They were made of metal with plastic pieces around the windows and film take up. They are covered by a glued on leatherette. It weighs in at about 1 1/2 pounds (690 grams).
A good find for a display camera.
Malcolm Chalmers - Vancouver Island Event Photographer |
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This King Regula IIIc seems to be a rare model, made in Germany this model was made for the export market. I found this camera in the back room of a local Thrift store for $3. A sticky shutter was the reason, otherwise it is in great shape. The King Regula IIIc 35mm cameras were made between 1955-56 by Mr and Mrs King, it was a family business that also produced electrical components in Bad Leibenzell in the Black Forest area of West Germany. They also produced cameras for a number of other companies. The Regula IIIc was one of many versions, a,b,c,d automatic, Cita III, RM and R. They were made of metal with plastic pieces around the windows and film take up. They are covered by a glued on leatherette. It weighs in at about 1 1/2 pounds (690 grams). The Regula IIIc is an interchangeable lens rangefinder camera that uses a bayonet mount that was unique to the King manufacturer. Lenses available were 28mm, 35mm, 50mm, 90mm and 135mm, they used a 45mm filter. This IIIc has a 50mm f/2.8 made by Enna Wark Munchen a small German optics manufacturer. It's focus range is 1m to infinity. Apertures range from f/2 to f/22. A self timer, V is around 10 secs . A PC socket syncs at all speeds in X and M modes. The shutter is a Prontor SVS with Bulb, 1s, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/15, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125 and 1/300th sec, it used two sets of blades for robustness. As it turns out the cameras now seem to have a shutter sticking problem. It is not too hard to clean the shutter assembly to make it work a little better. This model does not have a light meter like the newer model IIId but the rangefinder on this model was the most accurate of the models because not having a light meter gave more room for a long-base coupled rangefinder.
A good find for a display camera.
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The Carbine, or Carbines were cameras sold by British company W. Butcher & Sons from 1903 -1930. There were many different versions of this camera, this one used 122 Roll film and could adapt to accept plate film to make 3 X 5 postcard photos. W. Butcher & Sons Carbine. Up to the advent of the Great War* Butchers imported German made cameras but this arrangement became somewhat inconvenient thereafter, and they teamed up with Houghtons as manufacturer to form The Houghton-Butcher Manufacturing Co.Ltd, finally merging in 1926. By 1930 they sold cameras under the Ensign name. There is frequently no mention of Butcher on the pre Houghton-Butcher arrangement cameras. The Carbine line had many models over the years #0,2,3a,3b,4,5,6,7, and 12, each has different lenses, methods of pulling the lens assembly out, moving the lens up and down and sizes of plate film it could use. The camera does not have any visible model number markings in any of the places others are marked other than the "Carbine" Logo on the side and a "B" film winder (which makes me think it was pre-Houghton) and serial number D 52097. From the research I have done I think this is a model #3a or 3b - 31/2 X 51/2 postcard size plate made around 1914-15. This camera shutter has the name "Lukos" I on it, it has shutter control for Bulb and Timed release. It's an American manufactured shutter. The lens (front glass missing) has apture settings of F11,18,22,32 and F45 can be changed by moving the arrow/lever on the bottom. The lens raises and lowers on the chrome fork or standard and moves forward and backwards to adjust focus. There is a brilliant viewfinder that pivots for horizontal and vertical shooting. Also I can't find a foot for horizontal shooting they are usually on the front of the baseboard. In the manual to the Ensign Carbine #3 is a description of the camera. Metal body covered in leather with a "Carbine" button on the side of the body. The manual goes on to explain how to load film, how to develop the film and even take pictures. The camera has a dual back that accepts either 122 format film or a plate back. With the back off we can see the recesses for the Roll Film, top and bottom and the middle area for the Plate Film. The middle part of the removable back pulls up an out and your plate film slides in its place. With the back on you see the red port hole (and its cover) to allow you to read the numbers on the Roll film. The last thing that might help date the camera is the film winder in the shape of a "B", Butcher Logo maybe.
With todays cameras it is relatively easy to take a good photo. Your ordinary digital camera or cell phone camera will do all the thinking for you just point and shoot. If you want to take better pictures you can use a DSLR (Digital Single-Lens Reflect) that will allow you to make some choices about how you want your camera to act and your image to look. With both cameras we will find an electronic monitor to see what we are shooting. With the DSLR we also have a small through the lens viewfinder that lets us a look through the lens with the use of a moveable mirror. The viewfinder is great on those bright days when your monitor is hard to see. The biggest difference between the two cameras are on a DSLR you have interchangeable lenses with many more adjustments or choices to change the way our photos look. Once we have determine what and where to shoot we have to make more options, such as how our lens will use the available light, like how much and how fast we want it to enter the camera and how sensitive the sensor is to the light landing on it. Most cameras can figure that out for you using their built in meters but as a photographer you may want to make some of those decisions yourself to influence the look of your image. In my last blog we talked about lighting and how that effects your images. Now I want to tell you about using that light and your ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed controls to add new focus to your photos. The amount and the speed light enters will change the way your image looks. ISO ISO = International Organization of Standards They set the standard used to measure the sensitivity of the digital image sensor in your camera. It digitally reproduces the image you see through the lens of your camera. In film terms this was ASA film speed.
In bright daylight an ISO setting of 100-200 will suffice. Need to use a flash maybe 400 - 800 ISO will work. Aperture [A] and Shutter Speed [S] are the two controls we will look at next. We need to decide how the light enters the lens to activate the image sensor. For this we use the Aperture [A].
When the aperture is very small, the light entering is highly collimated, which means all the rays are parallel to each other. This results in a sharp focus for all the light that comes in. When the aperture is more open, only the rays which closely match the focus point are collimated — which means that whatever you've focused on is sharp, but farther or closer parts of the scene will be increasingly blurry. In combination with ISO speed and aperture opening we need to know how long to leave the aperture open for this is called Shutter Speed [S].
Shutter speed allows the impression of motion in an image. Slow shutter speed blurs fast motion, giving the impression of greater motion of the camera or subject. It can enhance the image by making athletes or cars look like they're going very fast. It also can detract from the image if the subject is not intended to be moving, like a portrait or Landscapes, So using different variations of ISO, Aperture and Shutter speeds will help produce different looks to your image. Motion Blur is a tool used to emphasize a subject, here speed and a slow shutter are used to produce the blur effect. The top image was shot with a fast shutter speed 1/1600sec and freezes the moving image while the bottom shot at a slower speed 1/30sec is open long enough for the subject to move and cause a blur in the image.
Depth of Field Also known as Depth of focus this is one of a photographers tools used to clearly point out the important subject in your photo. A shallow Depth of Field is determined by a large aperture opening, distance to subject and focal length. With any image you will want the most important subject in focus and the other less important objects slightly to completely out of focus. Here are some simple ways to accomplish that. Here I am telling you what I feel is most important in each image. Taking these photos I am quite a distance away zoomed in with a wide aperture and fast shutter.
Sports and High ISO If I am indoors shooting a sporting event I'll have low light and fast action. To capture fast action I will want a wide lens to pull in more light, a fast shutter speed like 1/200 or 1/500 of a second. That means light will have to come in fast, a medium aperture opening and a higher ISO will give me a wide depth of field. I will have to 'bump up" my ISO to 3200 to allow me that faster shutter speed and medium aperture. By using these variables I can achieve the best speed to shoot the image I want.
Sharp focus Hyperfocal Distance is used in landscape photos where everything in the frame is important. Wide angle lenses (18 - 28mm) allow you to see foreground in focus as well as the background. In a Landscape photo you want to be sure everything is in focus. To do this, you’ll have to figure Hyperfocal distance. This distance is defined as the closest distance at which a lens can be focused while keeping objects at infinity in focus as well. When the lens is focused at this distance, all objects at distances from half of the hyperfocal distance out to infinity will be sharp. For a more in-depth explination of how to calculate Hyperfocal distances visit http://dofmaster.com/hyperfocal.html This chart will show you approximate Hyperfocal distances Lastly, when you have all your technical ducks in a row it is time to check your composition, horizons level, eyes 2/3rd of the way up the photo, looking room on one side and important objects on intersecting lines. Rule of Thirds. This rule helps us choose where we place objects of importance in the frame. But remember rules are made to be broken. Cameras sometimes come with a grid pattern to help you compose your shots and keep your horizons level. Check your camera menu to find out how to turn on this feature. Of corse if you are using "Dutch" angles just adjust the grid in your head. . . Happy Shooting!! For more tips on shooting lights at night visit my photoblog. http://malcolmchalmersphotography.weebly.com/2/post/2012/02/2011-cowichan-exhibition-at-night.html Why do some of your photos turn out great and others don't look good at all. It could be the light you are using not your camera. Here are two images of the same place taken around the same time on different days, it really shows the power of light. As an Event Photographer I sometimes have little choice in the light I am able to use. What I do have is the ability to use the available light to my best advantage. Sometimes it works sometimes, not so much. Here are some tips to help you shoot better photos. Some of the events I shoot are all day long and outside. Fortunately there is a variety of ways to use this light to your advantage. Positioning your camera can be one of the most important things you can do to improve your photos. The photo above is a good example of shooting at noon on a cloudless sunny day. I have positioned myself (the camera operator) to use the sun as back or side lighting. Avoiding direct light and shadows on the faces. Shooting in direct sunlight. You might think "Hey, the more light the better" but that is not always true. The opposite of light is dark and the more light you have on your subject will also produce darker shadows where the sunlight isn't. High contrast between light and dark does have its place in photography, mostly horror movies though. The dark shadows under the eyes, nose shadows, also the hot spots on the bridge of the nose and forehead are never flattering. Try not to shoot your subject looking directly into the sun, have it come from behind or just off to the side and bounce light to the front or move out of the direct light and in to a shaded area. You can bounce light with a "reflector" of some type. Shooting in shade. Shade allows you to balance or flatten the light that hits your subject, it reduces the contrast between the light and dark on your subject. When you have your subject in the shade watch your backgrounds, the amount of light hitting the background can become over exposed and distracting.
Look for a solid shady area with no pools or shafts of light, let your camera's aperture open up a little more or use higher ISO speed. ISO is how sensitive your film or Digital Image Sensor is to light. It is expressed as 100 - 6400+. Your image can be adversely effected by very high ISO though. Try to stay under ISO 800 or use more light. Cloudy/Overcast light. Living in BC it feels like we have more overcast days than bright sunny days so we have to be able to shoot on those days. On overcast days light is flat even light, it produces very little shadow. It can however appear stronger from different angles. When you are shooting have your subject turn and watch where your lighting is best. An overcast sky can be very bright so be careful with your backgrounds and how much sky you include in your photo. Using your main source of light as Backlight. Backlight can be your friend, if you use it right. It helps provide separation between subject and a background. It rounds out your subject, provides some depth. It's like a little 3D effect. When using backlight be careful, you don't want to underexpose the front of your subject so take your meter readings from your subjects face where the sun is not reaching. If you can, use a reflector to bounce light to the front. Using reflectors or "bouncing" puts the light where it needs to be. I like to use strong light as backlight, mostly for the ability to provide the separation from background and it offers me the ability to redirect the light to the front of my subject(s). In the portrait above (check the inset photo), you can see in her glasses the reflection of the (Foamcore/whitebord) reflector or Bounceboard. The sun is over her left shoulder and bounced back off the whiteboard that is to her right. This will remove shadow from under eyes, nose and chin. You can almost use anything white to bounce light in bright sunlight. A white car, the white lid on a Styrofoam ice chest, a white towel even a news paper will bounce light. Make sure it's white not colored so you are not reflecting color on to your subject. Professional reflectors come in white, silver and gold color. White Foamcore can be purchased at hardware or building supply stores at a fraction of the price. White or silver car window shades can also be used. Sunrise, sunset, it's called the Golden hour for a reason. As the sun rises or sets the angle of the light produced by the sun must travel through more atmosphere, clouds, particulates in the air (smoke, dust etc) it softens the light and reduces the angle of the light so it does not produce those deep shadows under the chin and eyes. And generally gives off a nice soft glow or great backlight. Plan your shooting just after sunrise or just before sunset on clear days or evenings. Shooting in Low Light. Shooting motion in low light is tough for anybody. When I needed to find a low light image I knew exactly where to look for one. Tyler's wrestling tournaments are held in gymnasiums lit by sodium vapour or florescent lights. High ISO, large apertures and slow shooting speeds are what you are going to have to face. The way to counteract these hurtles are "fast" lenses (ones that open f2.8 - f1.4), use the image stabilization in your camera or on your lens, monopods or tripods and that dreaded flash all help. Shooting in Mixed Light. Often you will find yourself taking photos inside near windows, you'll have the inside lights turned on, possibly you are using your cameras flash as well. That is mixed light, three different colors of light to your camera. It is almost impossible for cameras to white balance for multiple light colors. What is Color Temperature? Check this website for a good explanation of color temperature and how your camera handles it. http://www.olympusamerica.com/crm/oneoffpages/crm_whitebalance.asp
Pick your brightest light source and try to get rid of or minimize the others. If you can't only use one source use color correcting gel on your flash to match your strongest light source. You can also buy large sheets to cover windows but covering your flash is much cheaper. Night doesn't mean no light. It just comes from different places. Shooting at night has many challenges. It is harder to focus, get the right exposure, high ISO and shallow depth of field (DOF). It does though put you in control of where and how much light you can use to light your subject. Here is where your light is coming from at night, top photo - the moon, centre - the subject has it's own light, bottom - car headlights, large windows in buildings or street lights etc.
Learn to look for these natural sources of light when shooting at night. On camera flash photos. Most cameras come with a flash either built in on they have a hot shot to attach one. In my opinion your on-camera flash should be your last choice for lighting your photo. In provides flat lifeless light and harsh shadows (like the mid day sun). If anything get the flash off your camera and move it higher and to the side to help provide some modeling. Notice there is no dimension to this subject, it really does look two dimensional and slightly too bright compared to the background.
With practice adjusting the light output of your flash and moving it off your camera you can achieve better results while using your flash to fill in light. Understanding your equipment. Todays camera equipment can be very technical and does require you to read and understand the manuals.
You can find many on line tutorials that will help show how to use all the features your camera offers. Spending a little time learning the way your camera works will help make your photos keepsakes you will want to cherish for the rest of your life. Hey . . . now I can really say "I got a Pony for Christmas! " read on and I'll explain. . . She's black and grey with aluminium accents and I got her two days before Christmas. Kodak made these bakelite beauties from 1950 - 54 as a camera for the serious amateur. Controls This camera has aperture, shutter speed and manual focus controls on the three element 51mm, Kodak Anaston lens equipped with a flash post. Its aperture settings f22, 16, 11, 8, 5.6 and 4.5. Shutter speeds B, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, and 1/200sec. The simple two blade shutter on the Kodak Flash 200 was synced at 1/200sec. On top a simple viewfinder, film advance and rewind knobs, a handy film counter and a film type reminder. It also came with a tripod mount. The Pony Line. This model, the 135 used the 135 cartridge film, it was second the Pony line after the popular 828 model which used 828 roll film. Following the 135 were the 135 “MODEL B” (’53-55), the 135 “MODEL C” (’55-58), the Pony “II” (’57-62) and finally the Pony “IV” (’57-61). The 135 has this really neat pull out lens barrel. To extend or collapse the lens you needed to unlock with a twist to the left and lock with a twist to the right. I have a Rollei 35 that also has a collapsable lens barrel that was used to allow the camera to be "pocketed" for carrying. I am sure that is the reasoning behind this one as well. Ease of use. To use the camera first you had to remove the rear plate by pushing in a small release on the right camera strap connector and push down. The back came completely off for easy loading of the 35mm film, then snap it back in place and pull connector up to lock. Wind the film to the start. You then extended the barrel by twisting, pulling and locking. A safety feature would not allow you to snap a picture without extending the barrel. Adjust your aperture settings and film speed on the lens, then estimate the distance to your subject, turn the foot meter at the front to approximate focus. Next cock the shutter with the leaver on the side of the lens, eye to the viewfinder to frame your subject and press the shutter release button on the top. Then don't forget to move the release lever and advance the film to the next frame. Done. Cost. For a mere $35 dollars (around $300 in 2012 dollars) you could have added one of these little Ponys to your herd. Your other options in those days were plentiful but like many other Kodak cameras they were affordable to encourage the use of Kodak's film. To learn more about cameras from the 50's, or for that matter from the 1900's to the 1970's visit this informative website. http://licm.org.uk/livingImage/1950Room.html I have heard the name before, I know they are German made cameras of high quality but this is amazing. When I first picked up the camera in it's leather case I found it to be really heavy and really small. When I unzipped the zipper and pealed back the case I saw the word Rollei on the front. My heart must have skipped a beat, "in the $2 bin????" I am taking this home with me. I love these Thrift stores. (Last week I found a Bolex movie camera.) Here is someone else who uses a Rollei 35. I think she could be a little quirky too. I figure it must be a good camera if the Queen of England owns one. In 1967 when this camera was first released it was by far the smallest 35mm full frame "pocket camera" ever produced, the Rollei 35 was sturdier, more reliable, and more flexible with better lenses than any other camera built . The Rollei 35 and the later models enjoy a near cult following today. Like those hats the Queen wears. Prized by those collectors are the 35, 35 S and 35 SE, the original 35 represents the quality Germany production, other models were built in Singapore after 1973. After the original 35 the 35 S and 35 SE represent the best of the German cameras with the newer and faster Sonnar lenses. The first German 35's used Tessar lenses made by Carl Zeiss, themselves excellent lenses. This one even has a protective filter on the lens, obviously previously owned by a knowledgeable photographer. I think the most outwardly interesting thing about this camera after it's size is the lens that pulls out from the body. To make the Rollei small enough to put in your pocket the lens sits tight to the body, to focus, it pulls out and locks in place. Highly engineered and one of the most expensive parts of the camera is that tube that holds the 40 mm Carl Zeiss Tessar f/3.5 lens. Other aids in making this a pocket camera are the shutter speed, ISO dial and aperture dial being located on the front of the camera. On top the film advance, lens lock and shutter release. Located on the rear is the viewfinder and the film rewind lock. On the bottom the film rewind lever, frame counter, tripod socket, film cover release as well as the flash shoe is on the bottom of the camera. I wonder, do you have to shoot flash photos with the camera upside down? The inside is an engineering marvel, fitting everything you need into that small package unfortunately rules out having a rangefinder or a SLR view through the lens making the Rollei 35 a scale-focus only camera. Both feet and meters are provided on the lens. To help focus the 40mm wide-ish angle lens you could stop down to around f/8 to get a greater depth of field. This is not a point and shoot camera. From the Rollei company web site The Rollei 35 is a special camera - the camera for you. It is designed for your pleasure! That is why we have designed this camera to be so compact and handy - you can always carry it in your pocket. We have fitted it with a cadmium supplied exposure meter system for quick and reliable shooting. And with the 40 mm Carl Zeiss Tessar f/3.5 we not only selected a world famous lens, but also the ideal focal length for you: with the 57° angle of view you take in a more generous field of view than with a normal miniature camera lens. To let you get on with picture taking straight away. Well, I like pleasure don't you?. . Smile for the Queen.
Companies build cameras that are similar to another in that line, they just keep adding more features for us, they call them SUPER. It's like the Argus Seventy Five except with more powers it's super Seventy five . . . focus and aperture are two. I thought the Argus 75 was something. This new model the Super Seventy Five gave you the ability to focus the lens, by the foot 3.5 to infinity, and chose aperture between f8 and f16. The big bright Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) viewing lens sits atop the black Bakelite plastic, yea I know the image is backwards. Then you would think . . It's Super, they should have been able to fixed that. People like to take photos of images through the viewfinder lens. That is neat. This shooter has had a hard life, I bet it has seen lots of sights. .it has got scuffs, scrapes but it is still working, even the leather case is experienced. You have to love the Bakelite plastic, I wonder why they stopped using it..
The day after I find a camera display case to help me ease some congestion in the living room I run across a bulk buy at a Garage Sale. I really ended up buying these cameras because they were piled in a box with a Brownie still camera that I really wanted. The Kodak was priced above what I wanted to pay so I did what the American Picker boys on TV do and gave a low price for the 8 cameras all together. A couple were in not great shape and there was a duplicate Bell & Howell model which I already have in my collection the rest are in decent condition. The worst of the bunch was unfortunately the one I liked the most, the Keystone 8mm. The glue has given out and the badges have fallen off as well as the light meter is missing from above the viewfinder. Other than cosmetics it still runs and the lenses move around but it is not much to look at. Mansfield Industries of Chicago Illinois, USA made this 8mm movie camera in 1959. The Holiday II had three lenses and a built in exposure meter and a handy color chart for shooting. The Cronica 8 ET was made in Japan in the early 60's by the Crown Optical Co.Ltd. in Japan. It has three lenses on a turret. Uses 8mm film, no sound recording. It is a heavy camera made of metal, and lots of chrome. Rubica R 8 Zoom EE was made in 1962 by Ribica Seiko Ltd, Japan. The cameras zoom lens is a Magnon 2x8mm. It has a detachable handle that pulls the shutter release down to shoot. Although it's not a movie camera it was the one I wanted in the box. All the cameras were all priced at $5 and up, I offered $20 for the bunch which gave them to me for $2.50ea. I have just started to see more of these Canadian made Kodak cameras. This Brownie Holiday camera was made between 1953-57 and was designed by Arthur H Crapsey. It uses a film size 127 with a picture size1 5/8 X 2 1/2″. This version was manufactured in Canada and has the Kodak Dakon Lens, Rotary Shutter with an optical direct vision finder. It is made of molded brown and tan plastic, slide the metal clips down and the back comes off to access the 127 film. This model also comes in a flash capable version called the Brownie Holiday Flash Camera It's really to bad this one is in such rough shape, it is a cheaply made 1950's TRL It was made by the Herbert George Camera Company which was also know as the Imperial Camera Company from Chicago Ill. They made lots and lots of "toy" cameras. Perhaps the best known is the Savoy, which came is several colors, or the Herco Imperial with it's telescopic lens and the futuristic Imperial Satellite . If you like toy camera photography, cameras such as these can give interesting results. http://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Imperial As the old adage asks "What do you give to a man who has everything?". The answer, "somewhere to put it all". For awhile now, some would say too long, I have needed a display case to house my ever growing collection of vintage camera equipment. I have seriously been looking at collector cases, some very pricey. I have talked to my son about making something for me this summer, but the sun, the beach, the girls, you know a sixteen year old has better things to do than woodwork. I was in town on the weekend to shoot at the Summer festival and as habit dictates I stopped at one of my favorite Thrift Stores. A little bit earlier in the morning than I normally show up I might add. When I entered they were just putting on the floor this collector cabinet. Now when I first noticed it I thought the price was $160.00, after all I had been looking at cases with prices ranging up to $850.00, so a couple of hundred dollars seemed normal. As I looked it over I came to realize the price was only $16.00. I couldn't get my wallet out fast enough. I moved most of the cameras from around the house into the display cabinet and over time I will
rearrange the cameras as the mood suits me. I am still holding out hope to find a large format bellows camera one day. I can wait, I have persistence and luck on my side. Oh yea, I can't wait to tell you about the Garage Sale I stopped at on my to shoot the motocross race the next day. The Keystone Brightbeam K-70 8mm Projector. I fell in love with this projector's looks the moment I saw it, it's shapely, yet thin, small wasted, yet sturdy, its tan in color and it's got a handle to carry it with. It's also the same age as me. It's minimalist, unlike me, opposites attract I guess. A light, a small lens, a couple of moving parts, some cogs, and two switches, simple (unlike me?). It's 8mm, not super, no sound. Shows color or black & white film. The motor and bulb both work and it has this pretty metal band to turn the reels. And she doesn't mind if I thread her wrong.
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