james_styles1

<p>There was also a version made for use to photograph radar screens in WW2.It had a Supermatic shutter and a Kodak F2 26mm lens behind the shutter. I have one.</p><div></div>

<p>There are two snakes in England, the Viper which is venomous and the Grass snake which is harmless. There is also the Slow worm which looks like a snake but is a legless lizard. Here is a pic of a small snake I photographed some time ago.</p><div></div>

<p>I have an early green one with scalloped metal winder instead of the smooth leather covering and this never had the Werra name badge.I never realised this before. The black Werra Mat I have has the name Werra printed on the glass of the meter/ finder window.</p>

<p>Pic which should have gone with message.</p><div></div>

<p> Last year I managed to get a flight on a 1936 Ju 52 aircraft from Stuttgart am Main to Muenster in Germany. I took my 1928 Leica and we flew over the Leitz factory at Wetzlar so my camera returned home. Here is one of the shots I took. It could almost be the 1930s.<br> In the UK the Spitfire is regarded as the aircraft to see, and the Mustang uses the Packard version of the Merlin that powered the Spitfire.<br> Airshows are perfect for photography</p>

<p>I had one of these (50mm F 1.9) on an Ilford Witness which is rarer than the lens. It had breech mount which also allowed it to use 39mm Leica thread lenses. I did a test at various apertures against various 50mm lenses and it was sharper than them all even wide open. I wish I still had it.</p><div></div>

<p>The pre-war Feds are good value for money at around 60 GBP. The mechanisms are not as smooth as a Leica but for that cash you have a nice looking usable camera. They also made a version with 1000th top speed and an F2 lens which is supposed to be a copy of the Leitz Summar. Here is my one with case,</p><div></div>

<p>It's very appropriately a Robot but not an RUR one-look it up...... I still dream of owning a Robot Royal 36. As well made as a Leica.</p><div></div>

<p>Thanks Pete for that advertisment. Apart from showing the Ofuna TLR which must be an extremely rare camera, on the cultural side it is interesting to see the use of a drawing of a western model rather than one of a local source. The best thing to come out of this discussion for me is that I have taken my Neoca 1 off the market as I now realise it is a rare camera in its own right. I would have regretted selling it.<br> And of course Rick's lovely shots are a joy-who needs digital?</p>

<p>I forgot to mention that the FulVue had a polished metal mirror and no ground glass screen, just a large square lens for the finder.<br> Here is a pic in all its colours</p><div></div>

<p>The Ful Vue finder is very good,so much so that kids take digital shots through it. However I processed a film that had been taken on one of these cameras and there were 12 shots of the underneath of someone's chin and nose as they had used the finder as the taking lens and used the taking lens as the finder....... </p>

<p> John and Kent, you are right, I think I will keep the older one as I recently took it on a flight in a 1936 Lufthansa Ju 52 which flew over the old Leitz factory at Wetzlar so it went back to its birthplace although at about 800ft. I took a few shots on XP2. which were a bit soft. I explained to the crew who were interested in the camera that it was older than their aircraft.</p>

<p>I will try to post a photograph</p><div></div>

<p>I am slowly reducing my collection and now I have a problem. I have two black Leica 111f cameras that were converted by the factory many years ago from a 1928 model 1 and a 1932 model 2. They are both in good working order but I am thinking of selling one. The 1928 camera has a a 4 figure number and a chrome Elmar to match the fittings on the camera. The 1932 camera also has chrome fittings and a Summitar lens. Both have white lettering and 'white dial' flash settings. Which one would you sell?</p>

The Zunow reflex I looked at didn't seem all that special but it had features that were revolutionary at the time. It had a 1.8 lens. The owner had paid around 6000 GBP for it at auction but had to sell it as he had a tax bill to pay. He has a couple of Reid 2 cameras one of which looks as if it was made up from a Reid 1 and a 3 but the other looks kosher. He wants to sell one and I know which one I shall buy if I can raise the cash.