Montreal, Minolta, Marvellous

Posted on October 26, 2021 by Robert

Simon’s Camera in Montreal

Toronto. Before heading north to Labrador, I spent a few months training in the old Salada Tea Building on St Lawrence in Montreal. To an Ontario boy, Montreal discounts were exciting. The best camera deals were said to be at Simon’s on Craig near St Lawrence.

Money burning a hole in my pocket, I set out for the old tiny shop on Craig. Inside, over the door was a gorgeous poster extolling the virtues of the Exakta as a nature/scientific camera. It was just too rich for me at the time. Along the narrow glass counters, Simon’s displayed the latest camera gear from mostly German and Japanese makers.

I ended up choosing a Japanese Minolta Super A camera and light meter. In those days, Japanese cameras were considered second rate copies. I was surprised at the quality of the camera, especially its 50mm Rokkor lens. Of course, the manual was something else. It seemed to be written in pidgin-English by someone just learning the language. I wondered how a mirror box could be added for close-ups, unaware that Leica, Contax, etc had just such a device and had had one since before the WW2.

Up north less than a year later, I sold the Minolta to a fellow technician and invested in my Exakta, but I didn’t see any jump in photo quality, just a decision to buy added lenses since the Exakta could use a any lenses by many makers while the Minolta had a behind the lens leaf shutter and used a very limited number of Minolta lenses to make it a modest wide angle or telephoto.

Over the years, Craig was renamed St Antoine as it was just an extention of that street. After moving back to Toronto, every time I had a meeting in Montreal, I tried to squeeze in a visit to Simon’s – this time to buy used Leica accessories. I spent many a pleasant time in the old, narrow shop on Craig/St Antoine.

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those were the days

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Robert

Camera Craft Barrie – Barb Provan collection, Barrie Historical Archive

Toronto. As a kid I bounced between radio and photography. The first ‘real’ camera shop I ever entered was Vi and Joe Waterer’s CameraCraft in Barrie. The store was at one end of a long block. I had  joined the telephone company near the other end of the block. At the time it was on street called Elizabeth Street which later changed its name to Dunlop Street as it was that street’s extension west of the five points.

My buddy and I were both in our teens. He had recently bought a 35mm Paxette II camera from Joe and wanted me to see if I could get as good or better deal. Nope. I was still content with a Kodak box camera using 620 roll film. I never moved to 35mm until the late 1950s when I bought an Exakta VXIIa.

After I used the Exakta for a while, I decided a larger negative would give better resolution.  With that in mind I went off to see Joe and ended up buying a Rittreck set. It was like a Graflex but with a far easier to set shutter.  I saw Joe a bit earlier just after getting my Exakta. Curious about the Braun Hobby electronic flash, I went to discuss the pros and cons with Joe and ended up with a used Ultrablitz Reporter II electronic flash. It had two flash guns, and an auxiliary condenser to double the watt-second capacity. Plus a lousy battery which I replaced a bit later with a cheap lead-acid 6 volt battery that fit the Ultrablitz case.

Years later, after Joe died, his wife and daughters took a table at our fair to sell off the remaining goods from CameraCraft.

The photo of the store at Maple and Dunlop was taken in 1991, nearly 40 years after my first visit. The photo is part of the Barb Provan collection at the Barrie Historical Archive. Joe expanded his store to sell sporting goods, special high fidelity LP records, camera books, etc. And for a brief time he had a second store run by a son-in-law. It was further to the east near the old Barrie Railway Station.

This post was named after the 1968 Mary Hopkins song.

 

 

 

 

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an eclectic collection

Posted on October 24, 2021 by Robert

rare Velocigraphe as photographed by our late VP John Kantymir

Toronto. Some collectors seem to buy everything in sight. Others are very selective. Our past president, the late Bill Kantymir did both. Bill had a ‘bucket list’ – a list of every camera he wanted to own before he left this bag of dirt. One such camera was a Dr Krugener Simplex that he showed at our 2013 ‘Show and Tell’ session.

Another is this rare Velocigraphe show above. The photos are from a page in our journal, ‘Photographic Canadiana‘ (hard copy issue 46-5 pp 20-1). Many things not on his list were sold at our fairs or auctions. Things that were better than he had already, he bought and freed up the less attractive item, like the Posographe he sold to me years ago. In summary, you can be a collector of specific makes, manufactures, everything, or keep a list like Bill.

Regardless of your predilection, visit our fairs, auctions, shows, and other events and you may well be able to add that special item to your collection – or upgrade the quality of what you happen to have on hand!

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where there’s a will …

Posted on October 23, 2021 by Robert

Willowbys ad for the Hasselblad – summer 1951

Toronto. … there’s a way. This old chestnut came to mind when I saw George’s email showing the famous NYC store, Willowbys, advertising the anvailability of Hasselblad cameras.

A couple of words of explanation: Willowbys was a block-long 5th ave landmark in the Big Apple last century when film was the ‘big man on campus’. This ad was released when the store was on 31st and 32 street. The 1950s photo of Willowby’s  is from Pinterest courtesy of the website “Vintage Everyday“. Willowby’s is still around, but now on 36th street and with an apostrophe ‘s’.

The Hasselblad, made in Sweden was a “cube with a lens” SLR design using Kodak, then  Zeiss lenses, focal plane shutters and interchangeable backs. Victor Hasselblad designed the camera after WW2 to further his birdwatching skills. Read the above link for a view of the histyory of the man and his camera, and the link to both Kodak and arial cameras .

Unlike earlier similar designs, the Hasselblad was both high-end and an exceptional roll film camera becoming the camera favoured for studio work. After film crashed in favour of digital cameras, collectors still coveted Hasselblad models. If you want some Hassy gear for your collection, come to our fairs, sales, and auctions (hopefully indoors once the COVID situation settles down).

Thanks to the efforts of my friend and fellow photographic historian, we are able to see once again (at least in historic ads) the wonderful combination of a high quality camera and store! The ad appeared on page 99 of the May 1951 Popular Photography magazine. Note that the magazine link is repeated here as a courtesy to our readers and that the same ad was the subject of a post back on January 12, 2018.

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an inspiration for the Hassy?

Posted on October 22, 2021 by Robert

A May, 1951 ad for the cube shaped Primar Reflex II camera

Toronto. Bentzin made cameras in Görlitz, Germany beginning in the late 1800s. The firm collaborated with Zeiss over in Jena to make high end cameras to use Zeiss lens designs. Sadly, both Jena and Gorlitz fell in the Soviet sector after WW2. The Bentzin operation eventually became part of the Russian VEB Feinoptisches Werk and as such, part of Zeiss.

Around 1935, Bentzin developed the “cube with a lens” idea as a roll film SLR called the Primarflex. After 18 years, only about 12,000 cameras were made. The line was dropped in 1953. During production the camera had many names depending in part on the distributor, and numerous redesigns. This ad shows about the last redesign when the marque was updated after WW2. By this time, in appearance at least, the camera looked like an early Hasselblad.

The SLR used a focal plane shutter which was its Achilles heel – shutter problems affected the camera throughout its lifetime. The American importer as shown in this ad was ERCONA on 5th Avenue in the Big Apple.

Many thanks to our resident historian and good friend, George Dunbar, who wanted to share this discovery with us. (I wonder if ERCONA ever imported top line marques?) Oh, yes. I meant to mention that the ad appears in the May, 1951 issue of Popular Photography on page 158. The link is also available in an earlier (recent) post. It is repeated here as a courtesy to our readers.

 

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an unusual roll film camera from Germany

Posted on October 21, 2021 by Robert

summer 1951 ad for the newly available Plaubel Makina III

Toronto. Have you ever heard about or seen a strange camera from the 1930s called a Makina III? Originally designed pre WW2 (one may have been auctioned off last May in Ohio), sales and manufacture were interrupted by WW2.

The ad, on page 6, in the June, 1951 issue of Popular Photography (the link from a recent post is repeated here for convenience), is by the block-long NYC retail shop Willoughbys. It announces that the Makina III is, “Available once again!”, and promises accessories (like the 120 roll film back!) will be available soon!

The camera sports a leaf shutter behind the lens making it possible to use interchangeable lenses and allows flash bulb synchronization at all speeds. The down side, of course is that the shutter’s physical size limits its top speed (1/200th) – far slower than that common for a focal plane shutter.

A grateful thank you goes to that fine gentleman and enthusiastic photo historian, George Dunbar, for sharing this find with us. If you want one for your collection (or a user for the folks who still use film) visit one of our fairs, auctions, shows, or sales.

 

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when is a brick not a brick?

Posted on October 20, 2021 by Robert

June, 1951 ad for Argus C-4 camera

Toronto. When its an Argus C-4! The Argus C-3 was an awkward rectangular weighty thing loved by all. In 1951, Argus took a shot at replacing it with a C-4 camera but the C-3 lived on.

This ad on page 19 in the June, 1951 issue of Popular Photography introduced the C-4. A similar ad in LIFE was the subject of an earlier post, (the power of marketing). Note that the C-4 was also badged C-four on its lens ring. It went through many iterations including as a C-44 which gave back the interchangeable lenses common to the C-3 (somewhere I read the C-3’s rangefinder drifted and the camera needed to be opened for adjustment then closed to test – this article suggests a port in the top plate allows a simple adjustment to be made).

Thanks to my good friend and photo historian for sharing this advertisement with us. If you feel a need to add a C-4 (or indeed anything else) to your collection, drop in on one of our fairs, auctions, sales, or other events! You can even simply browse and see what our ancestors (or old coots like me) did to get decent photos.

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going for gold – a Kodak moment

Posted on October 19, 2021 by Robert

Box Cover for c1937 Kodak Junior SIX-20 folder camera

Toronto. The late Jack Addison and wife Marge were very active in the society, especially in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. Jack was president, journal editor, CNE Exhibits coordinator, curator, etc. while wife Marge was membership secretary when I joined in late 1975 when the society was just over a year old (75/76 membership year). He held down two jobs as well – an EMS (ambulance) driver/attendant, and a professional photographer doing weddings. He introduced the long running back page spread of antique Kodak ads as Journal editor.

As a collector, Jack considered all things Kodak. Items made by others he sold off for the most part. Jack enjoyed collecting Kodak items of any kind. He was an active collector and a great asset to the society. Like Don Douglas, Jack enjoyed collecting inexpensive products and cameras, in his case made by Kodak both here and in Rochester.

Jack and Marge later moved to Eastern Ontario as he neared retirement. Any one interested in Kodak products should attend our fairs, auctions, and shows where such items frequently appear.

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a photographer’s magnifier

Posted on October 18, 2021 by Robert

c1951 Elmar enlarger lens by Leitz. Click it to see an ad for the 1c enlarger of the same period.

Toronto. Anyone wanting to see a magnified view of a small object would likely use a simple magnifying glass – just like Sherlock Holmes in the many Conan Doyle stories. Predating photography, a projector (magic lantern) projected an enlarged view of a glass plate’s drawing on a screen or wall for all to see.

Initially (and for much of the 1800s) a photographer chose his camera and lens to create the desired size of print. In an effort to enlarge images taken with a smaller camera, some people invented devices that used the sun as a light source and projected the negative on the rather slow photographic paper using what today would be a slow lens.

When Eastman began touting roll film in the later 1880s, a means to make decent enlargements became useful. And mid 1930s when the minicam craze blossomed, enlargers became mandatory. Negatives were often as tiny as 1 by 1.5 inches! Enlargers could increase the size of the final print by 10x magnification, and sometimes even more.

My good friend, George Dunbar, shared this advertisement for a Leitz 1c enlarger from page 20 of the October 1950 Popular Photography magazine. I did another post about the 1c back in January 2018 when the same ad appeared about a year later ( before the world was rocked by COVID-19).

The 1c’s basic design was often copied. Other enlargers like many Durst models automatically retained focus as the print magnification was changed. Durst used a pillar and fixed arm to also keep the print centred on the base board.

Of course, in the old days of view cameras and ground glass to focus, a nifty brass stand held a magnifying lens the correct distance from the  ground glass to allow the photographer to move his lens and put the scene in sharp focus.

 

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out of the blue

Posted on October 17, 2021 by Robert

Nikon S ad May, 1951 – when Nikon was first imported into USA

Toronto. Journalists reporting battles in the Korean War came across a very high quality, professional camera made in Japan. A well known maker of microscopes in Japan, Nippon Kogaku, expanded into cameras post war and were selling them under the Nikon name.

The journalists were so pleased that in 1951, the Nikon S was imported by the USA as shown in the ad (click the camera icon at left).  A few years later, the iconic Nikon F SLR was manufactured in Japan and imported into North America.

You can learn more about Nikon rangefinder cameras in the Hove Foto Book (1981), “Nikon Rangefinder Camera”, by Robert Rotoloni. You can also go to his web site, “Nikon Historical Society“,  or his new Facebook page for the NHS.

My thanks to good friend George Dunbar for sharing this pivotal ad on the first Nikon rangefinder model to be imported to North America. The ad is from the May, 1951 issue of Popular Photography.

Today, both Nikon and Canon digital SLR cameras are mainstays of the professional. Some of our members who are also practicing professionals use some models of these famous cameras. Leica has become a very expensive niche camera while both Zeiss and Leitz continue to design and market lenses. Some German marques like Voigtlander are still around but made in the orient. The Leica M-mount and lens style seem to be used by many companies.

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