Week 178 - Lancaster Instantograph

Lancaster Instantograph, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

This folding plate camera belongs to my brother-in-law. The patent dates from 1898, and the camera was probably made a couple of years after this, making it the oldest camera I have used so far. In the absence of plates, I considered using photographic paper as a negative, but opted in the end to use a 120 rollfilm back that came with the ICA camera that I used in week 52,

photo from week 177 - Brownie Flash 20

Professor Jon, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

This is Professor Jon of "Professor Jon's Flea Circus" - the smallest circus in the world. He was performing at a spring fair in Weston Park, Sheffield. The unhealthy looking skin tone is as result of using slide film cross-processed in negative chemistry, it's not the result of some flea-borne disease!

photo from week 177 - Brownie Flash 20

reflected self-portrait with Kodak Brownie Flash 20 camera and floral hat, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

I knew this one would be slightly underexposed, but there is no "B" setting on the camera, so I waited for the sun to come out, then used the biggest aperture and shortest focussing distance to get this mirror self-portrait.

photo from week 177 - Brownie Flash 20

Lauren, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

There are three apertures, and three focus settings on the Brownie Flash 20, this was the "middle" aperture and the "portrait" focus point.

Week 177 - Brownie Flash 20

Brownie Flash 20, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

I love the 1950s design of this camera, with its enormous flash reflector. It has a few minor sophistications that raise it above the minimum. There are three apertures, and a wind on system which doesn't require you to use the red window, other than to advance the film to the first frame.
The downside is that it takes 620 film, which is identical to 120 film, but on a slimmer spool, so you can't use ordinary 120 rolls in it. 620 film was discontinued some years ago, so the only way to use it is to respool some 120 onto a 620 reel, which is what I've done this week.

photo from week 176 - Ferrania Astor

decorated cow, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

Another indoor photo to take advantage of the reasonalbe specs of this camera. The film is slightly expired Kodak Ektar 100, and I was pleased with the sharpness of both the lens and the film. This was 1/25th second at f5.6

photo from week 176 - Ferrania Astor

reflected self portrait with Kodak Brownie 20 camera and purple silicone hat, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

I wanted to hand hold my mirror portrait, which meant using a large aperture, with its associated shallow depth of field. I used a tape measure to position myslef, and set the focus to the minimum, 1 metre (so I was 50cm from the mirror). There is a sharp zone, but its plane is behind the camera in this shot.

photo from week 176 - Ferrania Astor

charity emporium glassware, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The Astor has a full range of shutter speeds, so by resting the camera on a shelf, I was able to use a slow speed, hals a second in this case. The shutter sticks below this speed, and the B setting doesn't work, but otherwise the camera performed pretty well.

Week 176 - Ferrania Astor

Ferrania Astor, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

Although it's rather battered, this camera generally works OK, though the "B" setting doesn't work, and the 1 second is very sticky. With the lens retracted, the camera is quite compact, and quicker and easier to get ready to shoot than a similar bellows camera would be.
I've loaded it with some slightly expired Kodak Ektar colour negative film.

photo from week 175 - Kodak Jiffy VP

metal staircases, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

This might be the sharpest of the lot, but it's still pretty bad. Unfortunatley my reflected self-portrait this week was a complete failure, I suspect I left the shutter on instantaneous rather than "B"...

photo from week 175 - Kodak Jiffy VP

Park Hill, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The results this week were pretty poor, none of them are really sharp, and most have evidence of camera shake, possibly the shutter is running a bit sluggishly making hand-holding more difficult, although the negs don't seem particularly over-exposed, so it may be my technique.

Week 175 - Kodak Jiffy VP

Kodak Jiffy VP, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

This is the first 127 camera I've used this year, having made an effort to use as many as possible in 2012, which was the centenary year for the format.
This is a very basic Bakelite folding camera, taking eight "full frame" 4cm x 6.5cm negatives on a roll. It's a recent find from a street market. They were made between 1935 and 1942.

photo from week 174 - Voigtlander Brilliant

steel spiral, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

Though less marked than in some images, the lens flare is quite evident here, I put it down to not using a lens hood, but it might be due to fungus in the lens, I'll have to have a closer look at it.

photo from week 174 - Voigtlander Brilliant

reflected self-portrait with Voigtlander Brilliant camera and Viking headgear, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The usual deadpan expression that results from a several second time exposure!

photo from week 174 - Voigtlander Brilliant

1971, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The effects of using an uncoated lens without a lenshood can clearly be seen in this and some of the other photos this week. The image quality seems to suit the subject matter though, this is a film set on location at Park Hill flats, which are standing in for a Belfast housing estate in 1971.

Week 174 - Voigtlander Brilliant

Voigtlander Brilliant, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

At first glance this looks like a twin lens reflex, but the upper "lens" is just part of a large box camera style viewfinder, there is no focus function attached to it. I picked this up at a car boot sale for £4 a couple of years ago, it all seems to work, and I thought it was about time it had an outing.