Box cameras

Thanks to Roger and tunalegs for the replies and the info.

I'll start using it once I've got a tripod, lens hood and sky 1b/2,4,8 nd filters (and prolly a yellow and a green filter). I know they ain't got the thread for such things, but I'd like to use them anyway. From what I can gather using a metal ruler, the measurement of the outside edge of the plastic barrel is somewhere around 32.5mm-33mm. So I reckon on getting a 32.5mm step-up ring (and filing it if necessary) and bunging filter and hood on that. With a bit of practice perhpas a couple of the pics won't be really all that bad.
 
I am going to give a warning to not bother with any of that until after you shoot a test roll. You will be risking frustration and wasting your time if the camera has some issue like a light leak. Run outside, get through the test roll, and see that everything works satisfactorily before you start messing about with things. I just tested one box camera where the viewfinder was way off, and you're not going to know these things until you get some results back. You've got eight exposures, shouldn't take but five minutes to get through and establish what you're working with.

I would suggest you use all three focus zones so you have a practical idea of where they actually fall, then check the viewfinders, both of them, frame so that something is perfectly centered in the VF, so when you get the film back you can get an idea of how much parallax you will be dealing with, or whether or not the viewfinder is misaligned.
 
I know what you wrote tunalegs, and it's decent enough advice, but as I'd be getting another gevabox if this one doesn't work or whatever, and as the cost is practically £0, I decided to get a 32.5mm-37mm step-up ring, a 37mm kood sky 1b filter and a 37mm lens metal lens hood.

I'm sure I made a mistake in choosing a 32.5mm-37mm ste-up ring. I received the filter today and I held it up to the front of the lens and there ain't as much difference between the diameter of the lens barrel and the filter thread as I'd thought there would be.

I measured the width of the lens barrel from one edge to the other and it comes to 31mm/32mm and decided on the 32.5mm-37mm step ring. About 3 days before receiving the ring I'd realised I should've worked out the inner size of the step-ring to fit over the outside of the lens barrel.

😱😱😱.

Anyway, I'm also going to be getting a little spirit level before taking any pics with it. This'll help show if the mirrors in the finders are level.

I will be experimenting with the focus zones with the first film or two as you suggest. I was wondering if it's safe to assume that the 1st zone of "5-10" would actually be focused at 7 1/2 feet and the 2nd zone of "13-20" would actually be focused at 16 1/2 feet?

Hmmm. Having just written that then remembering what you wrote in an earlier post about the zones being a little larger than written to avoid mistakes in estimating the distance, would zone 1 be focused at 9 feet and zone 2 at 18 feet?

You also said it would be focused at 50 feet for zone 3 of "23-inf".

I know you said not to bother with a rangefinder as the DOF would be wide enough even at f8, but to roughly paraphrase what was mentioned in another thread, we get sharper images when we focus a lens than when relying DOF, I've been considering 'putting in' several focus points on the front of the lens barrel just see what happens.

I know you (and I presume a few other members), will say that this faffing about is getting away from the simplicity of box cameras and I agree, but I want to know exactly what I can get out of a box camera.
 
Just in case any other member is interested in box cameras that have more than one speed and more than one aperture, I recently bought a Ferrania Elioflex. While this is actually a 'pseudo tlr' I still take the view that's a box camera.

It has four apertures (f8, f11, f16 and f22) that can be set anywhere between, four shutter speeds (1/200, 1/100, 1/50 and 1/25 plus 'B'), it can be focused anywhere between 7 feet and infinity, with the last marked distance being 50 feet. The lens is an f8 85mm "Officine galileo 'Monog' " lens. I presume it's just a meniscus lens but I don't know as I've not found a description. The lens does look, and has been described as coated.

It's quite easy to put the film into the 'full film' section but harder to put the empty reel into it's section as it's not got the 'swing -out' section that the former has.

It has a loud anti-double exposure prevention system which may make you think the camera is broken, it isn't.

As far as box cameras go it's quite a 'posh' one, although the Elioflex 2 is even 'posher' as it has an anastigmat lens. I think I've read somewhere that the E2 can do multi-exposures.
 
A bit more info about Ferrania Elioflex cameras:

If you want to buy filters for it, then get 34mm push on ones.

You'll see two vertical lines that are close together, which happen to be the 'flange' bit which you adjust inward so the filter stays on the lens.

The body on these is quite deep and slips past the knurled bit on the lens barrel, which makes the filter quite difficult to remove.

You'll see two horizontal 'long' lines and a bit with a gap above the middle of them.
This type fits onto the knurled bit on the lens barrel and the filter doesn't go past it, so it's easier to remove. My UV filter fits perfectly.
 
David, yes it is a pseudo tlr, but I also take the view that it's still a box camera, although some may think I'm stretching the definition a little.

Steve, yes, its cool-ness is one of the reasons I got it. I wish it could do multi-exposures though. I think I've read that the Elioflex 2 can do tghem.
 
Everyone here has probably always wanted a Tom Thumb Automatic Camera Radio, you just never knew that you did. Now you know about it, so here's hoping someone buys one before I shell out the coins for it. It's also in the time honored pseudo TLR-box camera category, and the only downside (other than it takes 127 film, and this example costs $349.00), is the powerful 67.5V battery it requires, which is said to cost $50. I guess they were counting on hooking up some aux speakers to it with that sort of voltage. Pulling out my pencil and paper, I figured out that you could always use forty five AAA batteries or the same amount of 1.5V button batteries (the latter would be a better fit) if your corner Dollar Tree is fresh out of 67.5 volt batteries like mine was. I was going to discuss this problem with the manager, but I don't think the Dollar Tree has a manager. Just one frazzled woman at the register with a long line of customers with kids and stuff.

The best part is that the camera has vacuum tubes (like Robbie the Robot). Even Leica cameras don't have vacuum tubes.

http://radioattic.com/item.htm?radio=1150570
 
I think that's the 3rd radio-camera I've heard of now.

But I don't think the others had tubes so they couldn't do the glow. I presume if you look carefully you can see a glow when its' working.

Nor did they have a battery that would kill you if you did the "tongue on both terminals" thing.
 
A No.2 Brownie

A No.2 Brownie

Here's my Kodak No.2 Brownie model D, made arround 1914-1915, and in perfect working order in it's simplicity.

26569286118_81fafd1097_z.jpg


https://www.flickr.com/photos/7455207@N05/26569286118
39749993534_f1fc11f21f_z.jpg

39749989234_5845843321_z.jpg

Inside view https://flic.kr/p/23yz5VY
 
Nice camera carbo73. I imagine someone's cleaned the thing since 1914/15. What's it made of, apart form the brass fitting? Looks like metal and leather to me.

Is the 'mask' just a mask to protect the film from the stray light coming through the red window, or does it seem to be a sort of 'pressure plate'?
 
seany65 said:
Nice camera carbo73. I imagine someone's cleaned the thing since 1914/15. What's it made of, apart form the brass fitting? Looks like metal and leather to me.

Is the 'mask' just a mask to protect the film from the stray light coming through the red window, or does it seem to be a sort of 'pressure plate'?
Click to expand...
Yes, probably someone took care of it, as it is really nice condition. It's mainly made of cardboard and wood. I've bought (but haven't received) her little sister, a No.0 which probably has the same materials. And for the mask I presume that it's some sort of light protection, because the "pressure plate" are two tiny metallic parts in tha folding back plate. Anyway this "mask" was discarded in newer models, like the F, so must have been of little use.
 
Thanks for the info carbo73.

Cardboard and wood. lol. Things made out of metal these days barely last five minutes.

My* Gevabox is metal, but at least it was made at a time when no-one thought of "designed obsolescence" or "designed product life" as a mercenary way of forcing us to buy more stuff.



*Edit: Changed 'By' to 'My'.😱
 
seany65 said:
@carbo: What are the two vertical metal strips for?
Click to expand...
In the frontal, opened view, I presume...
The central one is the aperture selector, in fact three consecutive holes. The one to the right is the selector for the long exposure mode (T). In fact the shutter is in T mode for the picture, so that you can see the lens.
 
Timely to have this thread pop up again. I'd not used my boxes in a while, but just finished cleaning out my Ensign All Distance box... it was very tricky to get to the inside surface of the lens and get it back together again. Testing it soon.

Also just received an Ensign 2 1/4B Box Form camera, which I need to clean up, but so far I am impressed by its quality. Definitely a step above what Kodak and Ansco were making in that era.
 
carbo73 said:
In the frontal, opened view, I presume...
The central one is the aperture selector, in fact three consecutive holes. The one to the right is the selector for the long exposure mode (T). In fact the shutter is in T mode for the picture, so that you can see the lens.
Click to expand...

Thanks carbo73.

Do I take it that to use the aperture selector, you have to pull it up and move it to one side or the other?

As rolfe has brought up the subject of cowboys, I think this isn't too far off-topic:

Anyone know what Hopalong Cassidy's horse was called?
 
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