Outside the Box Thinking? The Gevaert Gevabox

Photography is an interesting hobby that is often quite illogical, particularly as it pertains to gear.  For example, why do people willingly shell out 5 times as much for a 50mm f/1.2 lens as they will for the half-stop slower 50mm f/1.4?  As well, why will people expend a hefty premium for a lens or camera in a certain "serial number sweet spot" specific to each model?  

I am certainly guilty of similar behavior, but in much the opposite way.  Though I have a decent assortment of some very capable cameras with fine lenses, I'll often shelve these more advanced models to shoot on something significantly more basic in nature.  One could easily ask why I have my Zeiss Super Ikonta 531/2 sitting at home while I'm out shooting with cameras like this:

These handsome siblings are both variants of the Gevaert Gevabox, a rather snappy line of cameras that were made after World War II by various camera makers in association with film maker Gevaert. On the left in the photo above is the 1955 variant, sporting a fixed focus lens, but an f/11 lens that can be stopped down to f/16, as well as having a shutter than can accomodate two speeds in addition to a time exposure setting.  On the right is the earlier 1951 version, whose features include a zone focusing lens, an f/8 lens with three diaphragm settings to close down to f/16, but only a single shutter speed in addition to the bulb setting. At least one other variant exists of this model, dating to 1950, made by Hermann Wolf, and strongly resembling the "Adox 66" camera of the same time period.    

I first happened upon a listing that included a 1951 version several months ago and was immediately struck by its styling that combined flashier chrome trim with the traditional box camera format to make a box camera very distinctive in appearance.  I would check listings every so often for one of these beauties, but it took months before I stumbled across one priced within reason to snap up!

As luck would have it, I had not even taken delivery of this camera when I happened upon a copy of the 1955 version in a Baltimore store and priced perfectly.  I suddenly had picked up a Gevabox grouping! 

Comically Candid: The Cardinal Cinex 127 Camera

Ten Dollars.  Some might say I paid too much. I can't say I'd argue that, but for a bit of photographic fun, I'd say the price was about right.

I've happened upon some excellent deals in the sub $20 range for vintage cameras: the small and capable Yashica Electro 35MC, the handy Kodak Retinettes, the amazing Konica Auto S2, the classic Kodak Autographic 1A, and the fun Bell and Howell Electric Eye are just some of the great camera bargains that I have already featured, and there are still more to come.

But the camera featured here lacks the aperture priority of the Yashica, the range of settings of the Retinettes, the great glass lens of the Auto S2, the huge negative size of the Autographic, and the neat meter of the Electric Eye.   But I knew all this going in. 

This is about as bare-boned a camera as there is. Behold, the Cinex 127.

You too can have a "real" camera if you save up enough comics! 

Mighty Mini: The Yashica Electro 35 MC

Flea Markets can be an awesome thing, particularly when you find something unexpected that you never knew existed.  

It was my first (of since many) trips to the Feagaville Indoor Flea Market, and while my wife was more interested in seeing what salvageable furniture there was to be had, I simply had to look in the booth aisles of assorted odds and ends in hopes that I might find something of photographic use amid the clutter of decorative salt shakers and other assorted bits of bric-a-brac.  

While a few odd bits of photographic goodies could be found, one in particular jumped out at me as being of particular interest, even though I had little knowledge of just what it was, or even if it was any good.  I simply did a quick test of the shutter snapping, as well as a quick swivel of the focusing collar to confirm that it was in at least some semblance of working condition, and quickly paid for it. It wasn't a tough decision given that it was selling for a mere $15.  And within 5 minutes, I was now the owner of a Yashica Electro 35MC.

The Mighty-Mini: the Yashica Electro 35MC.

Fast, Cheap, Good - The Konica Auto S2 Rangefinder

I recall something in the frame of workplace logic that says "Fast, Cheap, Good - Pick Two." The implication behind this is that having all three of these things is just not possible.  At best, one will sacrifice one of the three qualities in order to have the other two.  

While the "fast" in this analogy refers to the amount of time in which something is produced, the logic does roughly carry over to the world of photography where "fast" is an extension of quality that tends to refer to a lens with a good maximum aperture compared to other lenses of similar focal length.  In most cases, one can get a good camera with a fast lens, but they may carry a hefty price tag. Thankfully this isn't always the case, and with a little searching, one can pick up a good film acquisition with a pretty fast lens for a very good price whose quality is exceptional.

I had gradually been turning my sights to Japanese made range finders, and was nearly to the point of pulling the trigger of a $7 Samoca camera of unknown working condition, when I elected to give the online marketplace one more look.  I was pleased to discover before me the option to buy a camera with a faster lens and more shutter speeds for just $18 including shipping.  Its working condition was also unknown, but it looked to be in great condition, so I took the chance.  And with this chance, I added a Konica Auto S2 to my collection.

A tad blocky, but certainly still manageable, the Auto S2 provides an affordable and quality entry to the world of Japanese Rangefinders in a sensible package.

The Periphery of Pocketable: The Kodak Retinette

I doubt there is any "perfect" camera out there, though in my recent experience with a Kodak Bantam, I had an interesting chance to get a glimpse of something that surprisingly embodied a sense of perfection in its ability to create some great images in a pretty wide range of scenes, all in a package that is incredibly portable, slipping easily into the pocket of my jacket; a pocket designed for an MP3 player, mobile phone, or other similar portable device.

But even with all of these things going for it, the Bantam had one challenging drawback: it's film format.  Don't get me wrong - I actually really love 828 format, as well as the fact that I can cut down any 120 film of my choice to create a roll of double-length 828 film, but I have a growing number of film stocks only available in 35mm format that I want to try, and for putting these emulsions to the test, I want to use a 35mm camera rather than trying to plaster the film stock to 828 backing paper in the dark and hope it is lined up correctly.

I have a wonderful and quite capable 35mm camera in the form of the Exakta VX, but as great as it is, it is a bulky monster, and as such, it will never be a camera that I can simply carry along at pretty much any time.  Knowing this, I decided that I would look for a "135 Bantam" of sorts, one that used 35mm film, but was similar in features and size to the beloved Bantam.  Sadly, Kodak did not make a 35mm version of the 1940's design of the Bantam, leaving me an interesting challenge of finding something that could possibly equate to the Bantam for the 135 format.

My list of must-haves, based upon the most likable traits of the Bantam were as follows:

• Compact Form Factor
• Full Manual Control
• At least 4 shutter speeds plus a bulb setting
• A good (preferably coated) 4-element lens with and f/4.5 or better maximum aperture
• A slightly wide focal length.
• An affordable price tag.

The availability of a rangefinder or metering would also be nice, but not essential.  I spent some time perusing sites, and found some possible candidates on Mike Eckman's Camera site that piqued my interest.  I had all but settled on an Agfa Karat and found one on ebay at a low bidding price and put a modest bid in, given the risks of a non-functioning shutter or a seized focusing ring.  The bidding went over my very modest bid, so I let it go.

Without doing much in the way of research, I spotted another camera on a reasonable buy-it-now price, and decided it was worth the modest cost to give it a shot.  From the photos on the listing it seemed to fit most of my list of must-haves. It was at least worth a roll of film, and it certainly seemed more travel-friendly than the Exakta.  And this is how I became the owner of a Kodak Retinette, okay two Kodak Retinette cameras.

Two Kodak Retinettes, a ca. 1959 Type 030 on the left, and a ca. 1962 Type 042 on the right, with some other goodies tossed in for size comparison.

The Varied Commute

A few months ago, I made a pretty significant change in my life, moving from my environs in Columbia MD out to Frederick, further to the west.  There are any number of reasons for this, but in doing so, I certainly weighed out the pros and cons.  One of the biggest cons was an increase in my commuting time to work in Washington DC.  However, I fancy myself one who likes exploring, and have always tried to "make lemonade from lemons."  In the process of settling in, I would try a number of different commuting options that involved various combinations of driving, bus riding, commuter trains and the DC Metro.  And each of these new views also brought with it a chance for some new photographic fun that I did not have on my previous commute.  Have a look at some shots taken on the Exakta, of my new and often varied commute.

Believe it or not, this image on Fomapan 200 was actually taken from the MTA commuter bus #515, and depicts a retention pond in the middle of the exit from Interstate 270 to Urbana.  

Film Fun Folio #12: Seagull 4A-103 and Fomapan 200

Periodically, I'll be posting scans of some complete rolls of film on here, showing both the good and the bad, and giving some basic information as well a little write up of the shoot as well as the reasons why I selected each camera and film.  Enjoy the trip! 

Feature #12:

Camera: ca. 1993 Seagull 4A-103 TLR Camera

Film: Fomapan 200

Locale: Central Maryland

The gum had hardly set on the roll of Rollei Retro 80S that I had finished in the Seagull for the Film Fun Folio #10 feature, when I elected I wanted to feed the Seagull another roll of black and white.  Impressed with some of the dramatic skies I had gotten from Fomapan 200, I wanted to try to put this film to use once again to try to maximize this tendency, and here are the results.

1 - Ellicott City, MD - f/3.5 1/300 - I started the winding process too soon in the Seagull, so the first exposure was not aligned with film, losing this one in the process. 

2 - Ellicott City, MD - f/4 1/125 - Finally a result.  Good tonality, and nice grain to start the roll off.

Film Fun Folio #7: Balda Pontina and Fomapan 200

Periodically, I'll be posting scans of some complete rolls of film on here, showing both the good and the bad, and giving some basic information as well a little write up of the shoot as well as the reasons why I selected each camera and film.  Enjoy the trip! 

Feature #7:
Camera: ca. 1938 Balda Pontina 6x9 120 folding camera
Film: Fomapan 200
Locale: Oregon

After fiddling around with numerous black and white films, I was smitten with like rather than love for most of them.  The same could not be said when I got back my first results from a test roll of Fomapan 200.  I was quite impressed with the results I got from this roll, and looked forward to trying it again.  However, with Summer ramping up, my use of black and white film was on the decline.  Still, I picked up four rolls of this fine film for eventual use. On my Oregon trip, I expected to shoot the majority of scenes in color, but still packed along a few rolls of monochrome film in hopes I could find a chance to put at least one to use.  In an ironic twist, my favorite camera with which to shoot color film was the one relegated to shooting black and white on this trip, but I was curious to see how the Fomapan would respond to this camera's fantastic Trioplan lens. 

1 - Portland, OR - f/11 1/250 - I didn't fully set the lens platform for this shot, which resulted in the blurring of the Tri-Met bus at left, in what is otherwise a pretty retro-heavy scene. Still, in hindsight, this shot would have worked better without it in the frame.  Like the cloud rendering.

Fun with Film: Fomapan 200

The dilemma: "Free Shipping for all orders $49 or more!"

One problem... I had filled my "cart" with the 120 film items I wanted and it came to $45 and change. I could either pay the few bucks for shipping, or add another roll to the cart to bring the total beyond the threshold.  That much was something of a no-brainer.

But what to add?  I was already feeling a bit frugal so I didn't want to add another roll of $7 or $8 slide film to the mix, and I wasn't all that enthusiastic about color negative film.  The obvious choice was a roll of affordable black and white film, and while I had experience with some of these fine choices, there was something in me that wanted to try something new.

That something turned out to be Fomapan 200.

I already had some black and white stocks in speeds such as 25, 50, 125, and 400, so upon seeing this 200 speed film available for $4.39 a roll, it seemed the ideal choice, not just to get me the benefit of free shipping, but also to widen my inventory.  I had no clue when, how, or really IF I would even shoot this roll, but at least it was there.

It was only after ordering that I did a little searching on Fomapan 200 and discovered that it had an affectionate following.  Not only did a number of people regard it as the best film of the Foma lineup, but there were a number of remarks that it had a very traditional "vintage" film look to it.  That worked right into my wheel house.

Ultimately, the single roll of film made the trip west with me as a backup, and found its way into use in mid March.  I elected to run it through my ca. 1935 Welta/Rodenstock "mystery" camera, where it got to be my main film camera tag along on a day to take some snapshot type images in Chicago.  The camera performed great, and I handily filled the roll with images taken mostly under sunny skies.   Off the film went to Kansas for developing.

On the film's return, my first impressions were pretty immediate and impressive.  In looking at the negatives alone, they LOOKED to me like negatives that had been developed in the mid-20th Century.  Quite nice.  On scanning I was just as pleased to see a pleasing grain pattern and tonality in the images, apparently the result of an emulsion that mixes conventional and tabular grain structures.

But enough on talking, have a look and see the samples of the snapshots below.  I can say that I will definitely be loading up some Fomapan 200 in the not too distant future!

It is very fitting that my first photos taken on a film known for giving a classic look is of a very classic subject.  Chicago Union Station serves as the backdrop for these images that really gives off a 1940's aura to them, with the grain patterns and tonality.