The box in the garage

[torontodon]

When we began renovating the house about three years ago, a lot of "stuff" got moved into the basement storage area. Then, when that room got its turn, the garage became the dumping ground. I swear since then I've cleaned the garage out three times. Yesterday, I started heaving stuff from the garage into a dumpster, checking each box before throwing. One of the boxes contained photo gear, stuff I had decided I needed to make some decisions about, and had forgotten.

Almost all of it hailed from the late '70s or early '80s. How about a 200 mm f/3.5 Vivitar Series 1 lens with Canon FD mount? This is a lump of a lens with a rudimentary autofocus mechanism grafted onto it by Vivitar. Appears to be powered by 3 AAAs. Using an adapter, I mounted it on an Olympus E-PL2 and the lens delivered some decent images. Sonofagun! That's a 400 mm f/3.5 . . . Now to get some batteries and see if the AF mechanism works.

Also in the box was a 135 mm f/3.5 Canon rangefinder lens sporting a Leica mount. The lens looks okay. It must be an all-metal body because it's heavy. No adapter, so I don't know if the lens works; it was from my late father's collection.

Also my dad's was a Minox "spy" camera. It's a made-in-Germany model dating from the early '60s. Again, no idea if it works.

Then there was the 70-210 f/4 Tamron, another heavy lens with external AF mechanism, this one wearing an Olympus OM mount. No adapter, so I haven't been able to test it.

But - and I've saved the best for the end - there was a little round cardboard container with "SOM Berthiot" label embossed on it. It contains a diminutive lens that had me totally baffled. Screw mount of some sort, 25 mm f/1.8 . . . got me to thinking it was a projector lens. Close, but no cigar. It's a 16 mm cine lens my dad used on his Bolex movie cameras. The lens focusing mechanism is tight, not surprising since it hasn't been used in several decades.

Decisions, decisions.

[mickeyobe]

Keep them all.

But if you decide to put them out in the garbage give me your address and an hour's notice.
I wont reject them if you put them in the wrong bin.

Mickey (Another Torontonian)

[torontodon]

Batteries in the Vivitar, and the AF mechanism still works! That one's definitely a keeper.

BTW, Mickey, the dead Minolta SRT-101 (and I mean d-e-a-d) with 80-200 mm Soligor zoom (also kaput) were grabbed by the contractor into whose bin I dumped them. He though they'd look neat on a shelf. I hope the shelf is strong, 'cause that lens weighed as much as a tank. My shoulder gets sore when I think about how I carried that in my camera bag as a neophyte shooter.

[daveh]

"Also in the box was a 135 mm f/3.5 Canon rangefinder lens sporting a Leica mount. The lens looks okay. It must be an all-metal body because it's heavy. No adapter, so I don't know if the lens works; it was from my late father's collection."

I've got two Canon Rangefinders: Vt and 7. Fly that one over to Britain.

[torontodon]

The Tamron 80-210's a write-off. Now that I've cleaned the front and rear elements I can see fungus growing. Wonder if George the contractor would want this for his shelf . . . if not, perhaps he could use it as a hammer.

It's amazing, the difference in weight between these old lenses and current ones in my bag. Metal vs plastic.

The Minox and Berthiot lens are now up on eBay. Maybe I'll get a few bucks for each.