Oldest camera?

Oldest camera?

  • Yes

    Votes: 548 80.7%

  • No

    Votes: 131 19.3%
  • Total voters
    679
Steve Bellayr said:
Waiting on an Agfa Karat IV circa 1954-7 rangefinder with Solagon F2.0 lens. That should be my oldest.
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Very nice lens, the Solagon 2/50! My Super Silette is equipped with it, too.
 
John Robertson said:
Sorry my bad grammar, The Haweye is another camera this is the 1954 Purma Plus a British ( well made in Wales actually) camera. I found out later it cost my father three weeks wages, a hell of a lot of money at the time. Also my father died four years later so it has been very well looked after as it has great sentimental value. I would never sell it!!! I also have the original box, instructions, Focal guide, and advertising flyer, and receipt. When not being used it sits in a cabinet in my den. I also have the original lens hood and filter set in a little leather case. It started me on the long downward spiral into photography. At school I bacame the official class photographer, and made enough money from this to keep me in films chemicals and paper. Happy uncomplicated days.:)
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Anyway, it looks mint! I like your story about your father's cam.
My father gave me an old Franka scale focus cam which was his first "real" cam. I would never sell this one, either!
 
Gandolfi Universal 12x15 inch. Not clear how old it is. Pre-Great War almost certainly; Eddie at Gandolfi reckons possibly 1890s. The three matched book-form plate-holders have reducing frames for 10x12, 8x10 and whole plate, and there's a panorama adapter for halving these frames. 6x15 inch, anyone?

A bugger to hand hold, though. The camera and holders, in the case, weigh 65lb/just short of 30 kg.

Cheers,

R.
 
I'm guessing that my oldest is an Agfa Billy Compur, though im not sure when it was made. And yes I use it
 
David G. When I go to the APUG site I'm blocked because I'm not a member. Is there any way you can show us the lens?
 
tedwhite said:
David G. When I go to the APUG site I'm blocked because I'm not a member. Is there any way you can show us the lens?
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Sure, here's an 8x10" Polaroid made with the Petzval.
 

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And here's a photo of the lens itself mounted on an 8x10" Sinar P with flange and waterhouse stops made by SK Grimes.
 

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Like a lot of you my oldest, and probably favorite camera is my Leica III. The Leica III doesn't know it's old -- takes pictures as good or better than any modern film camera with the right lens.
 
I recently got my paws on an early 60's Voigtlander Vito CLR. That's the oldest one right now, but I've got it completely disassembled as the shutter's so lazy it needs a thorough cleaning.

Perhaps I'll use it when it's put back together, but it'll never be as satisfying to use as my second oldest camera, a 1970 M4..
 
Welta Weltini

Welta Weltini

That's the oldest I regularly use, though my Certo Certotrop folding bed camera sees service when I need a 2X3 view camera with interchangeable lenses. The Weltini was a wartime make, and the Certo is pre-war. When it was new the Weltini cost 150 reichsmarks, which I did some acrobatic digging into and it comes to over 500 modern dollars. I shot with the weltini this afternoon. It has a nice design, is as small as a retina, and has the same lens (xenar 2.0).
 
doitashimash1te said:
What's the oldest camera you've got?
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Anthony and Scovill (which later became Ansco) #4 Vest Pocket Camera, made in 1894. The bellows fell apart on it and needs replacing. I'm still looking for a replacement, but I think I'm going to have to build my own. Frankly, the camera is a train wreck, and I am going to have to practically rebuild it before I can do much of anything with it.

It used some weird kind of film that shot about a 4x5 frame, but in rollfilm format. I think I'm going to have to make a set of film sleeves for 4x5 film in order to use it. I don't want to spend $40 per roll geting aerial photography film cut up and custom spooled. Alternatively, I could cut a bit out of the back (it is made of wood) and install a simple spring clamp for 4x5 film holders (kind of like what is on the earlier Speed Graphics).

The most interesting thing about the camera is the aperture control; it goes from f/8 to f/256. I'm very interested in seeing what that f/256 is like, once I have it all put back together. I expect it is probably going to be a bit blurry. If a camera doesn't focus as well at f/22, I can only guess that f/256 would be worse. I'm curious though, and want to see for myself.
 
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My current oldest is a Contax II from 36/37 that's rather a nice user... I do have an older Kodak roll film folder from 1922 that I keep meaning to try...
 
My oldest rangefinder is an Argus C4 I recently acquired from the auction site. It needs work before I can use it.

My oldest camera came from my grandfather, and is a 1920's vintage folding Kodak camera that uses 3 by 5 inch negative film. The last time Kodak made the film was in 1970 or so, and I did use that film until sometime in the early 1980.

The oldest usable camera I have is probably the Canon QL17.
 
The oldest camera I have is Kodak No.2 Box Brownie (probably from the early 1930s).
I carry it with me to WW1-living History Events and some WW2 events.

The oldest RF I haves is probalby my Kodak Retina II (model 142), otherwise it's my Leica IIIa from 1937 together with it's 90mm Elmar lens (also 1937)

I try to use all my cameras, but some just aren't as inviting to use often; I dislike using the Argus C3, eventhough it takes rather good quality pictures.
 
Oldest piece of photographic equipment I use: Petzval type lens by Andrew Ross, with Waterhouse stop; this combination dates it to 1858 or 1859.
 
I have a very old wood folding camera, plus a couple of wood field cameras that may see some use if I load up some 8x10, but I did shoot some XP2 in my Leica Ia, and was pleasantly surprised that everything seemed up to snuff.

If I find another cartridge, I may shoot some with my wood Ansco Memo.

John
 
Not specially old, my oldest is a Canon 7S which I've been using until very recently for the 50/0.95 lens. However, it's not easy to focus with that lens, as the RF patch is a bit dim, plus I tend to use it in near darkenss and wide open, so I've been thinking of converting the lens to M-mount and selling the 7S.
 
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