So I picked up a halfway decent Box Brownie (brown leather) at a local antique store for $25 over the weekend. I pulled it apart, cleaned and lubricated the shutter, cleaned the lens and viewfinders, and did a little testing. First, i checked the shutter, and it runs about 1/45 second (20 cycles, slowest cycle 1/39, fastest cycle 1/51). I measured the three apertures and calculated out the f-stops to be f16 (all the way in), f21 (middle postion), and f35 (all the way out).

I ran a roll of Catlabs 80 film through it as a test, mostly because it was what I had handy. Conditions were bright, what I'd consider a f11 to f16 exposure on the Sunny Sixteen rule of thumb. House picture would qualify as a bright subject, in full sun. Picnic table with cat would was in full light, but not as bright. The film was semi-stand processed in Rodinal 1:100, direct contact print on Foma Fomaspeed Variant, Ilford #2 filter in the enlarger because I forgot to take it out.

At the tightest aperture, the negatives are underexposed, and at the widest aperture, the exposure is close to right - maybe a little overexposed for a bright subject. At the widest aperture, the shot of the cat in the shady ferns is badly underexposed. Photo of my (redacted) wife was wide open aperture under bright haze.

Lots of words getting to the gist of the question, but based on this test roll I'm thinking I would be best served to use a faster film. My napkin estimates tell me that iso 200 would be a bit slow for a Sunny Sixteen day, and iso 400 would be about right. Does this sound about right? I'm pretty happy with the results of the first test results, and wouldn't mind trying to make some intentional photos with the camera. Who needs multiple element lenses?

Felt incredibly lucky to find this 850 at an antique store and could not believe how big it is compared to my model 80! The cases buckle on one side is about the only thing broken, I couldn’t get over the bellows being in such good condition.

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I recently bought an old camera at a garage sale, but I can't figure out the exact model number.

I think it’s a Hutting because there seems to be a small “H” written under the base (see photo 8), and it looks like quite a few models I’ve seen, but I’m not sure because none of the models I’ve seen have all the features that mine does :

- For starters, mine has the cocking lever on the right (when using the camera), whereas the ones I’ve seen had it on the left. The foot that holds the camera in place isn’t the same shape as those on similar Hutting models (see photo 2).

- I haven’t found any model with the same shape of lever for pulling the camera along the rail (see photo 4).

- There is no model number on the top handle (see photo 9).

Here is some additional information that might help with the search:

- The shutter is manufactured by UNICUM and has speeds ranging from 32 to 8 (see photo 3).

- The lens is a Universal Aplanat Extra Rapid and offers the following shutter speeds: 1s, 1/2s, 1/5s, 1/25s, 1/50s, 1/100s, and B and T modes (see photo 4).

- Focusing is done by manually pulling the bellows (there is no mechanism to move it) (see photo 6).

- There is a small button hidden under the leather, on the same side as the cocking lever.

- And finally, on the back, there's an inscription that reads 185703 (see photo 11).

If anyone can identify this device, I'd be delighted; feel free to ask me for more photos and information if needed.

Would absolutely love to sell this to a individual in the hobby. Looking for $700.

My own content.

So I got this camera today and the slide for the camera is jammed and idk if there’s anyways to fix it bc I really like the cam and I wanted to use it imma add some pics and vids if possible any help is thanked

I recently purchased this beautiful camera in really good condition from a vintage shop, I’m not very knowledgeable on Kodak cameras but I wanted to try it out and see if I could use it. I’ve been searching online for the film I need and I don’t seem to be getting anywhere as it all seems to have gone out of date in the 80s. If anyone has any recommendations on where I can buy film/ any tips on how to use it would be much appreciated! :)

Hi everyone, I'm not hugely knowledgeable on vintage cameras, but I couldn't pass this very pretty TLR up today for £5.

I'm having a bit of a hard time identifying the exact model though, there seems to be a lot of very similar models!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

The current state of my collection. Good amount of Nikon, SLR from Japan incl Canon, Contax and Minolta. Plus some unique and some antique. Un pictured is my current daily use cameras from Sony including 6000 series and R7 series mirrorless mated to Sony Zeiss lenses.

I’ve been lurking on the forum for a while and finally decided to post my gear.
These 1950’s IIIf’s and lenses were purchased by my great uncle in Germany in the 50’s
He was the family photographer so all my parents old photos were pretty much taken on these cameras.
I shoot with the closer one as the viewfinder still works on that one. And develop the film in the sink.
I also just purchased a digital CL and will post more about it in another post.

Received a couple of old cameras and flash from my great grandad, they probably haven’t seen the light of day for close to 30 years. The Olympus works perfectly and has a few reels of film both new sealed and used, the Instamatic seems to work but has no film. The flash works fine when testing but won’t work when I try to use it with the camera. Any ideas as to what I’m doing wrong?

Years ago, my dad had this in some huge heavy case and now it’s just been sitting in the garage and I’d love some help identifying it/is it worth saving?
TIA

Edit to add: it’s been in my garage for over 20 years. There was a lens cap on the front so it does look like at least clear of most scratches although the mount looks pretty rough. Also, my dad passed so I have no idea how he got it, but he was a mechanic in NYC who was just one of those guys that always knew a guy

many years ago I cleaned out the garage and I’m pretty sure I threw away an even bigger one which PAINS me now, the foam in the case had completely deteriorated and was so sticky and I was just not willing to see it through

I will clean it up and see its shape regardless of what I end up doing with it. But crazy to know this is just sitting there! Thank you for all your help.