Cameras taken to top of Mt. Everest.

I have skimmed through the relevant section of the official Everest Expedition book and not found which brand of camera was used for the famous summit picture of Tenzing, by Hillary. There is a note that all colour-film, and "most of the black-and-white", was supplied by Kodak but no mention of the cameras.

Later on, in the 70's and 80's, a lot of people used the Rollei 35 models, indeed I still have one and last went over 10000 feet with it last Autumn. Those small cameras were so popular, for their lightness and high quality results, that they were popularly known as the climber's camera. Many people without sponsorship deals will have used them I expect.
 
I have skimmed through the relevant section of the official Everest Expedition book and not found which brand of camera was used for the famous summit picture of Tenzing, by Hillary. There is a note that all colour-film, and "most of the black-and-white", was supplied by Kodak but no mention of the cameras.

Later on, in the 70's and 80's, a lot of people used the Rollei 35 models, indeed I still have one and last went over 10000 feet with it last Autumn. Those small cameras were so popular, for their lightness and high quality results, that they were popularly known as the climber's camera. Many people without sponsorship deals will have used them I expect.

The camera used by Tenzin Norgay was the Kodak Retina 118 fitted with a Zeiss Tessar lens. The film was Kodachrome.

http://retinarescue.com/retina1type118.html
 
The camera used by Tenzin Norgay was the Kodak Retina 118 fitted with a Zeiss Tessar lens. The film was Kodachrome.

http://retinarescue.com/retina1type118.html

I think this might have just increased Retina prices on that auction-site! 😉

It's a good job it was sunny I suppose (but if it wasn't then they might not have got down safely of course). The Kodachrome was 10asa in those days? So, using Sunny-22 on account of the altitude, and having the limited fastest shutter-speed of 1/300, might suggest Hillary used f8 at 1/100, or f4,5 at 1/300. In the book he mentions that he also made a few more summit shots 'for the record' but was not optimistic about their quality, due to the conditions.

I think that the Tenzing picture, at least, is pretty iconic so a very good achievement photographically as well as in the climbing sphere.
 
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Ilford Advocate cameras were also taken on the 1953 Expedition, although not found mentioned as being taken to the summit.

Andrew J. Holliman's book "ILFORD, Faces, People and Places, The Cameras of Ilford Limited 1899-2005" (ISBN Number: 0-9545342-1-2 ) shows an Ilford advertisement, illustrated with some of the pictures taken, which says:
"In both phases of the Everest camapign - the final victory by Sir John Hunt and his Colleagues and the earlier reconnaissance expedition led by Mr. Eric Shipton - Ilford 35mm Cameras were used to take natural colour records on Ilford 35mm Colour Film 'D' "

These (35mm) cameras have 35mm focal length Dallmeyer or Wray lenses, giving an angle of view that was unusually wide for the period.
 
There's an Everest model Ultra Fex, because an unfortunate French Everest team was given some of these cameras. Dunno if they made it to the top, though.

Cheers,

R.

Dunno about an Everest model, but there's certainly a Himalaya one.


Ultrafex Himalaya by gray1720, on Flickr

It's erm... basic!

While he didn't go to the top, George Lowe took a Retina II to 29,000 feet, and it's visible in this obituary: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/9946849/George-Lowe.html

Note that there's a book of his photos of the expedition coming out any day, which I will be looking out for.

Adrian
 
Dunno about an Everest model, but there's certainly a Himalaya one. . . . Adrian
Dear Adrian,

You are of course right: my memory was at fault. I conflated the story I (possibly erroneously) remembered, about an unfortunate French Everest exhibition that was saddled with the camera, and what is actually written on the front: mine is in fact a Himalaya model.

I love the looks of Fexes, but that's about all I do like about them.

Cheers,

R.
 
From "Everest - The Hard Way", by Chris Bonnington...

IMG_0001.jpg

IMG.jpg


Ah can thoroughly recommend the book even if yer not a climber. Plus, there are so many fine photos inside.

😎
 
That's a really interesting read - thanks for posting it! Makes the slog up the Law for the view seem paltry by comparison, doesn't it?

Roger has encountered me online enough times to know that I take a masochistic delight in using highly obsolete cameras, but even I have to agree that the Fex looks wonderful, but is a complete pain in the harris to use. It's too big to hold easily, you can see your finger in the viewfinder (which is very distracting!) and it's very hard not to twitch the camera when you press the shutter. The results are OK... in a "not as carp as I thought they'd be" way:


Some building in Oxford, think it's old. by gray1720, on Flickr

I wouldn't want to record my trip of a lifetime on one, and as for a rollfilm camera at altitude, having to take you gloves off every eight shots...

Adrian
 
Anyone know what other cameras may have been taken since those early days?

Can anyone conjure a picture of one of those cameras.

Does anyone have one of those cameras?

What I'm excited to see (hopefully in my lifetime, as I'm 23) is for the Apollo Hasselblads to be brought back from the Moon and get their own spots in museums, including the Smithsonian's Air and Space museum in Washington, and perhaps other major historical museums around the world.
 
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