what a pal!

Posted on March 22, 2022 by Robert

What a Pal to collectors!

Toronto. In the April, 1932 edition of the International Photographer, this strange camera called the PAL KO or PALKO was advertised. It was described as a post card sized folder that focussed on ground glass. Never heard of it. In fact the folder plus ground glass sounded like a phoney to me.

Not so! The camera apparently originated in Britain around 1918. A closer look shows a deeper bottom area for two film spools. An elaborate arrangement pulled enough film up for a shot, then moved it into the take up spool to let the ground glass drop in to the film plane for the next shot. And the film exposure size could be masked to a half or a third economizing on film.

The reason I never heard of a PALKO? They had a rather small production run over the years and those cameras remaining are very rare. The article on the Red Bellows site explains the history of this unusual folder and how two people on two continents were said to be the designers!

A big thank you to my good friend George Dunbar for spotting this interesting advertisement and sharing it with us,

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a good student

Posted on March 21, 2022 by Robert

1932 ad for Kodak’s European line of cameras headed for the USA

Toronto. I recently suggested that Kodak SIX-20 folders and their brethren were “too little, too late“. This ad two years earlier in the International Photographer in 1932 suggests Kodak was covering its bets with imports from the recently purchased Nagel factory in Europe to add a “European” flavour to its stable of cameras.

Featured is the Kodak Pupille camera with a great Schneider  f/2 lens (other lenses were offered too) and a decent Compur leaf shutter spanning the range from 1 second to 1/300th of a second – well suited to the rather slow films of the day.

But also mentioned in the ad’s sidebar are a number of other Kodak imports to North America from its German factory. This ad was found and shared by my good friend and fellow PHSC member, George Dunbar. Who says Kodaks were all folders or box cameras?

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let’s get fresh

Posted on March 20, 2022 by Robert

a fresh look

Toronto. My favourite magazine editor, Rita Godlevskis, announced a couple of things on the 18th as “hot off the press“. First was a new look to the email newsletter she write of PhotoEd magazine, and the second was that the Spring 2022 edition hit the stands.

Go to the PhotEd website for more details.

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too little, too late

Posted on March 19, 2022 by Robert

1934 ad for the Kodak SIX-20 folder

Toronto. In this June, 1934 advertisement in Popular Mechanics, Kodak announced its new SIX-20 folder. The camera had lots of features but ignored the growing ground swell of minicam sales. My dad bought a simpler version of the SIX-20 a few years later and used it to capture many of my childhood moments.

While the camera did include many of the features that attracted shutter bugs to the 35mm cameras of the day, it was just one camera in Kodak’s stable; one that missed the minicam revolution that peaked a few years late when the revolution was featured in Fortune magazine.

Once more, we are indebted to my good friend and fellow photography enthusiast, George Dunbar, for sharing this wonderful ad from yesteryear with us.

 

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well, this is a bit awkward …

Posted on March 18, 2022 by Robert

ad for Eastman Focussing Finder in May, 1938

Toronto. The American Cinematographer for May, 1938 carried an ad for the new Eastman Focusing Finder. It was used in the 16mm Ciné-Kodak by swapping out the film magazine. The camera had to be on a tripod or use some other means to fix it firmly in place.

The ‘Focusing Finder’ has a side lever that slides back and forth to change its magnification. An eye piece at one end allows the cameraman to view and set the chosen subject focal plane through the camera lens. This accessory was said to help if the camera was used for extreme close-ups, titling. or where critical focusing was a necessity.

The key point is the need to use a tripod and remove the film magazine in order to insert the accessory and focus the camera lens. Awkward – especially given modern digital technology.

My thanks to good friend George Dunbar for discovering this slice of history and sharing it with us.

 

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reproduction of a famous camera and lens

Posted on March 17, 2022 by Robert

reproduction of a famous camera and lens

Toronto. The evening of February 17th, 2016, I visited the Ryerson University Library along with a number of other PHSC members. A milestone was the display by the late Willi Nassau of a reproduction of the famous Voigtlander brass daguerreotype camera with a copy of the Petzval lens.

The original camera and lens were made around 1842 by Voigtlander, then in Vienna. The Petzval lens was the first ever photographic portrait lens and was much faster than the lens used by Daguerre in 1839. It is thought that less than 1,000 of the original camera/lens combinations were ever made. Only three complete sets were known by 1989.

This reproduction camera and lens combination were made locally in Southern Ontario as commissioned by Willi – and a happy St Patrick’s day to you too.

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taking one for the team …

Posted on March 16, 2022 by Robert

Kansas cameraman documenting new gun hit by bullet ricochet

Toronto. Sometimes photography can be down right dangerous. In 1931, a movie cameraman experienced this first hand (er arm) as told in a brief article that appeared in the October, 1931 edition of International Photographer.

Click on the picture at left for the gory details. Any thing to get a photo, you say …

My thanks to that intrepid historian of all things photographic, my good friend George Dunbar.

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the tin man

Posted on March 15, 2022 by Robert

Joseph Wyman Brown by Mitchell Clark of The Verge

Toronto.  “You can even mail them…” This was a big advantage for tintypes in the days when most ‘likenesses’ were glass encased. Joseph Wyman Brown uses the wet plate process to create authentic modern day tintype portraits. An article by Mitchell Clark  on  on The Verge website discusses Brown and the techniques he uses to create portraits right out of the 19th century.

Have a read and see what Brown is doing today with that 19th century technology. Note that over the years we too have had various local tintype photographers speaking at our meetings. One, Yvette Bessels, was even on the executive until she and her husband moved on to Spain.

A big warm thank goes to well known camera repairman (retired) and PHSC member, Russ Forfar, who sent me this piece via email. The post title reflects the article name for Joseph Brown as well as a riff on a 1934 movie called “The Thin Man“.

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PHSC News newsletter for March 2022

Posted on March 14, 2022 by Robert

FED II copy of Early Leica Camera

Toronto. The FED II shown here is from the right top of page 1 in this month’s PHSC News newsletter. The FED was a Ukrainian copy of an early Leica camera, converted to interchangeable lenses.

What do you know? It’s March, 2022 already. We are anxiously waiting for the COVID rules to disappear as the pandemic subsides.

Meantime, our editor, Sonja, and team have produced another great  issue of PHSC News for you.  PHSC News (21-09) has the usual bunch of articles – short, crisp, and ripe for argument. Take a few moments and read them and feel inspired (or irritated) once again.

PUTIN’S FOLLY on page 1 touches on the invasion of the Ukraine as known everywhere but Russia where the government controls what is read and viewed. Page 2 in “PHSC PRESENTS (virtually)” discusses “Back to the Future of a Russian Revolution“. Page 3,  under NEO PHOTOGRAPHY posits “Helga Stentzel: Household Surrealism“with samples of photos. STREAMABLES on page 4, speaks of, “The Story of a Working Class Nero”; while page 5 in THE OTTAWA FILE offers another editorial on the OTTAWA situation called, “A Family Album of Ottawa Counter-Protest All-Stars“. In David’s EQUIPMENT REVIEW (upbeat and cheeky as usual) he looks at Kodak cabinetry (wood) for the darkroom. John Morden’s trio of thoughtful WEB LINKS on page 7 are all worth a visit especially the first link (the links are live, no need to ‘cut and paste’).

Page 8 gets ready for our special late April (not March) speaker event via ZOOM. The seminar is in collaboration with ESHPh and Dr Hanin Hannouch on three colour photography c1900. And our friends Ivy & Izzy, on page 9, posit “The Shallow End of Deep Fakes“. As usual, we wrap up this issue on page 10 with John’s compilation of shows, wanted ads, books, and exhibitions of interest to collectors & photographers everywhere.

P.S. As usual, every link shown in the newsletter is a hot link just waiting for your click!

P.P.S. You can visit this issue by clicking here, or by g0ing to the menu item NEWSLETTER at the top of the page. There is a drop down menu that takes you to older issues dating back a couple of decades to the very beginning.

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e is for effort

Posted on March 13, 2022 by Robert

1937 ad announcing the 16mm model E Ciné-Kodak movie camera

Toronto. In February of 1937, Kodak advertised this movie camera as the running mate to the inexpensive model EE Kodascope  (movie projector to you) using the American Cinematographer magazine to target potential buyers. 

This 16mm movie camera and associated projector were entry level gear for all prospective movie makers on a tight budget. Like all Kodak cameras, the intent was to encourage the sale of film and supplies.

A big thanks to our resident photo historian, my good friend George Dunbar, for sharing this neat little advertisement from back when the mighty Kodak company introduced the model E 16mm movie camera. 

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