for a cable release on its underside) is adjacent to the Baldanar 45mm f/2.8 lens on the front of the camera. Both shutter speed and aperture control rings are on the lens barrel as expected but a black tab has to be pushed in for either of them to move. Most cameras are focused via a ring on the lens barrel but the Baldessa Ia’s designers decided to use a wheel embedded into the body above the shutter button instead. Also on the front are a flash sync socket just off the lens barrel at five o’clock and an accompanying flash mode selector on the lens barrel at nine.
As we move to the camera’s bottom plate, we encounter more eccentricities. The tiny “kickstand” which allows the camera to balance on a flat surface can also be shifted to the “R” position to release the comma-shaped film rewinding lever. Opposite the rewind mechanism is a winding key which, when unfolded, reveals an automatic film counter while advancing the frame with every half turn. In the middle of it all is a tripod socket which also houses a film speed indicator. Last but not least on the list of oddities are the two silver buttons on the user’s right-hand side which can be simultaneously depressed to open the back of the camera.
Câmara gentilmente oferecida por Adília Silva. Muito obrigado!
This photo is from the copy I own
History and technical features
The Franka Solida is a 6×6 folding camera released in 1936. There are different versions of the Franka Solida, called Solida I, Solida II, Solida III, Solida Junior and Solida Record. The Solida III is a vertical folding camera, the other Solida-Versions are horizontal folders. Some prewar Solidas used the 4.5x6cm format. There are also cameras with uncoupled rangefinder and uncoupled lightmeter (IIE, IIL, IIIE, IIIL) and one version with both meters (IIIEL) . The Solida were produced till 1962. Franka also built in 1957 a camera with the name Solida 35, a rare 35mm camera with interchangeable lenses.
Most frequently found with 75/3.5 Ennagon lens on Pronto or Prontor-S shutters, with 4 or 5 speeds. Las units made by the end of the 60s were fitted with Jsco Westar lenses made by Schneider-Kreuznach.
Máquina gentilmente oferecida por José Paulo Costa.
History and technical features
Felita is a medium format film viewfinder like box camera made by Vredeborch GmbH, Nordenham, Germany and introduced in 1955.
It is similar as Vredeborch Felica but with metal body. It uses roll 120 film for 6x6cm frames. It has a 60mm f/8 meniscus lens, zone focus and a central, Guillotine type shutter with two speeds, 1/25 and 1/50 +B. It was offered black and grey coverings. There is a rare version with red covering also.
The Vredeborch Felica is a simple camera for 6x6 exposures on 120 film, made by the German firm Vredeborch. It is a modest step upwards from the most basic box camera, with scale focusing by twisting the front ring of the lens; two shutter speeds; aperture settings "sunny" or "cloudy"; and a yellow filter to enhance clouds in black & white photos. The series began with the Felita of 1955 and continued with the Felica Duo and Stafetta Duo, variations that offered a second 6x4.5cm image-format option.
Type: viewfinder camera
Manufacturer: Vredeborch
Year of launch: 1954 or 1955
Film: type 120 film rolls
Lens: 60mm
Shutter: guillotine-type, flash synchronized, with speeds 1/25 sec., 1/50 sec. and B
Aperture: f8 or f16
Viewfinder: optical, Albada type
Format: 6x6 cm negative
Film: 120 roll, picture size 6x6cm
Lens: meniscus lens 60mm f/8, filter slip-on
Built-in yellow filter, sets with a lever on the lens-shutter barrel
Aperture: two apertures, sunny (f/16) and cloudy (f/8)
Setting: lever and symbols on the lens-shutter barrel
Focus range: 1.5-8m +inf
Focusing: manual front element focusing with three settings: 1.5-3m, 3-8m and 8m-inf
Shutter: central, Guillotine type with two speeds, 1/25 and 1/50 +B; setting: lever and scale on the lens-shutter barrel
Cocking and Shutter release: by the same knob, on the top plate
Viewfinder: reverse telescopic finder
Flash PC socket: on the lens-shutter barrel
Cold-shoe
Self-timer: none
Back cover: removable with bottom and sides of the front plate, opens by a latch on the bottom plate, then slide the front plate; w/ red window
The back cover is bent to compensate for the distortion of the lens
Tripod socket: 3/8"
Hand grip
Body: plastic; Weight: 257g
During WWII Hubert Nerwin thought about a new 35mm folder. The results of his thoughts were developed after the war to Zeiss Ikon's first completely new postwar product, made since 1948 as Ikonta 522/24. As Zeiss was unable to produce sufficient Tessar lenses (due to war damage to their production facilities), this is one of the few Zeiss models ever to feature a non-Zeiss (Schneider Xenar) lens. The model was continued in 1953 as Contina, as one of the first cameras of the new Contina series of 35mm viewfinder cameras (one was a rangefinder) made in Germany by Zeiss Ikon. The first models were folders, later models were rigid. Some had linked shutter/aperture rings, using the Light-value system. The folding models had knob wind, frame counter and rewind fitted to the bottom; the later ones had top-mounted 180° lever wind, knob rewind and frame counter around the shutter release.
Balda's Baldix cameras were a series of self-erecting folding cameras derived from the Baldax series. The cameras made 6x6cm exposures on type No. 120 film rolls.
The Baldix was like the postwar Baldax without the frame counter. The Mess-Baldix had the additional mechanical frame counter, and an uncoupled rangefinder. The Baldi 29 was a later, cheaper model based on the same body, with a more rounded top housing and a f:2.9 lens, hence the name. The range of cameras available at the 1956 Photokina included the Baldi 29, Baldix and Super Baldax, all models that were still available in 1959–60.
Sweet little folder that takes 6×6 pictures on 120 rollfilm, made by the famous Balda Kamera Werk in West Germany. Balda-Werk was located in Dresden from 1908 up until the end of WWII when it became part of VEB Pentacon group and was re-established in Bunde, (West) Germany. They made cameras up until 1985 when the camera production portion of Balda was sold to a Chinese joint venture. Balda AG is now manufacturing components for mobile communications, satellites and the medical industry. (Come to think of it, isn’t that more or less what Zeiss is up to these days?) Balda Werk made other similar folders such as the excellent (pre-VEB) Baldax and Baldalux and the (post-VEB) 35mm Baldinette. Shutters used in these cameras range from Vario to Compur-Rapid, lenses included Balda-Werk and Enna-Werk, Hugo Meyer and Schneider Kreuznach. They also made Baldax models sold as Lisette under the name Porst. This camera is imprinted Baldix, West Germany, Balda, Bunde, on the leather.
There are a lot of features packed into this comact but heavy pocket-sized folder. Double-exposure lock, PC sync and accessory shoe, self-timer (not working too well on this example), coated lens, positive spring-loaded extension. It’s extremely well-designed. Wind knob is ratcheting (cool idea) as part of the interesting (see below) double-exposure prevention. The Enna-Werk Ennagon lens is a real beauty. You can tell at a glance that it’s a high-quality German lens, with the same coated crispness I can see looking at my Meyer Oreston. Enna-Werk made the interchangeable lenses for the prized American rangefinder Argus C fourty-four, which is in fact the main reason that camera is valuable. The lens frontispiece has a red C that I assume stands for Color, which would mean that it was a color-corrected coated lens. (Color is part of the options on the film selection indicator, so I think it’s a safe assumption.)
Controls are simple – the top has ratcheting wind knob on the left, with the bellows release button next to it, the accesssory shoe in the center, the shutter release, and a knob that has a dial film indicator but doesn’t really do anything, it’s just supposed to remind you if you have Din 7 Ortho-Panchromatic film or if you’re using the ASA 100 Color film today. Only goes up to ASA 200 so it’s only marginally useful…. The other controls are all on top (side? depends on how you’re holding the camera) of the lens-mounted shutter. The shutter cocking lever cocks easily to one side with a finger. VXM self-timer/flash sync switch is color-coded Green Red Yellow, fairly standard. PC terminal is right there too, sticking out a little presumptuously. Focus is smooth and I assume the scale is in meters even though it doesn’t say.
One of the nicest things about this little beauty is the perfect placement of the shutter release button. Shooting with it feels like shooting a solid 35mm rangefinder while the result is a whopping 6x6cm instead of 24x36mm. It’s about the same size and weight as the Contaflex, and it is just a pleasure to shoot. Make sure you depress the shutter release all the way in one smooth movement, otherwise it goes click-click as the linkage engages and then the shutter releases, and you may miss your shot. Be firm, not timid.
Produced 1950-55 (1952?) Balda Kamera Werk, Bunde, Germany
Film type 120 rollfilm
Picture size 6cm x 6cm
Weight 18.2oz (516g)
Lens Enna Werk Ennagon C 75mm, f3.5 (stops to f22)
Filter size use Series VI with the 1 1/4″ (31.5mm) slip-on adapter
Focal Range 1m to infinity
Shutter Prontor SVS (has V, X, M settings)
Shutter speeds B, 1-300
Viewfinder in-body viewfinder
Exposure meter none
PC sync and accessory shoe
Film counter, double-exposure prevention
Close cousins HAPO (eg HAns POrst)
Paxette was a line of 35mm film viewfinder and rangefinder cameras made by the Braun company in Nuremberg, Germany in the middle part of the 20th century. These cameras were of high quality, with excellent optics. Some of the models in this line had interchangeable lenses, something that was notable since these cameras all used Prontor leaf shutters, rather than the focal plane shutters typically used on such cameras (like the Leica). The interchangeable-lens models, which offered several different lines of lenses made by different noted lens manufacturers, included sizes from 35mm (moderate wide angle) to 135mm (telephoto). The Paxette lenses had a M39 screw mount mechanically compatible to the Leica M39 screw mount (Leica thread mount, LTM), but the flange focal distance differs, because the leaf shutter needs more space than a focal plane shutter, so the Paxette lenses are not interchangeable with the Leica lenses. There were also Paxette SLR models, the Paxette Reflex. Later models of the interchangeable-lens cameras, the Super Paxettes, included a coupled rangefinder, some even a coupled selenium meter.
Paxette Electromatic is a series of 35mm film viewfinder cameras made by Braun and produced between 1959-64. They have electric automatic exposure system.
The Electromatic II still had a single shutter speed at 1/40 sec, but with an improved lens. It was fitted with an Ultralit 1:2.8/40mm, focussed with a twist/screw action. Markings on the lens show that it can focus down to 1m (3.3 feet), although with only a simple viewfinder the photographer must use a guess focusing technique. At around 2m there is a symbol of a person to indicate portraiture, and at around 4m there is a symbol of a building. As with the Electromatic, the selenium meter gave a red/green light sufficiency signal.
This is a Zeiss-Ikon Contaflex Super, a 35mm Single Lens Reflex leaf shutter camera made by Zeiss-Ikon AG in Stuttgart, West Germany between the years 1959 and 1962. It was part of the long lived Contaflex series that saw many variations between the original Contaflex I in 1953 all the way to the Contaflex S from about 1970. The Super, as it’s name implies was a rather high spec version of the camera, featuring a coupled selenium exposure meter with match needle readout in the viewfinder, and a 4-element 50mm Tessar lens with interchangeable front elements. With the use of Pro-Tessar bayonet mount lenses, the Contaflex had available wide angle and telephoto lenses.
The Kodak Retinette is a series of 35mm viewfinder cameras made in Germany by Kodak AG. They were a budget version of the Retina series, without rangefinders. The "B" models had light meters. The models are difficult to tell apart from a distance, but identifying features include EV numbers above the lens, flash sync slot on lens or body, and distance markings in feet (for UK) or meters (continental Europe). Some models also have a button next to the shutter release that enables double-exposures to be made. Pressing it allows the shutter to be cocked when winding on, without the film moving to the next frame.
On Typs 147, 160, 012 and early 017 cameras (including French versions of Typ 017) the serial number is located inside the back door adjacent to the film pressure plate.
The remaining Retinette cameras have the body serial number engraved on the top housing.
Manufactured from 1954 to 1958. This model was the first of the rigid front Retinettes. Fitted with a Schneider Reomar 45mm f/3.5 lens in a Compur-Rapid shutter. There are a few variations of this model about, I have three different ones. Early ones have the flash socket on the shutter body rather than the front plate. A model was also made for the French market with an Angenieux lens in a Kodak shutter.
Body edges
The body edges at top and bottom of camera main casting are finished in black paint/lacquer in early examples and covered with thin chromed brass pressings in later examples.
Front panel
Earliest examples have a simple rectangular grey finished casting with f/stops engraved at top with no flash synch terminal on panel, the second type has a similar casting with a notch on right side for V,X lever, flash terminal on right and black arrow index mark for f/stops, third type is a rectangular chrome plated pressing with a " V" shape to front section and with with similar features to second type.
Shutter housing
The shutter housing itself changes from predominantly black to chrome.
Rewind knob style
Earliest type, flat dial, printing on top( reading anti-clockwise) Infrared/Kodachrome Daylight/Kodachrome-A/Plus X I Super XX
Intermediate type, flat dial, printing on top (reading anti-clockwise) Kadachr.D/Kodachr.F/Ektachr.D/Ektachr.F/Pan X/Plus X/Tri X
Late type, sloping dial, printing on top (reading anti-clockwise)as above.
Flash synch
First type on shutter body, later type on front panel
Rear door
Early type, cast one piece back door, late type two-piece pressing with riveted construction
Frame counter
Early type, chrome top piece slightly smaller diameter and completely round, late type larger diameter with a section of the rim notched on inboard side to allow easy setting.
The Kodak Retinette type 22 is a ‘little sister’ to the Kodak Retina cameras which Kodak made from the mid 1930s up until the late 1960s.
Initially the Retinette series followed the same folding, bellows design that the majority of the Retina cameras had, but this model, the type 22, was the first Retinette to move to a solid body single piece design – a move which later the Retina cameras followed.
The Retinette series were aimed at people who wanted a good camera which was reliable and would take good pictures, but wanted to pay a bit less than the top flight cameras of the day. I guess you could call them a ‘good snapshot’ camera. This model has a good range of shutter speeds for a camera of its vintage and, in common with many of its cousins in the Kodak stable, a very good lens.
Exposure system
Kodak Retinette Type 22 35mm camera - Side view showing flash sync
Side view showing flash sync and EV markings
The exposure system on the Retinette type 22 is based on the EV system, which was a popular option in the mid 1950s. It works on the premise that once you know the amount of light required for the film you are using, you can achieve it with several combinations of aperture and shutter speed. For example if the correct exposure is 1/250 sec at f/8 you can also get the same exposure by setting the speed one stop down and the aperture one stop up i.e. 1/500 sec at f/5.6.
This theory was used to calculate an EV or Exposure Value number and the EV number was engraved on the camera shutter. A light meter was used to measure the light which was a simple number and the camera set to this number. Then the aperture and shutter were locked together and could be rotated by the photographer to get the artistic effect they were after; faster speed to freeze action, wider aperture to blur the background or smaller aperture to keep everything in focus.
It’s a good system and continues to this day with Program Shift which is the modern invocation of the theory.
Film Advance
In common with many cameras in the Kodak range, the film advance is fitted to the bottom of the camera rather than the top. This is quite convenient in use but in my experience of fixing a couple of the Kodak series, it makes the camera more complex and more difficult to repair when it goes wrong.
The frame counter is on the top of the camera above the film advance lever. It’s a count down unit and doesn’t automatically reset so the photographer needed to set the counter to the number of exposures of the film loaded into the camera. When the film advance is used, the counter then shows the number of exposures remaining.
Other features.
There is a film type reminder fitted to the top of the film rewind shaft, a flash sync socket mounted on the front panel and, in common with many of the Retina and Retinette series, an unlock button on the top panel for occassions when you want to change the film mid-roll. This button disengages the film lock allowing the film advance to wind the camera on without cocking the shutter therefore allowing you to advance a film to a point mid-roll.
Kodak Retinette type 22 Specifications
35mm viewfinder camera
Compur rapid shutter
Shutter speeds 1 sec to 1/500 sec + bulb
Schneider – Kreuznach Reomar 45mm f/3.5 lens
Aperture f/3.5 to f/16
Film release button to allow mid-roll film changing
Approx 10 sec Self timer
Flash sync socket
Cold accessory shoe
Film Type reminder on rewind crank
Bottom mounted film advance
Auto frame counter
EV exposure control
Tripod mount
Back door release on base of camera
Manual focus with distance engraved in feet
The Adox 66 was a bakelite box camera. The eye of its reflecting type viewfinder was placed directly over the camera lens, giving the camera a bit of the look of a pseudo TLR. It was made by Hermann Wolf GmbH, Wuppertal, Germany, for the Adox company. Wolf made a similar model named Gevabox for Gevaert in Belgium. Wolf's own name for that camera was Luxa 66.
The ADOX 66 camera was manufactured by the ADOX company in circa 1950. Constructed of Bakelite plastic with the view finder located on the top to give the appearance of a TLR. It was made by Hermann Wolf GmbH, Wuppertal, Germany, who originally called it Luxa 66.
It had a focusable 1:8 meniscus lens, choice between instant and time mode, and choice between the two apertures f8 and f11. It had a thread in the bottom to put it onto a tripod, and a thread in the top to connect a remote shutter release.
The camera was fitted with a fixed focus meniscus f8 lens and an instantaneous and time shutter. It featured a two aperature settings f8 and f11, a tripod socket and a cable release socket.
The Subita was a medium format folding camera with optical viewfinder for type 120 film rolls. It is the first one of the Dacora 120 film folding cameras series.
The Subita was a folding camera with optical viewfinder for 120 film made by the German manufacturer Dacora. The Dacora 120 was a slightly more sophisticated version of it, and the Dacora I was the top model of the line. The basic model, the Subita, was an undemanding item with just two shutter speeds, two apertures, stepless distance selector, a shutter-cocking shutter release lever without double exposure prevention, and a solid opening/unfolding mechanism driven by two powerful springs.
Year of launch: 1953
Manufacturer: Dacora
Film: type 120 film rolls
Viewfinder: optical viewfinder
Lens: Subita 75mm f/6.3 Anastigmat, distances 1m to infinite
Shutter: Singlo shutter with speeds 1/25, 1/75, + B, and with flash connector. Cocked on the long shifting travel of the release lever
Aperture: sonnig (sunny=1:11) and trüb (dull=1:6.3)
Dacora Optina is a name variation of Subita and made for the Canadian Eaton stores' camera brand Optina.
Type: folding viewfinder camera
Manufacturer: Dacora
Film: type 120 film rolls
Viewfinder: optical viewfinder
Year of launch: 1953
Lens: Subita 1:6.3/75mm Anastigmat, distances 1m to infinite
Shutter: Singlo shutter with speeds 1/25 sec., 1/75 sec, and B, and with flash connector. Cocked on the long shifting travel of the release lever
Aperture: sonnig (sunny=1:11) and trüb (dull=1:6.3)
Bonafix was the brand used by Franka for a long-running series of folding cameras for 120 rollfilm. These were lower-spec versions of the Rolfix cameras.
he Franka-Kamerawerk in Bayreuth was in its time the biggest camera factory in the Bavarian region of Oberfranken (Upper Frankonia). It was bought by Wirgin in 1962. From 1909 to 1966 it built inexpensive cameras. The most distinctive cameras of Franka are the 16mm cameras with built-in meter which were developed together with Wirgin, and the twin-format cameras with two viewfinders.
In 1909 Franz Vyskocil and his wife Leoni Vyskocil had a small factory and shop for cameras and photographic supply in Stuttgart. In the same year they moved to Bayreuth, where they reopened their business as Vysko-Fabrik Franz Vyskocil, St. Georgen und Bayreuth. In newspapers they announced their new mass fabrication of folding cameras. In 1910 their sponsor Weigand from Berneck entered the company, then named Weigand & Vyskocil. In 1912 the company was refounded as Frankonia-Kamerawerk. In 1913 the company was refounded with Weigand as its sole owner and camera salesman A. W. Schulze from Dresden as partner. In 1914 the company was named Hogaschwerk. Five months later it got its final name, Franka-Kamerawerk.
Until 1915 the company had been successfully producing plate cameras, among them one for a small format. In WWI this camera had been sold with slogans like "Mit Franka in den Krieg" (with Franka to war). The era of the Franka plate cameras lasted until 1930. The earliest cameras by Franka were made of metal. Two thirds of the camera production was made for export.
In 1915 Wolfgang Hirschmann entered the company as bookkeeper. In 1917 he replaced A. W. Schulze in the management. During the war and in the early 1920s the company had some nonphotographic products in its portfolio. In 1919 it moved from Bayreuth St. Georgen into an old liquor factory bulding in Bayreuth, and there the company stayed. The building had to be heightened in 1955. In 1941 Hirschmann's brother Hans and the longterm employee Georg Zettner became the managers. In 1959 Hans and Wolfgang Hirschmann together were owners of the company.
In 1930 the rollfilm era finally reached Franka. Many Franka rollfilm cameras were delivered with a separate frame which could be used optionally in the camera for shooting a smaller exposure format. In 1939 Franka constructed its first 35mm camera, the Kleinbildkamera, but began its production slowly after the war. In 1955 the next 35mm model was offered. It was the time when rollfilm camera production switched from 6×9 to 6×6 format cameras. Franka's last own camera development was very successful, the Frankamatic Lux, with a selenium meter coupled to shutter, aperture and an underexposure indicator in the viewfinder. The Franka 16 subminiature using 16mm film was conceived by Wirgin. Its further development and production was given to the Franka-Kamerawerk.
In 1958 the company had reached its peak with 154 employees and production of 650,000 cameras.
Many of its cameras were sold badged with brand names of mail order houses like Wenz and Klingel, department stores like Kaufhof and Sears or camera distributors like Birnbaum and Porst. Even Burke & James sold cameras by Franka (until 1941).
In November 1962 the company was bought by Henry Wirgin. Hans Hirschmann and Georg Zettner lost procurement but stayed in the company. Highlights of the last years of Franka were the cameras for 13×16mm exposure format, sold as Franka 16 and Edixa 16. In 1966 the factory's production was stopped. In 1967 the machines were moved to Wiesbaden where most of them weren't used anymore. Only the production of the Edixa 16 was continued there for a short while.
A few months ago I picked up this Franka Werke camera for “next to nothing” (20 bucks or so) that appeared from the photos to be in near-mint condition. When it arrived, it looked like it had been stored in its original box since manufacture some 65 years ago. The metal body is covered with rough vinyl made to look like leather, and parts of it were peeling off. But the bellows, all of the metal parts, glass, appeared to be perfect. I couldn’t wait for an opportunity to try it out.
The Franka cameras were generally inexpensive cameras made in Bayreuth, Germany from 1909 to 1966. This particular camera is marked as a “Bonafix”, which was made for years, and there’s not a lot of information out there to identify when this one was made. I’m guessing it’s from 1952 or so.
The weird thing about this camera is that it has two little windows in the back where you can see which picture you’re on – one in the corner and one in the middle. So I thought this meant I could use the middle window and the pictures would automatically be half-frame – giving me 16 pictures on a roll rather than 8. The numbers in the middle of the film go from 1 to 16 and are spaced half as far apart.
So I happily went out and shot a roll of color film, and discovered that I was sadly mistaken. Apparently you need to do something on the inside of the camera to make this work – maybe some sort of adaptor or something. So all my pictures ended up overlapping.
So that was no good.
A couple of weeks later, I loaded up a roll of Kodak Professional Tri-X and decided to use the other film window and only take 8 pictures. This time the results were much better.
The picture above is an effigy of the type which is commonly hung at building construction sites. Its purpose is to ward off the “evil eye.” While we were in the village, we also discovered that there was a temple procession ongoing. A group of young men carrying some sort of decorated deity over their heads were going from house to house with several percussionists. At each home, people were waiting to anoint the procession’s feet with (what looked like) turmeric, and also engage in rituals such as smashing a coconut in the street. It’s all pretty unclear to us outsiders, but it makes for great photos.
Although I felt the pictures had come out pretty well, I had noticed while unloading the film that there seemed to be lots of dust on the inner lens. Later I would inspect more closely, and it turns out there is fungus growing on the inner glass surfaces of the 3 lens elements:
looks pretty bad on this picture, but you can only really see it when you put a light behind it and view at an indirect angle. I made this picture and enhanced the fungus to send to a friend to confirm this was the problem. Apparently it can be removed with some work, and it only “softens” pictures supposedly – doesn’t really show up otherwise. But it seems the spores can spread the fungus to other cameras – so I’ll need to take care of this when I can get my hands on some peroxide.
In any case, to sum up, this is a pretty good find I think. For a 1950s camera I’m quite satisfied with the results!
Folding Roll Film Camera
Made In Germany U.S. Zone.
105mm f4.5 Schneider Kreuznach Radionar Lens.
Aperture f4.5 - f32
Prontor Shutter Speeds B, 1/25 - 1/200 Sec.
Front Element Focus
Fold Out Sports Finder & Prism Viewfinder, Knob & Red Window Film Wind,
3 1/4" x 4 1/4" Images
On 120 Roll Film.
The Pentona is a viewfinder camera for 35mm film. It was developed by Zeiss Ikon and produced first by KW and later Pentacon.
The black coated parts of the camera's body and the bottom are one part which has to be removed for film load. Thumb wheels (knurls) on top and bottom serve as film advance/rewind controls. Other elements on the top are the flash shoe, the shutter release and the exposure counter. The viewfinder is a reverse-Galilean type. The metal surround of this has two tooth-like pointers near the top, which are parallax-correction guides for use at close focus.
In the middle of the bottom is a second thumb wheel, the camera lock. Another element on the bottom is a tripod screw thread. The most characteristic part of this camera model is the metal front part of the body, in which the lens tube is mounted. Nearest to that part is the aperture control ring. The middle of the lens tube is the speed setting thumb wheel. In front of that part the tube is narrowed towards the inner part of the lens tube. This inner tube with engraved distance scale which turns for focusing.
Model II
The Pentona II was introduced in 1963 and is properly a Pentacon model. It has a much bigger viewfinder than the first model; McKeown states that this has a bright-line frame, which must be of the albada type. The camera has a film advance lever instead of a knob. The front bodywork is much simpler than the characteristic shaped front of the earlier model.
The Pentacon Pentona is an unusual camera in the Pentacon camera family but it offers some great features, most notably its lens. Read more after the break!
The VEB Pentacon firm in Dresden, which was then East Germany, was the biggest camera and lens factory in the GDR between 1959 and 1990. Best known for its ‘Praktica’ series of SLR cameras, it did however produce a few other more curious gems throughout its relatively long existence, including the Pentacon Six 120-film SLR leviathan, as well as two versions of the camera that I’m going to review here, the 35mm Pentacon Pentona.
Originally produced in 1956 by KW, a camera manufacturer that later got absorbed into VEB Pentacon, the Pentona is a fairly basic little point-and-shoot camera which might well have been aimed primarily at children (the frame counter dial has a lovely little smiley face on it.) It nonetheless has some highly attractive features in both of its two versions (I’m reviewing here the second version which differed only in minor details from the first.)
It has a lovely bright viewfinder positioned right above the lens which if combined with clear correction pointers, reduces parallax error to a minimum. It’s robustly built — mostly of aluminum rather than plastic. The whole of the back slides off to load the film, creating more of a light-tight seal to last. It’s small in the hand, and has an incredibly quiet shutter. The film wind lever is on the left (rather than on the right as is more common) and needs to be wound quite firmly along a short span three times to both prime the shutter, advance the film, and move the frame counter.
Finally, the shutter won’t work without film in the camera — the sprocket holes on the film turn a cocking wheel mounted at the center of the camera. Shutter speeds are limited at B-130-60-125. And aperture settings likewise, it’s between 3.5 and 22. It is an all-manual camera with shutter and aperture setting levers mounted on the front lens itself. There is no rangefinder or another way to get exact focus — you have to rotate the lens barrel to the range that you want. This will probably all sound relatively familiar to anyone with a Smena but I think the Pentona has better general build quality and a knockout lens.
Specifications
Type: viewfinder camera
Manufacturer: KW
Year of launch: 1956
Film: 35mm
Lens: achromatic Meyer-Optik Görlitz Trioplan 1:3.5/45
Shutter: Priomat leaf shutter, flash-synchronized with speeds 1:/30 to 1/125 sec. plus B
or Prestor RVS shutter with speeds 1 sec. to 1/500 sec. plus B
Aperture: 1:3.5 to 1:22
Viewfinder: optical
Film advance: knurl, advancing unlocks shutter for next exposure
Dimensions: 125 × 84 × 67 mm
Click-II is a medium format film viewfinder camera manufactured by Agfa Kamerawerk AG, Munich, Germany and produced between 1959-70.
The Click was yet another cheap Agfa camera designed for the Lomography. With its one speed shutter and few option it was never intended to be anything else than this. Unlike it's 6x9 brother the Clack it was completely constructed out of plastic making it quite vulnerable for damage, if you drop a Click it will most likely break. The main differences between the Clack and the Click is the lens, the Clack has a lens of f11 - f16 while the Click has a f8.8 -f11 lens. Other differences are the fact that the Click II is 6x6 camera (opposed to the 6x9 of the Clack) and thus is a little more economic. The Click II also lacks a socket for a cable release and it's a mystery why Agfa decided to drop this feature. The results of the Click II are not bad for such a cheap camera.
The other camera in the Click line is Agfa Click-I.
More than three years ago an Agfa Click II became my constant companion. This circumstance was neither achieved by a high-resolution image sensor nor by any other special features, but is owed to the absence of modern settings. Apart from all the things the Click is lacking, it holds some attributes that make photography such a pleasure. The 50 year old leather case, that closes with a press button on its back and still is in near mint condition, as well as the sturdy plastic body are just the beginning.
Technical details
The Agfa Click II was produced in Germany from the end of the 1950s until 1970 – how many cameras can claim that nowadays? It has approximately 75 mm focal length, which is almost a normal lens for 6×6 cm medium format. The settings of the fixed-focus lens that focuses on 4 m to infinity, are limited to one lever, which can be set to “sun” (ca. f 16) or “clouds” (f 8.8). Apart from changing the aperture, the same selector can be used to swivel in a built-in close-up portrait lens (f 8.8), that focuses on 2.5 to 4 m. The exposure time always amounts to 1/30 sec, which is why sometimes photographs become blurred by camera shake – but this simply belongs to the Click’s characteristics. Once there was the clip-on flash Clibo enabling the Click to take pictures regardless of sunshine, but it was only produced in a much smaller number of pieces. Furthermore, fitting batteries and flash bulbs are extremely rare today.
When I bought my pre-owned Click II, I found an old film inside that had not been manufactured since 1974 – which also explains the camera’s sound condition. Since then I have almost exclusively equipped the camera with (in part expired) slide film. By choosing the film material the last “setting option” is gathered.
En route with the Click
In all fairness, the technical details concerning the Click are of marginal importance. Much more essential are subjects that stand to benefit from a restrained unsharpness and vignetting as well as a colour shift which results from expired film emulsion. Therefore it is definitely worth taking the Click outside. Weighing only 460 g (including leather case and roll film) it is far from being a burden. For my liking the Click is primarily a fair weather camera, although it can be used in all weathers, independent of power supply and anywhere around the world. All that is necessary is a 120 roll film, which is manually wound forward by means of the winding knob after every single exposure. Due to the few settings (one exposure time and two apertures) photographing with an Agfa Click is so easy – far from the compulsion to take perfect pictures. When getting the film developed you will never know in advance what you will receive exactly. (However you can be sure to get a well exposed film as the Click is much more reliable than a Holga without doubt.)
The Agfa Click II provides all images with its own characteristic visual impression, even those that would look rather unexceptional and boring when captured with perfect sharpness, perfect colour reproduction and perfect exposure. That is what makes the Click so special and in my opinion more than perfect. When it is treated well, it will probably render a service for the next 50 years or more – as long as roll film and film laboratories exist.
Film: 120 roll, picture size 6x6cm
Focusing: fixed focus, 4m to inf.
Viewfinder: simple Galilei
One shutter speed, about 1/30
Lens: Achromat 72.5mm f/8.8; downs to f/11
Aperture settings: cloudy and sunny setting ikons on the lens-shutter barrel; switchable lens proves 2.5-4m close-up taking
Tripod mounting screw on base plate
Connection pins for the Agfa Clibo flash unit
The bend back cover plays a role as a film pressure plate and provides for a steady and good sharpness
Body: plastic
The Isolette is a compact horizontal-folding camera for twelve 6×6 cm (2¼-inch square) pictures (or sixteen 4.5×6 cm (2¼×1⅝ inch) pictures, with the first model of the camera) on 120 film. It was made by Agfa Kamerawerk AG, Munich, Germany, from 1937, and the series of cameras continued until about 1960.
Some of the series were sold (and some made) in North America by Ansco as Speedex models.
The cameras are as follows: The original Isolette (1937-42)
Isolette 4.5 (1945-50)
Isolette V (1950-52)
Isolette I (1951-58)
Isolette II (1950-60)
Isolette III (1952-58)
Isolette L (1957-60)
There was also the Super Isolette (1954-60), a coupled-rangefinder camera.
This first model (1937-42) is a dual format camera. It has hinged masks in the film chamber (they pivot around the spindle of the film rollers on each side of the film gate), to change it from the 6×6 cm format to 4.5×6 cm. There is also a mask for the viewfinder, put in place with a selector lever by the eyepiece.
It first came on the market as the Isorette (embossed in the leatherette of the front door/lens bed as JSORETTE), but the name was changed to Isolette (again, marked on the camera as JSOLETTE) within a year, with no significant change to the camera itself.
One of the distinctive features of the camera is the top housing, made of a plastic called 'Trolitan'; the post-War camera has a cast aluminium top housing. This camera also has loops to attach a strap, the only version of the Isolette to have these.
Different lens and shutter combinations were available, allowing a wide range of levels of specification. All have front-element focusing. The shutter release is on the body. Film advance is by a wide, flat knob, using a red window; there are two red windows in the back, one for each film format, and a swivelling cover for the upper (4.5×6 cm) one. There is a swing-out spool holder on the supply side of the film chamber. This model was called the "Soldatenkamera" (soldier's camera) in Germany during the War.
Year of release: 1937
Film Format: 12 exp. 6x6 or 16 exp. 4.5x6 on 120 type rollfilm.
Shutter: Vario, Pronto, Prontor II, Compur or Compur-Rapid.
Lens: 8.5 cm f/6.3 Igestar, f/4.5 Agnar, f/4.5 Apotar or f/4.5 Solinar.
Viewfinder: reverse-Galilean viewfinder
The earliest cameras have Vario shutters which are not labelled as such.
Daci is a medium format box camera made by Dacora and introduced in 1948.
Early versions (1948) of the camera used simple wire clips to hold the front on, later version (1952) with badge around lens. Red, black, gray and green color varieties are also known.
La Dacora Daci en un principio parece una cámara de cajón del montón, pero una vez que se tiene en las manos, uno se da cuenta de que no es así. Y es que la particularidad de la Daci es que está completamente hecha de Alumino, cosa bastante poco común en su época (1950) cuando el material que primaba, y sobre todo para las cámaras de cajón, era la bakelita. Así pues, esta cámara está hecha con materiales "nobles" que además requerían de la maquinaria al efecto para mecanizarlos. Dacora comenzó su andadura bajo el nombre "Dangelmeier & Co" en Munich en 1946 y cesó su producción en 1972. La Daci fue su segundo modelo, que podía comprarse por unos 7,50 marcos (DM) de la época.
Por lo demás, sí que hay que considerar a la Daci una cámara de bajas pretensiones, ya que como era común en las cámaras de cajón, no tiene gran cosa. El objetivo es un simple menisco fijo y su cierre simple tan sólo ofrece dos posibilidades de disparo que vemos algo toscamente pintadas en blanco al lado del disparador como "Z" y "M" (Zeit / Moment - Tiempo/Instante).
Aún así, hay que reconocerle un muy buen acabado y buena presencia. Tiene su nombre cromado en el frontal y por detrás está la ventana para controlar el paso de foto que se cubre con una chapa metálica igualmente cromada. Todo un lujo! También en la trasera, podemos ver los restos casi intactos de una pegatina publicitaria de la tienda donde se vendió: "Photo Rham, Frankfurt a.M.", o sea Frankfurt en el Main (hay otro Frankfurt más pequeño en la orilla del Oder, cerca de la frontera polaca).
La cámara es de muy reducidas dimensiones, lo que haría esperar el uso de rollo 127. Sin embargo, la Daci hace uso del rollo 120, tomando fotografías en formato 6x6. Debido a éste formato cuadrado (y a la construcción compacta de la cámara), sólo dispone de un visor superior por encima del objetivo. Igualmente dispone sólo de una rosca de trípode en su base y en su parte superior incorpora un asa de cuero. La funda de la cámara es igualmente de cuero, y al verla nos recuerda a las usadas por las cámaras de cajón de la preguerra.
Para abrir la cámara, hay que liberar dos enganches laterales igualmente cromados. También están cromados los embellecedores del objetivo y visor. No así la rueda de alumino para pasar la foto. Debajo del disparador encontramos también, como es común, la rosca para latiguillos o temporizadores.
La Daci se puede adquirir por muy poco dinero, y en general su aspecto “Gotham City” y sus materiales me evocan a la Bilora Bella, aunque se trate de dos tipos de cámara completamente diferentes.
Hay otros modelos existentes de Dacis, entre otros algunos coloreados como la "Daci Royal". La propia Dacora no llegó a fabricar muchos modelos; entre ellos podéis ver también en mi coleccón a la Subita que era un modelo económico de la casa Dacora.
Una cámara muy simple pero bonita, que ha aguantado excelentemente el paso de sus ya 60 años.
HerstellerDacora - Kamerawerk, Reutlingen
TypDacora Daci Royal (rot)
KameratypBoxkamera
Filmtyp6 x 6 cm, Rollfilm
Baujahr1951
OptikMeniskus 1:9
VerschlussEinfachverschluss 1/40 und "B"
Belichtungsmessungohne
FokussierungManuell, 1,50 m - ∞
BlitzanschlussPC-Buchse an der Seite links
Zeiss Ikon is a German company that was formed in 1926 by the merger of four camera makers (Contessa-Nettel, Ernemann, Goerz and Ica), and an infusion of capital by Zeiss[1]. The company formed one part of the Carl Zeiss Foundation, another part being the optical company Carl Zeiss. Logically, most of the Zeiss Ikon cameras were equipped with Carl Zeiss lenses; and the formerly independent companies, in particular Goerz, had to shut down their own lens manufacture.
The merged company was also obliged to use Compur shutters for 80% of its cameras. Thus only the simplest cameras could get cheaper shutters like the Klio. Soon AG Hahn für Optik und Mechanik, Kassel, and Goerz Photochemisches Werk GmbH, Berlin, joined the Zeiss Ikon syndicate. Both companies, Zeiss Ikon and Hahn, were also in the business of producing keys, latches an lock cylinders. This business was more and more concentrated in the former optical factories of Goerz in Berlin.
The group became one of the big companies in the photo technology capital Dresden, with plants in Stuttgart and Berlin. It continued several products of its constituents for a while, but also created new ones like the quality folder Ikonta and the medium format rangefinder camera Super Ikonta. Until WWII Zeiss Ikon was the world's market leading maker of 8mm movie cameras. In addition to cameras and lenses, Zeiss Ikon also produced some optics for medical applications.
West Germany: Zeiss Ikon AG Stuttgart
After World War II Zeiss Ikon was split into a West German and an East German part. It was reformed in West Germany, and trademark disputes followed with the part that was left in East Germany. Stuttgart became the company's domicile. Zeiss Ikon merged in the mid 1960s with Voigtländer, another important German manufacturer, and one that had been controlled by the Zeiss Foundation since 1956.
The product lines of Zeiss Ikon Stuttgart were different from the East German company's products. The Ikophot light meters were made in Stuttgart.
Zeiss Ikon ceased the production of cameras in 1972. This was a great shock for the entire German camera industry. Parts of the Zeiss Ikon product line then went to Rollei, and part of the know-how was used to revive the Contax name in collaboration with the Japanese maker Yashica.
Before reunification the whole Zeiss Ikon keys, latches & locking cylinder business was separated into a separate company.
East Germany: VEB Zeiss Ikon Dresden
Postwar production, begun early in May 1945, was soon interrupted as several factories were closed for dismantling their production machines. The machines were given as reparation to Soviet camera makers that had suffered demolition during the war. The production of the sophisticated Contax rangefinder cameras was prepared in Dresden and relaunched with new machines in Jena before all the machines were transferred to the Soviet camera maker Kiev. In 1948 the East German part of Zeiss Ikon became state owned. Production and development of Ernemann projectors and movie cameras were continued from 1949. Camera production was continued in 1947 with the Tenax and the Ikonta models. Soon the company's stock of leaf shutters was running out. In 1950 it could produce its own shutters since it took over the shutter production of Balda and the shutter factory of Mimosa. In 1952 the Tempor was Zeiss Ikon's first own leaf shutter development, followed in 1954 by the Prestor, the fastest leaf shutter at this time.
In 1948 the company could introduce its advanced SLR model, the Contax S. Since there were suits about trade mark names with the West German Zeiss Ikon AG, VEB Zeiss Ikon was renamed VEB Kinowerke Dresden in 1958. Later it became the main part of the East German combine Pentacon.
After German reunification
Today Carl Zeiss is reviving the Zeiss Ikon name. The new Zeiss Ikon camera, introduced at the 2004 Photokina show, is a rangefinder camera with Leica M-mount, developed in Germany and built by Cosina in Japan. Like the Contax G1 and G2), it has lenses made in both Japan (by Cosina) and Germany.
Manufactured from 1956 to 1958, this well-made 35mm viewfinder camera was fitted with either Novicar Anastigmat or Novar Anastigmat lenses in a Prontor SVS shutter.
The camera has an uncoupled exposure meter. Early examples have a twin range meter like this one.
You can identify it as a twin-range meter because the cover flap over the meter cell has a slot machined through it. It is normally closed for bright conditions, so it lets through less light, and you read the meter on the high scale.
In lower light conditions, you open the flap to let more light act on the selenium cell, and you make your readings on the low-light scale.
Later examples like this one below, have a single range meter. The meter flap looks much the same, but is actually a cover, and blocks all the light. The meter flap must be opened to take a reading.
There appears to be confusion as to the correct name of this camera, which identifies itself as simply Contina (on the lens bezel). Some sources say it's a Contina II, while others claim the model is a Contina IIa.
Ivor Matanle's book Collecting and Using Classic Cameras, explains that the camera is often referred to as the IIa, with the a having been added by camera buffs to differentiate this (527/24) model from an earlier folding (524/24) camera also called the Contina II. Ivor's observation is incorrect, because there were actually two 527/24 models - the II and IIa - and while their differences are acknowledged, reviewers often assume the IIa was a later version of the II, rather than a different model.
The facts are, the IIa was the first model, and Zeiss (not collectors) added an a to the name to distinguish the camera from the 524/24 folding Contina II. The 527/24 Contina II followed the IIa in 1956, with some logic to Zeiss dropping the a from its name, because production of the 524/24 folding Contina II had ceased in 1953. The II and IIa had quite a few significant differences.
Contina IIa (527/24)
1954 - 56
Look for
• small slots in meter cell flap
• dual range meter with scoop cut from outer meter dial, which reveals a scale (green for flap closed, and black for flap open)
• EV number scale in meter window
• lens mount front plate has very shallow horizontal grooves
• smaller viewfinder window with no frame around.
Contina II (527/24)
1956 - 58
Look for
• no slots in meter cell flap (its just a cover)
• single range meter
• no scale in meter window because its a match-needle system rather than a pointer
• lens mount front plate is smooth
• larger viewfinder window with surrounding frame.
There was a further Contina II from 1958, but this was also known as the Contina-matic, had a coupled exposure meter, and therefore no top-plate dials. It's clearly a different camera, and I haven't included details because the point of this table is to show the a designation pertains to one specific model.
This Contina II is a completely manual viewfinder camera and was fitted with either an f/3.5 Novar or f/2.8 Novicar Anastigmat 45mm lens with a Prontor SVS shutter. My understanding is that Novar and Novicar were names owned by Zeiss, but the lenses were not actually made by the company. My camera has the faster f/2.8 lens.
The camera has an uncoupled exposure meter. It works like a hand-held; turn the dial to match the needles, and read off the recommended aperture / shutter speed combinations for transfer to the camera lens settings.
A nice feature is that the rewind knob extends away from the camera body as it is turned - making it easier to operate.
One source reports that the camera cost £43 15s 1d new, which would be equivalent to about 3 weeks average UK wages.
Shutter: B, 1, 1/2nd, 1/4th, 1/8th, 1/15th, 1/30th, 1/60th, 1/125th and 1/300th. The shutter can be set at M or X synch. Prontor SVS five-blade leaf shutter.
Cable Release: Standard socket in shutter release button.
Meter: Uncoupled Selenium.
Exposure: Manual, read from meter scale.
Film Speed: From ASA 5 - 640.
Filter Size: 27mm screw in.
Flash: Cold shoe and PC terminal. M and X sync.
Film Advance: Long stroke lever.
Frame Counter: Set manually with auto count-up.
Rewind: Via crank and separate bottom release button.
