what are your coolest/weirdest cameras?

[dcsang]

Currently that would be the Leica IIIc.
Not exactly "extravagant" but definitely is a conversation starter when you pull it out to shoot with it.

Cheers
Dave

 

[ricpr]

The camera I have that garners quite a bit of attention is a Revere 33:

http://www.stereophotoworld.com/revere33cam.asp

The camera is well made and the one I have looks new. I also have a Kodak Instamatic 500 that is quite unique. It's not a rangefinder, but is the only Instamatic I've seen that has very good build quality. Even the case is of good quality.

 

[raid]

Woah! A 362mm f 1.64? Is that even possible? I thought I had a whopper in a WWII-era Kodak Aero Ektar 178mm f2.5. I'd love to see a photo OF that lens, as well as a photo taken WITH that lens!

The mount may well have been made by the Navy, but they weren't ever in the lens-grinding business that I know of - so perhaps a Kodak or a Wollensak or whatever? Any ideas?

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

Bill,
I will try to take a pic of the camera and post it. The lens is made by Kodak. It is an Ektar 362mm f 1.66 lens. The size of the camera is about half of a dorm fridge. I have never used it and it needs a back. Two big men can barely carry the camera due to its weight.

 

[raid]

Here is a link for two photos of the camera and lens.
http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=549733

 

[darkkavenger]

*drools at the mention of the Hologon Contarex* nothing really special here, but i'm working on it!

 

[furcafe]

I've had a Foton for a few years & it's not only cool, but also a really fun camera to use. The ergonomics are actually very good, despite the unorthodox control layout. As 1 might expect, the Taylor, Taylor & Hobson lenses are excellent, too, although my 2" Cooke Amotal has enough "cleaning marks" to make it much more vulnerable to flare (as compared to the scratch-free LTM versions of the same lens that I use on my Leica-compatible cameras-- like AlexC, I had Ken Ruth CLA my Foton & I occasionally toy w/the idea of having him re-convert 1 of the LTM Amotals back to Foton mount or convert 1 of my 50/1.5 Sonnars from Contax mount to Foton mount).

The main drawbacks are the crappy RF (squintiest of any camera I have) & the general scarcity of lenses & accessories, @ least on eBay for reasonable prices (e.g., it took me 2 years to find a hood for the 2" Amotal & 3 years to find the 4" Panchrotal). Also, the Foton's shutter & motor drive are pretty noisy, so it's not the best camera for shooting in quiet environments.

Stephen Gandy has an article on the Foton on his Cameraquest site:

http://cameraquest.com/foton.htm

I don't have one (don't I wish) but this lists high on the freak-o-matic scale to me:

http://www.vintagephoto.tv/foton.shtml

Bell & Howell Foton

An American rangefinder with a British lens, calibrated in t-stops! Come on, who would not want one of those?

Bill Mattocks

 

[bmattock]

Here is a link for two photos of the camera and lens.
http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=549733

Wow, what a monster! I wonder what it was used for?

Best Regards,

Bill Mattocks

 

[cp_ste.croix]

Here is a link for two photos of the camera and lens.
http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=549733

holy crap! you need to find a way to use it at least once...how much is an ND filter for one of those 😀

 

[raid]

Bill and Chris: It is an impressive lens, isn't it. I am dying to use this camera before giving it away to my university. I asked so many people already about the original use of this camera. Nobody has a record of such a camera. It was suggested to me that this camera may have been used to take photos of some experiments in the lab, or similar. I really forgot what someone suggested based on his expertise. The lens is still clean without any wiping marks. It has radioactive material in it. I know; I used a Geiger counter to measure the radiation from the camera.

 

[Kin Lau]

Here is a link for two photos of the camera and lens.
http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=549733

It even has a lenshood, so this thing is meant for the outside?

A radioactive lense would rule out x-ray use for this then.

 

[cp_ste.croix]

are you giving it up for posterity's sake? to which department...a conundrum if you don't know it's original use.

what a photo project that would make though...is it M mount ? 😀

 

[enochRoot]

raid: i would imagine it had some impressive purpose. maybe it was meant to photograph during the philadelphia experiment ;-) where did you find that?

my vote would be a for a robot. i don't own one myself (although i'd like to). just seems like an amazing little piece of engineering. anyone here own one? anyone actually use one? do the mechanics hold up, or do you run into problems with the motor wind running out of steam? it's hard to find good pictures of them, but here are some links:

link one

link two

 

[enochRoot]

here is the one i was looking for: robot royal

 

[aizan]

i'd say my polaroid big shot is the coolest and the weirdest.

 

[Kin Lau]

Currently that would be the Leica IIIc.
Not exactly "extravagant" but definitely is a conversation starter when you pull it out to shoot with it.

I've had the most looks with the Leica IIIa & Kiev's... especially with the turret finder. But the Leica is a seriously cool camera.

I suspect tho, that the 4x5 Speed Graphics is going to get the most looks when I whip that out 😀

 

[Cheme]

Mine is the linhof-220. Always gets strange looks. There are a couple for sale on ebay right now:
Linhof-220
I used it a lot for groups when i used to do weddings. Great glass (Rodenstock) and 6x7 format. Unfortunately, the advance mechanism is very easily damaged.

 

[CleverName]

All these people saying how cool the Pentax Auto 110 is... why didn't anyone want to buy mine? http://www.rangefinderforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13765
For those following the whole thread, it has crosshead screws and a black asahi.

My coolest camera is probably my Yashica YL. Nothing special about it, it just looks cool.
I also have a "Beacon II" a cool old bakelite 127 camera. I tried ordering some 127 film from The Frugal Photographer a few days ago and they didn't have any in stock. I've considered re-rolling some 35mm if I could find a few spools and some 127 backing paper. The beacon has one shutter speed (about 1/30th i'm guessing), one aperture, and no focus. I'd love to run some film through it. It would be kinda like a mini-holga.

 

[raid]

I remembered that the camera is one of the early versions of a 3D camera. It is called Trivision. If you run a google search under trivision camera you will find interesting reading material with skecthes on how thsi camera works in concept. I am considering donating it to the Physics Department so they can use it to teach students about optics. They told me they want the camera.

 

[raid]

Here is a good discussion on the camera and other radioactive lenses.

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=007l93

 

[TEZillman]

My weirdest camera is a modified Argus C4 that takes interchangable lenses. I have the 35. 50 and 100mm lenes for it. See one like it on cameraquest at: http://www.cameraquest.com/arggeiss.htm