My small "COLLECTION"

It's a little hard to tell whether it was my dad's Nikon FE, his everyday shooting camera that followed us plenty of holidays until he also joined the digital crowd, or my aunts Vito III, that started my "collection". Still a too big word for the comparatively small set of analogue cameras I acquired during the last five years, but as there are still some models out there that I'm regularly following on eBay maybe I'll get there one day. So far storage space of my small apartment is limited and luckily puts some physical constraints on this ambition *g*. 

Let my quickly recap my thoughts behind the camera set now standing on my bookshelf:

• Form factor changes: throughout time cameras have been built in all different shapes and one clear motivation of mine was to try out and represent the major stages
• Time to try: trying the cameras in the field was also a clear goal, not only experimenting with film in general, but also with different film formats - not all cameras we're in operational condition though and some had to get repaired for that purpose
• Technology: I always have to take things apart or at least get a grip on things to understand how they work -seeing how the mechanics in these old pieces are integrated and partially surrounded by first levels of electronics is really interesting to dig into

Altogether I would say that I tried to find a fairly good representation for every major development stage of camera technology the last century, jet certainly the nieces you can find in-between are almost infinite ;-)

The Beginning - NIKON FE

As outlined above and in the about section - this camera was probably what triggered my interest in photography in general. I always loved the look through the viewfinder and still remember when my father taught me how to operate this baby. After it was sitting on the shelf at home for a while at my parents place I decided it was time for a "new home". I absolutely love the design as it represents the probable most typical image of a camera I could imagine.

• Considered alternatives: Canon A-1 (in fact still on my list today somehow after I started with a Nikon DSLR and have meanwhile changed to Canon
• Speciality: Launched in the year I was born, my dad bought it two years later from a lottery win after reconstructing the ticket I had town apart as a kid
• Condition: almost working - after I shot a roll of film I realized that there unfortunately seem to be some problems with the transport
• Lens: Nikkor 50mm F1,8
• Age: 1979
• Price: these days about 1.000 DM, today 50€ on eBay 
• Best website: mir.com.my

Heritage Coincidence - Voigtländer VITO III

Flying around at my grand aunts place and only very seldomly used the little Voigtländer is an absolute beauty. The camera has two very attractive features, both contributing to its ease of use and portability. Firstly, its damn small - the lens can be folded / unfolded both by just a click. Secondly its protected by a tailored leather case from practically every angle, yet the same applies here - just one button needs to be opened and the camera is fully operational, as you have instant access to all features.

• Considered alternatives: none
• Speciality: the viewfinder incorporates a focussing mechanism utilizing the "second eye" you can see on the right - this allows to take sharp shots at low apertures with a non - mirrored system
• Condition: in perfect condition, never maintained, but still working properly
• Lens: Voigtländer Ultron F2 50mm
• Age: 1950s
• Price: a gift from my aunt - nowadays 300€ on eBay
• Best website: Chris's camera pages

Local sourcing - Rolleiflex 4x4 Baby

As living in Brunswig I came across Rollei one day - in fact I guess the spark was a study assignment of a friend which dealt with the company - and started looking into their traditional product range. Attracted by the form factor I was browsing for the different kinds of box camera manufacturers from mainly Yashica and Rollei, but it was quite hard to find a piece that was in good shape but not overpriced. Finally I found this "Baby" on eBay Kleinanzeigen coming with the original case and looking almost unused. What I didn't know at that time tough was that the special film type was really hard to get and that it arrived with a "typical defect". Both issues could be solved though, so I'm enjoying shooting with this little all metal "tank" every time I take it out.

• Considered alternatives: Rolleiflex 6x6
• Speciality: the camera is the baby version of the normal 6x6 Rolleiflex and shoots 127 film (4x4) instead of 120 (6x6) - after a longer out of stock period, this film type luckily is on offer again via Fotoimpex
• Condition: now in absolute perfect condition, yet the camera needed an initial repair of the shutter as the slow exposure times didn't work when I got it
• Lens: Schneider Kreuznach Genar F3,5 60mm
• Age: 1960s
• Price: 150€ on eBay Kleinanzeigen + 75€ Repair
• Best website: Jörn Lütjens

Handover 1/3 - Yashica D 6x6

Still being a bit frustrated about finding no film for my 4x4 I was happy to find this piece in the collection the friend of a colleague was selling after his father had passed away. More reasonably priced than the Rollei and in truly perfect shape – the camera comes with a black leather box covered with read suede from the inside – I simply had to have this one.

• Considered alternatives: Rolleiflex 6x6
• Speciality: the camera is the Japanese remake of the Rolleiflex 6x6 twin eye camera
• Condition: optically and technically perfect
• Lens: Yashinion F3,5 80mm
• Age: 1960s - 70s
• Price: 150€ private – about 250€ on eBay
• Best website: filipenmarquesphotography

Handover 2/3 - Voigtländer Compur FD 6x7

Rounding up the collection to the time wise earlier end I was happy that the Voigtländer rollfilm camera was a gift when purchasing the above Yeshiva. The camera is fascinating as its built so simple and technical at the same time. The whole exposure mechanics are put into the small ring circling the lens, whereas the rest is basically just the cover for everything else. The bog bag neatly folds together making the camera really compact at protected to carry around.

• Considered alternatives: none
• Speciality: the camera folds super thin into a brown leather pouch covered with purple suede
• Condition: milky lens and untested, optically 1A though
• Lens: Voigtländer Anastigmat Skopar F4,5 10,5mm
• Age: 1931
• Price: private for free – about 100€ on eBay
• Best website: Schöbels

Handover 3/3 - Rollei SL26

The small SL26 was another giveaway, which attracted me – this time it was the nice shutter sound the camera produces, as it is surprisingly a true SLR built for Kodak's 126 film. Three lenses were available, all from Carl Zeiss, which I unfortunately did not take along. Only 28,570 examples were made, and at DM 628 ($299.50), it was the most expensive camera made for the special film format. 

• Considered alternatives: none
• Speciality: 126 film / smallest SLR, with split picture focus I know
• Condition: optically and technically perfect – comes with leather pouch
• Lens: Carl Zeiss Tessar F2,8 40mm
• Age: 1968 - 73
• Price: private for free – about 100€ on eBay
• Best website:  Notesandnods

Bargain? - Hasselblad 503CX

I finally bought the Hasselblad with quite different intentions than initially planned. Whereas my long term dream was to simply own this masterpiece and have it sitting in my shelf, I was stunned by the quality of analogue pictures produced in medium format and shot through the professional lenses the system offers. So finally my focus shifted to going back to the roots and leaving the DSLR at home for a while and search for real creativity. It was clear to go for the V system and a 500 series body and after doing some reading I focused on either a c/m or 503cx. I bought the camera in parts as I could not really find a system the fulfilled my optical conditions. Unfortunately though the body I got first had some problems with the back shutter that needed to be fixed for about 150€, yet paid by the seller.  This simply proves that almost everything on this camera can be repaired, as it is totally manual. My second purchase was more fortunate though – I could find a full set including, lens, body, 2 camera backs, light meter, near focus lens / adapter and various other auxiliaries for an unbelievable 700€. The camera has joined my last holiday trip to the USA and will from now on be my steady follower. Enjoy some of my Hasselblad shots in a separate gallery ...

• Considered alternatives: Mamyia RZ67, Mamiya 645 , Roleiflex SL66
• Speciality: full set
• Condition: optically and technically perfect 
• Lens: Carl Zeiss Planar F2,8 80mm T*; Carl Zeiss Planar F4 150mm T*
• Age: 1988 - 94
• Price: 1000€ (full set) eBay and private
• Best website:  Stefan Heymann

Nikon F4 (finally not s though)

The Nikon F4 represents a radical shift in professional 35mm camera design. Released in 1988, this was the choice for professional photographers as it was Nikon’s first fully supported autofocus camera. Today it still holds up incredibly well in that it supports just about every Nikon Lens ever produced (though there are some restrictions) with Matrix metering and supports just about every Nikon flash unit available. If you are looking for a camera that will shoot film and work with your existing Nikon gear – this is the camera you are looking for. In my lineup it represents as well the smallest and most practical set to take along, as you don't need an external light meeter or have to worry about the camera as it's built extremely sturdy - almost like a tank. I've shot about 5 rolls of film with it as of now and often even consider it as the "5D Replacement" when going on a shorter holiday - especially when traveling cities... Enjoy the F4 shots in a separate gallery...

• Considered alternatives: no real alternatives - except the F4S of course
• Speciality: generally the "final" top of the line / pro analogue model built by Nikon - first with AF
• Condition: optically and technically perfect 
• Lens: AF Nikkor 50mm, 1.4 
• Age: 1988 - 96
• Price: 200€ for camera body off eBay and 150€ for the lens of eBay Kleinanzeigen
• Best website: TheArtofPhotography