Emi K 35

Emi K 35

The Emi K 35 was made by the Oshiro Optical Works in Japan in 1956.  It is quite an attractive and well made little camera but basic in the facilities it offers.

lens:  Fujiyama Eminent Color

focal length:  50 mm

apertures: 2.8 to 16

focus range: 3 feet to infinity

lens fitting: fixed

shutter:  own make

speeds: 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, 1/300

flash: PC connector, X synch

film size: 35 mm

The camera is heavy, being made from die cast metal (presumably aluminium alloy) including the hinged back.  It measures 125 mm by 70 mm by 80 mm tall.  The main body is covered in black leatherette and the top and bottom plates are satin stainless steel.

The shutter release button is next to a raised part of the top plate and with my large hands it is a bit awkward to get my finger on it.  Film advance is by a lever.  In my camera, the spring that returns the film advance lever to its rest position is broken so it is necessary to put it back in place manually. However, the lever still advances the film and cocks the shutter, so this camera is quite usable.  

The viewfinder is small, but no smaller than Voigtlander were offering at the same time.  There are no frame lines in the viewfinder, so I assume the total image is what will be recorded on the film. On taking the camera apart to look at the broken film advance spring, I saw a square cut-out in the front of the top plate that is normally masked by the 'Emi K' logo on the front of the camera.  This suggests that a rangefinder was considered at some point in the design - either to be offered on another model or abandoned for this model.

One the left of the top plate is the film rewind which is a small crank (very small!) which is fairly difficult to use.  This crank pulls up to release the cassette for removal.  The only other thing on the top plate is an accessory shoe - a 'cold' shoe in flash terms.  For flash, there is a PC connector at the bottom of the shutter housing.

The lens is a Fujiyama Eminent Color lens.  There is a red 'C' on the lens bezel which I am sure indicates that the lens is coated (just about normal for 1956).  The whole shutter housing/lens assembly seems to be well designed and well made but feels a bit plasticky compared to Prontor shutters. Actually, the shutter housing is plastic which is not actually a bad thing so long as it is used thoughtfully.

The inside is as you would expect - a recess for the film cassette, machined guides for the film, a sprocket wheel to advance the film and a fixed take-up spool.  I am very much in favour of fixed take-up spools.  Zeiss Ikon and Ihagee both used removable spools and I spend too much of my time on my hands and knees retrieving the spool when using those cameras.  The camera back has the expected pressure plate (generously sized) and 'Zeiss bumps' in the leatherette.  'Zeiss bumps' are formed when the rivets holding components together react chemically with the metals used.  The back is aluminium alloy and I suspect the rWhitworthñ steel.

The base of the camera has a central tripod boss - 1/4 inch Whitworth.  There are no strap lugs on this camera - the manufacturers will have expected the user to use the 'ever-ready' case that will have been supplied with the camera.

Test photos

I was aware when I started that the return spring in the film advance lever was broken, but the mechanism itself seemed to work OK. As I used the camera it became apparent that the lever was not engaging with the internal mechanism properly and sometimes it took several sweeps to advance one frame.

Using this camera reminded me very much of using my Zeiss Ikon Contina Ic. They have a very similar size, shape and weight - I suspect Emi had the Contina in mind when designing the Emi K. Controls are minimal and are placed on the lens/shutter barrel. The viewfinder is nice and large and centrally placed. However, there are no bright lines for accurate composition.

The only problem I have had using this camera stems from the fact that the return spring  in the film advance lever is broken (as mentioned above). I initially thought that this would mean that I would have to return the lever by hand after winding on the film and otherwise all would be well. in fact, the film advance lever interacts with two sub-systems in the camera - the double exposure prevention mechanism and the missed frame prevention mechanism. Sometimes I would turn the film advance lever and nothing would happen, sometimes I could not turn it at all without pressing the shutter release a second time - this did not fire the shutter, it just freed the mechanism. I was never confident that the film was advancing properly. Although the rewind knob turned as I advanced the film - a sign that the film is moving - it did not turn smoothly. Looking at the prints, it is apparent that the film was not entirely moving as it should - there is slight overlap of frames - but the problem is not severe, just annoying.

Exposure of the film is fine, indicating that the shutter speeds are, at the least, close to the supposed values. I only actually used the faster speeds so I cannot vouch for the slower speeds - it is usually the slower speeds that play up first with old cameras.

Framing not quite right

Double exposure

This one is OK

Slight frame overlap

Ikonta 520

This is a medium format camera (i.e. takes 120 film) from Zeiss Ikon.  It is a half-frame camera - 6 x 4.5 cm negative - which is half of a standard 120 frame of 6 x 9 cm. The body serial  number tells me it was made in 1932.

Ikonta 520, front view

lens: Novar

focal length:  75mm

apertures: f/6.3 to f/32

focus range: 4'6" to infinity (that is the scale, actually about 4 feet)

lens fitting: fixed

shutter: Derval

speeds: 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, B, T

flash: n/a

film size: 120

The body is made from cast aluminium.  This body casting is shared between the Ikonta 520, Bob 510 and Nettar 515. It is quite hard to understand why Zeiss Ikon shared the body between three different camera lines instead of calling them all Ikonta (the oldest name) seeing as Bob, Ikonta and Nettar all come with a range of lenses and shutters and can be considered to be one range in effect if not in name.

So, this Ikonta.  It is an Ikonta 520 - more specifically, a 520E. The other variants are
520IT with a f4.5 Novar and a Telma shutter,
520F with a F3.5 Novar and a Compur Rapid shutter and
520L with a f3.5 Tessar and Compur Rapid shutter.

The lens is a Novar which is a triplet and performs surprisingly well once stopped down to f/8 or smaller.  Ikontas were also available with Tessars at a higher price and wider aperture Novars.  The Novar on this camera is quite a slow lens with a maximum aperture of f/6.3.  The focussing is front cell only, rather than the whole lens moving (giving not quite so good image quality) and the focussing scale is in feet indicating that the camera is an official import into the UK.

The shutter is an everset Derval (everset means it does not need cocking before firing as a Klio or Compur would).  This is a fairly crude (and so cheap) shutter with two blades only and only offers three speeds: 1/25, 1/50 and 1/100.  With a slow lens like this camera has, faster shutter speeds would have been superfluous, particularly with the slow, by modern standards, films available in the 1930s.

Detail of rim-set shutter adjuster on Derval shutter

The shutter is a dial set shutter which means that the speed adjustment is by a dial set above the shutter housing.  More modern shutters have a rim set adjuster which is a ring around the shutter housing.  This shutter does not have a V (=Vorlaufwerk) setting for delayed action and as is usual with cameras made before the late 1940s, there is no flash connection or synchronisation.

Ikonta 520, side view

As I mentioned, the maximum aperture is rather small at f/6.3 but the minimum aperture is surprisingly small - f/32 - so the range of exposures possible is still respectably large.

A standard photograph with this camera (as with the Bob 510 and Nettar 515) is in portrait format and in this orientation the shutter release is underneath the camera and is uncomfortable to use.  To take landscape pictures, the camera must be used on its side and the shutter release is on the side and easy to use.

The viewfinder is the cheap two frame style of viewfinder - a Newtonian finder.

This was an expensive camera in its day - according to Tubbs (Zeiss Ikon Cameras 1926 -39, published by Hove Camera Foto Books), it cost £4/10/0 new in the early 1930s and advertised by Zeiss Ikon in the British Journal Almanac for 1936 at £4/17/6.  That is £4.50 in new money but a week's wages for a working man would have been around £1/10/0 or £1.50. So this camera cost around a months income for a working man which is around £1,000 in today's money.

19/07/20123:  I have now finished my test film for this camera and the results are not good.  The lens is susceptible to flare (as I would expect on a lens from 1930 - coating of lenses had not been invented yet) and some of the flare is very strange, suggesting something other than ordinary flare - a glass defect, perhaps.

Blues festival in Lincoln Arboretum

One of our many buskers in Lincoln - very young but quite accomplished

Lincoln Corn Exchange in the Cornhill

Comparison between Ikonta 520, Bob 510 and Nettar 515:

These three cameras from Zeiss Ikon share the same aluminium casting for their bodies.  This makes them very similar cameras.  They all take 120 film and they all produce half-frame negatives of 6 x 4.5 cm.  The details, however, are different.  I shall give the differences between them one model at a time, starting with the oldest.

Ikonta 520

This camera was produced from 1931 and is using the old fashioned dial set shutter - the disc at the top with the word 'Derval' on it..  The adjuster for the aperture is at the bottom of the shutter housing and requires the user to turn the camera around so that the scale can be seen.  The lens is a Novar triplet lens.  There is also a leather hand strap on this camera and the catch to close the back is solid.

Bob 510

Next is the Bob 510 (sold in the UK as a Nettar 510).  This is a slightly later camera first produced in 1934 and has a more modern rim set shutter - the dial is now replaced with a ring around the shutter housing.  Shutter speeds and apertures are the same, but the aperture adjuster is now on top of the shutter housing, behind the speed selector.  This means that the user can adjust the aperture with the camera pointing at the subject.  Perhaps not a major advance  but will have been less frustrating to use.  The lens is now a Nettar rather than the Novar - still a triplet but a different design.  There is no hand strap on this camera and the catch for the back is less secure than on the Ikonta

Nettar 515

Last is the Nettar 515.  This is later again, 1937, and also has the rim set shutter.  The shutter is now a Klio (on non-Zeiss Ikon cameras known as Prontor) with more shutter speeds (up to 1/175 and a few slow speeds).  The aperture adjuster is still on top, behind the speed adjuster, and there is now a delay setting lever below the shutter housing.  As with the Ikonta, the lens is a Novar triplet.  This shutter requires cocking before use  and there is an ancillary shutter release button on the camera body.  There is also provision to fit an optional brilliant finder on this camera although mine does not have this.  This model also has no hand strap and it has the same catch as the Bob 510

All three together, oldest on the left, newest on the right.

Exa 500

This is my fourth Ihagee camera and my third Exa.  The original Exa was a cut-down low-cost version of the Exakta and then the Exa line developed in its own right.

Exa 500 - front view

The Exa 500 is the end of the line for Exa cameras  and was developed after Ihagee was subsumed into VEB Pentacon, the state camera manufacturer.  The lineage from the Exakta is apparent in the shape.  This camera still has the rhomboidal shape introduced with the original 127 format Exakta in 1933.  It also still has the shutter release on the left, although the film advance is now on the right.  Another change is the fixed pentaprism viewfinder, so I cannot use the delightful waist level finder with this camera.

The immediate predecessor of this camera was the Exa II.  The body of the Exa IIa and this Exa 500 are identical although there are some internal differences.

Exa 500 - top view showing rhomboidal shape

The Exa 500 has a vertical cloth focal plane shutter which travels from bottom to top.  This shutter provides speeds from 1/2 to 1/500 seconds plus B.  This means it is twice as fast as the Exa II.  There are two flash settings: 1/60 for electronic flash and 1/15 for flash bulbs. This camera follows the Exa standard and flash synch is achieved by aligning a dot on the speed dial with either a zigzag icon or a bulb icon.  On the front of the body is a single PC connector.

This camera also has a shutter lock beside the viewfinder - cover the red dot to shoot, uncover to store the camera.  The only other real change between the Exa II and the Exa 500 is that the Exa 500 has an instant return mirror so the viewfinder does not go blank when you fire a shot.

Like other Exakta/Exa cameras, the film take-up spool is removable and can be replaced with an empty film cassette.  Doing this obviates the need to rewind the film but it does cost you one frame of film.  There is no internal knife to cut the film like the Exaktas have so this must be done after opening the back.  The only real advantage of this is the possibility of developing half a roll of film but I cannot imaging that many people have ever bothered.

The film advance is on the right as is normal in non-Ihagee cameras.  It has quite a short stroke of just over 90 degrees (compared to the Exakta Varex II where the advance travels about 300 degrees).

The back of these cameras come away from the camera body in one piece with the base.  This is supposed to make it easier to load film but I find this method harder.

Exa 500 - inside and the separated back  and take-up spool

Exa cameras were supplied with a variety of lenses depending on how much the customer wanted to pay.  This camera has a Meyer-Optik Domiplan. This is a triplet design so not as good as the Tessar option, but the Domiplan performs well enough when stopped down.  The lens is a semi-automatic lens - the diaphragm closes when the shutter release is pressed but stays open for composition and focussing.

The Domiplan achieves this automation by a hinged lug that protrudes over the shutter release - the photographer presses this lug which in turn presses the shutter release.

This mechanism in the Domiplan lens has a weak link that is prone to seizing but this particular lens performs OK.  My other Domiplan lens needed the mechanism cleaning with naphtha before it would work satisfactorily.

This camera would also work with my Exa fit Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar (we need to specify Carl Zeiss Jena in contradiction to Carl Zeiss Opton, the new (at the time) Carl Zeiss operation in West Germany.  East German Carl Zeiss Jena lenses are generally better than Carl Zeiss Opton lenses).

In use, this camera is much as you would expect.  The shutter speed selector is rather loose and I was not sure I was actually selecting any speed, but I tried exposures at various shutter speeds and they have all come out well exposed so the shutter speed selector must be doing its job.

There is a red flag in the viewfinder to tell you that you need to advance the film before taking the next shot.  In previous Exa cameras this was not necessary as the mirror would only return to the viewing position when you had wound on.  In this model, the mirror is an instant return mirror and it would seem that the makers thought users might get confused with such sophistication, hence the red flag.

The camera is light-proof (not a given with old cameras) and the shutter is moving smoothly.

Here are some sample photographs from my test film:

Ihagee Exakta Varex IIb

This is one of Ihagee's 'serious' cameras.  It is very similar to the two Exas I already own but has more facilities and is built to a higher standard.  It is the usual Exakta/Exa rhomboidal shape.  On my two Exa cameras, the back and base come away as one to allow film loading.  The Varex IIb is more traditional with a hinged back.  This back, however, is also removable if you want.

lens: none
focal length:  n/a
apertures: n/a
focus range: n/a
lens fitting: Exakta double bayonet
shutter: horizontal cloth focal plane
speeds: 12 seconds to 1/1000 seconds
flash: three PC connectors, no accessory shoe
film size:  35mm

Exakta Varex IIb with lens and viewfinder added

The camera is heavy, weighing 581g without lens or viewfinder.  It is left-handed.  The film advance is on the left as is the shutter release and one of the two (yes, two) shutter speed selectors.

This camera came without a lens and has both (yes, both) the Exakta bayonet mounts so this camera will take any Exakta fit lens.  Strictly, this is a Varex IIa type bayonet as it has slots at the inner bayonet flanges (not sure why).

Exakta Varex IIb as I bought it

The reason for having two bayonet mounts on one camera is that the original mount restricted the width of attached lenses.  When Ihagee developed telephoto lenses, there was too much vignetting of the image to be usable. The new bayonet mount has a wider diameter and so allows wider lenses to be fitted.  (note: I am using the word 'wider' in a mechanical sense, not in its other, optical, sense.)

The shutter release is beside the lens mount to allow the use of automatic lenses.  In the Exakta system, the lens has a secondary shutter release which fits over the camera's shutter release.  When you press the lens' secondary release, the lens diaphragm closes and the primary release is pressed, actuating the shutter.

The shutter is a horizontal cloth focal plane shutter.  On this particular specimen, the shutter is faulty.  The mechanism sounds dry (there is a faint but clear squeal when the shutter actuates), the second curtain is significantly wrinkled and, at the slower speeds, the second curtain doesn't quite close.  At 1/1000, it works fine.

This is the only camera I have seen that has two speed selectors.  On the left is a small conventional selector that covers speeds from 1/30 to 1/1000 plus B and T.  This works in a fairly conventional manner - lift, turn to the required speed and release.

slow speed selector

fast speed selector

On the right of the camera is another speed selector which covers speeds from 1/8 to 12 seconds.  These figures are in black.  This selector also provides a delay of up to six seconds (using the figures in red).  When using the delay, you also get mirror lock up so reduced vibration can be achieved when using the macro attachment - a facility that no other of my SLRs has until my Canon EOS of 1995.  In the centre of the slow speed selector there is a film speed reminder dial.  As this camera is totally manual, this dial does nothing except remind you what film you have loaded into the camera.

Another quirky thing about Exakta cameras is the film advance lever.  This moves through over 300 degrees which is more than you can do in one motion.  I am actually finding this ok but I start the motion with my left thumb for the first half of the travel and then my left index finger takes over.  Around the film advance lever there is a frame counter.  This counts up from zero - so tells you how many frames you have shot.  It is also quirky as the frame count changes when you press the shutter release rather than when you advance the film.

Exakta cameras have exchangeable viewfinders.  When I bought this camera, there was no viewfinder with it, just a rectangular hole in the top plate.  I have two viewfinders for my Exa cameras and these fit this camera so I have a choice of an eye-level finder and a waist level finder.

Hole in the top plate for fitting the viewfinder

Moving to the front of the camera, there is little to note.  As I have mentioned, there is a double bayonet mount and a shutter release.  There are also three (yes, three) PC connectors for a flash gun.  Ihagee seem to have tried to be as idiosyncratic as possible with their cameras.  Rather than go down the route used by Prontor and Compur (hence PC) and have a switch to select between bulb and electronic flash, Ihagee have provided separate connectors , one for electronic flash and two for flash bulbs.

In fact, the three PC connectors can be used in various ways to allow different shutter speeds.  Using the X connector and a shutter speed of 1/60 allows use of electronic flash.  Using the FP (Focal Plane) connector allows shutter speeds up to 1/1000 seconds which is an incredibly fast shutter speed for flash.  The manual gives guide numbers for different bulbs and shutter speeds - the fast speeds being achieved because the flashbulbs suitable for the FP connector have a flash duration of around 1/40 second and so are burning throughout the expossure.  The F (Fast) connector allows small fast flashbulbs to be used with a shutter speed of 1/30.  The X (Electronic) connector can also be used with a shutter speed of 1/8 with any flashbulb.  I am not sure how much advantage is given to the photographer with the above choices, but I almost never use flash and have never used flashbulbs, so I am likely to be missing the point.

Underneath the camera are four knobs.  The smallest of these unscrews to allow the use of an internal knife to cut the film when an empty cassette is used in place of the take-up spool.  Next to this is the rewind knob with a small folding crank.  At the other end of the camera is a knob which is pulled away from the camera to release the catch on the back.  Between these two knobs is the tripod boss which is the standard 1/4 Whitworth tread.

Base of camera

The outside of the back has two small chrome rectangles and one large chrome rectangle.  These are the fitting for internal components, the small rectangles help to keep the film flat and the large rectangle is part of the fitting of the pressure plate.

Rear of camera

The camera in use:

I am trying out this camera (despite having a faulty shutter) with a roll of out-of-date and no longer made film - Kodak Plus X.  I have never used this film before but it had a very good reputation.  This film is monochrome and is rated at 125 ASA/22 DIN.  I don't know why but it seemed appropriate to try this camera with a vintage monochrome film.

The camera set-up I am using is the Varex IIb body, Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar (50mm and f2.8) and a waist-level viewfinder with a plain focussing screen.  [This lens should not be confused with a Carl Zeiss Opton Tessar from West Germany.  The Carl Zeiss Jena lens is the real thing.]

There are many options available for this camera for both lens and finder.  I have the Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar and two Meyer-Optik Domiplan lenses available and the waist-level finder and a pentaprism eye-level finder.  I am enjoying the waist-level finder but must admit to struggling a bit with the reverse action when I move the camera.

First aspect of the waist-level finder is the fact that the image is reversed left-to-right.  If you want to move the image to the right, you need to move the camera to the left.

It is also easy to get verticals at an angle.  Again, you have to move the camera the 'wrong' way to correct this.

This finder has a plain focussing screen which makes focussing a bit harder.  For me, this is not a significant problem as I usually use hyperfocal focussing.  On the rare occasions when I rely on critical focussing, there is a hinged magnifier available which is more than I shall ever need.  If not, other focussing screens are available with micro-prisms and split-image centres.

I have been carrying this camera around for about an hour this afternoon and I can confirm that this is a heavy camera.  There are strap lugs with split rings available to connect a strap.  A nice touch is the presence of triangular leather patches behind the split rings to stop the rings and strap ends from scratching the camera body.  While I have a number of straps available, I have not fitted one to this camera.

Contrary to my usual practice, I am using a shutter-priority exposure system, adjusting the aperture to vary the exposure.  The reason I am doing this is because this ('faulty') shutter seems to perform best at 1/125 seconds so I am keeping it set at this speed.

What I am finding, which delights me, is that I am seeing the image in the wauist-level finder as a picture rather than as a view.  This is making composition not so much easier (see my comments about image reversal) but clearer and more precise.  So far I much prefer it.

I am also finding the left-hand operation surprisingly easy.  I am no longer pressing the slow speed selector hoping to fire the shutter.  The film advance with its 300 degree travel is also surprisingly easy to use left handed.

As I have already said, I usually use hyperfocal focussing but if I did not I think I would find right-handed focussing cumbersome.

My first film being completed, I need to develop the film and scan it.  Then I shall post some sample pictures here.

Film is now developed and scanned.  Here are some example pictures, clearly showing the problem with the shutter is one of them.  The rest are not too bad (if you ignore my poor scanning ability!).

Legacy lens adapters

In the course of collecting these old camera, I have also collected a number of old lenses, some of which are very good.

My Olympus OM10 camera has a Zuiko 50mm, f1.8 lens which six elements in five groups and a Vivitar zoom lens (75-205mm) which has a very good reputation.  I also have another Vivitar zoom lens (20-200mm) which doesn't have quite the same reputation as the other Vivitar but performs very well nonetheless.

My Zenit E came with the famous Helios-44 which is a superb copy of the Carl Zeiss Biotar (six elements in four groups) and my Praktica LT3 came with a Meyer Optiks Domiplan which is a triplet - so not in the Zuiko or Helios-44 league but a good performer when stopped down.

When thinking about a 50mm prime lens for my Canon DSLR, it occurred to me that I already had several good  50mm prime lenses and was there any point in buying another?

With this thought in mind, I looked into buying an adapter so I could use one of my old prime lenses (it would seem that these  have morphed into legacy lenses while i wasn't looking).

First, I looked into buying an adapter for my Olympus OM lenses.   There are a number of these available and they are quite cheap.  These range from simple metal rings with an OM female bayonet on one side and an EF male bayonet on the other - these cost £2 to £3 each - to more complex adapters with electrical contacts and a chip.  this is then one I bought and it cost me £12.99 including postage.

The adapter ring is very well made out of brass which has been chrome plated.  The EF bayonet fits smoothly into the Canon digital camera and, similarly, the Olympus lenses fit smoothly into the female side of the adapter.

When the lens, adapter and camera are all fitted together, the result is snug and secure.  There is no significant play, even with the heavy and long Vivitar zoom.    The electrical contacts make contact and the camera recognises the adapter.

The point of the contacts and chip is so that the focal length and aperture of the lens can be stored in the Exif data of the resulting digital file.  th achieve this it is necessary to programme the chip on the adapter.  t5rhis is actually quite easy - but not simple as it involves quite a few steps. Once the adapter is programmed for a particular lens, it is necessary to manually set the aperture on the lens and then separately set the aperture on the camera - this aperture is then stored in the Exif data.

If accurate Exif data is important to you, this process will be worthwhile (and will be necessary to repeat for each lens you use with the adapter) but I routinely ignore Exif data so I do not bother with the process.  If, like me, you want to be simple, you just focus the lens, set the aperture (you need the camera to be in Av mode) and let the camera select the shutter speed.

The adapter works well so long as you remember the lens is entirely manual - you need to focus and set the aperture for each shot.  Given that I use fully manual cameras a lot of the time, this should be second nature, but as soon as I pick up my digital DSLR I forget to worry about focus and exposure.

My next adapter is for M42 lenses (also known as Pentax fit, although developed by Zeiss Ikon in Dresden in the 1940s).

I had two M42 lenses when I bought this adapter - the Helios-44 Biotar copy and the Meyer-Optik Domiplan.  Both screwed nicely into the adapter but there is a problem with the Domiplan lens in that it is an automatic lens - there is a pin on the lens that must be depressed by the camera just before the shutter is released in order to close the diaphragm. The adapter leaves this pin alone so the Domiplan can only be used wide open.  

Actually, while trying to get this lens to work with the adapter, I noticed that the lens has a significant fungal growth on one of the inner glass surfaces.  This lens is now in the dustbin!

The Helios-44 lens worked well.  This adapter is a simple aluminium disc with no contacts or chip sop there is no need to set anything up.  The same working method as with the OM adapter is required - focus with the lens diaphragm wide open, stop down the lens to the required aperture and let the camera sort out the shutter speed.  As there are no contacts, no lens details are stored in the Exif data.

Both adapters are easy to use and work well.  Not being interested in the Exif data, I would have been better off buying a cheaper and simpler OM adapter, but the one I did buy was certainly cheap enough.

Theoretically, as the camera is metering the light through the lens it should give the right exposure regardless of the lens used.  It has been suggested to me that TTL meters do not cope well at low light levels so will give poor exposure at small apertures.  I have not found that.  Initially, using the OM adapter with the Zuiko 50mm lens, the camera consistently overexposed at all apertures with the highlights clipping in all photographs.  The cause of this is that I was not setting the aperture on the camera as well as on the lens so the metering system assumed - incorrectly - that the lens would shut down when I pressed the shutter release.

Repeating my OM test exposures with the camera set to f1.8, the exposures were fine with the histograms coming up well to the left with no clipping.  This setting of the aperture on the camera as well as on the lens is only a problem with chipped adapters - or you can do as I now will and keep the camera set to its smallest aperture.

When using the Helios-44 with its simple adapter, the exposure histograms were well to the left and without any clipping so giving usable photographs.  This is regardless of the aperture set on the lens.  With this adapter, it is not possible to set an aperture on the camera as the absence of contacts makes the camera default to f00

Test pictures:  first, the same scene at different apertures (after these, a focal plane test).

OM adapter with a Zuiko 50mm, f1.8 lens.

 

aperture f16

aperture f5.6

aperture f1.8

M42 adapter with Helios-44 58mm, f2 lens.

aperture f16

aperture f56.

aperture f2

Focal plane test:  in order to focus on infinity, it is necessary that the focal node of the lens is the right distance from the film/sensor.  For a 50mm lens, this distance is 50mm (in some designs, the node might be in front of the physical lens).  This distance is split in two.  The first part is the film/sensor to mount distance (obviously, this never changes) and the second part is the mount to node distance.  This second part is susceptible to being changed by the adapter.  If the mount is too thin, the lens will still focus on infinity but its near focus point will be further away than intended.  If the mount is too thick, the lens will focus on nearer objects ok but will not be able to focus on infinity.  It is this last that I want to check.  I am not too bothered if I cannot focus on an object two feet away but I am very bothered about not being able to focus on infinity.  To be clear, I had better define 'infinity' - for this purpose, it is anything over 50metres away.

First the OM adapter.  The first picture is a standard scene in Lincoln.  The second picture is an enlarged crop from the centre to critically check the focus.

detail from the centre

Now the M42 adapter.

detail from the centre

You can see by comparing the two details that the Zuiko is performing better at a distance.  I think I can safely say that this lens adapter is correctly placing the lens in the mount.  The detail from the Helios-44 photograph is a lot less clear - but I cannot say if it is down to the adapter or the lens performance.  It is certainly good enough to use.

Voigtlander Vito I

Voigtlander Vito

I have used as a title for this article 'Vito I' but the camera is actually the Vito - Voigtlander were not aware of the forthcoming Vito range at this point.  I already have an article on the Vito II here and much in that article applies here as well.  The two cameras are very similar as you might expect.  The lens serial number says the lens was made in 1945 which is also the probable date of manufacture - one of the first cameras to be made in war-ravished Germany.

lens: Skopar

focal length: 50mm

apertures: 3.5 to 16

focus range: 1 metre to infinity

lens fitting: fixed

shutter: Prontor II

speeds:  1/5 to 1/200

flash: synchronised for bulbs

film size:  35mm

The camera is a folder and nicely compact when closed.  It measures 120mm by 70mm by 40mm closed and 120mm by 70mm by 80mm when open.  Closed, it nicely fits in a trouser or jacket pocket.  The only distinguishing mark on the closed camera is an ornate 'V' on the lens door and a fairly indistinct 'Voigtlander' is embossed on the leatherette on the back together with the model name 'Vito'.  There is also the country of origin embossed on the back which is 'Germany'.  As Germany is the English name for the country this indicates that it is an official import.  Strangely, for an official import, the focussing scale is in metres rather than feet, suggesting that Voigtlander were not fully geared up for export in 1945.

Vito top view

The top plate is very uncluttered.  There is a knurled ring at either end.  The right-hand ring is the film advance and the left-hand ring the rewind.  In the centre of the top plate is a very small, reverse Galilean viewfinder.  The eyepiece is only 5mm by 2.5mm.  The image seen is roughly 0.5 times life size.  This is very small compared to more modern viewfinders but it is more than adequate.  There is also a frame counter which counts up from one.  There is no accessory shoe (flash shoe) although one was available as an extra and fitted over the viewfinder.

On the rear of the top plate is a lever.  In the normal position (down) the film advance will only advance one frame.  When raised, the film can be advanced as far as you want and can be rewound.  The toothed wheel which is exposed by raising the this lever can be used to set the frame number to one.

The underside of the camera contains three items.  Close to the centre is a 3/8 Whitworth tripod boss.  A 1/4 Whitworth insert would have been available for the more usual tripod size.  There is also a button to release the lens door.  This is spring loaded and partially opens the door.  This door never sprung open under its own steam and from new they needed the user to fully open the door once it was released.

The third item on the base is two 'feet'.  These are little more than pins.  A third foot is on the lens door giving three feet altogether which allow the camera to sit stably on a flat surface.  This is primarily intended to allow group portraits using the self-timer.

When the door is opened, the lens comes forward on its bellows and locks in place.  The shutter release is on the top edge of the door together with a threaded socket for a standard cable release.

Vito - lens door open

The lens is a Skopar f3.5, 50mm lens.  This is the original version of the famous Color-Skopar and is not calculated for colour film.  However, it is intended for panchromatic film so should perform well with colour film.  See the test pictures below for details.  This lens focusses from one metre to infinity and has Voigtlander's usual two Happy Snapper settings - a circle for the hyperfocal distance at f5.6 (approximately five metres to infinity at f5.6 or 2.5 metres to infinity at f16) and a triangle which gives a focus range of 2.5 metres to five metres at f5.6 (ideal for groups).  This lens has no blue/purple tinge and so cannot have been coated as was normal post-WWII and so will be liable to flare.

The shutter is a Prontor II (which is the same as a Klio on a Zeiss Ikon camera) which is a pre-war design and was soon to be updated to the Prontor S.  This Prontor II has a PC connector and so must be synchronised for flash - I would suspect for fast flash bulbs (F: sync) but there is no indication of this on the shutter housing (my Vito II has a Pronto shutter and this is specifically marked F:).  Shutter speeds are 1/5, 1/10, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100 and 1/200 which is more than adequate.  The bezel of the shutter housing bears the shutter name - Prontor II - Gauthier's maker logo and Voigtlander's script name.

Vito - lens and shutter

There is a self-timer lever which we are always told not to use on old cameras to prevent damage to the shutter.  It barely works on this camera, taking 16 seconds to actuate the shutter and then needing a little help from my finger over the last two or three seconds.

This shutter needs cocking before use - the cocking lever moves from left to right and up to cock the shutter.

Apertures available are f3.5 to f16.  As there are no click-stops, you can set an intermediate value if you want to.  The only other item of note on the shutter assembly is a stellate lever.  I am not entirely sure what this is for but I suspect it was to do with the hinged yellow filter that the early Vitos were fitted with.  The shutter bezel has three screws in it that are also part of the filter assembly.  When production had used up the store of pre-war parts, the bezel no longer had these three screws.

Inside is where this camera gets interesting.  The design dates from 1939 and the camera was intended to use unperforated 35mm film.  As the film was unperforated, there are no sprockets in the camera.  Instead, the camera judges the film framing with a feeler roller as in an up-market 120 camera. I have been led to believe  by the Interweb that this camera was designed to use Kodak's 828 film which is unperforated 35 mm film with backing paper like 120 film. As the film came on a spool with backing paper (again, as with 120 film) there are springs fitted to the film chambers to keep the film tight on the spools. Actually, looking at the camera, there is no reason why the camera should not have used unperforated 35 mm film in a reloadable cassette - Leica and Zeiss Ikon made such cassettes for their 35 mm cameras. I have never seen a 1939 Vito - this would tells us immediately whether the camera used 828 film or a loadable cassette as 828 film would require a red window on the back of the camera to allow the user to see at least the first frame number. There is no red window on my 1945 Vito - was there one on the 1939 version? When production restarted in 1945, Voigtlander decided to modify the camera for modern perforated 35mm film (135 format).  The only real change is that the film gate (the rectangular opening that lets the light hit the film in the correct place) is reduced to 24mm by 36mm (originally it had been 30mm by 40mm).

The film take up chamber will take the standard spool from a 35mm cassette as a take-up spool or an empty cassette can be fitted which means that when the film is finished you can open the back and cut the film with the exposed part already in a cassette.

These pictures were taken with this camera on Agfa Vista plus 200 ISO colour negative film (details here): (the black wedge would seem to be a scanning artifact.  The frames all overlap about 1-2 mm and this overlap is also wedge shaped)

Cowslip close-up (from one metre away)

Lincoln Broadgate

Lincoln High Street

Lincoln Pottergate

Bencini Comet 44

Comet 44, front view

This is a later development of the Comet line.  I also have a Comet S which is a half-frame camera.  This Comet is a full-frame camera.  It is a well designed and well made cheap camera.  In that respect it compares well with the Japanese Meisupii and Halina ranges which are not that well made. This is a 127 camera which takes square pictures 4 x 4 cm (hence the '44' in the name?).

The main body is made from cast aluminium alloy with an anodised finish.  Internally, there are some aluminium plates as well.  The back, which is also aluminium, comes away entirely to load the film.

The lens is marked as Bencini Acromatic 5.5 cm, f8.  The lens is actually a simple single meniscus lens.  In this camera, the lens is loose because someone has attempted to dismantle the camera.  Unfortunately, it is not possible to tighten the lens without a special tool which I do not have.

The shutter is a simple shutter with two speeds - 1/100 and 1/50 - and includes flash synchronisation.  The flash sync. mechanism is rather crude and is unlikely to work with electronic flash.

On the top plate on the left is the spool release to allow the insertion of a new roll of film - this is pulled up while putting the film in or taking the used spool out.  It is spring loaded to keep the film securely in place.

Comet 44, top view

Next to the spool release is an accessory shoe with a large chrome spring.  Next to this is the shutter release.  This is nicely placed for the index finger.  The last item on the top plate is a knurled chrome knob to advance the film.  This also pulls up to allow the insertion of an empty spool and removal of the finished film.

In the centre of the top is a bright yellow viewfinder.  That is, it looks yellow until you use it but looking through it, it is purple.  As is usual with roll film cameras, there is a red window on the back to allow you to see the frame numbers when you are winding the film on.