History lessons

[Sandeha Lynch]

I came across this site yesterday ... <a

href="http://homed.inet.tele.dk/riess/gewir.html">The History of

Kamerawerk Gebr.Wirgin and Edixa Reflex</a>

<p>

I figure there must be loads of other personal histories out

there ... Any you've enjoyed reading and can recommend?

[nicolas_douez]

Sandeha, how nice and up to date is it for me to see a portrait of Heinz Waaske the genius today in this very interesting page, because I've just completed my struggle with the 1968 Made in Germany Rollei 35 Lester Gediman has got for a cup of coffee to bring it back to life.

 

Wasn't Heinz Waaske's wonderful and extraordinary design I doubt this almost 40 years old little camera would have survived all the bad treatments the previous butcher as a user had infliged to the camera and which had turned it into a pile of rust... just look at the following pics !<div></div>

[nicolas_douez]

Sorry, forgot to downsize.<div></div>

[nicolas_douez]

A bit of cleaning...<div></div>

[Sandeha Lynch]

That puts paid to your free weekends, Nicolas. Good luck.

[nicolas_douez]

Look at what Heinz Waaske invented 40 years ago.<div></div>

[Troll]

Very informative -- thank you.

[connealy]

There is quite a lot of history assembled by admirers of the Olympus cameras, such as <a href="http://www.geocities.com/maitani_fan/home.html">this page</a>.<br>Doesn't seem like their are many memoirs from people working in American companies. I'd be particularly interested in seeing some inside info about Kodak cameras as the reasons behind many design decisions are so hard to fathom.

[jorn ake]

Nicolas:

 

I had an old '64 VW bus that looked alot like those interior parts on your Rollei. If I still had it, I would send it to you for a restoration. Nice cleaning job!

[xenotar28]

Nicolas,

 

You are a magician. BTW: what product do you use to clean chrome?

[jorn ake]

I would be particularly interested in a history of Dr. August Nagel (d. 1943) & his cameras. I have found several that say generally: designer for Zeiss, started his own company, went belly-up in the early 30's, sold to Kodak, died several years later. Would be nice to read a biography.

 

And I would be interested in Albert Kahn (1860 - 1940) a financier whose photographers traveled around the world to make autochromes so that people in Europe could see the world in color and thereby inspire perhaps world peace. http://www.sdv.fr/judaisme/perso/akahn.htm

[mskovacs]

Hubert Nerwin is a good read as well. Some of his designs are <a href="http://www.zeisshistorica.org/Nerwin%20cameras.html">HERE.</a>

[david_f._stein]

Great article. Interestingly, last editions of McKeown's have many pages on Wirgin. Nagels, Mr. Mamiya, etc., someone should be getting it down.

[lesged]

Nicolas deserves a Croix de Guerre* for battling against all odds to rescue my near fatally wounded Rollei 35. I was overjoyed to buy this camera at a local yard sale for the stunning price of $2.50USD the price of a coffee at Starbucks.

 

The woman explained that the lens couldn't be retracted. The shutter was jammed also. I knew that Nicolas Douez had a number of Rollei 35s of various models and ask some advice. He said, "send it to me! I'll take a look at the patient and tell you what the prognosis is." (paraphrasing) I did and he spent the better part of a weekend, day and night, working on it and has already posted it back to me just before leaving with his family for their August vacation. The two photos above are but a few of the barrage of photos he sent as he dug deeper into the bowels of the Rollei 35. He restored all functions, except one that was too high risk repair item. He didn't have enough time to go into his machine shop (bags were being pack for family fortnight getaway) to do a very tricky repair that he had performed successfully before, but if it failed the camera would be unusable. I'm happy he chose that route, because now everything is back to spec, except one small inconvenience that in no way hinders the Rollei 35 from making top quality photographs. I hope I do Nicolas Douez justice for his super repairing skills by being capable of making a top notch photo and present a print of it to him and post it on this forum. He is by nature a perfectionist and is rightfully angry with the person that dropped the camera several times and who further butchered the guts of the camera trying to repair or destroy it. He nearly did the latter. Or, could it have been the lady seller, who announced the lens wouldn't collapse? Hmmmm

 

The work that went into the repair will never be forgotten. I salute Nicolas and many other people, who participate in this forum, who have done similar acts of mercy by rescuing fellow member' ailing, near moribund, camera. That esprit de corps is part and parcel of this wonderful group of old camera lovers.

 

Vive Nicolas! Vive Mike Elek! Vive Mike Kovacs! Vive all the other great folks who are in their company

 

*la Croix de Guerre is a medal given to the bravest of the brave of France. It is their highest military honor similar to the US Congressional Medal of Honor. I'm sure in their presentation you'd hear words like "....beyond the call of duty." And that fits Nicolas perfectly.