Old stuff: 7

Sometime 2003-2003.

I just picked this up today at the Evandale Tinker, located about 25 minutes drive from my home. We (myself & "the tinker") had a bit of trouble riddling the shutter out - I took one shot & it all went black - before he decided I could take my chances for half price ($40 Australian).

After a bit of reading & frustration, it turns out that the winder just needed a bit of "encouragement". So while it looks beautiful, I discovered it might not be the most reliable of beasties. It also came with a brown cover & some magnifying lenses.

I'm quite pleased. Google tells me it's an all mechanical SLR from the 1960s. The lens was probably made in Jena, Germany (my favourite "went-through-without-stopping-on-the-train-wish-I'd-stopped-now" place), and the cameras are supposed to be fairly unbreakable - I'm guessing all that brass & steel would contribute to it's considerable heft.

It has a light meter (supposedly TTL) which I'll need to take some time with to figure out, and the mirror doesn't return when you take the photo - hence the moment when everything went black & I got a considerable discount - but all in all I'm happy with it, and I look forward to putting a roll of Reala through it some time after NZ.

Zeiss Ikon Contaflex Super

A recent trip to an antique/second hand dealer & I found one of these beauties. I didn't buy it at the time, but I have my eye on it. Not sure whether $85 is a good price, but it did seem to be in awfully good nick, the shop owner assured me the shutter is functioning. If it's still there following the honeymoon, I'll be spending my had-earned on it. Provided it works properly. There was another camera (folding camera, takes plate film but comes with a DIY 120 back - looks nice, although I have no guarantee it's functional) in the window which has been there for at least two months, so that gives me confidence that stock moves slowly there...

My god is it heavy though! I think I read it's mostly brass & steel, which I guess would account for it's considerable heft.

The other objects of desire are either a TLR of some kind, or a Fed 1/Zorki 4.