Wonko
Contributing Member
Oh my! Not another Polaroid...
Posts: 10
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Post by Wonko on Apr 19, 2014 18:48:06 GMT -5
I have only been at this for almost 6 months. I thought it was longer but the wife said no and had proof. Any way... The main project is the Heidoscop. At some point in time during it's life, some one removed the waist finder, ground glass, and mirror. I have replaced the mirror with a bit of help, and patiently waiting on the other bits. I can go with an updated waist finder and ground glass, as long as it folds up like the one on the later Rolleiflex cameras but I don't want to.Other than that it is all complete- Case with the key, alternate lens caps, yellow lenses, and shutter release cable, all twelve plate holders in the cartridge.I even have a pack of Illford dry plates unopened that fit it. The lenses are clear, shutters work on all settings and the leather is all there. I would love to get a CLA done on it any way. But I have not found any one willing to do it ..well, that didn't seem shady.Even though I fix things as my job in the real world, don't trust myself to do it. Ok.. enough about that. All the rest are just little projects, clean and knock the dust off. The Contessa Nettel is missing it's little stand,The ICA/Huttig is missing the ground glass back. The Ruberg and Agfa clipper have a touch of surface rust. And as typical.. Both Rolleiflex K1 and the Automat RF111 and the 2 Rolleicords are in need of a good CLA.. At slow speeds the shutters are sticky except when it's a hot day. Compur shutters work fantastic when there not sticky. Then there are the Kodak box cameras, Model 2 and 2a, the tiny Ansco #0 they work and not missing anything except film and a nice day. Then we come to the Polaroids. The SX-70 alpha1 SE.. I put a new skin on it, and did the same for the Spectra System. All are functioned checked and working. I am waiting on the Model 104, And will be looking for a model 95 to round out the Polaroids for the moment. Some are from the Favorite shopping place on the net, But the Polaroids, the Heidoscop,Rolleiflexes, Kodak ek6 are local bought. I guess I can say even the ICA , since the seller was only 30 miles away. Cameras are very hard to find here for some reason. Even in the Antique shops. In the last 6 months I have only seen 6 cameras in all the antique shops here. But I don't think I will drop $100 on a six-20 box camera. And if I bored you.. my wife would say "Glad it was some one else for once"   Off to a good start..  The Rolleiflex cameras.. (Oh.. the picture on the wall behind them is the Troop Ship U.S.S America During WW1. Yes its a real picture in the original frame, And if you see it person you can see all the troops lining the decks heading to the war.) Thanks for reading Jeff **EDIT** I did not add any of the other bits.. User manuals, boxes, Light meters, lens caps, and tripods. No room |
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daveh
Lifetime Member
Posts: 4,696
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Post by daveh on Apr 19, 2014 20:26:44 GMT -5
I've been trying to add a reply - more to the USS America than the cameras - added some photos, tried to preview and, to cut a long story short, lost the entire post. I wondered if the America had been on the June 1917 convoy, but I see from Wiki she wasn't commissioned till the autumn of that year, making her first crossing in October. The Wiki entry states "...the convoy reached safe haven at Brest, America's only wartime port of debarkation." However, these photos were taken in St. Nazaire so, not for the first time, Wiki would appear to be wrong.      p.s. I presume the camera with which you took the photo isn't part of the collection. Nice set - I'm not organised enough to set mine up so neatly. (I think I posted some/all of these photos a while back.) |
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Wonko
Contributing Member
Oh my! Not another Polaroid...
Posts: 10
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Post by Wonko on Apr 19, 2014 22:22:50 GMT -5
I've been trying to add a reply - more to the USS America than the cameras - added some photos, tried to preview and, to cut a long story short, lost the entire post. I wondered if the America had been on the June 1917 convoy, but I see from Wiki she wasn't commissioned till the autumn of that year, making her first crossing in October. The Wiki entry states "...the convoy reached safe haven at Brest, America's only wartime port of debarkation." However, these photos were taken in St. Nazaire so, not for the first time, Wiki would appear to be wrong. (Pictures) p.s. I presume the camera with which you took the photo isn't part of the collection. Nice set - I'm not organised enough to set mine up so neatly. (I think I posted some/all of these photos a while back.) Don't worry I have done that as well! Here I took it off the wall and snapped a few...    I have had this for many years. I found it in a box full of other junk at a flea market like it is.I love steamships and history and I have treasured this for a long while. I am also a war vet (But not WW1..Afghanistan is mine) so it means a touch more. I thought about getting it restored, I have never seen another one like this ever. It just hangs on the wall next to Theda Bara and Mary Pickford. I like the pictures ..I had no idea that there was a monument to them. It will be another place for me to visit one day. She was originaly named "SS Amerika" And was owned by Hamburg America line of Germany.She had a long career, 2 wars... WW1 and WW2 the great depression, she sank once, and she caught fire another time. She went to the breakers in 1957 *Cries* And the camera is my old war survivor digital, A Panasonic with Leica lens and almost 10 years old. It's a tough little camera, Survived fire fights, desert dust, being here , getting lost , getting found, dropped off the side of a mountain, And my wife and kids. **I know.. slightly off topic maybe but that's ok too** |
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daveh
Lifetime Member
Posts: 4,696
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Post by daveh on Apr 20, 2014 4:50:49 GMT -5
Jeff, one thing I like above all else on this board is that going off topic has never been seen as too much of a problem.
I bought a Panasonic FZ1 (if they were called the same over there) only 2 megapixels but a cracking lens and it carried on working when the film camera (Pentax FZ50) packed up going through the Panama Canal. I bough an FZ5 later, which a friend's son brought back from Japan just before they were available here in the UK. The one problem as that the software was in Japanese!
I've said before on these pages that most of the cameras and bits I have on the shelves and (more) in boxes were accumulated rather than collected. Most were bought to use, and most were used. There is (presumably) one box I can't find as there is a 1950s TLR and one or two other things I can't find, including some old Leica 35mm reload able cassettes which, if memory serves me right, were brass with a sliding door.
What, with your collection and Phil's A-Z set, I must do is organise sometime and photograph things of this sort.
It always seems a shame when a ship has to be sent to the breakers, but a I suppose most are too big for someone to have sitting on the shelf like a camera, book or ornament. There are photos aplenty of many famous ships as they are being scrapped, mainly in the Far East, in places such as Alang, Great ships should be sunk, not scrapped if they can't be kept afloat or in someone's back garden.
I love photos of significance, and to me these of America are. Who were the people on board? How many survived and what lives did they all have? I have a photo of my mother's year at a school at about age six in the mid 1920s. I look at that photo and hope they all made in through WWII, but know many would not have done. To me cameras are interesting, but the photos the cameras take are where the real stories lie.
Great stuff, Jeff.
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Post by philbirch on Apr 20, 2014 5:19:27 GMT -5
I like off topic comments of this type. You learn a lot!!
Nice collection of Rolleis. I have only one, a 35B bought second hand forty years ago and still works perfectly.
Your sticky shutter problem will be solved by using a drop of lighter fuel on the shutter. Take out the rear element and place a drop carefully onto the shutter then cock and fire it a few times. The naptha will soften the oil. Leave it for an hour or two for any residue to evaporate and I'm certain the shutter will work as good as new.
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Wonko
Contributing Member
Oh my! Not another Polaroid...
Posts: 10
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Post by Wonko on Apr 23, 2014 20:10:36 GMT -5
Thanks friends.I guess a little off topic learning doesn't hurt!
Daveh..I guess it does stand to reason that due to my interests that I would collect items of photography as well. I have managed over the years to acquire all kinds of things from the early part of the 20th century.Books,magazines, Photographs,sewing machines and so on.I guess I have a passion for it, and much respect as well.I sometimes wonder if they could talk, what stories would they have.
Thanks Phil for the info, I had been sort of worried about doing that but.. it would be worth the effort. My Rolleiflex Automat is the one that gets used the most.But I also working to use my ICA plate camera. I know I can find a roll film back, But I must say I want to try keep it traditional and use cut film. I have a cut film developing tank and a few other bits, but it will wait till I actually finish *Cough Cough* my dark room to use it.
Oh and sorry for not responding sooner... I was at work.
And another thing.. I got my plastic fantastic Polaroid 104. I played with it for a bit and promptly screwed up the distance meter in the view finder. I did the crazy thing and tried to fix it. Well..I succeeded, It registers normally now,But Wow, I had a heck of a time figuring out how it went back together. But now I know.. And knowing is half the battle:)
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Post by philbirch on Apr 24, 2014 3:54:48 GMT -5
I've buggered up a few cameras trying to repair them. We learn not to touch!
I had a 104 back in the day. I used type 105 film, 75ASA b&w negative film in it. The quality was outstanding.
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mickeyobe
Lifetime Member
Resident President
Posts: 7,280
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Post by mickeyobe on May 18, 2014 14:20:56 GMT -5
Wonko/Jeff,
Your little collection is impressive.
You are off to an excellent start.
Best wishes,
Mickey
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Post by moltogordo on Feb 8, 2015 18:12:27 GMT -5
From humble beginnings!
Keep the thread alive with updated postings!!!
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Post by philbirch on Feb 8, 2015 19:10:44 GMT -5
From humble beginnings! Keep the thread alive with updated postings!!! Dragging up the old posts. My collection has changed since I came to this forum. Some have gone, some have come. More will be going. Here is a little oddity I found recently, in great condition and with the instructions.  |
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der84
Senior Member
Posts: 66 
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Post by der84 on Feb 22, 2015 10:12:34 GMT -5
Here are a few recent additions to my collection. An Argus A  Hosted on FotkiA Univex TwinFlex (should've dusted it before I took the photo....haha)  Hosted on FotkiA Univex Model A (My first miniature in the collection)  Hosted on Fotki |
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Post by philbirch on Feb 22, 2015 17:56:30 GMT -5
Lovely. There were some beautiful plastic cameras back in the day.
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mickeyobe
Lifetime Member
Resident President
Posts: 7,280
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Post by mickeyobe on Feb 22, 2015 19:36:41 GMT -5
der84,
The Argus and the Universal cameras are great themes to collect.
They are relatively inexpensive, not too rare and a good number of them were unique for their time.
They also seem to stand up well to the vicissitudes of time.
Welcome to The C.C.
Mickey
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der84
Senior Member
Posts: 66
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Post by der84 on Feb 22, 2015 19:50:56 GMT -5
Lovely. There were some beautiful plastic cameras back in the day. I definitely agree Phil. |
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der84
Senior Member
Posts: 66
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Post by der84 on Feb 22, 2015 19:54:40 GMT -5
der84, The Argus and the Universal cameras are great themes to collect. They are relatively inexpensive, not too rare and a good number of them were unique for their time. They also seem to stand up well to the vicissitudes of time. Welcome to The C.C. Mickey Thanks Mickey. Yeah most of them are pretty easy to get. But I like to collect a litttle bit of everything. The Univex AF series are what I've been after for a bit, but for some reason have been a little finicky to get....well mainly the colored ones.....haha. Some day. Thanks again. |
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