adamjaskie
One of the Regulars
- Messages
- 172
- Location
- Detroit, MI
I've got a few. A pre-war Kodak Retina and an early '50s Retina IIa (both made in Germany with excellent Schneider lenses). Both are 35mm folders, but the IIa has a coupled rangefinder which makes focusing it a lot easier (the older Retina is scale-focus; guess the distance and set it on the lens). I also have a '40s Zeiss Ikon Nettar, which is a 120 folder with a Zeiss f/4.5 lens.
Other than those, all my other cameras are much newer. I have a Yashica Mat 124G, which is a 120/220 TLR from IIRC the late 70s. I also have a Canon AE-1, which is a 35mm SLR also from the late 70s, and a Nikon D80 digital SLR.
I do develop black and white myself, and would encourage anyone interested in vintage cameras (or really photography in general) to do so. It's easy and you don''t need a dark room. I load my film onto reels in a changing bag (big black two-layer bag with elastic armholes and a double zipper) and put them in light-tight tanks, which allow chemicals in and out but no light. Then I can simply develop them in my basement utility sink with the lights on and hang them to dry in my bathroom.
You can still buy 35mm cartridge film, 120 and 220 roll film, and various sizes of sheet film. 120 can be re-wound onto a 620 spool (it's the same film) in a changing bag, then you can either process it yourself, take it in and ask them to give you the spool back, or re-wind onto a 120 spool before taking it in.
Other than those, all my other cameras are much newer. I have a Yashica Mat 124G, which is a 120/220 TLR from IIRC the late 70s. I also have a Canon AE-1, which is a 35mm SLR also from the late 70s, and a Nikon D80 digital SLR.
I do develop black and white myself, and would encourage anyone interested in vintage cameras (or really photography in general) to do so. It's easy and you don''t need a dark room. I load my film onto reels in a changing bag (big black two-layer bag with elastic armholes and a double zipper) and put them in light-tight tanks, which allow chemicals in and out but no light. Then I can simply develop them in my basement utility sink with the lights on and hang them to dry in my bathroom.
You can still buy 35mm cartridge film, 120 and 220 roll film, and various sizes of sheet film. 120 can be re-wound onto a 620 spool (it's the same film) in a changing bag, then you can either process it yourself, take it in and ask them to give you the spool back, or re-wind onto a 120 spool before taking it in.