Alternative camera specs

Hello,

<p>

I recently started using a few Brownies and other toy-like cameras

and, being the gearhead that I am, I am thinking what people's dream

toy-camera would be like.

<p>For me, it would take 6x6 pics<br>

Have 3 stops of exposure variation (3 apertures, that is)<br>

Have about 3 zones of focus<br>

Have a viewfinder on top<br>

<p>The Kodak Brownie Twin-20 fulfills all of these. Where it falls

short is:<br>

Should take 120 film (respooling on 620 is a pain)<br>

Should allow multiple exposure - when you want 1/30 froma cam with a

1/60 shutter!<br>

Should have a bulb mode - for looong night exposures<p>

I get some of these "features" from a Brownie Hawkeye Flash, but I am

still looking for my dream toy camera. I have never actually used a

holga that everyone here seems to love and I notice that the new Holga

120N comes really close. But any other suggestions out there - some

toy camera with interesting quirks that you love? I know comparing

specs of these cameras is crazy in itself but no "real" cameras need

apply:-)

<p>I've put some of my <a

href="http://blue.chem.psu.edu/~anupam/photography/photos/Alternative%20cameras!/index.html">shots

from these cameras up here</a>, if you're interested.<p>Thanks,<br>-A

holga vs antiques.

I STILL cannot see the fasination with holga cameras.

I d/l and read the manual and other pages, the darn thing seem s more problems than it is worth.

it is sort of " but the emperor has no clothes" for arty non tecchies

why not smear grease on a leica lens and drop it on the sidewalk intil it leaks light?

a brownie hawkeye -even with the 620 restriction- is a superior camera to a HOLGA as are many other old "box" ot "toy" cameras with real lenses and no lightleaks.

some brownie hawkeyes DO accept 120 in the supply side, mine does. This may apply to manu other simple 620 cameras.

question would you buy a watch that had a bad strap, allowed dirt inside and kept poor time? NO

would you BUY a pen that skipped. NO

what I think you would like is a 120 12 exp folder that did not quite classify as a real camera.

holga vs antiques.

I STILL cannot see the fasination with holga cameras.

I d/l and read the manual and other pages, the darn thing seem s more problems than it is worth.

it is sort of " but the emperor has no clothes" for arty non tecchies

why not smear grease on a leica lens and drop it on the sidewalk intil it leaks light?

a brownie hawkeye -even with the 620 restriction- is a superior camera to a HOLGA as are many other old "box" ot "toy" cameras with real lenses and no lightleaks.

some brownie hawkeyes DO accept 120 in the supply side, mine does. This may apply to manu other simple 620 cameras.

question would you buy a watch that had a bad strap, allowed dirt inside and kept poor time? NO

would you BUY a pen that skipped. NO

what I think you would like is a 120 12 exp folder that did not quite classify as a real camera.

holga vs antiques.

I STILL cannot see the fasination with holga cameras.

I d/l and read the manual and other pages, the darn thing seem s more problems than it is worth.

it is sort of " but the emperor has no clothes" for arty non tecchies

why not smear grease on a leica lens and drop it on the sidewalk intil it leaks light?

a brownie hawkeye -even with the 620 restriction- is a superior camera to a HOLGA as are many other old "box" ot "toy" cameras with real lenses and no lightleaks.

some brownie hawkeyes DO accept 120 in the supply side, mine does. This may apply to manu other simple 620 cameras.

question would you buy a watch that had a bad strap, allowed dirt inside and kept poor time? NO

would you BUY a pen that skipped. NO

what I think you would like is a 120 12 exp folder that did not quite classify as a real camera.

Anupam-

I'll vote for the No. 2 folding cartridge promo

It has 4 stops,2 speeds(25 + 50) + B+T,the same lens as a box camera- has settings of 8ft.,(close up-lol) 100 ft. or "fixed" takes 120 film,folds up to fit in your pocket(a large pocket) -6X9 neg- and costs about as much as a brownie box camera- what more could you want.

You should get the newly published Toycamera Handbook: http://toycamhandbook.com/ it has a compendium of toycameras along with examples of the type of photos it shoots...

As for the "facination" of using toy cameras. The thrill is taking pictures with a piece of junk and creating art. You may not view it that way, but many other do...

Hi Steve, I'll try to get the book. sounds interesting. And I agree that part of the charm is taking usable photos with "a piece of junk." I just want my junk to be a little more flexible - like a bulb setting that would let me use the same camera for night shots etc.

-A

I'd suggest looking at the Ansco Speedex Jr. (also sometimes called a B2 Speedex Jr.). This is a 6x6 on 120 folder; while fixed focus (about 6 feet to infinity at f/11, a little closer at f/32), it does everything else you ask; it has apertures from f/11 to f/32, body release with eye-level viewfinder, multiple exposures simply by pressing the release again (including cable release socket), I (1/25) and true T shutter (press to open, press again to close), and a tripod socket on the bottom. Always available under $10 on eBay, frequently as low as $10 including shipping. The shutter is dead simple, though not a rotary like a box camera, and can be cleaned by anyone who knows which end of a screwdriver to grab and who can keep track of the parts they take off to put them back in reverse order. The lens is a glass double meniscus, good enough at f/22 to count bricks in the negative from a block away.

In short, it's the "folder that's not quite a classic" another poster suggested. I've had two; one I let be discarded during a move after it had sat on a shelf with a broken door latch for several months (I've since wished I had kept it, even if it needed a rubber band to stay closed), while the other is loaded with film right now, ready to do its job in a moment. I routinely shoot ISO 400 in mine, then pull the film one stop (though with color negatives, I don't even bother with the pull), but it's really made for ISO 100 or even ISO 50 film.

How many other cameras can you buy for $25 including half a dozen rolls of film and shipping on both (with J&C Pro 100), and give results like this?<div></div>

If you can live with 4x4 negatives, you could get a Diana (or clones). Most have three aperture settings, variable focus and most take 120 film. They are very flimsy though.

There aren't too many toy cameras with variable apertures. I wish the guys at Holga would install a better shutter, but I doubt that will ever happen. What I've seen people do is make a smaller aperture on the Holga sunny and cloudy switch (which is useless out of box). Some have actually installed a shutter from another camera, like an Agfa Isolette with good results.