Zorki 2-C Russian Goodness

I purchased this colorful Zorki 2-C a couple of years ago from Roberts Camera's Used Photo Pro division. 

the Zorki 2-C is a Russian knock-off of a Leica II. It's a surprisingly well built, heavy all metal rangefinder. I mounted it with an f/2.8, 52mm Industar N-61 screw type lens. Very inexpensive and surprisingly good.

The Zorki is fully manual. 35mm film is loaded on the bottom via removal of the bottom plate. You need to cut a longer leader on the film for this style of camera.

Speeds are B, 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, 1/250 & 1/500. As with cameras of this type if you want to change the speed you do it BEFORE you advance the film and which cocks the shutter.  Why, no clue, but that's what I've read and have always done. There is no light meter. There is a viewfinder to focus and one for composition. Super basic.

I loaded the camera up with a roll of Arista EDU 400 and shot the roll around Indianapolis. 

The Zorki 2-C is a handsome camera that I enjoy using. 

Here are a few photos from the most recent shoot:

Konica C35

I was gifted a cool Konica C35 point & shoot camera. When given the camera I was told it worked, but the flash didn't. I put a button battery in the camera and the light meter worked. I loaded AA batteries in the flash, and nope, didn't work. I put black tape over the flash as a reminder that the flash didn't work.

The camera is sturdy. Moderately heavy, glass and metal. This particular camera appears well used with a bit of brassing. The C35 is automatic. The only adjustments is the ASA dial and the focus ring. The viewfinder is fixed so you either guestimate distance or use 4 typical distance symbols (that show in the viewfinder). The lens is a 38mm f/2.8 Konica Hexanon. You can mount a 46mm filter. The shutter is very quiet which is perfect for street photography.

The automatic aperture selected by the light meter shows on a scale from f/22 to f/2.8. The bottom of the scale has a red lightning bolt to remind you to turn on the flash. Film loads easily. The back gate pops open with a small switch. The viewfinder is clear with frame lines highlighted in bright yellow.

I shot a roll of Arista EDU 400 bulk rolled film. Although the film loaded smoothly and advanced easily it felt "crunchy" when advanced. I thought it was catching or not advancing completely. I stopped using the camera after about 24 of 36 shots and rewound the film. I didn't want to damage the film. I guess the advance just needs lubrication because the film came out fine.

The first roll was developed with 1+25 Rodinal at 5.5 minutes. Rodinal isn't the best developer for this film as the grain came out fairly heavy. On the second roll I'll use a finer film with a milder developer to make sure it was the film choice versus the camera that resulted in the heavy grain.

Here are some photos from the first roll.

  

Bottomline a nice, sturdy camera with an iconic look. However, if I want a simple point and shoot camera with approximately the same focal length I'll stick with the Minolta Stylus.

Nimslo 3D

I was gifted a Nimslo 3D 35mm point & shoot camera. The Nimslo is a unique 4-lens camera that shoots 4 x half-frame sized photos of every image with a slightly different angle of view. There was a special developing process called Lenticular Printing that would create a 3 dimensional like photo from the 4 images. The 4 images are shot across 2 frames. Therefore, a 36 exposure roll yields 18-4 frame images.

After basic research, I’ve not found anyone doing this type of developing / printing so I’m using it simply for fun to create a 4-panel photo. Kind of cool. There is a process currently used to create “wiggle-gifs” which will be fun to try.

The camera is automatic with fixed focus 30mm lens, auto exposure with no additional features. The only variable is a 100 or 400 ASA switch. There is a hotshot which I’ve used to fire a speedlight. Worked great.

The camera is well build with metal / plastic / leatherette. The lenses are glass. It is sturdy.

I gave it a go with a couple of rolls of fresh and expired film. The camera is very stealthy so it can easily be used for street work. I’m a fan.

A commercial from the 80's

The Wikipedia page on the Nimslo 3D

A few images using Fujicolor Superia X-TRA 400, expired Kodak Portra 400NC & Arista EDU

Expired Kodak Portra 400NC

Fujicolor Superia X-TRA 400

Fujicolor Superia X-TRA 400

Arista EDU with a speedlight in studio

Arista EDU on a bright day

Olympus Infinity Jr - A Simple P&S with B&W Film

I like to occasionally use 35mm point & shoot cameras.  Why, because I don't have to think about features. Don't get me wrong, I like full featured or completely manual SLRs, TLRs, medium format cameras as well. It's just sometimes I want to point & shoot.

The Olympus Infinity Jr. is such a camera. I found this camera at a Goodwill some time ago. I finally had an opportunity to shoot a roll of B&W and the results came out OK. I had shot a roll of color previously. Nothing special, but that's what I expected because the color didn't come out anything special either. 

The Infinity Jr. has a fairly sharp 35mm f/3.5 lens. It's somewhat quiet, but there is a noticeable shutter sound. This makes it OK for street photography. It's not quit pocketable, but easily fits in a small bag or purse. There is a sliding lens cover which is nice. Sliding it open turns the camera on. Features are minimal. There is a self timer, DX coding, a flash that can be set to auto, fill & off. A mode function in the back that lets you set the date stamp (although on mine this function doesn't work).

I shot a roll of Freestyle Arista.EDU film around town in both sunlight, overcast & moderate lighting. All the images were a bit soft but perfectible useable. Uses a standard 3v 123A battery.

I probably won't use this camera again since I have many other point & shoots that are sharper, faster & more pocketable. However, if you have one, you shouldn't kick it out of the bed. 

Some photos