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Thread: Old cameras

  1. #1
    Woe is me! wfooshee's Avatar
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    Old cameras

    I wanted to play with off-camera flash, which I'm just learning how to use, so I set these up on the dining room table. The camera on the left is my dad's Voigtlander Ultramatic from 1964, a shutter-priority auto-exposure SLR, amazing to me because aside from the light meter and the PC flash terminal, not a single electron courses through a single wire anywhere in the thing; it's completely and totally mechanical, with springs, cams, escapements, buttons, and levers. The camera on the right is what the Ultramatic replaced, a Voigtlander Vitessa folding rangefinder. The Vitessa still works, and once in a while I pump a roll of Velvia through it. The Ultramatic's shutter is jammed, and its meter does not respond to light, which is probably not good....

    What I ended up with as my setup here was my Nikon D7000 with the 18-55 kit lens, handheld. My SB-600 was mounted on my tripod off to the left, facing away from the table and firing into a projection screen. (I have no reflectors, softboxes, or other lighting accessories.) I was getting too much light from the back wall so I had my grandchildren stand behind the table holding up black jackets to darken the back of the table. When I converted to B&W I raised the red slider (or was it yellow? now I don't remember!) to lighten the table in front of the cameras. The room was shaded but not dark. Curtains drawn at twilight, that kind of light.

    I've never shot with the Ultramatic although I'd love to. Not sure it's worth repairing, though. The Vitessa was my first 35mm camera, back in 1980, a hand-me-down to shut me up begging for a camera for Christmas! Dad handed it to me with a light meter, and the advice to use only Kodachrome.



  2. #2
    Analog Photographer, Digital World Axle's Avatar
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    Re: Old cameras

    Awesome! I like!

    Next step, get some 35mm film and shoot with them!
    Alex Luyckx | Photography
    Capturing Beauty in Everything

  3. #3
    Woe is me! wfooshee's Avatar
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    Re: Old cameras

    From the Vitessa, last summer and fall..... (the Ultramatic is dead.)








  4. #4
    Member PWhite214's Avatar
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    Feb 2009
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    Houston, Texas, USA
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    Re: Old cameras

    One, you did nicely with the photo and lighting. A kind of mysterious atmosphere, I like it.

    I also like the cameras, in working condition they are worth more than a few dollars. You might want to get an estimate on repair.

    Good shots from the Vitessa.

    Phil
    Sony A77 and A700, Lots of old Minolta lenses, some Sigma lenses.

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