Folders

Re: Folders

rover said:
I dug up an interesting site, and ebay seller last night, while surfing. Perhaps someone to look into more if you are in the market for a folder.

http://www.foldingcamerasrestoration.com/
http://foldingcameras.com/articles.htm
http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.d...=0&userid=certo6&sort=3&rows=25&since=-1&rd=1
Click to expand...

I've never heard anything but good things about certo6 - I have some e-mail from him around here somewhere, he also seems like a real nice guy. I have not bought anything from him, but he sure seems to know what he is doing, I've lost out on a couple of his auctions at the last minute - his stuff tends to go for top dollar and probably pretty good reason for it.

My first foray back into cameras a few years ago was with cheap Agfa and Zeiss folders - 6x6 non-rangefinders. They take good pictures, and they're fun to use.

I'd love to have a nice Agfa or Zeiss with a coupled rangefinder and a really good lens, but they seem to be cult classics - the top models go for big bucks.

I really liked medium format rangefinders, so I waited and waited and waited, and finally, I pulled the trigger on a Fujica G690 - it's awesome in terms of picture quality. Sadly, it's ill right now. I have to get it in for service soon.

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks
 
He does seem to be a reputable dealer. His sales indicate the reserve prices on the cameras are his costs for the unit and his CLA. He has two AGFA 6x9s up now for $130ish. Both cameras have new bellows and are restored to working order. For the work I imagine he put into these cameras the prices seem fair to me. I don't know anything about these cameras, yet, but will keep checking in on him to see what he is selling.
 
Funny you should post this information... This afternoon I was talking with my photography master (the guy who got me into MF by lending me a Mamiya TLR and a 645), and he told me about "a guy who refurbishes folders and then sells them, adding to the price his own labor and materials." He even told me about the color bellows!

No, he hadn't read your post, Rover...

It all came because I was surprised at the slides I got from my Zeiss Ikon Tessar. It's no rangefinder, and you can only do zone-focusing, so I haven't used it much, but now that I saw its outcome, I'll give it a bit more airtime than before...

Thanks for posting the links! They're already bookmarked!! :D
 
I'be been also impressed with the first negatives from my Moskva-5. It's strange how the first time you try an "ancient" and odd camera you're very skeptic about the results.

Sometimes when receiving the results you have to eat your previous thoughts and accept the obvious, some of these old folders have first class lenses !

In fact I have an Agfa Isolette III also, but not probably in the best possible shape. I'm in the process of restoring it myself, so I hope someday I'll write some post about either a nice Isolette or a bunch of junk Isolette parts :p
 
Sorry to be so late to this thread, but this is the guy I bought the S 312 from. If anything the camera was better than he described but he ignored 2 emails changing my ship to address. He always has interesting stuff on auction. Do a seller search under certo6.

Gerry
 
Paul, I'm just curious about your experiences with the Iskra. I ordered one but unfortunately had to return it, as the seller misplaced the shipment and the one I received was a different (and pretty worse) one than my original purchase.

Finally I decided not to get another one, as I didn't want the same happening again and also I ended finding a "better" destination for that money. I've read a lot of things about broken film counter mechanisms and shutters, and in fact the unit I received had a custom red ruby window in the back (the first out of place thing I noticed).

But just in case another good opportunity pops up, I'd be pleased to hear more about that camera from a real user :)

Best !

Oscar
 
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Taffer:

Mine is an Iskra I.

I like it a lot.

I have a fair number of rollfilm amd 35mm folders and this is one of my favorites. By comparison, I use a Mockva 5, Welta Weltur (6X4.5), Agfa Isolette, Kodak Special 620 and Kodak Monitor. The Iskra is solid, compact, has a rangefinder and a terrific lens. It has neckstrap lugs,so I can carry it folded and under a coat or inside of a biefcase.

I bought mine from Russian Camera in Hollywood,CA. They sent me 2 , allowed me to pick the one I preferred and send the other one back.

Mine is fully functional except for the flash sync at 1/500 which is completley unsynced. The rangefinder also doesn't seem to align perfectly both at infinity and close-up. I chose to calibrate it close since the difference bewteen 12 and 15 feet focus is usually more critical than the difference between 75 feet and infinity.

For $65.00 plus shipping from California it was a great buy!

Of my rollfilmfolders, I use it the most. No.2 is my Moskva-5 whenever I want the larger negative. I actually prefer the Welta slightly more than the Iskra., but it is a preWWII camera and showing its age. Dim rangefinder, etc. The Welta has lot of of sentimental value,so I keeop it at home.

By the way, my avatar on this forumwas shot with the Iskra.

-Paul
 
I'm buying a nearly unused Zeiss Ikonta with a Tessar and Synchro-Compur for $40. Everything about it seems nice (shutter is a bit slow, but 30 years without a CLA will do that!) but my previous experiences with Zeiss Ikontas make me hesitant. I bought one from a website listed above and suffered 4 rounds of light leaks, a Novar (3 element lens) lens with portions of the coating missing (quite obvious) and rangefinder troubles; Misadjusted when I got it, didn't allign vertically OR horizontally- turned out that the mirror is on a thin-ish stalk on these cameras and one has to be careful about knocking it around at all.

We'll see. The $40 is a pretty low entry price, and this one does seem to be much nicer than the multi-hundred I spent on the last one.
 
Good luck with that Ikonta JD ! Could you get a refund for the first one ?

Thanks for the info about the Iskra Paul, I supose I could have had a nice one if the seller had sent me the one I bid for, as it looked pretty nice.

Just now I think I have enough with my Moskva 5, the Iskra will have to wait a bit :)
 
If you don't have the 6X6 reducer for the Moskva-5, you can make one from cardboard. That will give you some additional functionality out of the Moskva as well as make it easier to get a custom lab to print your negatives. I think the Iskra has a better lens, and it is a lot easier to foucs than a Moskva, but the reducer keeps you within the best part of the Induster 24C lens coverage.

If an Iskra seemns pricey for a Russian camera, keep in mind that the Agfa it is copied after sells for 3 to 4 times as much if you can even find one on e-Bay. I think I've only seen 4 of the Agfa's in 2 years shopping e-Bay.

-Paul
 
Hi Paul, in fact I have the 6x6 reducer mask, but I somewhat like that 6x9 format...

Nope, I don't think Iskras are expensive in the <$100 (if they are working properly, that is), it's only that I became a bit disappointed with them as a result of my bad experience...

... and that I ended spending the Iskra refund in a nice Oly SP :rolleyes:

Anyway I still have that camera in my mind, you're right, finding a Super Isolette would be a LOT more expensive. Also, I've seen some with retrofitted red ruby windows as their automatic counter mechanism is broken, but not sure if that's a result of bad construction or user abuse instead...

Thanks for your info anyway ! I'll keep that in mind when receiving my summer extra income :)
 
No refund for me. I sold it off to someone else that didn't mind the lens coating problem.

That's why I'm willing to talk about my experience with some of the salesmen of these cameras. PM me, if curious.
 
Welcome, Doug-- I haven't seen your introductory post, so I'll just say hi here to another Doug (in a neighboring state, yet), and -- seeing your user name -- ask if you're particularly fond of Hawaiian turtles? :)
 
Hi -- Thanks for your reply! I tried hunting and found it wasn't for me; I'm much more interested in just shooting than the rest of it.

So, "Honu-Hugger" was a bit of an Environmentalist jab that you diflected by adopting! :)

Where do you go in Hawaii to cavort with the sea-life? Budget allowing, we may be heading that way in Nov; already pondering which cameras & film to take.
 
collapsible lens "folders"

collapsible lens "folders"

I have a number of folders in both 120 and 35 mm, including 6x9 folders by Zeiss and even a refurbished Kodak Vigilant. I also have something of a soft spot for collapsible lenses, and was recently given a couple of neat old collapsible-lens 120 6x6 cameras by my wife. Pretty decent image quality for simple front-cell lenses and "waterhouse"-type f-stops. Here's a shot with one of them, a 1950-ish Bencini Koroll 6x6. It's a simple hunk o
camera which looks like it was carved from a single block of aluminum. Oddly enough, it has one of the best view finders I've ever used (including my M3)! (taken w/FP4 @ 125 ASA).
 
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Welcome to RFF, Floyd! Good to have a('nother?) knowledgeable folder enthusiast! I just have two, a Welmy 6x6 and a Kodak Junior 620. Interesting stuff to use...
 
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