How to Collect and Identify Vintage Cameras.

Collecting vintage cameras has become more popular in recent years, especially as digital cameras have replaced film cameras in most homes as the first choice for family and holiday snapshots. Collectors should follow a few simple guidelines when considering vintage cameras, whether they are collecting for fun or hoping to find rarities that will gain value in the future.

Instructions

1. Find out what cameras are collectible and which are just junk. Get a vintage camera collector’s guide, such as the McKeown’s Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras. The guide is large and expensive but is the most comprehensive book on vintage cameras on the market. Watch auctions on eBay and see which cameras get a lot of bids. These two sources alone can help you become familiar with vintage cameras.
2. Poke around antique stores, thrift stores, flea markets and vintage camera shops. Look at the cameras that are available and see what prices these stores are asking. While browsing, you should pick up the cameras and give them a good going-over, checking for dirt, rust, mold and other conditions that might make the camera inoperable. You should also try the mechanics of the camera to see what works and what doesn’t. The more you handle vintage cameras, the more familiar you will become with the various brands and styles that are out there, as well as what a mint-condition camera versus a poor-condition camera looks and feels like.
3. Look for cameras that were extremely popular brands and that were produced in high quantities, which may be easy to find in a decent used condition. These are great cameras to search out, especially for vintage camera collectors who wish to use the cameras to take photos and not just to display or resell them. Leica, Nikon, Canon, Minolta and Yashica are all well-known brands that created quality products. Beware of cameras that have no name on them or that are imprinted with brand names you don’t recognize. While some of these might be decent cameras, it is always a good idea to do the research first and find out before you buy. You will become familiar with the common cameras quickly, and after some study, the rare finds will begin to stand out.
4. Look for cameras that will hold their value for a long time. Usually these are cameras that introduced new, groundbreaking technology when they were released or that became known as workhorses–cameras that could function well for a long time with little maintenance. Leica cameras were the first 35 mm cameras that were compact and portable and have maintained a lifetime reputation for being great cameras with exceptional lenses. Argus was the first American compact 35 mm camera, which sold for $12.50 when it first hit stores in 1936. While their value isn’t very high, vintage Argus “Bricks” can still be found in good working order, and they make great 35 mm cameras for amateur photographers who want to play around with manual film cameras. Rollei was a popular brand, especially for their medium format Rolleiflex, which was used by several fine art photographers. Rolleiflex cameras are still easy to find in good working condition. The Nikon F introduced an updated SLR design that made it much easier for photojournalists to use it in the field. Nikon still produces the F series, so there are several generations of these to be found, from the original through to the more recent F6. There are other great cameras to look for; just do your research and find one that suits your style.
5. Decide what is of value to you and then start learning all about that type of camera if you want to collect vintage cameras. Small, portable cameras have been marketed to consumers since the 1920s. Millions of makes and types of cameras have been produced since that time. Some vintage camera enthusiasts are photographers first and want to collect cameras that will be usable either as is or with some minor cleaning and repairs. Photographers frequently collect several of the same kind of camera so that they can use the ones in good condition for photos and the others can be broken down for parts. Other collectors have no intention of using the cameras but are interested in finding and collecting vintage pieces to display for nostalgia or in hunting down rare treasures to resell them.

Tips & Warnings

1. Visit your local vintage camera shops, thrift stores and antique stores frequently. In many places, the turnover of stock happens quickly, and frequent visits will allow you to keep up with what’s coming in. Also, the more that store owners get to know you and what you’re looking for, the more likely they are to start buying those items from others and letting you know about them.
2. If you’re looking for vintage cameras that are still in working order, become familiar with how to check camera functions and how to clean old cameras. Some conditions, such as mold in the lens, are not easily reversed and make the camera inoperable unless you replace the lens.

Source.

Best photographs ever – Part I.

1 – Vulture Stalking a Child – Kevin Carter.

2 – Afghan Girl – Steve McCurry.

3 – Migrant Mother – Dorothea Lange.

4 – V-J Day in Times Square – Alfred Eisenstaedt.

5 – Napalm girl, Vietnam – Nick Ut .

6 – Uganda Famine – Mike Wells.

7 – Albert Einstein –  Arthur Sasse.

8 – Fire on Marlborough Street – Stanley J. Forman.

9 – Nagasaki 1945 – U.S. Air Force.

10 – Che Guevara – Alberto Korda.

Best photographs ever – Part II.

How to choose the camera film.

In this short video:  several nice tips how to choose the correct film camera.

 

Intro to film cameras.

In this video You can check :

• several vintage cameras
• photographies shot with different kind of films
• tips how to set the camera with manual settings

 

 

 

 

Celebrities with film cameras.

Between the 1950S-1970S.

Arnold Schwarzenegger with an SLR

Audrey Hepburn being photographed by Fred Astaire

Bob Dylan with a Nikon SP Rangefinder

George Harrison with (left to right) A Nikon F, A Kodak Retina IIS and his Rolleiflex

Grace Kelly taking Frank Sinatra’s photo with a Hasselblad

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis with an SLR

James Dean taking a photograph of Anna Maria Pierangeli with a Rolleiflex

James Dean with a Rolleiflex

Leonard Nimoy and a Nikon F

Liz Taylor and a Rolleiflex

Marilyn Monroe with Nikon Camera by Bert Stern

Michael Jackson with an SLR

Mick Jagger with a Polaroid (Image by Baron Wolman)

Nick Drake with a Hasselblad

Paul McCartney self portrait with a twin reflex camera

Paul McCartney, a cup of tea and a Pentax Spotmatic

Ringo Starr with a Pentax SLR

Robert Plant and Jimmy Page with Nikon F2s

Sammy Davis Jr. puts in face time with his Rolleiflex in the early 50Õs.

Sean Connery with an SLR

Stanley Kubrick with a rangefinder

The Queen with a Leica

The Supremes with their Polaroid Land cameras

Source.

Film photography survived.

An interesting video why  film photography does not die and eventually, film begins to have more photographers start shooting in this area.

Video – How to Develop Black and White Film.

After this extensive post How to Develop Black and White Film,  let’s now see how it develops the practical process.

There are a few important points to retain in the film processing:

• Dark room.
• Control temperature and time.
• Developer.
• Stop bath.
• Fixer.
• Clearing agent (optional for many photographers).
• Drying the film.

I hope this 3 videos can avoid any doubts about the all  process.

Enjoy.

What film photography still has to offer.

By Cubie King, Special to CNN

There are no more Polaroids. No more Kodachrome. And the smell of potent darkroom chemicals has almost disappeared.

For most people, “analog photography” is a relic or something their parents once used; an archaic technology now lumped in with yesteryear’s sensations, like the rotary phone or 8-track tape player.

Over the past decade, the number of analog film and manual cameras has dramatically decreased in favor of their digital counterparts. Digital photography has ubiquitous control over the market, leaving little to no room for alternatives.

Yet in the New York City metro area, there is a close-knit community of photographers, merchants, galleries, institutions and darkrooms that keep the art of analog photography quietly in practice.

“[There’s] just something inherently different about the medium that you can’t get with digital,” said Steven Sickle, who works at K&M Camera in Tribeca.

Some say that “something” is depth or quality.

K&M Camera, open since 1976, caters to photographers, from the first-time film student to the hardened fine-art photographer who refuses to use digital technology. The newly expanded store proudly embraces their connection to analog film. There are 35 mm cameras on display around the store and refrigerators and freezers stuffed with film.

Although digital sales mainly drive the store’s profit line, the store continues to sell everything film-related, from darkroom chemicals to beakers, loupes and print paper.

“We still sell analog film in large bulks to all sort of clientele,” Sickle said. “It’s a lot of fun when you get guys that come into the store not knowing much and leaving knowing more about film and its process.”

Uptown from K&M on 43rd Street is the International Center of Photography, where photographer/artist Lesly Deschler Canossi teaches a class on color printing to teens. Film negatives and prints are sprawled out in front of the students as they listen attentively to Canossi. She lays out the day’s agenda before they head into the pitch-black darkroom.

The students quickly learn that it takes more patience than they initially thought to work with analog film. This patience is earned through hands-on experience with their negatives and in the darkroom and classroom discussions.

The center offers students of all ages more than 400 photography courses a year that cover such topics as lighting techniques, black-and-white printing and marketing their work.

“What we hope within the Teen Academy is that as they move forward, and if perhaps [they] switch to digital, they have a much better understanding of manual camera functions as it relates to film as it translates to digital,” Canossi said.

Across the street from the school is the International Center of Photography’s museum, which is exhibiting a retrospective of the work of world-renowned Magnum photographer Elliott Erwitt, recipient of the center’s 2011 Lifetime Achievement Award. Throughout Erwitt’s decades-long career, he’s used only analog film.

Visitors can see quickly that Erwitt’s talents closely reflect the diversity of the medium itself as he dabbles in almost every genre — from portraiture, to street photography, documentary, fashion, humor and wit, and everyday life. Erwitt classifies himself as both a professional photographer and hobbyist.

“I’m a traditional photographer in that I don’t use electronic devices,” he said.

“I think I’d like to know that I’m taking pictures because I’m interested in the human condition, in stories and people and animals and whatever is in front of my lens,” he said. “That’s what drives me, not the latest gadget.”

Downtown on 19th Street is Print Space, where photographers can rent well-designed darkrooms (black-and-white or color) to transfer negative images onto print paper. It’s a cozy little establishment that transports photographers to another era. The smell of chemicals wafts through the air, and the pace of the staff and clientele seems to mimic the process of making a print: relaxed yet deliberate.

“There’s something that’s not so immediate about the analog world,” said Hashem Eaddy, Print Space’s lab manager. “You take a picture with your film camera, you have to wait. And all of those pieces have to come together so it’ll be a print. Printing takes time, but the patient are rewarded.

“In terms of analog, for the most part, it still gives you a higher-quality print than digital, but I feel like the way people are looking at things now doesn’t matter anymore,” Eaddy lamented.

But to each of these people, organizations and establishments, film does indeed matter and continues to evolve. It’s vital, not only to their livelihoods, but also as a gateway to a deeper understanding of the medium as a whole, even if one does end up in the digital arena.

To serious-minded photographers Erwitt added this: “I certainly would suggest that anyone interested in photography start by doing the hard stuff; that is to say print, photograph, develop, dodge, do all the things that are essential in producing a good analog print.”

And like the variety of steps required to make that analog print, these practitioners, viewed as an amalgamation, form a community that continues to further the history, tradition and craft of analog photography.

Film photography formats – Standard, medium, large.

Guide to Photography 35mm Film Size

35mm film is the most popular film photography type. 35mm film, or 135 film, was introduced by Kodak in 1934. Fitting 35mm cameras, including single-lens reflex (SLR) and range-finder cameras, basic 35mm film photography is named after the size of the film – 35mm wide. Individual rolls of 35mm film are enclosed in a single-spool, light-tight, metal case that allow it to be loaded into cameras in the daylight. Therefore, when the roll of film is used, it must be re-wound back into the spool before opening the camera. In the case of disposable cameras, the film is kept in a light-tight casing until opened by a lab technician in the dark. Both sides of a 35mm roll are perforated to allow mechanisms within the camera to advance and rewind it.

The standard image size on a 35mm film roll is 24 x 36 mm with a perforation size of KS-1870. This standard ensures that the film properly advances eight perforations to allow a two millimeter gap between frames and eliminate overlapping of images on the film. Of course, there are other 35mm film types that have different image sizes, but these are rare and will likely only be found in specialty stores. The 35mm film standard will be found in any common convenience store and all camera shops. Most 35mm film is found in 24-exposure or 36-exposure counts. However, with most cameras and proper film settings, you will be able to squeeze out an additional two or three photographs.

Basic Photography Tips for Medium Format Film

Medium format film is much larger than the 35mm counterpart, and is preferred by many professional photographers. Of course, due to the size of medium format film, a medium format camera will be needed to use it. Most often, medium format film is 6 x 6 cm square or 6 x 4.5 cm rectangular (commonly referred to as 645). Today, medium format photography utilizes the 120 film format and, in some cases, the 220 film format. These formats are nearly identical except that 220 film is twice as long and allows twice the number of exposures. With 120 film, you can get either 12 or 16 exposures and double that amount with 220 film. Medium format film is still readily available at most camera shops and online distributors.

There are no perforated edges to medium format film, but instead the camera takes the film from one spool to another. When the roll is finished, the roll wraps around the second spool, making the film light-tight, and allows the photographer to open the camera and remove the film. There will also be a sticky tab that can be used to tape down the film and prevent it from unrolling. Additionally, the film will now be labeled exposed to indicate that the film has been used and is ready for processing.

Large Format Beginner Photography Film Tips

Large format film works a little different than both 35mm film and medium format film as there are no spools used. Instead, large format film is individual 4’x5’ (102×127 mm) sheets that are loaded into a special film holder that locks into the back of a large format camera. The holders will hold two sheets of film on both sides, and must be loaded in the complete dark. When loaded into the back of the camera, the light protective sheet is removed and will allow you to release the shutter and expose the film. The protective sheet is then returned to the holder before your film is removed. The film will remain in the holder until ready for development.

Source.

Rolleiflex 3.5 E3 and T.

Rolleiflex 3.5 E3 and T, image by Matt Phillips (Image rights)

Rolleiflex is a series of medium format 120 roll film cameras manufactured by Franke & Heidecke, (now Rollei GmbH), in Germany.

The Square idea that changed photographic History Without any doubt was the introduction in 1929, of the first Rolleiflex Twin Lens Reflex ( TLR ), a sensation: an as ingenious as simple principle that quickly made the Rolleiflex THE must have professional camera all over the world. Producing high quality 6×6 cm square negatives in a compact very easy to operate camera, with the best lens available. Ther was no photographer who would not master one, no apprentice who would not wish to own one. For the professional, the Rolleiflex was like a gift from heaven, it meant a radical change in his/her creative work. Being able to work fast with a large size negative, light weight and superior quality made the choice as simple as important. There was no newspaper, no magazine, no photographic book that would not have some Rolleiflex photos in their publications. For decades, Rolleiflex cameras would have a decisive effect on photographic history. Many world-famous images originated from that small piece of fine mechanical art made bij the factory from Franke and Heidecke in Braunschweig, Germany. It was the beginning of a technical evolution that would be imitated by many other manufacturers around the Globe with sometimes successful but often poor copies of the bench-mark Rolleiflex. Franke & Heidecke are proof of being the master in that field , with the nowadays massive switch-over to digital, the traditional Rolleiflex TLR is still in production AND development. Very few companies in the world can boost such a long record with one basic design which has been improved on a regular basis yet still so closely resembles the original invention.