Uploads from John Kratz, tagged nikon

Champion

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 06:50:21 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

The Champion is one of three cameras offered by "The Camera Man" of Chicago, the other two being the Silver King and The President. While the design of the Silver King was unique, the Champion and President were identical except in name.
This same camera was also sold by the Drexel Camera Company as the Drexel Jr. Miniature, and by Lee Industries as the Leecrest. These facts suggest that the angular design of this camera was much more popular at the time than the curved, streamlined style of the Silver King; reasoning which is supported by the relative rarity of the Silver King.
Go figure.

Puck

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:34:59 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

This gorgeous box camera was made c1925 by British manufacturer Thornton-Pickard. It's a simple camera, but ruggedly constructed of wood (covered with faux alligator) with brass fittings. The wood is painted flat black on the inside, but judging by the grain, it looks like mahogany.

Thornton-Pickard also made a camera called the Stereo Puck (which looks nothing like this camera), but the non-stereo Puck is obviously not a common camera; I could find but one online source of information about it, and the collector from whom I purchased this example told me it was the only one he had ever seen. I have seen photos of two other examples, both of which have a different hinge/latch configuration than this one. Those examples have hinges where the latch is on mine (the black bar on the side, at the rear). On mine, the covering serves as the hinge.

One of those other examples can be seen here at Eric Evans' excellent website. Eric has an incredible, magnificent collection, consisting mostly of British wood & brass cameras made before 1914. Even if you're not a collector, you should really check it out:

www.woodandbrass.co.uk/index.php

The Rock

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 09:08:24 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

My daughter is the catcher for her softball team. She wanted me to take a picture of her where she's not smiling, so I think she'll like this one.

They won the championship yesterday, and during the presentation of the trophies, her coach called her "the rock on which this team was built".

She makes me proud.

Yashica Mat-124G

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 07:19:21 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

The Yashica Mat-124G is the culmination of the Yashica TLR line. It was introduced c1971 and continued to be produced until c1986. Features include shutter speeds from 1 to 1/500 sec. (plus B), a built-in self-timer, a crank film advance/shutter cock, and the ability to accept either 120 or 220 film. It also boasts the highly-regarded 80mm Yashinon taking lens (seen here with its accessory hood), capable of producing exceptionally sharp images.

This pristine example came to me through my friend Diane, from her friend Joan.
Many thanks to both of you!

Univex Mercury CC-1500

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Fri, 08 May 2009 10:21:30 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

The Universal Camera Corporation found great success in the early/mid 1930s by selling very inexpensive cameras and film. By the late 30s, however, the camera-buying public had shown an increasing interest in high-end imports such as the Leica and Contax lines, and the simple plastic still cameras offered by Universal up to that point were no competition. Universal rectified the matter in October of 1938, with the release of the Univex Mercury (Model CC).

Cast from an aluminum alloy and covered with leather, the Mercury was not only unlike anything Universal had offered before, it was actually a revolutionary achievement in the industry. I won't go into all the features, but two are worth noting: First was the unique rotary shutter (responsible for the circular protrusion on top of the camera), capable of extremely accurate speeds up to 1/1000th of a second. Secondly, the Mercury was the first camera to have internal flash synchronization, known today as the hot shoe.
German-made cameras from Leitz and Zeiss were selling for hundreds of dollars, making the American-made Mercury a VERY appealing alternative at a mere $25. Nonetheless, producing America's fastest candid camera did not satisfy Universal, as the Contax II claimed a shutter speed of 1/1250. Thus, in June of 1939, Universal introduced the Mercury Model CC-1500, named after its top shutter speed.

For collectors, the CC-1500 is a rare find, as only (an estimated) 3,000 were manufactured, compared to approximately 45,000 of the standard Mercury Model CC. The example pictured here is equipped with a Wollensak f/3.5 Tricor lens, and sold new in 1939 for $29.75. The camera was also available with a Hexar f2.0 lens (rare today), an option that more than doubled the price of the outfit to a whopping $65!

If you're still reading this and, for some reason, would like to know more, click on over to this page at Rick Oleson's site.

Univex Iris Deluxe

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:57:52 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

Yet another attractive camera from Universal, the Univex Iris Deluxe (c1938) is a fancy version of the Iris Standard. It's a fairly heavy camera, cast from a zinc-based alloy with a chromium finish, and covered in black leatherette. It produces 1⅛" x 1½" exposures on Univex #00 rollfilm, and has a 50mm lens in a telescoping mount. This particular camera is the fixed-focus version, though the vast majority of examples have a focusing lens.

According to Cynthia Repinski, author of The Univex Story, the fixed-focus Iris Deluxe was only on the market for one or two months, making it "very scarce and difficult for the collector to obtain".

Super Altissa

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 04:59:33 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

The Super Altissa is a leather-clad box camera for 6x6cm exposures on rollfilm. Aperture & shutter speeds are selectable, and it's got a focusing lens. This rare and beautiful camera was made c1938 in Dresden, Germany by Eho-Altissa.

Slick (for rebollo)

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:33:27 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

Just another view of the Slick, showing the name of the camera on the latch plate.

Slick

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 06:37:16 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

The Slick is a Japanese camera, made of bakelite and with a telescoping lens tube. It produces 3x4cm exposures on 127 film.
According to Camera-wiki's Slick page, there are only two known surviving examples. That would make the camera pictured here number three.

[update: I've edited that page to reflect the existence of this camera]

The Slick is known to have been manufactured as early as October 1940 and as late as April 1943. This example came to me in a military-issue, olive-drab pouch, and was among other vintage militaria offered by the seller. Given that fact, along with the period of manufacture, I can't help but wonder about the history of this camera. Could it have been at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941?

The President

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 06:53:19 -0800

John Kratz posted a photo:

If this camera looks familiar, it's probably because you've seen the identical Champion in my photostream. The Camera Man made only three cameras, and since I managed to acquire the elusive Silver King first, it wasn't too difficult to pull together the entire product line. :o)

I also have the original boxes for these cameras, as well as a fair amount of boxes, accessories, and miscellaneous ephemera accumulated via my camera collecting. I'm thinking of photographing some of that stuff and making a new set.

Catamaran at Honeymoon Beach

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:21:09 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

From the deck of the "Bones", USVI.

Shark's Mouth

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:18:10 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic

Labadee, Haiti

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:17:17 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

formations

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:18:43 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic

Caribbean Cactus

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 10:17:40 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

The cruise ship Explorer of the Seas, seen from Labadee, Haiti.

San Juan

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:41:11 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

This is a view of San Juan, Puerto Rico from the deck of the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Explorer of the Seas.

Bird Island

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:20:11 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic.

Bird Island

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:12:48 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

This is in Los Haitises National Park, in the Dominican Republic.

Explorer of the Seas

nobody@flickr.com (John Kratz) — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:02:27 -0700

John Kratz posted a photo:

This is the Royal Caribbean cruise ship, Explorer of the Seas.

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.