Get ready for World Toy Camera Day next month

It's World Toy Camera Day next month. October 21st.

Details can be found here.

Pictures taken on the day can be sent in to a competition.

Experimenting with Holga panoramics

Been trying to do some Holga panoramic shots today. Here is one of my first efforts. A portrait of my daughter:



It's quite difficult to get the hang of it and then it is also difficult to scan the negatives which invariably need stitching together. My scanner (a lowly Epson 3200) will only scan a 6x9 negative so any panorama longer than a frame and a half across is impossible to scan in one sweep.

This shot was taken on Ilford Delta 3200 on a modified Holga N from Holgamods and developed in Diafine. Delta 3200 is supposed to behave as a 2000 ISO film with this developer.

Holga Show - Call for entries

There is a Holga show coming up at the Photomedia Centre.

Call for entries is here.

Deadline is November 11th 2006. Electronic submission of up to 8 entries.

My Balda Baldix

This is my Balda Baldix 6x6 camera.



It has a Pronto shutter with speeds from 1/25 to 1/200 + B, flash sync, self timer and fitted with Baltar f4.5 C 75mm lens. I believe the C stands for 'colour' meaning the lens is specially corrected to cope with colour film. The camera is in perfect working order.

This camera has the cheaper lens (but it is still good when stopped down). The more expensive Enna-Werk Ennagon lens is better quality. There was also a model with a Baltar f2.9 lens in Prontor SV shutter. This was probably the most expensive version of the camera.

The company Balda Kamera Werk was based in west Germany and made good quality cameras. At the end of WWII the company became part of VEB Pentacon group. They stopped making cameras in 1985.

Manual:
http://www.butkus.org/chinon/baldix_6x6/baldix_6x6.htm

References:
http://www.marriottcameras.co.uk/advertising/balda/2baldas.htm
http://www.mattdentonphoto.com/cameras/balda_baldix.html

Should mint classic cameras be used?

There is a really interesting thread on photo.net here discussing whether vintage cameras in mint condition should ever be used.

I only just got into the vintage camera game, but something about getting hold of a 1940s folding camera that hasn't been used for decades (because it's been hidden away in someone's attic or whatever) and actually using it gives me a buzz. It's as if you are breathing new life into it.

On the other hand if you have an absolutely mint copy of a rare camera, maybe it belongs in a museum...

The Franka Rolfix II

This is my Franka Rolfix II camera.



I like this German made camera. Franka Werke was a firm based in Bavaria that made low to mid-range quality cameras. It takes 6x9 sized pictures on 120 film and should have an insert to convert to 6x6 (but this is missing). This one has a coated Rodenstock Trinar 105mm f3.5 lens (3 element) with a Synchro-Compur shutter and flash sync. Shutter speeds go from 1s to 1/500th + bulb. Cost £17 on ebay and is in perfect working order.

From what I can gather this camera was made around 1951-57. This one is marked as being made in the US occupied zone of Germany. The shutter suggests it is a later model. I have seen other Rolfix II's that look slightly different in the way the body is constructed (e.g., the accessory shoe is in a different place and the nameplate on the top of the camera is different).

Franka Werke was taken over by Wirgin in 1961 and became Edixa gmbH (1968) under new ownership. Edixa closed in 1971. Edixa was a brand name of Wirgin Kamerawerk.

References:

http://medfmt.8k.com/mf/rolfix.html
http://kotisivu.dnainternet.net/lauro/franka.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edixa
http://www.ukcamera.com/classic_cameras/Kamerahersteller/wirgin.htm

My current toy cameras

My current toy camera consist of a Holga GN (with a glass lens rather than the usual plastic one) and a Diana. I have a modified Holga from Holgamods on the way.

Here is the Holga:



Here is the Diana:



I just ran my first test film through the Diana today.

Hello

This blog is a companion to my other blog alt-digital. I decided to start this blog which is based around my use of toy and old cameras rather than mix this up with my digital blog.

Over the coming days I will post some information on my cameras and equipment. I will also periodically post pictures.

Also check out my flickr site. This has some images taken with vintage folding cameras and my Holga.