So who got the Foton on ebay?

<p>Anybody here? Went for less than I expected considering the rarity and mystique of the beast.</p>

<p>I wish it'd been me. Didn't know one had been offered again.<br>

It's at a higher level than my Perfexes and Clarus. ;)</p>

<p>Has anybody got the ebay link to this Foton, I would love to know what it sold for!<br>

Alf</p>

<p><a href="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bell-Howell-35mm-Foton-Rangefinder-Electric-Eye-model-127-film-camera-191354-/360429236135?pt=Film_Cameras&hash=item53eb41afa7">http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bell-Howell-35mm-Foton-Rangefinder-Electric-Eye-model-127-film-camera-191354-/360429236135?pt=Film_Cameras&hash=item53eb41afa7</a></p>

<p>Not me. I'm not surprised @ the price, which seems reasonable to me given the Foton's non-working condition. However, if the purchaser has the skills to fix the camera him/herself, then it was a bargain, indeed.</p>

<p>Thanks Dennis W for the link.<br>

Yes, it seems somebody got a bargain, there were only about 1200 - 1400 Fotons made between 1948 and 1950 so they are quite rare. The original cost was USD 700 reduced a year later to USD 498 a lot of money in those days.<br>

Ony three weeks ago I had a Foton in my hands when I visited a friend who has a fine collection of classic cameras. I thought at the time that it was just another springwound motordrive camera, how wrong could I be. The Foton is probably the finest 35mm camera to be designed and manufactured in the US.<br>

The inventor was Lewis H. Moomaw (a movie director) who made the first prototype in his basement workshop way back in 1934 this was a high speed clockwork driven camera that caused a sensation when he photographed action shots of sporting events that where published on the front page of the Chicago Tribune in 1935. After many years of trying to get his camera on the market he finally succeeded when he got a job with Bell Howell.</p>

<p> </p>

I'd love to get a Foton. Had to make do with a Fotron instead. Much cheaper. Anyone know where I can get film and a

new battery?

<p>I have a package of film for the Fotron, and i can guarantee that i could replace the battery, providing the case is not a problem to open. I was looking for one of these cameras ever since i found the cartridge in a box of cold stored film i purchased. it is a cartridge and on the package just says Color Slide film for Fotron camera and there is an address where to send it for developing. I discussed it on here some time ago and its the popular opinion that in the cartridge is probably 828 Kodachrome film. I'm very good with electronics. I have an engineering degree so i spent many lab hours learning and soldering circuits and such. I have re-celled many batteries in the past for myself and its not hard if you know how to use the tools and know what your replacing and where to look for spares. That and both of my parents probably know more about the battery that is in there too. They might have even made it , having worked at a battery company for years, that made and sold the first consumer rechargeable NiCad cells.</p>

<p>Anyway , take yours apart Marc, remove the batteries. Cutting the wired close to the battery pack. Try to carefully separate them and see if you can read the markings on the cells. Be cleaning things the whole time , Use rubber gloves and have a damp cloth near you to wipe with , and it wouldn't hurt to have a dust mask, cadmium is nasty stuff when decades old and dust.</p>

<p>The B&H Foton with their superb lenses were considered the best cameras for rapid sequence photography especially for sports or sometimes for dance. The time frame was late 40's to late 50's because nothing from the SLR field was easily useable. The only problem was that you needed one extra camera for each camera you needed for shooting because the darned things needed repairs every few hundred exposures. Yes, I'm old enough to remember.</p>

<p>Lynn</p>