Rolleicord

My brother gave me this great Rolleicord for Christmas. He fixed one of the mirrors but it's supposed to be in working condition. I think it's a Rolleicord IIc model 4 from around 1946. The serial number is #1077616 and the Zeiss Triotar lens has a serial number of #3127655.


Another cool thing is that the case has a previous owner's name and address on it. It looks like the camera spent part of its life in Belgium. It's a little hard to read but I think the label says:
Peeters. J
30 Av Edouard
Lacomblé
ETTERBEEK

Plus the exposure table on the back of the camera is in French.

In other words, the owner lived or worked in Etterbeek, Belgium on Avenue Edouard Lacomblé, 30. Through the power of Google Maps, I can even see the building (assuming the address numbering hasn't changed since the camera case was marked) which now houses a doctor's office and CEFS (Le Centre d'Etudes de la Famille et des Systèmes). I wonder how in the world the camera ended up in Pennsylvania? I know how it got to California.

1st TtV

I finally built a contraption to allow me to shoot through the viewfinder of my Argus 75 using my digital camera. This wasn't my original intent for the Argus but it'll do until I have time to shoot some real film.

Meet the Cameras: Agfa Silette

This Agfa Silette with Pronto shutter and Apotar 1:3.5/45 lens belonged to J.'s grandfather ("Grampy"). He died back in the eighties (seventies?) so I never met him but understand he was always interested in the newest cameras. J., who also has a thing for cameras, ended up with a box full of his old ones when the family cleaned out the farmhouse in Canada.

The camera has suffered a bit from being in storage for a long time. There's some corrosion around the lens and some of the case lining has stuck to the body of the camera. No idea if it works but, of course, that's what this project is all about. I found a manual online here so that'll help.

It's in a Ciro 35 case so I thought that's what I had at first. The Agfa makes me happier.

Meet the Cameras: Argus 75

A friend (& co-worker) of mine picked this up at a garage sale. The exciting part: it has two rolls of vintage color 620 film and two flash bulbs included. I'm going to see if they still work.

It reminds me of the first camera I ever had. That was an old hand-me-down that I used more as a toy than as a camera. I think I shot one roll of film on it and never had it developed--should see if I still have that roll in my camera gear somewhere. The camera itself has disappeared.

Meet the Cameras: Brownie

I picked this Kodak No. 2A Brownie up five or six years ago at an "antique mall" not to far from where I live. It was around ten bucks which is what I understand these things are worth being ubiquitous. Seems to be in pretty good condition apart from a layer of dust. Hard to tell for sure since I haven't put it through its paces yet. Of course, it's just a box camera so not at all complicated but The Brownie Camera Page has a pdf of the manual in case I need it. Thanks to Mr. Chuck Baker who apparently maintains that website!

Meet the Cameras: Pinhole

The first day of spring seems like a good time to start a new project. Here's the first camera that I'll be playing with. It's for kids, really, and I got it a couple years out of a toy catalog--one of those educational ones--but haven't used it. It's a kit made out of particle board and all the pieces were pre-cut and just needed gluing together. The interior is filled by a black construction paper box. That smaller square with the "Pinhole Camera" sticker and the screw in the corner is the shutter. Yes, I stuck the sticker on. Why not.