We’ve been working hard to re-stock our used cameras in the store. It’s a tough task, for every batch of cameras we purchase there it is very rare for the cameras not to need additional work before we can sell them. They all typically need cleaning, with many requiring additional repairs and light seal replacements. We have purchased a large batch of nearly 80 cameras recently and this is the 1st of those to make it off the repair bench and up for sale. Here are some of the highlights;
Rollei Rolleimatic
Notable for being Rollei’s last camera design before they closed the doors. This is a unique camera, with a very novel rewind mechanism. You open the camera by sliding the lens cover to the right and levering it back. Then the lens cover becomes your film advance lever. It is lovely to use, with zone focussing and a very capable lens.
The shooting experience with this camera is really enjoyable, a nice bright viewfinder makes framing shots easy. The focus on the lens is smooth and easy to adjust. The automatic exposure is forgiving and seems to favour smaller apertures slightly, which means you hit focus nearly all the time.
The meter struggles a bit with backlit scenes, but this is pretty common for reflective meter systems as on the Rollei. The middle image below gives an example of what to expect if you have a heavily backlit subject.
Samples shot on Ilford FP4+, developed in 510Pyro.
Olympus 35 EC
A very compact and pretty little camera this. The successor to the Olympus Trip, it has a smaller form factor and a very pancake zuiko 42mm lens. The electronically controlled Seiko shutter offers speeds up to a phenominal (for the time) 1/800th sec. It also sports a handy lock lever to prevent accidental shutter release when you are carrying it.
Canon Dial 35-2
Named after the telephone dial it resembles, this half frame camera is quirky in all the right ways. You wind it up! To preload the spring “motor” and it then takes care of winding on each frame for you with a muffled clockwork whizz. You need to wind it up every 20 frames or so, and re-winding the film is achieved via the same clockwork mechanism.
It has a really bright viewfinder with clear indication of the focus distance you are set to, as well as the aperture it is selecting. The viewfinder is landscape format unlike most half frame cameras. Shooting is shutter priority, with auto aperture. It really is a fun little camera to shoot with.
Samples shot on Kentmere 100, developed in 510Pyro.
Check out these cameras and more in our SHOP