Uploads from John Kratz, tagged 35mm

Univex Mercury II (Model CX)

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Tue, 12 May 2009 04:41:48 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

Postwar reincarnation of the Mercury I (c1945).

Universal Camera Corp. suspended their normal camera-making operations during World War II in order to manufacture binoculars for the armed forces. By the time the war ended and Universal resumed camera production, they had decided to revamp the popular Mercury in order to allow it to accept standard 35mm film rolls (as opposed to the special Univex #200 film required for the Mercury I). This required new dies, resulting in the Mercury II being about a quarter-inch longer and taller than the Mercury I.

Aside from the addition of the rewind knob and other obvious physical differences between the Mercury I & II, there were two cosmetic differences which would become somewhat problematic. The Mercury II was made from a different alloy which quickly lost its luster, making clean examples hard to find today. Also, the Mercury II was covered with a synthetic material instead of the leather found on the Mercury I. This may have necessitated the use of a different adhesive, as most examples of the Mercury II have what looks to be glue that has oozed out at the edges of the covering. Despite these issues, the Mercury II was a popular camera in its time, and popular among collectors today.

Vivitar cv35

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 09:13:56 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

Introduced in 2000, the cv35 is a basic 35mm point & shoot. It was made in several transparent colors, but I liked this colorless version the best.

Specs are readily available on the web.

Canon Sure Shot WP-1

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:04:20 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

The Canon WP-1 is a waterproof 35mm film camera.
There is some discrepancy (in Amazon.com reviews) as to whether this camera is actually waterproof or merely weatherproof. I don't know why this is, since Canon's literature states pretty clearly that it's waterproof. I even went a step further and talked to a Canon rep, who confirmed it.
At any rate, I took it swimming with me last weekend, and the inside was bone dry when I opened it up afterward. The picture quality is supposed to be excellent, although I haven't had my film developed yet. At the very least, it should be much better than those one-time-use waterproof cameras you get at the drug store, and you can get one almost as cheaply.

The WP-1 is nearly identical to the Sure Shot A-1, but I don't know what the difference is, other than the color of the grip.
Production of the WP-1 began in April of 1994. Technical specs can be found at Canon's website.

Nikon FM

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 08:56:29 -0800

John Kratz posted a photo:

Having bought the N65, I found myself relying on the fully-automatic setting for nearly every shot. So, I decided it would be a good idea to get myself a fully manual camera in order to force myself to think about my exposure settings. Using this camera makes me feel like a photographer, as opposed to an average shmuck with a point-and-shoot, which is what I really am. :o)

The FM was manufactured in Japan by Nippon Kogaku from 1977-82. Despite its name, it doesn't pick up any radio stations.

The lens shown here was manufactured c1964.

Nikon N65

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 08:07:08 -0800

John Kratz posted a photo:

My first SLR. The N65 appealed to me because it had the advantages of interchangeable lenses and the WYSIWYG viewfinder, but also the option to shoot full-auto like a P&S.

This example is shown with its 28-80 kit lens. Soon after buying this camera/lens combo, I came across Gary Voth's great article, The Forgotten Lens, and promptly bought a 50mm 1.8 prime. I have since used the 50mm far more often than any of my other lenses.

The N65 was introduced in the year 2000.

Bolsey Model B2

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 18:55:26 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

The Bolsey B2 is a compact 35mm camera with a coupled rangefinder, made from 1949-56 in New York. This particular example was manufactured prior to July 17, 1951.
I'll have to upload a photo showing all the fantastic stuff that came with this camera. Best ten bucks I ever spent!

Also sold by Bolsey was the Bolsey-Flex

Ihagee Exa

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 18:37:09 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

Made in Germany by Ihagee Kamerawerk, the Exa is a 35mm SLR with a waist-level viewfinder, produced from 1951 to 1962. This example was made sometime between April of 1956 and May of 1959.

Exakta Varex VX

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 10:19:31 -0800

John Kratz posted a photo:

The Exakta cameras are very popular with collectors, and documentation is abundant. McKeown's, however, is my only real reference source, and so I'm not quite sure what to call this camera, based on their photos. Perhaps some Exakta enthusiast out there will enlighten me.
In any case, I can tell you that this camera was made by Ihagee Kamerawerk in Dresden, Germany in 1950 or 51, and that the Varex was the first 35mm camera with an interchangeable pentaprism finder.
This example is shown fitted with a Schacht Travenar 135mm 3.5 lens.