Vintage cameras..

mapleleaf56 · Sep 14, 2022

Over the years I’ve been collecting vintage cameras I have around 20 or so. Anyway I’ve only ever photographed them when I was using Nikon so I thought I would re-shoot them with my Sony and share with you..
The first one is a Russian made camera produced between 1950-1980 The Lubitel 2..
The second one is a Kodak Eastman vest pocket camera series 3 which was produced between 1926-1934..

ILCE-7RM4A
FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS
90.0 mm
ƒ/5.6
1/100 sec
ISO 100

ILCE-7RM4A
FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS
90.0 mm
ƒ/5.6
1/100 sec
ISO 100

Unframed Dave · Sep 14, 2022

I've got one or two, including a Lubitel and the odd Kodak.....

JSN-L21
5.4 mm
ƒ/1.8
30000000/1000000000 sec
ISO 200

JSN-L21
5.4 mm
ƒ/1.8
30000000/1000000000 sec
ISO 200

JSN-L21
5.4 mm
ƒ/1.8
30000000/1000000000 sec
ISO 200

spudhead · Sep 14, 2022

Unframed Dave said:
I've got one or two, including a Lubitel and the odd Kodak.....

View attachment 25223 View attachment 25224 View attachment 25222

That is a few more than one or two, nice you have the space for them

mapleleaf56 said:
Over the years I’ve been collecting vintage cameras I have around 20 or so. Anyway I’ve only ever photographed them when I was using Nikon so I thought I would re-shoot them with my Sony and share with you..
The first one is a Russian made camera produced between 1950-1980 The Lubitel 2..
The second one is a Kodak Eastman vest pocket camera series 3 which was produced between 1926-1934..View attachment 25218 View attachment 25219

Good idea Keith I was forced kicking and screaming,by the wife to get rid of all my oldest cameras, I know brownie has collection.

Unframed Dave · Sep 14, 2022

spudhead said:
That is a few more than one or two, nice you have the space for them

I'm very fortunate to have a. An old listed house with a Georgian wig room, what else can you do with one of them? and b. A very kind and understanding wife.

spudhead · Sep 14, 2022

Unframed Dave said:
I'm very fortunate to have a. An old listed house with a Georgian wig room, what else can you do with one of them? and b. A very kind and understanding wife.

Well, my wife would have filled that wig room with clothes as would most others so yes you are fortunate, I guess the collection will keep growing?

Unframed Dave · Sep 14, 2022

spudhead said:
Well, my wife would have filled that wig room with clothes as would most others so yes you are fortunate, I guess the collection will keep growing?

Steadily, these days I'm strapped for space, so something has to be real quality or very quirky these days to catch my eye. It's a one in, one out situation, so any change will be slow now.

I've been collecting them for over thirty years now.

Just out of interest, my books on the subject take up quite a space. Imagine that, books!

JSN-L21
5.4 mm
ƒ/1.8
30000000/1000000000 sec
ISO 100

Deleted Member 5045 · Sep 14, 2022

I was looking at these things a couple of months ago, but I thought I'd leave it alone as it will just end up being another obsession..! I love these things though, really quite amazing!

Dave! That is extraordinary!

Uncle Kevriano · Sep 14, 2022

Dave definitely wins the best camera collection award ;D Amazing collection of beautiful cameras.

mapleleaf56 · Sep 14, 2022

Unframed Dave said:
I've got one or two, including a Lubitel and the odd Kodak.....

View attachment 25223 View attachment 25224 View attachment 25222

Wow

.. my collection kinda pales in insignificance.. awesome..

Brownie · Sep 14, 2022

Well I mean...

C's A, and 21 by telecast, on Flickr

Brownies and a few Kodaks by telecast, on Flickr

Argoflexes and A's by telecast, on Flickr

I've tried to limit it to Brownies and Argus with a few odd Kodaks and others in the mix. This doesn't include any of my SLRs.

spudhead · Sep 14, 2022

Brownie said:
Well I mean...

C's A, and 21 by telecast, on Flickr

Brownies and a few Kodaks by telecast, on Flickr

Argoflexes and A's by telecast, on Flickr

I've tried to limit it to Brownies and Argus with a few odd Kodaks and others in the mix. This doesn't include any of my SLRs.

Nice Tim I was hoping you would add your collection to the thread.

Brownie · Sep 14, 2022

Maskless Crusader said:
I was looking at these things a couple of months ago, but I thought I'd leave it alone as it will just end up being another obsession..!

The problem is a small collection like mine is very attainable. Unless you need/want something collectible, you can buy them dirt cheap. It leads to a lot of time on eBay spending $10 here, $20 there. Before you know it in you're in waist deep!

The Baby Brownie Special in my avatar was $16 or so, shipped, with the original box and instructions. The beautiful Argoflex E in the photo below was less than $30, shipped.

Argus Argoflex E by telecast, on Flickr

Here's a photo from the Argoflex:

000458340004 by Shotglass Photo, on Flickr

I bought the case to display them in our formal dining room, and came to the immediate realization that I have more cameras than will fit in the case! There have been more added since I took the pics, to the pint of bulging at the seams.

It's a very fun hobby, but IMO it's TOO AFORDABLE to be safe!

spudhead · Sep 14, 2022

Brownie said:
The problem is a small collection like mine is very attainable. Unless you need/want something collectible, you can buy them dirt cheap. It leads to a lot of time on eBay spending $10 here, $20 there. Before you know it in you're in waist deep!

The Baby Brownie Special in my avatar was $16 or so, shipped, with the original box and instructions. The beautiful Argoflex E in the photo below was less than $30, shipped.

Argus Argoflex E by telecast, on Flickr

Here's a photo from the Argoflex:

000458340004 by Shotglass Photo, on Flickr

I bought the case to display them in our formal dining room, and came to the immediate realization that I have more cameras than will fit in the case! There have been more added since I took the pics, to the pint of bulging at the seams.

It's a very fun hobby, but IMO it's TOO AFORDABLE to be safe!

Tim it's a plus the camera was cheap and it works really quite well

Brownie · Sep 14, 2022

spudhead said:
Tim it's a plus the camera was cheap and it works really quite well

You usually have to go through them and clean glass and whatnot. I have gotten pretty good at disassembling lens elements and cleaning them, freeing up stuck shutters, etc. It's not difficult, but it is time consuming. It's a nice winter hobby when the weather stinks and you want to stay indoors.

albpez378 · Sep 15, 2022

Beautiful collection, very nice !!!

Deleted Member 5045 · Sep 15, 2022

mapleleaf56 said:
Wow .. my collection kinda pales in insignificance.. awesome..

You're still awesome no matter what, Keith!

Deleted Member 5045 · Sep 15, 2022

What are the raw file sizes on those ancient things..?

Kids these days would lose their minds if you told them it won't plug into a computer, or take a memory card!

A few years ago I was at a company digging through a room in the hope of finding some machine drawings when I came across some 3.5" floppy discs. The young fella I had with me had no idea what a floppy disc was..!

mapleleaf56 · Sep 15, 2022

Maskless Crusader said:
You're still awesome no matter what, Keith!

Awww thank you

spudhead · Sep 15, 2022

It is a bit off subject really, but I guess when these cameras were made which is clearly over a long period of time, there must have been many more makers than now and clearly these cameras must have been bought in huge numbers hence the availability now. And going full circle to today where camera sales are possibly at an all-time low given the camera phone, and there are maybe half a dozen well known makers now.

Unframed Dave · Sep 15, 2022

You're spot on, the mcKeown's on my book shelf runs to well over a thousand pages and it isn't totally comprehensive. Just out of interest, it's a very expensive book in it's own right at over a hundred pounds.

JSN-L21
5.4 mm
ƒ/1.8
40000000/1000000000 sec
ISO 1250

Unframed Dave · Sep 15, 2022

Another slight diversion.....

Several of those cameras have a bit of me in them. The Praktikas were mine, at school we had photography as an art studies option, we had a darkroom and two Praktika mtl50's, so it was natural for me to go down that particular East German road.

Then the olympus cameras took their place as I developed a bit more spending power. The logic behind going down that avenue was simple, David Bailey was an extremely cool guy and as a young man, I couldn't help but notice all the beautiful women he got to hang out with. Made sense at the time.

The Leicas always bring out the sentimental in me, we had a proper "professional" burglary a few years back and they took all of my east European knock off Leicas and left the two real ones. The knock offs are very common conversions of fed and zenit cameras. Often made to look like world war 2 momentos with U boat and luftwaffe insignia on them. At the time they went for thirty to forty quid, it was quite a relief to see the slightly more expensive Leicas still there.

The "spy" cameras are my favourites, some quite ingenious, especially the slightly chunky looking fob watch on the top left shelf.

Brownie · Sep 15, 2022

spudhead said:
It is a bit off subject really, but I guess when these cameras were made which is clearly over a long period of time, there must have been many more makers than now and clearly these cameras must have been bought in huge numbers hence the availability now. And going full circle to today where camera sales are possibly at an all-time low given the camera phone, and there are maybe half a dozen well known makers now.

Indeed, the list of manufacturers is vast, as evidenced by Dave's display. One of the reasons I limited my collection to (mostly) Argus and Brownie is that Argus was based right in my own backyard in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The old factory is still there and is now a museum. Brownie was the first camera I ever used or owned, having discovered one in our linen closet when I was a kid and claiming it for my own.

I have a few oddballs that I couldn't pass up. A Ciro-Flex TLR that was manufactured in Detroit way back when and a Canon Canonette that I found at a yard sale, and some non-Brownie Kodaks.

John B · Sep 17, 2022

That is an amazing collection! The only two I have are from my past. A Kodak Instamatic 44 and Minolta X-370. Both are part my early years. I had no idea my mom had held on to them until I was going through storage boxes after her passing.

Brownie · Sep 17, 2022

John B said:
That is an amazing collection! The only two I have are from my past. A Kodak Instamatic 44 and Minolta X-370. Both are part my early years. I had no idea my mom had held on to them until I was going through storage boxes after her passing.

View attachment 25298

The X370 is a fun camera to use. I got one in a tub full of camera stuff I bought from a guy on CL. It was nasty and cruddy. I had to replace the light seals and mirror bumper and give it a good cleanup, but it works great. I've put several rolls of film through it. The batteries are no longer available, but you can substitute a smaller one that's the same voltage. Let me know if you want the battery size and I'll open mine and check.

Yours has the better 1.7 lens, mine has the cheaper f/2 lens.

X-370 by telecast, on Flickr

John B · Sep 17, 2022

Brownie said:
The X370 is a fun camera to use. I got one in a tub full of camera stuff I bought from a guy on CL. It was nasty and cruddy. I had to replace the light seals and mirror bumper and give it a good cleanup, but it works great. I've put several rolls of film through it. The batteries are no longer available, but you can substitute a smaller one that's the same voltage. Let me know if you want the battery size and I'll open mine and check.

Yours has the better 1.7 lens, mine has the cheaper f/2 lens.

X-370 by telecast, on Flickr

Very cool! Mine doesn't get used anymore, although the last time I checked it it did work. It now sits in a model car display case along with that Instamatic 44 on my desk.

mapleleaf56 · Sep 19, 2022

Unframed Dave said:
You're spot on, the mcKeown's on my book shelf runs to well over a thousand pages and it isn't totally comprehensive. Just out of interest, it's a very expensive book in it's own right at over a hundred pounds.

View attachment 25232

I would be interested in this book .. could you share the title please..

Unframed Dave · Sep 19, 2022

mapleleaf56 said:
I would be interested in this book .. could you share the title please..

McKeown's Price Guide to Antique & Classic Cameras

There are quite a few editions, get the most recent you can find / afford. Quite a few available on line in the states.

Landshark99 · Nov 15, 2022

I have a sort of strange collection of old cameras, there are the ones that wre an important park of my career, there are ones I lways wanted from back in the day and never bought and ther are those that i just am amazed by. Here is a brand that I am fascinated with the Robot brand of cameras, one of the earliest line of motor drive cameras, done with spring winding. here are few of them