Inherited cameras

Ed Sutton

Ed Sutton

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Over the years I've saved some of the family's cameras. Alas the Instamatics and Polaroid were binned long ago. The Twin lens Koday which I like to play with as a child has also disappeared - although I have discovered a slide I took with it in 1968 which I'd like to scan as it's my earliest remaining photograph.

Anyway here are some pics I took of the motley collection today which might be of interest.

My dad wrote his name and RAF number in the case of this one. I have a stack of WWII photos I assume were taken with it by and of my dad in North Africa which I should get round to scanning. I put a roll of film through it in the 1980s. It has a light leak.

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My aunt and uncle's Retinette. It's still in the leather ever-ready case.

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Where these two came from I don't know.

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A compact camera of its day! About the size of a Fuxi X100. The lens should twist and pull out but it's jammed/seized now.

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Great collection! Have you put any film through them?

I definitely recommend scanning your father's photos, an adventure might well follow... ;)
 
ChrisR said:
Great collection! Have you put any film through them?

I definitely recommend scanning your father's photos, an adventure might well follow... ;)
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Only the one film in the 80s. Although I have a vague recollection of maybe trying the Box Brownie.

I should have done the scanning as a winter project. :rolleyes: Some are 120 negs, which I don't have the means to scan. And as mentioned I'd like to scan my earliest slide - also 120. Ho hum.

A while back I found some of my aunty's slides (on 126 film) from her trip to America in 1967/8 and put them in a Blurb book.
 
Nice set. I do like the Ensign carbine. Whereabouts are you in Lancs? (approx not exactly) I may be able to help out with some of the 120 stuff if you’re not to far away (and it’s not to personal stuff)
 
angelpaaul said:
Nice set. I do like the Ensign carbine. Whereabouts are you in Lancs? (approx not exactly) I may be able to help out with some of the 120 stuff if you’re not to far away (and it’s not to personal stuff)
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Thanks. I'm between Southport and Preston.
 
angelpaaul said:
I’m on the Wirral, probably a bit far to travel at the moment
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It is a bit far, but thanks anyway. I think this weekend's job is to get all the prints and negs together and see what needs doing. (y)
 
I live between Bolton and Wigan, which is a bit closer. Maybe we could discuss this further when we get out of lockdown. I've got an old Epson scanner you can borrow which will scan medium format and even an old laptop with Epson Scan and the scanner driver on it. I used it extensively until I upgraded to a later Epson scanner. Alternatively, I would be happy to scan your negs as long as there aren't thousands!
 
PeterSpencer said:
I live between Bolton and Wigan, which is a bit closer. Maybe we could discuss this further when we get out of lockdown. I've got an old Epson scanner you can borrow which will scan medium format and even an old laptop with Epson Scan and the scanner driver on it. I used it extensively until I upgraded to a later Epson scanner. Alternatively, I would be happy to scan your negs as long as there aren't thousands!
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Thanks very much. I'll get back to this thread when I've found out what's what. That may well take some time knowing how easily I get sidetracked from my plans!
 
My inherited cameras:

My Dad's old Kodak, a No 1 Pocket Kodak, designed to take Kodak’s autographic film which enabled you to record information about the photograph taken by opening a small slide panel on the rear of the camera and writing directly onto the paper backing of the film, which incorporated a carbon-paper, using a metal stylus. This leaves the backing slightly translucent where the stylus passed. The writing window is then exposed to the daylight and the inscription burned onto the negative. The metal stylus is missing, and always has been as far as I can remember from my youth, but would be held in the 2 brackets on the left of the lens / shutter assembly. Normal 120 roll film can also be used giving 6x9cm negatives. The No. 1 Pocket Kodak was made in USA from 1926 to 1932 and in the UK from 1929-1933. The shutter on this one needs to be serviced as every setting gives the same speed. My Dad has written the following aide memoire on the bellows using the white ink sold for use on the black pages of photo albums: "Focus Set Aperture + Shutter"

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My Dad's other camera, which I can never remember being used, a sub-miniature Mamiya 16 Automatic, which takes 10x14mm images on 16mm film. The 16 Automatic was introduced in 1959. Automatic in this case simply refers to the fact that the aperture setting mechanism was coupled to the dial on the built in selenium light meter (which still works) so that as the dial was adjusted to match the light meter needle to the chosen shutter speed the aperture was 'automatically' set as well!

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The next one was not inherited but was given to me as a teenager when we moved to Scotland by a very kind and generous resident in our new village. It is a Rolleiflex Automat Model K4B2 which gives 6x6cm images on 120 roll film and was made between 1945 and 1949.

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