They don't get much more obscure than this.

<p>eBay 280543086642. I just checked, the images are still up.</p>

<p>Note the serial number. Does anyone here have a camera with a lower s/n?</p>

<p>An SLR, takes six small circular shots on a sheet of Polaroid pack film. The lens is fixed focus and fixed aperture, the exterior of the lens' barrel is threaded to accept an attachment, could be a rigid endoscope or (but I'm not sure because the camera dates from the early '60s) fiber optic. I think some of the internal parts are missing but the shutter still cocks and fires and the view through it is just fine. </p>

<p>The viewing mirror isn't instant return. Firing the shutter makes it disappear, cocking the shutter -- press a button, rotate the back in the right direction until it stops -- brings it back. The lens seems to be focused at infinity. </p>

<p>The knob on the front with a number showing actually displays five numbers, T, 1, 2, 3, 4. It turns a contact that rotates inside an empty cylinder. As I said, there seem to be missing parts.</p>

<p>I bought it for the lens, a 90/6.8 Boyer Beryl. This is a dagor clone, per Boyer covers 164 mm. The cells are direct fits in a #00 shutter I have in the drawer. It will serve as a short normal lens on my 2x3 Graphics and 2x3 Cambo SC.</p>

<p>Nicely made somewhat eccentric highly specialized camera. Its seller also offered a somewhat similar Storz endoscopic camera.</p>

 

<p>Interesting side line to photographic collecting. At first I was thinking proctological, painfully.</p>

 

<p>A most unusual find, Dan.</p>

<p>Is that a PC socket on the side? Where do you put the flash?</p>

 

<p>Um, JDM, I don't really collect cameras. I have too many of them, but not <em>that</em> many, if you see what I mean.</p>

<p>I accumulate lenses to use and to find out what they are. The first motivation -- use -- is behind buying the Endoscopographe. I'll put the Beryl's cells in a #00 and use the lens. I shoot several other Beryls. The second is behind, e.g., buying a Fotokopist Spezial Reproduktions Optik 1:6.8 f = 18 cm. This last turns out to be an uncoated somewhat flary 4/4 double Gauss type lens. I have better 180s and mine's cleaner than this one http://cgi.ebay.com/Fotokopist-Spezial-Reproduktions-Optik-6-3-18cm-61390-/160458456783</p>

<p>Paul, in the interest of science I connected a flash to the beast. That <em>is</em> a PC socket and the shutter triggers the flash, but it doesn't have X-class synchronization. Must be for chemical flash, not electronic. </p>

<p>I don't know where the flash would go. I'd suspected that the thing might have a lamp and beam-splitter inside -- there are contacts where the handle screws in for a 9v cell and there's space in the handle for one -- to provide axial illumination but there's nothing like that in it. The 9v cell may be to trigger a flash bulb. As I said, I think the beast is incomplete. The flash assembly may have attached to the endoscope tube (beam-splitter, axial illumination, ... ) or may have sat near the end (intra-oral, intra-ocular). But without the bits or a copy of the patent, its all a mystery.</p>

<p>About the Fotokopist lens. Fotokopist is a job description, means "copy machine operator," and was also the name of a German firm that was active in the late 1930s and very early 1940s. The serial numbers of the lens that Cameramate has had for several years now and of mine (811xxx) fit the Meyer and Rodenstock sequences for the late '30s but AFAIK neither firm ever cataloged anything like it. I could be mistaken. It might be by Laack even though the VM mentions nothing like it either. I recall seeing something like it in a Laack catalog offered on ebay.de, could be mistaken about that too. I was outbid on the catalog, it went for over 100 euros.</p>

<p>Cheers,</p>

<p>Dan</p>

<p>That thing is an endoscope with a camera. The 9v is for a lamp at the end of the probe that goes you know where. I don't think flashbulbs are a good idea in that application.</p>