look what I found in a closet

A few years ago I found out that my mom had a medium format camera that used to belong to her father.

With the talk of digital rangefinders and other such cameras I thought I'd check this thing out again. ; I found out where it was being kept and retrieved it from an old camera bag tucked into the corner of a closet shelf.

It's definitely a classic.

The only real info I have on it is that it's a Zeiss Super Ikonta 532/16. ; It's a fixed lens camera (or maybe not, the manual seems to indicate an alternative lens option), I don't know how clear the pictures make it but it has a metal panel in the front that opens out and down. ; The lens swings out with the door, much of the lens is a bellows that enables it to collapse into the body of the camera.

It turns out it had film in it, it may have been on the last exposure which I used in testing it. ; But the film has likely been in there for decades, I assume by now it's probably all ruined by age anyway.

Apparently the film (120, it shoots 6x6) can be purchased today, and places can be found to process it. ; This is CLASSIC gear, it has no on board metering at all. ; The exposure controls are on the lens, one ring for aperture and one for shutter speed (both feel completely smooth, no apparent detents for specific settings), the smaller ring you can see on the upper right side of the lens on the head on view is the focus control. ; It's quite stiff, I hurt my thumb trying to work it while I figured out how the rangefinder focus worked.

In this case it appears to have the main viewfinder and then a separate smaller window on the other side of the lens, it looks like the end of the lens has a separate lens that's part of the viewfinder mechanism. ; I've never seen anything like that before. ; I mean I know rangefinders work on the parallax principle, but I'd never seen an outer lens attached to the main lens.

I assume you hard core camera nerds already understand the concept, but for those to whom this is as exotic as it was to me, you focus a rangefinder by aligning two copies of the image you see through the viewfinder. ; The main viewfinder provides a picture that should at least roughly match what the lens is seeing (although since it's offset it won't be exactly the same, and the closer you are to your subject the more off it'll be), and then the smaller viewfinder window projects a second image in a little circle in the center of the view that appears sort of yellowish in color (at least in this case). ; You aim at an object and can see a second copy of it and you adjust the focus until the smaller circle image is aligned with the rest of the image.

I was initially confused in trying to focus it, it turns out it has a minimum focus distance of 6 feet which is quite high compared to what I'm used to. ; I couldn't get the closer objects I was focusing on to line up. ; Once I realized I had to use a farther target it worked just fine.

And please.. no offense at the camera nerd thing.. ; Normally I'm the nerd, but this camera is going way beyond my experience. ; I have a pretty good grip on how 35mm slrs work, and I vaguely understand the basic rangefinder concept, but this is a whole new ballgame. ; It uses a new (to me) type of film transport that seems to involve using part of the previous spool of film for the next roll you put on. ; Unlike the 35mm concept that I'm familiar with, this one seems to start with the film on one side and as you shoot it it gets wound on onto the other, it looks like there's no rewinding once you're done. ; I still don't understand quite how that works. ; Somehow it starts wound onto one spool and once it's used up it's fully wound onto the other spool. ; That would seem to suggest there's no outer case unlike a 35mm spool, but I don't see how that would be possible, surely light would leak in without it.

I have no idea if it even works, one review I found of the family of cameras that this belongs to said to expect to invest in an overhaul if it's been sitting around for decades.

I feel that I ought to test it out though. ; I am NOT going to end up as a medium format geek, going around using a camera like this regularly. ; I have no regrets about going modern, 35mm has been good to me, and with my focus on trying to learn wildlife shooting a medium format isn't going to do me any favors... ; But I want to know what it's like to use something like this.

You guys know what's funny, though? ; I looked up 120 film at B&H, and the description for one of the types of film describes it as somehow being having an advantage for being scanned, somehow it's supposed to give improved results when scanning it. ; I'm looking at a camera that seems to date to around 1950 or perhaps before. ; But the film for it is being advertised as being better to scan and work with digitally.

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Pretty cool- I found something similar collecting dust at my parents house a few weeks ago. ; Kind of the same thing but a Kodak. ; The little cube viewfinder you actually look down into which was neat.



I played with it for a few minutes- took a picture of it- and returned it to the dusty shelf. ; Too far back in time for me. ; :

 

Those are really cool. ; My Grandmother gave me some old cameras that belonged to my Grandfather, but none of them were as cool as those. ; Although one of them came with actual flash bulbs...

 

Very cool...looks like they are still in good condition. We had a couple similar in age, but we lost them in the flood. It's things like this that still make me angry. Now with hurricane season here once again, all we can do is cross our fingers and pray we don't have to go through it again..

 

I hope so! ;

 

Nice find guys. Cool that yours even has the Zeiss lens Dan. I think it would be fun just to play around with those.

 

I'm pretty sure that was my first (and only film) SLR as well. ; It kind of worked, but I had suspicions that it might have had a light leak, and it seemed to tend to underexpose as well. ; I've still got it, but pretty much stopped using it once I stopped taking photography classes. ; Without the ability to process and print my own pictures I sort of lost interest.

So I have a little more idea of how the film works. ; It looks like it has no cartridge or case like 35mm does, it really appears to be a simple spool with a disc at the top and bottom to sort of guide the film as well as block out outside light, and then at the beginning and end of the strip of film there's a thick paper leader, it's the part you thread across the camera into the empty spool and then once the film has all been exposed and wound onto the other side you wrap the end paper around it and stick it onto the roll with a little sticky tab so it stays rolled up. ; I can't imagine that's THAT light tight, but that's the way it works.

I haven't looked into places that can process 120 film yet, but my limited googling thus far suggests that the equipment they use at Costco may be capable of handling 120 film, IF the operators know how to do it and, I assume, if they have the proper developing tank or reel or whatever. ; They only seem to advertise 35mm and APS services on their in store signage, but maybe I'll get lucky.

All the results I've gotten say that people should learn to do it themselves, and, well, I kind of know how, but I don't have the appropriate equipment and I don't want to have to deal with maintaining the chemicals and all that. ; If this camera proves to be in working order I'd like to run at least a few rolls through it, including some black and white. ; I typically dislike turning color digital pictures into black and white, I know there's an art to it but it just seems somehow wrong to me. ; But I enjoyed my black and white 35mm days and would like to get back into it a little. ; If my local costco can handle 120 film I should be able to have it developed fairly cheaply and then scanned straight to CD for a similarly low price. ; My google results suggest that places like that may not be too good, they could be sloppy at handling the film and such, but.. really I just want a fast and cheap place. ; I only demand adequate results, I'm doing this for the experience, not for printing world class pictures.

The other problem, of course... ; is this camera is all wrong for my style. ; I'm trying to learn landscape, I really am, but I'm not picking it up very quickly. ; Oddly enough I feel like I was better at it in my black and white 35mm days. ; Maybe the stuff I shot just looked more appropriate in black and white, it seems to add class to any crude landscape work. ; I think I'm also learning that night photography is easier in black and white. ; You don't notice the effects of light pollution, on the white balance I mean.

Now that I think about it, I think I WILL try to shoot a roll or two of film at the zoo with this. ; Oh I've got to, just to see if I can pull it off. ; All but the near animals will be off limits, and only outdoors ones at that, but.. ; I'd love to have a decent 6x6 shot of a snow leopard. ; I'd be proud to have that in my collection. ; And DANG would it be fun to be able to enter a medium format print in their photo contest. ; I have to say that I doubt I'd get a contest worthy entry with that this thing's focal length (apparently 80mm, but it's listed as 8cm), but maybe I might get lucky.

I swear, I am NOT going to turn into a medium format enthusiast. ; At least not unless I can acquire a more modern model at cut rate budget prices and can find cheap local developing options. ; And at that I'd only scan the film and work on it digitally, which seems wrong somehow. ; But now that I have the opportunity I have to know what it's like to go out and manually meter all my shots with a hand held light meter (my mom has one of those I'll be able to use as well) before dialing them in on the camera.

And, I admit it... ; I want to draw a little attention by going out in a public place with a camera like this. ; I draw enough attention with my 400mm lens at the zoo, but I imagine I'll definitely get some stares if I'm walking around with a light meter in one hand and the camera in my other. ; I'd feel obligated to explain to everyone that I didn't really know what I was doing though.

 

It took me a while but I finally found this thread! This morning I went to the Kane County Flea Market. Most of it was junk of course but I fell in love with a table of vintage cameras. ; I talked the guy down to 2 for 25. ; I think theyre so beautiful and just want them not to shoot with but for display. ;

This is the first one
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pjmorgan/1389302720/

Its an Autographic Kodak Jr. Patented in 1913!

The other one I havent found a model name for yet but Ill let you know when I do!

EDIT: Found it! ; its a Kodak Tourist II which according to my sources was produced between 1951 and 1958.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/robot_zomb ... 348075520/