KMZ FT-2 Panoramic Camera

Since I got into photography, I have been a fan of panoramic cameras and images. The ability to see wide views of subjects similar to what you see in person seems very natural, so it's not unrealistic for me to have a variety of cameras to use during trips and other photographic jaunts I take to make images.

My KMZ FT-2 Camera

I came across a Russian-made KMZ FT-2 camera many years ago when I was a sales representative for one of the companies I worked for. I remember visiting EP Levine in Waltham, MA, and seeing the FT-2 and a Spinshot they had. I asked about the Spinshot because, at the time, I knew the Spinshot was something out of my price range. One of the owners gave me a reasonable price on the camera and case because, like many of these cameras, they take a unique film cassette, which this camera didn't have. I knew at that time I was buying it more for my collection rather than using it, but always in the back of my mind, it was something I wanted to put a roll of film into and shoot with. 

The Company:

KMZ (Krasnogorsky Zavod), also known as the Krasnogorsk Mechanical Works, is a prominent camera and optical equipment manufacturer based in Russia. Founded in 1942 in the city of Krasnogorsk, near Moscow, KMZ played a significant role in the Soviet Union's photographic and optical industries. Initially established to support wartime needs, the company shifted its focus to producing civilian products, becoming a key player in developing photographic technology in the Soviet era.

FT-2 camera, leather case and 2 different 3D printed cassettes

 KMZ became widely known for producing cameras and optical devices for civilian and military use. One of its most famous products is the Zenit series of single-lens reflex cameras, which gained a strong reputation for their durability and affordability. First introduced in the late 1940s, the Zenit cameras became popular among amateur photographers and professionals worldwide, especially during the mid-20th century. These cameras were equipped with reliable optics, often branded under the Helios or Jupiter trademarks, known for their exceptional image quality.

Another well-known KMZ product is the Zorki rangefinder cameras, which were modeled after early Leica designs. The Zorki cameras, like the Zenit series, were affordable and accessible, making photography more attainable for the average user. These cameras are now considered collector's items, valued for their vintage appeal and craftsmanship.

 KMZ also contributed to advancements in optical engineering. The company developed lenses for photography, cinema, and scientific applications, as well as optical sights and instruments for military use. The Helios-44 lens, often paired with Zenit cameras, became legendary for its unique bokeh effect and remains highly sought after by enthusiasts.

 Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, KMZ faced challenges adapting to a market economy. While the demand for traditional film cameras declined with the rise of digital photography, KMZ continued producing optical devices and exploring new markets. The Zenit brand was revived by introducing modern digital cameras like the Zenit M, which combines vintage aesthetics with contemporary technology.

KMZ's contributions to the photographic and optical fields testify to its innovation and resilience. Despite economic and technological shifts, the company remains a symbol of Soviet ingenuity, with its cameras and lenses appreciated by photographers and collectors worldwide.

The Camera:

The KMZ FT-2, one of the first 35mm panoramic cameras, is a model of simplicity in design. Its bare-bones appearance, resembling a small black brick, belies its robust mechanical construction. The camera measures 4.75" wide by 3.25" deep by 2.25" tall, including the winding knob, and weighs 1 lb. 7oz. The FT-5 boasts a 50mm fixed F5 lens that swings across the curved film plane to produce 110mm long images on your 35mm film. This unique design eliminates barrel distortion, ensuring your horizontal lines remain straight when holding the camera level. However, due to the extended negative size, 24mm x 110mm rather than the typical 24mm x 36mm, you only get 12 images on a roll of 36 exposures, a testament to the camera's straightforward and uncomplicated nature.

 The FT-2 only has 3 shutter speeds: 1/400, 1/200, and 1/100 second. The shutter speeds are set by changing two levers on top of the camera and located just below the shutter cocking lever. The shutter cocking lever is a larger finger and thumb knob, which you turn clockwise to cock the shutter, and it swings back to the starting position at approximately 11:00 when the exposure is finished. A mechanical braking system slows the shutter to these speeds when shooting at the two slower speeds. When shooting at the maximum speed, the camera jolts when the exposure ends and has a reasonably noisy snap when the shutter spins on its axis and comes to a vibrating finish of the exposure. The shutter release is to the right of the shutter cocking knob and just above the frame counter.

Since the camera produces such a long negative, the manual states that you need to turn the winding lever so that the frame counter does three full revolutions around, then add one number to get to the next frame. So, if you were on frame number 5, after taking the photo, you'd turn the winding lever, watch the frame counter go three revolutions around, and then stop at number 6 to be ready for that photo.

Top view of KMZ FT-2 camera where all the controls are located.

 There is no optical viewfinder, but rather a flip-up mask that you put your eye up to and guess that that's the approximate area that will be in your photo. There is a bubble level on top of the camera, so it's easy to level out the photos. This is not so helpful when looking through the viewfinder, but if you use the camera on a tripod or hold it more at waist level, then it makes sense.

 To open the back of the camera to load film, the front of the camera, in both corners, are silver clips holding the back close to the front. Snap these clips out, and holding the back with one hand and the body with the other, you slide the back off the camera. To put the back onto the camera, there are small channels on the body that the back fits into to slide back onto the camera. Make sure the back fits into the channel slide, then back onto the camera, and snap the clips into position.

Using the Camera:

Fast forward about 25 years, and I pulled the FT-2 out of my shelf and started to play with it. The camera is in excellent mechanical shape, so I wondered if there's a way to adapt a regular 35mm film cassette into the camera for shooting with it. Doing my usual looking on the internet to see what advancements have been made, I came across Roger Hyam's website discussing how he had the same camera and  1 set of cassettes. To make the camera more enjoyable, having multiple cassettes would make shooting with the camera more manageable. Since loading the cassettes is time-consuming, he made film cassettes for his FT-2 with a 3D printer. In that article, he has a CAD design and explains the process.

 At this point, seeing that there is a somewhat easy way to get cassettes made for the camera, I looked into buying a 3D printer for this and possibly other projects down the road. While I still may do that, I found a local company close to my house that does 3d printing, Rex Plastics in Vancouver, WA., and Harvey, one of the engineers who does the 3D printing for the company. I called on a Friday to see if they could do this and sent them the CAD file. While Harvey was off that day, I received a call from him early Monday to say that this could be done fairly easily, and they had produced a Minolta 16 cassette and a 126 film cassette someone else needed, so he was familiar with working with film. 

 On Thursday or Friday, I stopped by Rex Plastics to pick up the cassettes I had ordered, which looked tremendous. They fit into the camera and looked like the items I saw online. I took them home and started to load film into the cassettes, only to find that the design I sent had a minor flaw. Once there was film in the cassettes, the amount of film pushed the knob of the spool through the top of the cassette, making it impossible to fit back into the camera. 

 I told Harvey what the issue was and brought it back to him with film inside to show him the issue. Rex Plastics is such a good company that Harvey said it wasn't a big issue and went back and made the spool smaller to accommodate the film capacity and changed the cassette top to accommodate a different spool that fits into the cassette. This took just a few days, and now I had cassettes I could take home and shoot with the FT-2 camera. One thing I did to the 3D-printed cassettes was to add some felt to the inside cassette to avoid any scratches that may happen when transporting the film from one cassette to the other. I took some old 35mm canisters, pulled the felt off them, and taped them into the 3D-printed cassettes with double-sided tape.

Loading the Cassettes:

Here's the process I used to load the new 3D-printed cassettes with film to put into the FT-2 camera. Most of this process has to be done in complete darkness. I used my light-tight changing bag, which I use to load film onto reels for processing, but this time, here are the items I needed to keep in the changing bag.

 2-3D printed cassettes

1 roll of 35mm film (unexposed)

1 piece of tape taped to one of the spools

1-pencil used to wind film

1-FT-2 camera with the back partially off

 I'll break this down into the steps I used. You may find an easier way, but this process went much quicker than I thought and seemed manageable.

 

  1. Out in the daylight, I took the leader from the unexposed 35mm film and taped it onto the take-up spool. I then took up some of the slack and put it into one of the 3D-printed cassettes. This is what you can do in the light; all the other steps are done in the changing bag.

  2. Put all the items from the above list into the changing bag.

  3. At this point, I wound all the film from the unexposed film into the take-up spool until I reached the end of the roll. To make the winding easier, I put a pencil into the end of the spool and turned the pencil. Do this for step 7, too.

  4. Tear the end of the film of the unexposed film from its cartridge.

  5. Open the second cassette and tape the end of the unexposed film to the spool of the second 3D-printed cassette.

  6. Slide the spool into the second 3D-printed cassette and put it on the cover.

  7. Rewind the exposed film from the first cassette into the second cassette.

  8. Once you feel the leader, stop winding. Now, you have all your unexposed film into the second cassette.

  9. Put both cassettes into the back of the camera. 

  10. Make sure the winding knob is engaged into the first 3D printed cassette and starts to wind, making sure the film is moving across the film path.

  11. You don't need to wind much, just enough to ensure the film is transporting.

  12. Put the back of the camera on the loaded camera and snap closed.

 

Now, you can open the changing bag, remove the film-loaded camera, and wind it to the first frame, which should only take a few turns.

 PLEASE REMEMBER: When you're at the end of the roll, you don't rewind it back into the cassette like a standard 35mm camera. You take the camera and load it back into the changing bag so you can load it onto your developing tank for processing. If you wanted to wind hard enough to pull the tape off one spool onto the other, you could do that, but that risks exposing the film if you don't tape the cassettes closed.

My Results:

With the camera loaded into my newly made 3D printed film cassettes and the sun shining on a typically overcast November afternoon, there was a chill in the air and a panoramic camera in my hands. I walked through my neighborhood to see what the camera would produce. After taking the photos, I was excited to see the results, so I loaded the camera, developing tank, and reels into the changing bag. I took the film out of the camera, loaded it onto the developing reel, put it in my developing tank, and processed the negatives. 

The overexposed area on the left of the images must have caused a slight light leak. Here's what I produced.

Conclusion:

What a fun camera! I really enjoyed using it. Loading the cassettes wasn't as big of an issue as others I've read about make it out to be if you think about the process. If you have one and need technical or repair information, I found this very informative website, The FT-2 Panoramic Camera Guide.

If you have one and need cassettes, don't hesitate to get in touch with Harvey at Rex Plastics. I'm confident he can print some for you, and they can ship them to you.

Thank you for taking some time from your day to read about this fun panoramic camera that produces excellent images. 

Until next week, please be safe.

References:

The FT-2 Panoramic Camera Guide: https://lens-club.ru/public/files/pdfs/4e9b2081c1c77ede9e70d985d6bacc5d.pdf

FT-2 Camera Manual: https://cameramanuals.org/russian_pdf/russian_ft-2_panaromic.pdf

Roger Hyam’s Website: https://www.hyam.net/blog/archives/10727

Rex Plastics: https://rexplastics.com/3d-printing-and-plastic-product-design

Expo Watch Camera

This week's camera blog is about another unusual camera given to me many years ago by one of my sisters' in-laws who passed away. The family members knew I enjoyed cameras, so they gifted the camera to me and asked me to take care of it for the man who passed. 

My Expo Watch Camera

 When I first received the Expo Watch camera, I was utterly surprised and deeply touched by the generosity. Opening the small box to reveal the fantastic camera in good working condition was a moment I'll never forget. It was a revelation that the person who passed knew about my love for cameras. It could have been my wonderful sister who had shared my passion with the family.

 Needless to say, it's in a prominent place in my collection and something I look at almost daily and think about the generosity of the person who gifted it to me.

 To add to the story of this blog and the Expo Watch camera, about three to four years ago, I purchased a "lot" of camera items. Among the other items I bought were accessories from what I thought were for the Expo Watch camera. However, after researching the cameras, I found that they are actually for the slightly later British version made by Houghton, the Ticka camera. They fit and work on both the Expo and Ticka cameras.

The Company:

Patent for Expo Camera

The camera was designed and invented by a Swedish designer, Magnus Niéll, who lived in Sweden and New York. The patent for the Expo Watch camera was approved on September 6, 1904. This camera was a significant innovation in the history of photography, as it was one of the first to feature a daylight-loadable film cassette with 25, 16mm x 22mm, or 5/8" x 7/8" exposures in each cassette.

 The Expo Camera Company, located at 256 West 23rd Street, New York, manufactured the Expo Watch camera. It also produced the Expo Police Camera and developed and enlarged accessories for both cameras. The company offered film processing and printing to its customers. If interested, here's a copy of the full Expo Camera Pricelist and Manual.

In an ad I found published in 1917, the purchase price for the Expo Watch Camera was $2.50. According to the price list above, the processing fee was 10 cents to develop per roll of film. Contact prints (5/8"x7/8") were .10 cents per dozen, .07 cents per 2x3 enlargement, and .10 cents per 3x4 enlargement. I also enjoyed their statement that "Cash should accompany all orders for development, printing, and enlarging."

Ad for Expo Watch Camera

 The Expo Watch camera started in 1905, was taken over in the late 1920s by the dealer G Gennart, who produced several different names on the camera. In 1935, there were red, blue, and black enamel cameras, which were extremely rare. 

 In 1905, or shortly after, Magnus Niéll offered the camera's design to the British camera manufacturer Houghton, who produced the same camera under the Ticka name. The Ticka camera was available in the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1914. Some of the later Ticka models had a replica watch face on the front, with the hand indicating the angle of view the photographer would have when taking a photo.

Magnus Niéll designed other cameras for Houghton, such as the Ensign Midget, Ensignette, and the unusual design folding plate Lopa camera made by Kindermann. 

My Camera:

My Expo Watch camera measures 2 3/8" in diameter across the body of the camera, and if you measure from the front of the lens, including the fob ring, to the rear of the camera is 3" long and 1" deep, including the winding knob and the camera weighs 2.7oz. The camera is made from Nickel and has a highly polished chrome top and bottom.

The camera was designed like a pocket watch so it would be inconspicuous for the people the photographer wanted to photograph. This design feature allowed the user of the Expo Watch camera to easily keep it in one of his vest pockets, making it ideal for candid photography. The photographer could remove the camera from his pocket, take the cap off the lens, point it at his subject, and take a photo.

Beneath the fob ring is a lens cap resembling a pocket camera's winding stem. Under the lens cap is a fixed focus, 25mm lens. The camera has two settings for shutter speeds. There is "I" for an instant, approximately 1/125 speed, and the other setting is "T" for a time exposure. The shutter settings are done on the side of the camera with a lever you pull down. The shutter release butting is a small pin on the underside of the camera set at the one o'clock position. Once the camera's shutter is cocked, you press that pin in, and the shutter releases, making the photo.

The shutter release button on Expo Watch Camera

The shutter is not self-capping, meaning that when you cock the shutter, you're exposing the film to light, so it was recommended to keep the lens cap on until you're ready to make the exposure. 

Shutter cocking Mechanist and settings for Shutter speed.

 The lens cap served as the shutter time if you were doing time exposures. You set it to "T," click the shutter, take the lens cap off for exposure, put the lens cap on to end exposure, and the cock the shutter again for the following exposure. I can almost 100% guarantee that 99.9% of these images are blurry due to the person's hand holding the camera for any period of time, along with the movement of taking off and putting on the lens cap, and the negative being so small.

On the underside of the camera, or the opposite side of the removable plate with the beautifully etched "EXPO," is the winding lever you turn to advance the film. Just to the left of the winding knob is a small window that tells the photographer what frame number they're on. Above the winding knob is another logo for the camera company, which includes EXPO in the center of an oval. Around the oval is Pat throughout the world. On top and under is The Expo Camera New York USA

On the bottom of the camera is a lever you can turn to help pop off the etched plate, which comes off to load the film. I'm too afraid to turn this lever too hard, as I don't want the lever to snap off, so to remove the etched plate, I use my fingernails and pull the plate off to expose where the film goes. Once the plate is removed, the film cassette fits into the bottom portion of the camera.

The Expo Camera did have two different viewfinders available that would fit around the collar of the lens, under the winding stem. A simple model A ground glass viewfinder sold for .50 cents, and a model B brilliant finder sold for .75 cents.

 I also have an item made for the Ticka Camera in the group. There were a few accessories, such as the time exposure lens cap. This item fits over the lens and is held into place by a tension screw. Once in place, you can pull the lever up/down depending on how it is mounted to open the lens, exposing the film to light. Using the time exposure cap is considerably easier than taking the lens cap on and off for time exposures. Another item I have is a separate finder lens which is a larger glass item with a convex lens and attaches onto the camera like the other viewfinders. It has the exact attaching mechanism that fits around the lens collar. From what I'm seeing online, both the time exposure lens cap and the larger window finder were made for the TICKA camera.

Conclusion:

The Expo Watch Camera is a fun and exciting camera to have in my collection. I cherish the way I received it. The more I researched the camera and its different variations, the more I'd like to expand my collection to include the Ticka model with the watch face on it or even some of the colored models I'm always drawn to.

 

Reference:

Pacific Rim:  https://www.pacificrimcamera.com/rl/01266/01266.pdf

Historic Cameras:  http://www.historiccamera.com/cgi-bin/librarium2/pm.cgi?action=app_display&app=datasheet&app_id=919&

Submini.com:  http://www.submin.com/large/collection/expo/introduction.htm

Vintage photo:  http://www.vintagephoto.tv/expowatch.shtml

Kodak Chevron Camera

A week or so ago, when I was looking for another camera to write about in my weekly camera blog, I looked up on the shelf above my desk, and one camera stood above the rest. Maybe that's because I have it on a small tabletop tripod, and it literally was above many of the other cameras on my shelf. The camera is one of my favorite designs, the Kodak Chevron camera.

My Kodak Chevron camera

 I've owned the Kodak Chevron camera for many years. I remember buying it at a camera show early in my camera collecting years. It caught my eye because the design, along with the look and feel, is just wonderful. The camera is large, striking in design, and a medium-format camera with wonderful optics. 

 The Chevron, produced between 1953 and 1956, mirrors the post-war American era. Its design philosophy echoes the American auto industry of the time, reminiscent of the large, sturdy, and well-crafted automobiles by Chevrolet, Ford, and Cadillac. The Kodak Chevron is a testament to the classic cameras of this era.

The Company:

I don't believe I've ever written about one of my favorite companies. The Eastman Kodak Company, known to many as Kodak, was founded in 1888 by George Eastman, a visionary who revolutionized photography by making it accessible to the general public. Before Kodak, photography was an elaborate and expensive process that required significant expertise. Eastman's innovations in camera design and film processing transformed the photography industry.

A wonderful ad showing the benefits of the Chevron camera

 George Eastman, a former bank clerk in Rochester, New York, initially became interested in photography as a hobby in the late 1870s. Frustrated by the cumbersome process of wet plate photography, which involved heavy equipment and complicated chemical preparations, Eastman sought to simplify the process. In 1880, he patented a dry-plate coating machine, which allowed for the mass production of photographic plates, and soon opened the Eastman Dry Plate Company.

Eastman's breakthrough came when he shifted focus from plates to roll film. In 1884, Eastman and businessman Henry A. Strong, who would later become the company's first president, formed a partnership to expand the business. They developed a flexible roll film, which replaced glass plates that had previously been used. This was a significant innovation because it created simpler, more portable cameras.

 

In 1888, the company launched its first Kodak camera, a compact box camera preloaded with enough film for 100 exposures. The marketing slogan, "You press the button, we do the rest," succinctly captured Kodak's appeal. After taking pictures, customers would send the entire camera back to Kodak for developing and reloading, eliminating the need for users to handle the film or chemicals themselves. This ease of use democratized photography and made it accessible to amateur photographers for the first time.

 Eastman chose "Kodak" because he wanted a distinctive and memorable trademark that was not associated with any existing words. He believed the letter "K" had a solid and unforgettable sound, so he experimented with various combinations of letters before arriving at Kodak.

 Kodak continued to innovate through the late 19th and early 20th centuries, producing increasingly sophisticated 35mm cameras like the Kodak Ektra and Retina lines, along with many medium—and larger-format cameras used during international conflicts. All the while refining its film development processes.

 Eastman built Kodak into a dominant force in the photography industry by introducing flexible film and creating simple, user-friendly cameras.

My Camera:

The Chevron camera is a rather large, heavy, and, some say, "bulky" camera that measures 6.25" wide, by 4.5" tall, by 4"deep, and weighs in at a whopping 2 lbs. 9.9 oz. without film loaded. I like how the camera feels. It's taller and wider than the Medalist, after which this camera was made. The Kodak Medalist is a marvel for its time, but when I hold the Medalist, the body feels too "fat" in my hands, although I do like the 6x9 format the Medalist has, whereas the Chevron is a proper 6x6 square format camera.

Some people discuss cameras in a much more technical manner, which I genuinely enjoy reading. There are times when I don't understand many of the technical "hows and whys," but that allows me to learn new things, which I enjoy. I prefer to talk about using the camera and my personal experiences.

To load the camera, you can open the back from the left or right side, which I like. You can take the whole back off if you want to. The empty spool will go onto the camera's left side, as the film advance lever is on the left. You put the fresh roll on the right, which is counterintuitive for many photographers, but it didn't bother me when using the camera. Before you load the film into the camera, the frame counter is on top of the camera, which you need to set to "N." The camera is supposed to have an automatic film advance stop when the film reaches the next frame. My auto-stop camera wasn't working, so I just used what was normal to me and looked at the red window on the back of the camera to get to the next frame. Here is the Chevron Camera Instruction manual. Thank you, M. Butkus, for your service in supplying manuals.

Now that I have film in the camera, it's time to take photos. To focus the camera on the subject, the rear viewfinder has two windows. The top window is used to frame your subject, and the bottom is to use the rangefinder, which uses a magnified split image to focus on the subject. Both windows are very close together, and for me, who wears glasses was a bit more challenging to use, but once I got used to it, it wasn't difficult. This is the same rangefinder system used in the Medalist and Ektra cameras.

One of the most delightful aspects of this camera is its exceptionally smooth focus ring. It's not so loose that it slips, like some lenses that feel very sloppy. Instead, it's a perfect balance of smoothness and precision, making the process of focusing a joy. It's a testament to the high-quality design and construction of the Kodak Chevron, and it's a feature that I find truly fabulous to use.

It's time to set the shutter speeds and aperture to create the proper exposure. The shutter speeds are located on the far outside ring around the lens. They go from a fantastic speed of 1/800 sec on the top end to "B", going down by half to get the "B" setting, so 1/400, 1/200, 1/100, etc.

The lens is a Kodak Ektar 78mm f3.5 lens. The aperture settings are set by a bar on the bottom of the lens. Sliding the bar over to the next setting is smooth and easy. The setting also has click stops, so there is no getting it if the aperture is set correctly. A visual setting is on the bottom by the bar and on top of the lens, which you can see with a red arrow. The aperture indication is just behind the arm you cock the shutter.

I've yet to make an image, the film advance was very smooth to move the film to the next frame. I would advance the lever four times to get to the next frame. The red window is on the back of the camera to check where you are advancing the film. The red window has a blackout bar, which you slide up to view the film inside. Being right-handed, it was easy to hold the camera, slide the bar up with my right hand, and advance the film to the next frame with my left hand.

One of the advantages Chevron offered was the ability to shoot 828-size films. The 828 film accessory kit consisted of a film mask for 828 film, 2- 828 film spool holders and an 828 spool. This would have been purchased as an accessory. To use the 828 adapter, the photographer needed to do a couple of things to adapt to the film format. First, a switch from the regular 620 to 828 film is on top of the camera. You take a coin and turn the "finder" settings to 828. Then, a switch at the back of the camera changes the viewfinder from the standard 620 film to the smaller 828 film. By using the 828 film, there is a magnification factor of 1.5x.

 

My results:

Recently, at a local camera show, I purchased about 50 rolls of Agfa ISS 620 film, which I have for sale on my eBay store. I wanted to test the film to see how usable it was, so I loaded it into the camera and went to the local farmers market to take photos. Here are some of the results from the camera, along with the film I have for sale.

My Conclusion:

WOW!!!! What a fun camera to use. The camera fits very nicely in my hand; the focus is smooth, and I prefer using it over many of the folders and TLR cameras I've used. The Chevron camera outperformed my expectations. It felt similar to what a Mamiya Seven feels like in your hand. While it didn't have the capabilities of interchangeable lenses or TTL viewing of the Mamiya Seven, the camera handled great. 

 The only downside to this camera is the small viewfinder and rangefinder window. There were times when I was walking around the market and just pre-focused, especially when I wanted to be somewhat inconspicuous when shooting. The light was fairly dim, too, so my shutter speed was generally 1/50, and my aperture was wide open.

 I also understand that due to the low number of cameras made, especially compared to the very popular Medalist and Medalist II cameras, they are selling at a premium price on the used market.

 Thank you for taking a few minutes from your day to read my post on this lovely camera. I plan on shooting with it more often, especially since I have many rolls to shoot with.

 Until next week, please be safe.

 

Bussox-Sport Luxe Camera

he Bussox-Sport Luxe camera is another beautiful camera purchased at the Paris flea market when my wife and I traveled there this past summer. While visiting one of the hundreds of stalls within many buildings comprising the Paris flea market, I found a wonderful gentleman with a case of cameras and other photographic items for sale. 

My Bussox-Sport Luxe Camera

As I mentioned in many of my previous blog posts, I love cameras that are colorful or unusual. Maybe they are toy cameras shaped like a soccer ball or a cartoon character. I own many colored box and folding cameras that are different from ordinary black box or folding cameras. That's what drew me to this wonderful, small, and odd camera.

 Within the stall, there was a case containing a group of glass negatives, the Zeiss Super Nettel that I previously wrote about, and this lovely exotic brown camera, which looked very familiar but had a name that I wasn't familiar with. I purchased all the items and went on my way to find other treasures.

 When I returned to the hotel, I took the brown bakelite camera from its case and did some more research. I found out the camera is called Bussox-Sport Luxe, made by Ruberg & Renner and explicitly exported to France from their factory in Germany. Also, looking at the back of the camera, it appeared to have a roll of film still in the camera, and the number on the frame was four, so with any luck, I could process the film and find other photos that might interest me.

The Company:

A few years ago, I wrote a blog post on a different Ruberg & Renner camera, and at that time, there needed to be more information regarding the company. In that post, I wrote: The Ruberg cameras were manufactured by the Ruberg & Renner company, located in the Delstern district of Hagen, Germany, during the 1930s.  The company was started in 1918 by Josef Ruberg, who originally started producing drive trains for bicycles, motorcycles, and automobiles. After 1930, the company began making simple cameras. In 1931, Josef obtained a patent for constructing a simple camera in Germany. He also received a patent in the United States in February 1932.

 The patent application states that the simple and very inexpensive production of all the camera parts from synthetic resin, which was done from a single pressing process, "makes it possible to place a cheap camera on the market that is affordable to all. " In the 1930s, Ruberg & Renner manufactured four models with 25 designs for export to the USA, Great Britain, and France. The cameras' construction ended in the mid-1930s when the company started producing products to help the German war effort.

 After doing some digging, I came up with the following: Along with cameras, chains remained the company's main business. From 1935 onwards, the series production of ammunition belts marked the end of camera production in Hagen, which shortly afterward followed. 

 Josef Ruberg had designed new metal cartridge belts for machine guns in 1917. The Treaty of Versailles banned the production of automatic weapons and accessories from 1919 to 1935. In February 1936, Ruberg & Renner applied for a patent for a metal cartridge belt for the MG 17 (caliber 7.92x57 mm). These specialized units are equipped with ammunition for machine guns and military equipment in the military air force. The sons also worked in the company. Felix (1909-1994) was born in 1937 in Delstern. It manufactured on-board gun carriages until the beginning of 1945. In 1941, his son Werner (1912-2005) took over the management of the Ruberg & Renner chain works.

 Ruberg & Renner continued producing drive and transport chains in 1947. The Felix Ruberg metal goods factory manufactured household appliances. From the early 1950s, Ruberg & Renner promoted cycling and motorcycle sports. Roller chains were used in particular here. Until 1967, the company, like the Schweinfurt Torpedo Works and Fichtel & Sachs, had its racing teams in the Federal Republic. In the following years, the firm of the US-American company Rexnord was taken over. Rexnord Kette GmbH relocated its production from Delstern to its current location in the Lennetal near Fley in 1982. Much of the historical information comes from the Westfalen Museum.

My Camera:

My Bussox-Sport Luxe camera is 3" tall, including the winding knobs, by 3 5/8" wide, by 1 5/8" deep with the lens retracted and 2.5" deep with the lens away from the body and focused to the closest focus distance, which is 1 meter. The camera weighs 6.1 oz, which is very small and compact, and takes 127 rolls of film, producing 1.25" by 1 5/8" sized negatives. On my camera, it's etched by the previous owner 4x6 1/2 in many different places.

To open the camera to load the film, a chrome button is on the left side of the camera if you're holding it to take a photo. Press the chrome button, moving a brass grip from holding the door closed on the camera. There are a couple of "thumb grips" on both the back door's top and bottom, which you hold onto to open the back. The back door doesn't come off the camera as it's hinged, and the door swings to the right to open.

On many cameras, to load the film into the camera, you pull up the tabs that hold the spool into place, which I tried, but the knobs didn't move. You need to turn the knobs which make you think you're unthreading them. By doing so, the knobs move away from the body of the camera, and you can load a roll of film or move the empty spool into the take-up position. The fresh roll of film goes into the camera's right side and you pull the leader to the left side where the take up spool is. This is backward to many cameras, or the many that I use, as the take-up spool is generally on the camera's right side.

Now that the film is loaded into the camera, it's time to take photos. The camera has a straightforward meniscus lens. There is a knurled collar around the lens that you need to turn in a clockwise motion to extend before taking a photo. The lens barrel is on a helicoid, which extends the lens when the knurled ring turns, much like on a bolt.

 For the shutter, two settings are located in the upper right of the lens and include settings "I" for instant or turn the wheel to "T" for time. Below the lens are the aperture settings. On this camera, since it's for the French market, there is Grand for the widest setting and Petit for a smaller aperture setting. One of the settings is Ferme, which means firm. When the aperture is set at Ferme, it does not open over the lens or block all light from reaching the film. 

Focus control on Bussox-Sport camera

Since there is no lock for the shutter, the shutter release in the 7 o'clock position on the lens can fire at any time when pressed. Whether the lens is out or in, the shutter will fire. This setting is similar to a lens cap, and by putting it in position, if the shutter fires, no frame will be exposed to light or wasting film. The photographer would need to consciously set the camera into and out of this setting every time they put it into the case or pocket, then change it when taking a photo.

To retract the lens to put it back into the camera case, you turn the knurled ring counterclockwise, and the lens retracts into the camera body. I can now understand the "Ferme" setting, as many of the negatives on the roll in the camera when purchased were exposed with the lens in the retracted position, as you can see in the results area on the post.

The results:

As mentioned, the camera had a roll of 127 Agfa film, so I walked in front of my house and took photos of a planter box and some trees in our neighborhood. There were only about four photos left. After taking the photos, I went home and processed the film. It didn't surprise me, but the images within the camera didn't turn out, and the ones I did around our hose turned out barely and were extremely thin in the exposure on the negatives.

 Here are the results from the film in the camera. As I mentioned earlier, I did note that it's easy to take a photo when the lens is retracted, making the image size smaller on the negative, which you can see on the negatives.

My Conclusion:

The shutter on my camera doesn't always work, so while I'd like to put a fresh roll in it and try it again, I don't think the shutter can take it as it's barely opening and closing as it is. I'll get brave and see if I can take the front off and fix it, but it's resting along with many other cameras in my collection. I love the color and the helicoid lens system.

Thank you for taking a few minutes to look over this week's blog post. I'd love to hear from you, so let me know your thoughts and if you have any of the Ruberg & Renner cameras in your collection.

Until next week, please be safe.

 

SportShot Senior Twenty Camera

One of the first memories I have of the SportShot Senior Twenty camera was looking through McKeown's camera (bible), collecting cameras, and noticing the odd shape of the camera as I thumbed through the pages. Then, upon doing a little more digging into what made this camera special to me, a company in Australia made it, and it only existed for a couple of years. These are the cameras I desire, and these it's these items separate cameras in my collection. 

My ACMA Sport Shot Senior Twenty camera.

 Whenever I travel alone for business or when my wife and I travel internationally, I always try to find the local flea market to see if I can find items that are rare in my part of the world. There are thousands of extremely popular Kodak box-style cameras, whether made from cardboard and leatherette covered or the bakelite cameras you see in every corner of the world. When I first started collecting, I would snatch up any camera because they were a "camera." But as time goes on and I see more of the odd and unusual items, I increasingly appreciate them.

I traded the SportShot Senior Twenty camera about a year ago for some items I had from a dealer who frequents the US occasionally from Australia. The trade happened at a camera show near to me. I got the SportShot Senior Twenty camera. I picked up a few other cameras from Australia, like the red Swiftshot and the Lexa box camera with an excellent metal faceplate. I believe he was happy getting tradeable items he could return to Australia, as it was hard to find items here in the United States.

The Company:

The SportShot Senior Twenty camera maker was the very short-lived ACMA, which stands for Australasian Camera Manufacturers Australia. They were based in Sydney, NSW, Australia, and existed from 1948 to 1950. I've looked at many different commerce sites in Australia and cannot find anything new about the ACMA company. They were one of Australia's only post-WWII camera manufacturers producing cameras. Inside the logo on the camera where the wording Australasian Camera Manufacturers Australia is located, the words British Make are there. There must have been British backing in the company to produce the cameras. 

My best guess is that while the camera is somewhat awkward to hold and use, it wasn't very popular, and sales never caught on, so the company folded, and what was made are the only examples available today.

 Since a large part of my collection is colored cameras or cameras other than black, I like the fact that this camera came in red and green as well and had a matching plastic strap to match the camera itself. These are now on my radar for future purchases. 

My Camera:

The SportShot Senior Twenty camera is triangular or trapezoidal in shape with what appear to be wings in the back to hold onto when taking a photo. The camera measures 5.5" wide in the back and 2.25" in the front. The camera is 4.5" deep, including the lens, and is 3.5" tall with the viewfinder closed but including the winding knob. The camera weighs 13.2 oz without the strap, which I don't have for this camera. The camera has a single red window on the back and shoots 6x9 format, producing eight exposures on either 120 or 620 film.

The camera is comprised of two separate parts. The top comes off with an effortless latch on the back that is somewhat spring tensioned with a hole that fits into a small knob holding the top to the bottom of the camera. On the top portion of the Sport Shot Twenty camera is also a pop-up viewfinder, along with a very odd winding knob. The winding portion of the film advance that fits into the film roll has a triangular shape; it will fit both 120 and 620 films. 

 Because the camera can shoot both 120 and 620 films, the useability is a bit more interesting as this opens the camera's film up to different types. The downside of having the winding portion shaped as it is is that the film advance is more difficult to use, which is what I experienced when I shot a roll of film through the camera. On the top of the camera adjacent to the film advance knob is stamped ACMA S20.

The camera loading is also not the easiest thing to do. Once you have the top off, you can take the empty roll from the right side and put t on the left side where the advance knob is. When loading the film, the tricky part was the channel it slid into to keep it flat for exposure. You can't just put in the roll, slide it over the shutter, and attach it to the empty spool like you do on the majority of cameras. The SportShot Senior Twenty has a thin slot the film needs to go into to keep the film flat, as you can see in the photos.

To load the film, I put the leader into the take-up spool and rolled out a bit of film to slide it into the thin channel. It took me a few times to get it in because the channel was so thin the film paper packing would crinkle and fold a bit, along with the curvature of the channel. It wasn't an easy load, but eventually, It slid in, and I got the camera loaded. How you load the camera was another factor against it when trying to sell to the masses. You don't want to make things more complicated than they need to be.

Note the thin slot film needs to be slid into to load film.

When I went to shoot the film, I loaded it into the camera, and I went to clean the lens. When cleaning it, one of the sides pressed in. I thought, "This wouldn't work with one side of the lens, not in the right position." I turned the lens, and it unscrewed from the camera body. I pressed the lens back into place, then re-screwed it back onto the camera.

 There are only two settings for the shutter. "T" for time, where the shutter stays open as long as you keep the shutter button depressed, and "I" for an instant for everyday shooting. The lens is a 13.5cm or 135mm lenticular lens f3.5 aperture. The lever above the lens is the shutter release, and you press it down towards the lens to take the photos. The viewfinder is a simple pop-up style and closes when not in use. There are no other settings to choose a different aperture, which makes this an extremely simple-to-operate camera.

My Results:

After struggling to load the camera, I had put a roll of Ilford FP-4 in the camera and walked out in front of my house to see how it did, and here's the results.

Conclusion:

Other than struggling to load the film into the camera, along with advancing the film. Due to the shape of the advanced knob that fits into the take-up spool, it didn't grab very well, and there were several times when the knob turned, and the film didn't move, but as long as I took my time, it did advance. Maybe it would do better with 620 film since the slot on the spool is thinner, and the advance knob would fit and hold into the spool better. I'm not going to say the camera was hard to use, but it wasn't the easiest, and I can understand why people would get frustrated using it. None of the images are sharp, but some are better than others. This may have been caused by removing the lens.

 Thank you for taking a few minutes from your day to look over this review. I realize it's not a sophisticated camera, but it definitely has an unusual shape.

 I have an odd camera set for next week's post and hope to hear your thoughts on it or other cameras I've written about.

 Until next week, please be safe.

Inoca Six Stereo Camera

This week's camera is the Inoca Six Stereo Camera. I'm perplexed by it and wanted to see if others have it or have any information besides the very sparse information I can find online. I'm particularly interested in learning more about its history and the context of its production. If you have any insights, I'd love to hear from you.  

My Inoca Six Stereo Camera

 Four to five years ago, I stumbled upon a unique find on an online app I frequent for camera and photo items. The Inoca Six Stereo Camera, a seemingly familiar yet rare gem, caught my eye. The seller's claim of its extreme rarity, with only three known to exist, further fueled my interest.

 At that time, I did the average online search and couldn't find much on the camera or its manufacturer, Morita Trading Co., so I decided to take a chance on it. The camera wasn't cheap, but it wasn't overly expensive, so I couldn't take a chance on it, especially if it was so rare. There were only three cameras left.

The Company:

Morita Shōkai, or from what I can find online, was Morita Trading Company, a camera manufacturer and distributor in Japan during the 1950s. Their most prominent and most well-known cameras were subminiature cameras that had a resemblance to the Leica rangefinder cameras. I've seen many, like the Gem 16, Kiku 16, and Saica, which took 10-14x14mm images on miniature 17.5m film. They also made Bolta Film cameras like the Kikuflex camera in 1957 and the Inoca Stereo camera in 1956.

 There is a Japanese book, Japanese Camera History, as seen in advertisements, 1935–1965. The book was written by the publishers of Asahi Camera, which was a Japanese Camera magazine from 1926 until June 2020, where some of the Morita cameras are advertised.

My assumption was that the camera/distributor was very short-lived with the subminiature market's rapid rise and quick fall. In that specific timeframe, from 1955 to 1957, when these cameras were made, Morita tried to expand into Bolta film cameras like the Kikuflex, which is more common than the Inoca Stereo camera I have.

My Camera:

According to the case, I own an Inoca Six Stereo Camera. The camera is a straightforward bakelite stereo camera. All I see online is the Inoca Stereo camera. None of the cameras I see online have or show the fitted leather case; honestly, I have only seen three examples of this camera. One is on Camera-Wiki, and this is the camera I own. The eBay seller isn’t available on eBay so that I couldn’t contact them for more information. The second example I've seen is a camera sold at auction by Auction-team.de, and Leitz Photographica Auction sold the third example of the camera. The camera sold for quite a bit on the Leitz site many years ago.

My camera measures 4.5" wide by 3" tall by 2.25" deep and weighs 7.6 oz without the case, but the roll of film was in the camera. My camera has two chrome lens caps attached to the lenses. Looking on top of the camera, the winding knob is on the far left, and on my camera, the winding knob has three rings around the top of the knob. Looking at the camera from the Auction Team website, the winding knob is flat and looks to have leatherette or paint on top. Right next to the winding knob is where "Morita" should be printed, but someone took a hot implement and erased "Morita," but below where it's erased, & Company can be seen. On the other side is "patent" written.

On either side of the "Inoca" script, on top of the viewfinder, are two small sockets, which I'm guessing were for a flash, but that's just my guess. The shutter release is next to one of the small sockets, and the film holder is on the far right side of the camera. On the film holder is a knurled ring with an indent in the center with black paint.

 Upon inspecting the back of the camera, I discovered a film counting window with a side cover and a green window to view the frame numbers. To my surprise, a roll of film was still in the camera, held closed by white replacement tape. With 'MINORI' printed on the ends, the film spool added to the intrigue.

On the front of the camera is the word "STEREO" italicized and just under the front viewfinder glass. To the right of the word "stereo" is the shutter cocking lever. When the camera has already shot, and the shutter is not cocked, you see a red arrow pointing towards the left, and the cocking knob is to the far right position. Sliding the knob to the left, you've cocked the shutter(s) for both lenses, and the word "set" written in red is visible. Pressing the shutter release resets the knob to the right side position, and the arrow is visible again. On the outside of either lens is a screw which I've seen a chain with a lens cap attached to it, but unsure if that's really what they are for. My guess is to remove the front with the lenses, shutter, and aperture.

 Below the left lens is where you set the shutter speeds. The camera can only shoot at 1/25, 1/50, and 1/100 sec, along with "B" for exposure times. Below the right lens are the aperture settings with your choice of F8 or F11. Both the shutter speeds and aperture setting are controlled by a simple knob similar to the knob used to cock the shutter. 

Lastly, the bottom of the camera is printed "Made in Japan," along with a tripod mount for timed exposures if needed. There is no cable release capability if you want to do a time exposure. Another interesting item on the camera is a triangle pointing upwards between the two lenses with the letters M.W.T, and along the bottom line is a curved line, which generally represents a lens symbol. I'm wondering what M.W.T means, Morita, something?

 My camera also has a leather-fitted case, which is pretty tattered but still comes with the camera. You can see Inoca Six embossed on the front, so that's my guess at the official name, but I've only seen the Inoca Stereo camera.

Conclusion:

I realize this is a short post, but I could have developed the film found in the camera. Unfortunately, I didn't have a film ready to fit the size of the film, so I left it until I got something I could do. The camera is fundamental, and I like its design. It reminds me of the Start 35 K-II camera, another Bolta film camera made in Japan during the same timeframe.

 Thank you for taking the time to look over this post. If you have more information on this camera, please let me know. Otherwise, I think I have one of three cameras I know of and have seen online.

 Until next week, please be safe and well.

Zeiss Ikon Super Nettel

Upon my first encounter with the Super Nettel camera, I was immediately drawn to its understated elegance and subtle Art Deco influence. This is my second Super Nettel, having previously owned the Super Nettel II, a similar model with a few distinct modifications.

My Zeiss Ikon Super Nettel Camera from 1934

 When my wife and I were in Paris earlier this year, I always enjoyed visiting local flea markets to look for anything photographic, whether it's cameras, lenses, old negatives to digitize, daguerreotypes, or just photo nickknacks or accessories. I made my way to their larger flea market area on a Saturday morning, and in one of the stalls, a lovely gentleman had some Leicas and other rarer cameras. I would have liked to purchase more than I did, but I'd pick up this very nice looking and working Super Nettel camera. In the back of my mind, I always pictured myself doing a blog post on it, especially since the camera was in good working condition, especially for a camera built 90 years ago.

 The Company:

Zeiss Ikon, a company formed in 1929 through the merger of four prominent camera companies in Germany, including Ernemann, Goerz, Ica, and Contessa-Nettel, was a significant investment by the Carl Zeiss Foundation. The company had two main divisions: the camera and the optical. 

 With the new company's formation, almost all of the cameras had Carl Zeiss lenses, and the other companies that had optical manufacturing, like Goerz, had to shut down their optical divisions. With the formation of the new company, almost all of the cameras were using Compur shutters, and like the optical companies, the majority of the shutter companies were also absorbed within the new company.

This group was one of the biggest manufacturers of cameras and lenses in the world, producing many top-quality 35mm cameras like Contax and several high-quality folding cameras like Super Ikonta, which to this day are highly desirable due to their workmanship and quality optics. Until WWII, Zeiss was also a major manufacturer of movie cameras and medical optics.

The cover of the instruction manual. Thank you Pacific Rim Camera.

 After WWII, Zeiss was split into East and West German companies. The company was in Stuttgart in the West, and there were disputes with East Germany about the trademark. The West German ceased production of cameras in 1972. In East Germany, many of the factories were dismantled and sent to the Soviet Union. The Soviet camera manufacturer Kiev received much of the equipment, and in 1948, the Zeiss company became government-owned

 In 1948, the company introduced the new Contax S model, which had a different look from their earlier line of rangefinder cameras, but due to the split between different countries, there were trademark and naming disputes with West Germany, so in 1958, the company changed the name to VEB Kinowerke Dresden and later was rolled into Pentacon.

 After Germany's unification, Carl Zeiss reintroduced the Zeiss Ikon name and produced a rangefinder camera that was introduced at Photokina in 2004. The camera was built by Cosina in Japan and had the Leica M mount for lenses. Like the Contax G and G2, there were lenses made in both Japan and Germany for the camera.

My Camera:

For me, the reason I enjoy shooting with a Rangefinder 35mm camera is due to a few different reasons. The cameras are smaller and more compact to carry. They are less noisy to photograph due to the shutter system and not having the noise of the clunking mirror flopping up and down. Granted, the rangefinder focus is more challenging to use. It takes some time to get used to, or the ability to see what you're getting when you put on different lenses, so there is a trade-off between an SLR and a Rangefinder-style camera.

 The Super Nettel camera was made in 1934 as a "less expensive" camera to their Contax line. To open the front door to expose the lens system, there is a button on the top center of the top plate you press in, and the lens, which is attached to the bellows, pops out. My camera has the less expensive Carl Zeiss Jena 5cm (50mm) f3.5 Triotar lens. The camera had a more expensive Zeiss Tessar 5cm f2.8  or 5cm f3.5 lens. Around the lens are three screws in the 2 O'clock, 5 O'clock, and 8 O'clock positions, which are for holding on an accessory filter or the lens hood.

When closed, my camera measures 5.5" wide by 3" tall by 1.5" deep. When the lens is exposed, it is 4" deep, including the front door, which folds down. The camera weighs 1 lb, 6.3oz. 

 Around the lens is the aperture control, which goes from F3.5 to f22. The Super Nettle incorporates the same or a very similar rangefinder system as the Super Ikonta cameras. Around the outer rangefinder window is a knurled ring that you turn to focus the rangefinder system, bringing the two images together to get a focused image. On the outside of the knurled ring is the focus distance in meters, along with a small depth of field scale.

Note the three screws aaround the lens to hold the accessory filters and hood.

 To retract the lens and close the front door for travel, there are two knobs on the outside of the door that you press in, and at that point, you can press the lens back into the camera body, which will also close the front door, which will lock once pushed in.

 On the back of the camera are two windows. The window on the left is the viewfinder for composing the photo, and the window on the right is the rangefinder window for focus. They are both pretty small windows, but they do an adequate job.

The left window is the viewfinder, and the right is the rangefinder.

On top of the camera is an accessory show for putting on an accessory viewfinder, which has a few different options according to the instruction manual. Next to the accessory show is the frame counter, and next to the frame counter is the advancing knob which also incorporates the shutter speed settings and cocks the shutter. Inside the winding knob is the shutter release. On the far left side is the camera's rewind knob to retract the film when you're finished shooting the entire roll of film. In between the frame counter and the winding knob is a small button. This button unlocks the winding sprocket, so when you rewind the film into the canister, you don't rip off the sprockets of the film.

From left to right are Rewind knob, Viewfinder window, Accessory Shoe with Opening button in front of AS, Frame Counter, Rewind unlock, Winding knob with Shutter Speeds.

To take the back off to load the film, you'll need to look at the bottom of the camera, where there are two handles on either end of the camera. Flip up the handle and turn the handle 90 degrees. One knob will go clockwise and the other counterclockwise. The back will slide off the camera, exposing the incredible metal rolling curtain-style shutter system, the same as the Contax and other Zeiss cameras have incorporated into them.

 You load the camera like you would any other 35mm camera with the film canister going on the left, pulling the leader to the take-up spool, and making sure the sprockets are engaged with the "advancing" sprocket, which is advancing the film across the shutter. Once on the take-up spool, I always take up the slack on the rewind knob, so when I put the back on and advance the film, I watch for the knob to turn when the film pulls out of the canister s. I know the camera is loaded correctly. To put the back on, slide the back into the camera and turn the locking handles the opposite way, and the back is locked into position.

My results:

I need to practice what I teach. I only got a few good photos from this roll of film, as after the sixth frame, the film sprockets tore, and the film didn't advance through the camera. However, the frames I did get were well-exposed and very sharp.

Conclusion:

What another fun camera to shoot with! I enjoyed the camera's ability to focus and handle when out and about shooting. Since I had a mishap with the film tearing, I wanted to get the blog out. I will add more photos down the road when I take the camera for a trip some weekend, and I want a great-quality camera with a very sharp lens to be creative.

 I already have the camera picked for my post next week, which I hope you'll come back to look at at your leisure. 

 Until next week's post, please be well and safe.

 

Minolta Six Camera

It seems like I purchase items from camera auctions in "lots," and there is always a treasure hidden in the background that you either didn't notice at first, is hidden within all the photos of the items, or, in this case, the camera wasn't taken out of the case, and the case was obscured, so there was no visual evidence that the camera was.

 As I unwrapped the cameras won from the auction, one brown case caught my eye. It bore a striking resemblance to the Mamiya Six in my collection. But upon closer inspection, the name 'Minolta Six' was revealed. I initially thought it might be similar to the Mamiya Six, but the truth was far more exciting, as I'll reveal when I introduce the camera.

History:

In an earlier post, I did on the Minoltaflex CDS, I did a brief history of the company, which read, 

Kazuo Tashima founded Minolta in Osaka, Japan, in 1928 as Nichi-Doku Shashinki Shōten, which means Japanese-German Camera Shop. In 1931, the company updated its name to Minolta, which stands for Mechanism, Instruments, Optics, and Lenses by Tashima. In 1937, the company was reorganized as Chiyoda Kogaku Seikō, K.K. They are now introducing their first Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) camera, the MinoltaFlex, based on the German Rolleiflex cameras. The MinoltaFlex was only the second TLR introduced from Japan after the Prince Flex by Neumann & Heilemann. In 1947, Minolta introduced rangefinder cameras like the Minolta-35, and in 1959, the Single Lens Reflex (SLR) SR-1 camera. In later years, they signed agreements with Leica and came out with the first autofocus SLR, The Minolta Maxxum 7000, which carried on to several in their autofocus system.

 To expand slightly from the above text, in the early years, there was a big German influence on the Minolta company, which was known as Nichidoku Shashinki Shōten, which means Japanese, German camera shop. In the early years, the company received help from camera technicians Billy Neumann and Willy Heilemann, and the shutters and lenses were supplied from Germany. Their first camera was the Nicarette, which was released in 1929.

In 1931, the company was transformed into a stock corporation named Molta Gōshi-gaisha. Molta is an abbreviation of Mechanism, Optics, and Lenses by Tashima. Neumann and Heilemann left the company in 1932, returning to Germany to start their own company, and the German influence left with them. In 1933, the name Minolta was adopted. In 1937, the company became Chiyoda Kōgaku Seikō K.K and expanded the production of cameras into TLR and press cameras similar to the Plaubel Makina. 

Minolta Six in the July 1938 catalogue and price list by Asanuma Shōkai. Scan by A. Apra. (Image rights)

 In 1940, the famous Minolta Rokkor lens was produced, but it was only used for the military. Consumer camera production ended in 1943 to concentrate on the war effort. Three of its four plants were destroyed by Allied forces during WWII. Soon after the war, Minolta released the Semi Minolta III, and throughout the 1950s, Minolta expanded its line of cameras to include folding cameras, TLRs, SLRs, and rangefinder cameras.

 In 1958, the SR-2 was released, and it was Minolta's first system camera. This reign of SLR system cameras included partnerships with Leitz in the 1970s, which helped produce CLE cameras. Minolta had a full line of autofocus cameras, the Maxxum line of bodies and lenses, and Minoltas final SLR camera ended in 1995 with their X-370.

 Minolta produced many different 35mm, APS, and DISC cameras and partnered with Konica in 2003, but by 2006, the camera company had discontinued camera production and relied heavily on the copier business.

My Camera:

Opening the case and looking at the camera for the first time, I was surprised by the Minolta logo and text on top. Since it was made in 1936, it has a genuine Art Deco design in the look and feel of the camera. My biggest surprise was when I initially pulled the lens out from the body and found the camera didn't have a cloth bellows. Instead, it has a series of stacking cubes that pull away from the camera body, AND these boxes are reinforced with another Art Deco element, metal brackets that resemble an "M" when the camera is laid on its back with the lens pointing up. WOW, Just a fantastic design.

The Minolta Six camera measures 6 inches in width, 4.75 inches in height with the finder up, 3.75 inches with the finder closed, and 4 inches in depth with the lens out, or 2.25 inches with the lens closed. It weighs 1 lb. 5.7oz. without the case or loaded with film. The camera's body is made from a bakelite or plastic material, covered in a high-quality leatherette.

 To pull the lens out to take photos, there are two grips, one on either side of the lens, that you grab onto to pull the lens out and away from the body. You need to expose three stacking cubes before the camera is ready to take the photos. Under the lens are two curved chrome bars you can slide down to prop the camera up so that when the lens is out, it doesn't tip forward and keeps the lens level.

Around the top of the lens is Patents-Nippon, and below is Crown, which is the shutter on the camera. The actual lens is an 80mm f5.6 Coronar Anastigmat Nippon lens. Around the lens is a manual focus ring that focuses from under 1 meter to infinity. The focus line to judge distance is a protruding tab with a line at approximately 10 O'Clock on the lens face. The lens also has a stopping screw that prevents the lens from rotating past the infinity mark on the tab.

 

My camera has only four shutter speeds: 1/150, 1/100, 1/50, and 1/25, along with "b" and "T" for timed exposures. On the top of the camera is a pop-up viewfinder with etched or lined crosshairs to line up horizontal or vertical subjects as needed. The back of my camera sports three red windows with different numbers, which are used to line up with the number on the paper backing to get to the proper frame number. In later cameras, they went to a single window system, which is more common with current 6x6 format cameras using 120 film.

 

To open the back of the camera, there is a latch behind the strap on the left side with an arrow pointing down. Slide the button down, and the camera's back opens. The chrome winding lever was used on the older models. Later they went to a plastic or bakelite knob in the later models. My first thought when I looked at the back of the camera was that it was not a full-frame 6x6 camera, but that was because I was looking at the retracted plastic cubes from the bellows. It is indeed a full 6x6 format camera. Load the film on the right side and bring the leader to the left to take up the spool. The knobs on the bottom of the camera pull out so you can put in the film and take up the reel easily.

 The case for my camera is in great condition. There's a pretty cool instruction tab on the inside of the case, which was made for the three window cameras.

 The crown shutter doesn't have a cocking mechanism. There's just the shutter release to take the photos. I loaded the film. I pulled out the cube below and started to take pictures of the neighborhood with my trusty light meter. Once I reached the end, I unloaded the film and processed the negatives.

My Results:

Here are some of the photos taken with the Minolta Six camera. The photos were a bit flat in exposure and contrast.

Conclusion:

I enjoyed shooting with the camera, but I am still primarily impressed with the innovative and beautiful bellows system in the camera. Not only is it functional, but it is very light and tight and only wears out slowly compared to the style bellows. The flip side is, if something happens to this bellows, the replacement is hard to replace due to the material. I wished there were faster shutter speeds, but I was using 125 iso film, and with the aperture range of the lens, I didn't have an issue.

 I have a great and fun camera for next week's blog post, so I hope you'll stick around to read that one, too. Thank you for your time, and please be safe until then.

Update:

According to Andrea Apra, who corrected and let me know initially, a small cardstock table was provided with this camera. This table was used to calculate the Depth of Field. The card I have in the case with the wrong translation is just instructions for using this table provided with the camera, which I don’t have.

The table has a horizontal scale at the top with the various distances on the focus ring: 7, 5, 3, 2, 1.5, 1 Mtr.

Then, on the vertical column, the diaphragm has various apertures: F 5.6, 6.3, 9, 12.5, 18, 25.

Two pairs of values, the minimum and maximum distance of the DoF, are intersecting at the table's intersection.

This explains how to read the table.

This is the text translated in its original graphic structure of the text.