Antique Camera Equipment

[Tracker]

This is a Voigtlander rangfinder 35mm that my Dad bought on the USS Forrestal in '55. They had a choice of 2 cameras available--this one, which folded up, and another brand I can't remember that had a fixed, external lens. This one was the more popular because it was "compact" and could be carried in a pocket. It has a leather fitted case, too that's still in decent shape.

no batteries. The light meter still works! (as well as the rest of the camera) and no leaks in the bellows. Notice the high-speed film of the day was ASA 200.

I'm not really happy with this series and want to reshoot it. I also have a Bolex super 8mm movie camera I want to shoot, too.
Anybody got any cool, old camera pics?

 

[M38A1]

I don't have the skills at taking pictures of gear like you, but I'll try with some of my collection.....

I spoke with my Dad (b.1925) and he recalls this one being 'around the house' as he was growing up as a kid in Oklahoma. So that tells me it's got to be fairly old. The bellows have failed, yet it's still a cool old 120 roll film eater.

Dad purchased this one right after WWII (circa1946) when he began work. Still in good shape too.

With the camera above, he used what we would all call 'odd' pieces of equipment to measure distance and light. lol.....

Another one he had, and I'm quite sure most folks of his age learned with, the Kodak Brownie series of roll films.

This Kodak is the one I remember the most. He was always shooting with this one and I have probably a thousand slides or more in pristine condition from it. His best recollection is mid-50's when he purchased this one.

I'm still trying to figure out which camera he had DURING WWII as I have many pictures he took while in.


Then we flash forward to the 70's. lol.... Mom just had to have one of these. Note the name..... "Swinger". Quite appropriate for the time period I'm sure....

I jumped into the mix with photography and recall some Kodak "Instamatic" cameras, then my first 'real' camera was a Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic "F" with a Pentax f/1.4 50mm lens in 35mm format. I shot that thing a bazallion frames and like a dummy, someone asked many many years later if I wanted to sell it. At the time $50 sounded like a good deal. Sure wish I still had it for nostalgia.

Fast forward a bunch of years and I wound up with two more film bodies, both Nikons (which started the life on the darkside...)

That's about it for my collection of vintage.

.

 

[STrider]

Unrelated, but Gary, if you have any recollection of stories or pics from your dad on the Forrestal, I would be interested in hearing.

 

[Tracker]

Unrelated, but Gary, if you have any recollection of stories or pics from your dad on the Forrestal, I would be interested in hearing.

I need to get a slide scanner>usb setup so I can scan his slides from the experience. he was a aviation radio repairman. They went through the Dardanelle Straits to the Black Sea up Russia's exhaust pipe, so to speak in the late 50's. They were scared ***** because it's so tight, they couldn't launch planes (have to be turned into the wind and pretty much a full steam).
Also did a tour in the North Sea and a side trip to or near Beirut. They had MIGs strafe the water near them as a form of saber rattling. Lost guys on the side elevator in the North Sea, along with a plane it was so rough. I need to probably get a recorder, a few beers and get him to talk about it so I can get all the details down.

 

[Gilk51]

I also have a Bolex super 8mm movie camera I want to shoot, too.

My son just took my old Bolex (551XL) to the beach a week or so ago. He ordered film online and shot 3-4 rolls. He hasn't sent it off to be processed yet.

I forget what film I used in the late 70s but I am pretty sure it was direct positive - probably some version of Kodachrome or Ektachrome. The stuff he ordered was negative - not a problem since he will have it digitized rather than produce a positive for showing on a projector.

Interesting stuff.

 

[TWTim]

A couple of the antique still and film cameras we have on display at the office: