I remember it like yesterday all those years ago when we spied each other across a crowded, brightly lit smoke free room.. It had a peculiar but elegant design. A name that dared to be tested. “Are you good enough?”..Intrigued I drew closer to hear more it had to say, but it was silent. “Yes. No..I don’t know, maybe,” I muttered to myself, retreating a few steps away to mindlessly pick through a basket of picked through filters. Although I didn’t buy it, it was too late already. It was only a matter of time. Well, far too much time really- never a very populous camera even in 1935, they don’t turn up very often!
Here are some interesting features about this camera that I noticed:
- It purportedly has parallax compensation (I don’t know how this works yet)
- The film travels horizontally (image isn’t upside down in your viewfinder)
- There is a level in one corner on the ground glass
- The film winder is a lever rather than a knob
- There is a mirror to read the shutter speeds from above (the speeds are written backwards on the dial)
- The film back has two doors (only one requires opening to take out the film)
Kids wanted to collect some tadpoles so we went out to the rice fields and I grabbed a couple rolls (Acros and Foma). The camera was nice to use and I didn’t have any issues except accidentally keeping my finger on the shutter charge lever when pressing the shutter lever a few times (causing the shutter to stay open too long and blurring the photos). I like the results. Not just for an 80 year old camera- for any camera. Now just to find some filters and a lens hood for it. Let’s see, when’s the next camera swap meet in Ginza??
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- Ready to get tadpoles / Foma 100
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- Rice field canal / Foma 100
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- If I just could have squeezed a bit more depth of fiield.. / Foma 100
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- Bamboo forest’s edge (竹林) / Acros
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- Old barn / Acros
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- Hachi ( 八 ) / Acros
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- Abandoned RV / Acros
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- RV Paradise / Acros
