I have been waiting for so long to transform one of my classic camera into something different. Actually I have two units of Olympus Pen EE3 which I have been thinking to change the look on one of it. And finally after much deliberation, I managed to transform its original look from this...
and TA-DA.. into this! Do you agree that it look magnificent and cute? It took me one whole day from disassembling the parts, paint the bottom and top panel with Gold paint and replace the black into brown leatherette and finally reassemble everything back into one piece. I feel aching all over my body but it's really great and worth the effort.
Twin brothers, one with new skin and the other with its original.
I have been very busy with works lately therefore I don't have time to snap individual photo of my newly acquired collection and update them with some details reference here. However, as a quick update, I list here all the previous items plus those recently acquired at the time I wrote this. Once I am not too busy, I shall update those new ones with detailed photos and information. After all, I am expecting 4 more to arrive in the next couple of weeks, so let's just wait for them as well.
Collections in Glass Cabinet
Level 1 - Canon AV-1, Arrow Vintage Spy Mini, Canon Canonet 28, Canon AE-1
Level 2 - Minetta Vintage Spy Mini, Bell & Howell/Canon Canonet 19, Canon Canonet 28 (1st Version), Bencini Comet S
Level 3 - Balda Baldinette, Rolleicord, Kiev88, Halina 35X Super, Certotix 6x9 Folding
Level 4 - Halina 35X Super, Agfa Super Silette L, Halina 35X, Kodak Retinette 1A, Bencini Comet II
Collections in Wood Cabinet
Level 1 - Olympus Pen EE3, Nikon FG, Asahi Pentax, Minolta SRT100X
Level 2 - Halina Paulette Electric, Nikon EM, Zenit TTL, Minolta Hi-Matic F, Yashica Minister III, Yashica FX3
Level 3 - Konica EE-Matic, Samoca LE-II, Halina Simplette, Agfa ISO-Rapid C, Olympus Pen EE3
Level 4 - My earliest collection, the Canon EOS 5 and Canon EOS 50
Apart from the cameras, I have also acquired quite a numbers of camera accessories like flashes, light meters and self-timers. And of course all of them are vintage as well.
The last two pictures below are the latest gems in my collection. Both are the Vintage Spy Mini Camera. You can see how tiny and cute they are when placed next to next to a normal size camera. Next to the camera you can also see the tiny little green thingy. That's the film the camera used actually. Soooo tiny and cute little thing right? I was so fortunate that I got 6 of them as it came together as a lot when I bought the Minetta. Those films are no longer available anywhere. So, of course I am not going to 'waste' them but only for display.
Arrow Vintage Spy Mini.
Minetta Vintage Spy Mini
My collection# Vintage Camera Accessories
Canon Flash Unit J-2
My collection# Vintage Camera Accessories
Hunter Standard II Electronic Flash Gun
My collection#17
Certotix 6x9cm self erecting folding CameraInfo from
Cosmonet.orgMade by Certo Kamera Werk (Dresden, Germany) in 1931. Certo had been making many kind of 6x9cm 120 film cameras since around 1925. This camera was a rare model of self erecting spring bed camera among the other folding cameras. It is one of the most compact light 6x9cm folding cameras ever made, only 420 grams.
It has a reflecting waist level view finder on top of lens board, which was most popular for folding cameras of this age. It also has a frame finder attached on the top of the body. The lens is a Meyer Gorlitz Trioplan 10.5cm F6.3. The focusing is front cell rotation, focusing from 2 meters to infinity, no range finder. Minimum aperture is F22.
The shutter is VARIO, ever ready type, has T, B, 1/25 - 1/100sec, no self timer. There is a small hole under the lens board, which is not for a shutter release, but is able to hold a small release cable and possibly to fold the bed with the cable inside.
Certotix Specifications | Maker | Certo Kamera Werk (Dresden, Germany) |
| C.A | 1931 |
| Film | 120, 6x9cm, 8 exposures |
| Weight | 420g |
| Lens | Meyer Gorlitz Trioplan 10.5cm F6.3
Minimum aperture F22 |
| Shutter | VARIO T, B, 1/25 - 1/100sec |
| Finder | Reflex and Frame finder |
| Focusing | Front cell rotating, no range finder |
| Film winding | Red window, no cover |
My collection#16
Balda BaldinetteInfo from Camerapedia and
TheCameraSite.netBalda Baldinette a folding 35mm camera was manufactured by Balda Bunde Kamera-Werk in West-Germany around 1951. It is fitted with a Schneider-Kreuznach Radionar f/2.9 50mm lens in a Prontor-S shutter.
It is quite compact and easy to handle. The camera is built over a sturdy die cast body and has a clear resemblance to some Kodak Retina cameras and especially to Zeiss Nettar 515.
Baldinette has no rangefinder neither an exposure meter. The Super Baldina which was introduced in 1955 has a rangefinder but in stead of beeing a folding camera it has a collapsible lens unit like Balda Baldixette or Goldeck 6x6.
In 1953, the Baldinette sold in the USA for US$40 (equivalent to US$317 in 2009). Copies with red and blue leatherette are known, but very rare.
My collection#15
Agfa Isoflash-Rapid CInfo from
CamerapediaThe Agfa Isoflash-Rapid C was manufactured around 1966 by Agfa Camera-Werk in Munich, Germany. It was made for Agfa's own film system for 24×24mm exposures, the Rapid film cartridges. The two-cartridge system simplified film load. The new cartridge has to be layed into the camera with the film reaching the opening of a second cartridge which winds up the exposed film. Then the camera has to be closed and can be used after winding up for the first exposure.
The Isoflash-Rapid C was basically the Iso-Rapid C for distribution in the USA. It uses flashcubes. It has an Isitar f/8.2 lens in a Parator shutter with two speeds: “Sunny” (1/80 sec) and “Shade/Cloudy” (1/40 sec). For firing the flash cubes the camera does use a battery that is well hidden behind the baseplate.
My collection# Vintage Camera Accessories
Agfa Lucimeter S - Camera LightmeterInfo from
Jollinger.comAgfa was a major photographic manufacturer in Germany; like Kodak, their bread and butter was film and consumables, but they also sold a lot of consumer-level cameras and accessories. Yet—like Kodak—they never really got into exposure meters. There are only a few that bear the Agfa name, and it's safe to say they were made by someone else and branded by Agfa. I think it was made by Bertram, as it bears a good resemblance to their Quick and Super. But that's just my opinion.
This is the last of their meters, the Lucimeter S (previous models were the Lucimeter, Lucimeter II, Lucimeter M and Lucimat). This one is match-needle with no scale on the face.
My collection# Vintage Camera Accessories
Agfa "Agfalux" Bakelite Photo Flash 35mmInfo from
RolandAndCaroline.coYou can't be involved with old cameras for long before you start having to deal with accessories like flash guns.
This type was introduced in the late 1950s - possibly as early as 1957 - but was certainly being stocked by the London dealer “Wallace Heaton” by 1959. Very similar in styling to the original Agfalux - but smaller and for capless bulbs only. In 1962 This flash would have cost £3 19s 11d including the plastic case. The 22.5v battery was 2s 6d extra. Available in white as well as black.
My collection# Vintage Camera Accessories
Rollei E15 Auto Flash Head 35mm
