Futura Accessories - What are they?

Hi guys,

 

Another Whatzit for you. These came in a mixed lot of cameras and accessories, but these are the only things marked Futura. I have no idea what they are, or if they are of any value to anyone. But, I'm sure someone here will know.

 

I thought I had photos of every angle, but I seem to have neglected to take a photo of the back(?) side of the rings, where each one has a square-edged notch 1/2" across in numbered flange. The knurled rings rotate independently of the numbered rings.

 

I'm wondering if they're some sort of lens extension rings for the very collectible Futura S Rangefinder camera. See here:

 

http://www.collection-appareils.fr/x/html/camera-10918-Futura_Futura-S.html

 

Futura S - Camera-wiki.org - The free camera encyclopedia

 

Note the 33.8mm screw mount : does that conform with these rings?

I'm wondering if they're some sort of lens extension rings for the very collectible Futura S Rangefinder camera. See here:

 

http://www.collection-appareils.fr/x/html/camera-10918-Futura_Futura-S.html

 

Futura S - Camera-wiki.org - The free camera encyclopedia

 

Note the 33.8mm screw mount : does that conform with these rings?

Bingo! Once you pointed me in the right direction, I found this on-line.

 

 

Just looking at the rings, I can't picture how they'd work. The shorter one has about 2 1/2 threads in the middle of it and none on either end. The wider one has more threads but, again, they're all in the middle. I hope they sold these things with manuals. Maybe it would be more obvious with a camera and lens in hand. But, as you say, Rick, the Futura is highly collectible. There are only a handful on eBay, from ~$250 to $995. None of them seem to have these rings with them.

Davecaz said:

Bingo! Once you pointed me in the right direction, I found this on-line.

 

Well done! They are probably really saleable to Futura owners, so you have a choice: flog them on Ebay or buy a Futura. Were I wealthy sort of person I'd take the second option...

Buying a camera to go with accessories or lenses is very practical today with used gear usually going for reasonable prices. My first time to do this was when my dad (shortly after closing family camera shop) gave me two NOS Olympus Zuiko lenses: a 50mm f 3.5 macro and a 28mm f 3.5, both still in boxes. Picked up a used OM-G to start with and later an OM-1. Sometimes after selling an accessory the camera becomes available. I had an Auto-Up for the Konica Auto S3 which I could hold in place to work with my Canonet GIII 17. Sold it and less than a year later found a nice Auto S3.

Davecaz said:

 

Well done! They are probably really saleable to Futura owners, so you have a choice: flog them on Ebay or buy a Futura. Were I wealthy sort of person I'd take the second option...

I actually thought about that second option while I was reading the Futura brochure. It wasn't a manual, it was one of those brochures that list all the available options and accessories in a brand's line, and it was quite impressive. But, they are rare and pricey, and I know nothing about Futura, having never heard of them before, so I don't have a burning desire for one.

 

Given that no one here has piped up to talk about his Futura collection, I don't know where I'd find such people. I guess I could throw them on eBay and see if anyone is interested. I imagine this is the kind of item that one or two people out there would pay serious money for, to complete their collections, but everyone else would consider nearly worthless.

Buying a camera to go with accessories or lenses is very practical today with used gear usually going for reasonable prices. My first time to do this was when my dad (shortly after closing family camera shop) gave me two NOS Olympus Zuiko lenses: a 50mm f 3.5 macro and a 28mm f 3.5, both still in boxes. Picked up a used OM-G to start with and later an OM-1. Sometimes after selling an accessory the camera becomes available. I had an Auto-Up for the Konica Auto S3 which I could hold in place to work with my Canonet GIII 17. Sold it and less than a year later found a nice Auto S3.

If I'd acquired a nice set of Futura lenses, I'd be more inclined to go that route. Having only a relatively unimportant accessory, I'm less inclined to do so. It would be kind of like building a house to match a nice doorknob.

photo.net member Pete Naylor should be the local Futura expert. Here is his Flickr page:

 

pete.naylor

"It would be kind of like building a house to match a nice doorknob."

 

I wonder how many of us (me for instance) use this philosophy for all sorts of important things in our lives, and later wonder why things worked out the way they did? A journey of a thousand miles may begin with but one step, but if that first step is taken in the wrong direction...........

photo.net member Pete Naylor should be the local Futura expert. Here is his Flickr page:

 

pete.naylor

Thanks, Marc. I ran into some of those same images on a website, somewhere. It was probably on the one website I found that was informative on the subject, and it was probably his, though I didn't know his name. Do you know if he's still active here?

 

"It would be kind of like building a house to match a nice doorknob."

 

I wonder how many of us (me for instance) use this philosophy for all sorts of important things in our lives, and later wonder why things worked out the way they did? A journey of a thousand miles may begin with but one step, but if that first step is taken in the wrong direction...........

I can't say that I haven't done it, before. But, in this case, that road doesn't go anywhere I care about going, at the moment.

A great collector of the Leica brand for 40 years, I discovered casually in an ad a FUTURA photo camera, from the manufacturer Fritz Kuhnert of Freiburg, Germany, for the years 1947/1958, short production time, few models, some accessories, objectives very interesting ...

 

I started researching and I was passionate about this brand and its manufacturing, I have about twenty models in my young collection and I want to have the help of the owners of these cameras and objectives to continue researching, building a database and exchanging or buying parts.

You can see parts of my researchs in futuracollector.simplesite.com