Saturday's shiny objects
Today's shiny object is a Rolleicord IV from the mid 1950s. Yes, it's almost as old as I am. This camera gives 6x6cm negatives on 120 roll film. I took my daughter's graduation photos with it.
This is a Rolleiflash unit. It attaches to the upper taking lens via a bayonet mount and a tightening knob. I've never used it and I don't even know what flash bulbs it takes.
Now, before you think this is wretched excess, consider that I bought one of these for $90 some time ago. The other one turned up at a garage sale where my mom paid $10 for it! Who could resist? I've carried both at the same time, one loaded with slow, fine-grained film and the other loaded with faster stuff. One problem - I used to put stickers on the backs so I'd know which one had which film. The adhesive tended to migrate, so these days I load only one at a time. Sure, there's an ASA reminder wheel on one of them, but I always forget to use it.
Labels: camera
posted by Ed W at 7:25 PM
3 Comments:
For those of us with interest but less background, what's the relationship between Rolleicord & Rolleiflex?
Franke & Heidecke made the Rolleicord as their amateur offering, with a knob winder and maybe a lesser quality lens. The Rolleiflex was (and is) the pro version, with a crank winder and a slightly better lens. Yashica made a line of similar TLRs, with the Yashicamat 124G the last in the line. I had an earlier one, a Yashica 12 if I remember right, and it gave good photos too.
My very first camera was a 50s Kodak twin lens reflex sort of like this that took 620 film. My grandfather gave it to me when I was about 9 or 10 years old and I took that thing everywhere.
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