Like antique cars and motorcycles, antique cameras return us to a mechanical world in which precision and practicality were wed into the emerging technologies of their time. There are two landmarks in the history of photography that triggered the modern, pre-digital era of film photography:
- 1889. First Kodak camera with a roll of film instead of paper
- 1900. Kodak Brownie box roll-film camera introduced
This paved the way for roll-film cameras that span everything from gleaming Hasselblads to tiny Minox's and, of course, the ubiquitious 35mm cameras -- rangefinders, P&S zoomers, and SLR's. In the first half of the 20th Century, folding cameras were a favourite choice of amateur photographers who desired portability and good results from their B&W films.
1929 Voigtländer 120 Folding Camera
(click on image for a larger, clearer view)I'd never owned a folding camera so I couldn't resist bidding on this 1929 Voigtländer folder that I won for $40 from a dealer in Slovakia. The camera is in splendid condition for its age. No light leaks and the Compur shutter speeds are relatively accurate.
When I pull this one out to take a photograph, it draws a crowd. Folks have seen pictures of folders but have rarely seen one in action. The camera takes 120 film, which is still readily available. Imagine using the latest film emulsion in a camera that is over 70 years old. I hand meter, estimate the distance and set the focus rail (it's European and distance is in meters), and use the wire frame finder for approximating the composition. I've been shooting Ilford HP5+ ISO 400 film developed in Kodak HC-110 1:64 dilution.
The amazing thing is that it works. It produces a large 6x9cm negative that I scan on an Epson 2450 flatbed scanner with transparency adapter.
Cottage, Southampton, Ontario, 2003
(click on image for a larger view)So here it is -- a photograph taken in June 2003 with a camera sold in 1929, using a modern, off-the-shelf roll of Ilford HP5. It's not as sharp and crisp as a photo taken with a modern camera, but I sense a quality of agelessness about the image. Something that evokes an earlier time. This camera will never become a mainline tool for me, but I'll take it out for a spin every now and then to keep in touch with my photographic roots.
A Few Classic Camera Links:
- History of Photography Timeline
- Classic Cameras
- Antique and Classic Camera Web Site
- Ryan's Classic Cameras
(1-Oct-2003, Revised 16-Jun-2004)
www.NorthernJourney.com -- gene@wilburn.ca