How old is your camera?

[Avotius]

Avotius, that is truly a thing of beauty! It also knocks my battered No2 Folding Pocket Brownie (about 1911) into a cocked hat in tersm of condition.

What's the lens (other than lightning fast, by the standards of its day!), and what do you use in it film-wise?

Adrian

Hi, thanks. I used 120 film spools to make a 120 film holder so the camera now shoots a 6x15cm negative. As you can see from the images I do have some problems with negative flatness and light leaks but it works well. I also made a little mask that works on the viewfinder that lets me accurately frame images by taking a piece of clear plastic and taking fine sandpaper to it making something like ground glass and the using that to make some measurements on how much I would actually get on film. Works great! The lens is a Bausch and Lomb f4 rapid rectilinear.

 

[tvagi]

i own a Kodak Baby Brownie(it was made from 1934 until the 1950's.)
i can't really say if mine is from 1934 so my oldest is a Zeiss Ikon Tenax I from 1938.that knows for sure!

 

[bsdunek]

My Grandmother's Kodak Autografic which she received about 1915. I have all of her negatives, many of which my brother has printed. They're pretty good!

 

[Muggins]

Hi, thanks. I used 120 film spools to make a 120 film holder so the camera now shoots a 6x15cm negative.

*etc*

Thanks for all the detail - great way of making it a user! Maybe one day I'll have a go at something like that - do you "roll your own" with a ready-marked backing paper?

Back - sort of - to topic, my parent's attic has a box in it of quarter-plate glass negatives taken by my great-grandfather. As he died in 1916, they are at least 92 years old. If only I had the camera...

Adrian

 

[dmr]

My Grandmother's Kodak Autografic which she received about 1915. I have all of her negatives, many of which my brother has printed. They're pretty good!

This looks identical to one I saw the other day at one of those highway antique mall places over in Iowa. I didn't realize it was that old.

About how much would you say it is worth? The antique place wants $65 for the one there.

I was kinda tempted, but I really don't know what I would use it for. It would end up being a conversation piece, really.

 

[benno]

There certainly is some old cameras here 🙂

My Grandmother's Kodak Autografic which she received about 1915. I have all of her negatives, many of which my brother has printed. They're pretty good!

That is pretty cool.



It's amazing to think of all the history these cameras have captured in their lifetimes.

 

[sienarot]

My oldest camera is a Busch Pressman Model D, however since it doesn't have a serial on it, I am unable to determine its vintage. My Hasselblad and M6, in contrast, are still wet behind the hears (1987 and 1988, respectively). At least I have a uncoated pre-war Summar!

 

[ederek]

Wow, some older bodies in really great shape!

Just looked up the age of my M4 - it was built in November 1966 as part of the first production run. It's my 'baby', and is now 502 months old! (sorta weird to have a baby older than me, bit Sci Fi-ish).

 

[tedwhite]

My oldest camera (that I use) is a Rolleiflex with a Schneider f:2.8 lens built in 1956. Second oldest (again, that I use) is a 1970 Pentax Spotmatic SP. Up on top of the hutch is a Kodak Brownie Bull's-Eye with Kodak Twindar lens. Focusing is by guesstimation and there are two shutter speeds: "Instant" and "Long."

As an aside, last Friday I uploaded a photograph and then realized it lacked contrast so I deleted it from My Photos. When I returned to Gallery Photos it was still there, so, as I recall, I probably right clicked on it trying to delete it. Something came up with a title like "hide photo" so I clicked on it. Oops. It hid ALL PHOTOS, mine, yours, Gallery, Classified, I mean ALL photos. That was last Friday. Repeated emails to RFF asking them to fix this have not even earned the courtesy of a reply. I'm pretty disgusted as I've been an RFF member for years.

It's pretty difficult to participate in RFF when you can't see nary a photograph. I even emailed the Head Bartender, Mr. Gandy, who at least gave me the courtesy of a reply.

But so far no one has fixed the problem. I feel like the title of that Aldous Huxley novel, "Eyeless in Gaza."

Ted

 

[cosmonot]

We've got a couple old Seneca (5x7) and Pony Premo (4x5) cameras that my great uncle used to use. Also a lot of his glass plates. I guess those are the oldest.

 

[FallisPhoto]

My oldest camera, which I am still restoring, is an Anthony and Scovil Number 4 Vest Pocket Camera, from 1894. It used an unusual type of rollfilm, with sections of film interspersed with sections of tracing paper. The image was focused on the tracing paper, which you looked at from the back of the camera, then you closed the shutter, advanced to a section of film, set your exposure and tripped the shutter. The shutter goes from F/8 to F/256.