Square format cameras, 24x24?

[sevo]

Very nice, especially the b&w street shots (the Dentist sign is great).

Alas, it's another camera I cannot afford right now. The only two on my ebay right now are £350, and £2500!

The seemingly expensive one is a almost complete kit with almost every accessory and three (of four) lenses (among them a Orthometar which I haven't ever seen in the flesh in a life misspent on camera fairs) - not quite as unreasonable as it might seem.

The Tenax II isn't exactly cheap, as rarity puts it into the collectors rather than users category, but it should only be moderately more expensive than a Contax with the same lens and in similar state. £350 would be fine for a externally perfect collectors camera, or perfectly working user, but don't pay more than that (and pay less if it is flawed one way or other). There is another one around at 399€, with Tessar, from a German seller.

 

[dscelfo]

If you just want to play around, I believe there are square masks (or DIY instructions) for the Gakkenflex TLR.

If you can't find the gakken version, I think it's the same as recesky, lomo, fotodiox but I don't know about the quality.

 

[FredtheLlama]

350 quid for the camera and the 40mm f/2 Sonnar sounds about right. The 27mm and 75mm lenses would be cool to have, but are such collectables that they are too expensive...

If you do consider this camera, I would advise to buy from a reputable camera shop, or a trustworthy member of a forum such as RFF. (In case you need to return the item.)

I've owned three Tenax II's in all, and all have had some problems. For example, the two I still own have non-functional frame counters, which is a bit of a bummer because one get's 50-something frames on a roll of 36 exposure 135 film, and that means that I often forget how many shots I have left. I just carry an extra roll of film with me and don't worry about it too much. I have the impression that these cameras are difficult to repair. But they are solidly built.

I didn't mean to own two Tenax II's, but one was sent off for repair for a long time, so I bought a second one in the meantime. My second body HAS A FLASH SYNC port on the front, which I have never seen on any other Tenax II. This may be a latter modification by a repairman, but I'm not sure because the work is very well done and the paint over the place in the inside face of the body where the port is matches the surrounding paint, the persumably original paint. Anyway, one of my favorite uses for the Tenax II is to use it as a party point-and-shoot with a Vivitar 283 on top (bouncing off the white ceiling), the f-stop at f/11 (so zone focusing is easy - I set it at 2-3 meters and that's it.)

The lens is also really sweet when used wide-open with available light.

Good luck on your hunt for a 24x24 camera.

Thank you. Do you happen to have a link to some of your flash/party pictures?

Looks like I'll have to increase my budget for a 24x24. It just means waiting for another month!

If you just want to play around, I believe there are square masks (or DIY instructions) for the Gakkenflex TLR.

Thanks, I already own a Lomography Diana Mini, which shoots 24x24, but I'm looking for something with a lens actually made of glass!

Back to Ebay for me I think...

 

[thegman]

Probably not what you're after, but the Lomo LC-Wide can shoot in square.

 

[FredtheLlama]

Probably not what you're after, but the Lomo LC-Wide can shoot in square.

Yeah, I was aware they do. Like you say, It's not exactly my cup of tea.

Thanks again.

 

[FredtheLlama]

I didn't realise the Tenax I (or the revised Taxona) was 24x24 too.

I'm probably being a muppet, but how do they focus? Zone system? They don't have a rangefinder.

Here's an example I'm looking at.

I'm assuming they don't need special take up spools?

 

[Godfrey]

I didn't realise the Tenax I (or the revised Taxona) was 24x24 too.

I'm probably being a muppet, but how do they focus? Zone system? They don't have a rangefinder.

Here's an example I'm looking at.

I'm assuming they don't need special take up spools?

You set a distance on the focusing scale.
You can use a Depth of Field chart to set a focus zone by aperture. Try
http://www.dofmaster.com/ ... there's both a calculator and a table generator there. For 24x24 format, I find that the APS film format produces about the right results.

From the picture, it looks like the Taxona uses a 'standard' 35mm take-up spool and film cartridge.

G

 

[rbelyell]

i guess my rollei 126 idea wasnt a good one...anyway, if you care to see it, here is a camerapedia link:

http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Rolleiflex_SL26

tony

 

[Godfrey]

i guess my rollei 126 idea wasnt a good one...anyway, if you care to see it, here is a camerapedia link:

http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Rolleiflex_SL26

tony

🙂 What a cute and ungainly little camera that was! I'd forgotten all about it.

G

 

[GaryLH]

i have a lovely rollei sl126 that takes cartrdges or 35mm wrapped into a 126 cartridge by hand. it comes with three wonderful rollei lenses, a 28/2.8, their famous 40/2.8 and a 90/4. its a tiny camera, and the lenses are small as well. it takes just lovely 4x4 photos, but obviously the film thing is a bit of a pain...oh, it is a rangefinder. very fun and easy to use.
tony

Can u provide some info on how to o this 35 into 126 cartridge and how to reuse? Or a pointer to a site/blog w/ the info? I have an old German Kodak I would love to run some film thru again...

Thanks
Gary

 

[FredtheLlama]

i guess my rollei 126 idea wasnt a good one...anyway, if you care to see it, here is a camerapedia link:

http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Rolleiflex_SL26

tony

Hi Tony,

I did have a quick google about your Rollei, but the awkwardness of having to reload film into particular cartridges is off-putting to me. Google says it's an SLR too, not a rangefinder.

There is one on ebay though, looking very tidy. Can you explain what you have to do in order to use a roll of 35mm with it?

I'd love to see some pictures with the 32mm lens too.

Thanks again

 

[newspaperguy]

How about square digital?

See Kirk Tucks column today: Pentax K-01

 

[rovnguy]

Way, way back - in the mid 1960's there was a format known as "Rapid". It used 35mm film in special "rapid" loading cassettes. As you worked your way thru the roll, when the film was advanced it moved into another cassette. This way there was no rewinding the film the most 35mm cameras of the time were configured. They used a 24mm x 24mm square format which I really didn't care for, but it was the only camera I had at the time so I made the best use of it. Each roll only gave you 16 exposures, another irritating point. Agfa made most of the film for it, but I would get some Ektachrome and load my own. I still have the camera, an Agfo Iso-Flash Raipd. It still works. It has 2 shutter speeds (1/30th for flash and 1/100th for normal) and 2 aperatures (f/8 and f/11). DOF was pretty good. Oh yeah, it also used the old AG-1 and AG-1B "jelly bean" flash bulbs.

 

[rbelyell]

Hi Tony,

I did have a quick google about your Rollei, but the awkwardness of having to reload film into particular cartridges is off-putting to me. Google says it's an SLR too, not a rangefinder.

There is one on ebay though, looking very tidy. Can you explain what you have to do in order to use a roll of 35mm with it?

I'd love to see some pictures with the 32mm lens too.

Thanks again

hi fred

heres a site that explains how to load 35mm into 126 cartridges. truth be told, ive never done it as i dont have a darkroom or 'black bag' developing equipment.:

http://www.betweenthesprockets.com/?page_id=17

also, there is no 32mm lens, only 28/2.8, 40/2.8 and 90/4. i think you can find pix of all the lenses through the camerapedia site links, but if not let me know and i can forward you some.

also, it may technically be an 'slr', but you focus with a diamond shaped rangefinder like yellow patch in the middle of the vf, as i recall...

if youre in the US and are really thinking you'd do this, i would consider sending you my kit to try out, as i really dont use it much amymore.
tony

 

[Peter de Waal]

Purma Special 31x31mm

Purma Special 31x31mm

How about a British Purma Special?

31x31mm square format on 127 film. With a three speed shutter depending on camera orientation: 1/25; 1/150; 1/450 sec.

Here's a write-up:

http://camarasclassicas.blogspot.co.nz/2011/05/15-purma-special.html

The lens is a 'Beck Anastigmat 57mm f/6.3' with a fixed focus and aperture.
Leitz enlargers like the Focomat 1's and the Valoy's I & II have 30x30mm or 40x40mm negative carriers available. I paid £19 for my Purma last week with all the accessories and am looking for some 127 film now. Hoping to have a bit of fun with this one in the our coming Southern Hemisphere's spring.

 

[sleepyhead]

Here's one from the Tenax II:

 

[Godfrey]

How about square digital?

See Kirk Tucks column today: Pentax K-01

Since I've had the inexpensive, used Olympus Pen E-PL1, I've only rarely taken it out of square format mode. That makes it an excellent, 9Mpixel, compact square format camera with in-body image stabilization that I can fit any lens I'm interested in to.

Also, if I really want to, I can edit the EXIF data and retrieve the full 3:4 format from the raw files. It's all there, just the EXIF dimensioning information is set to 1:1 proportions.

G

 

[raid]

The Zeiss Tenax II with a 40mm/2 Sonnar is awesome in looks and performance. Additional lenses will set you back by $3000+ each. The basic set-up can be bought at $400-$500.

 

[rbelyell]

i thought OP was interested in square format? i dont know anything about the tenax, but the two pix posted dont appear to be square. i'm sure i'm missing something simple...
tony

 

[raid]

It is a crop. Such things are possible, you know.