Kuribayashi B.B. Semi First 6x4.5

[gabor_szabo3]

<p><br />Last week I received an intriguing little 6x4.5 folder that was part of a "junk" lot on the big auction site. The camera was closed up in the photos and sat haphazardly next to a bay 1 hood, a long cable release, a deep metal lens hood and tripod collar, and a crusty Konica motor drive mis-labeled as a "Kodak" motor drive.<br /><br />For twenty bucks and postage I wound up with a war-time Kuribayashi B.B. Semi First. This version sports a Rotte Anastigmat 75/4.5 in a Wester Model 1 shutter (1-1/200,B,T - no self timer). An L-shaped viewfinder has both eye and waist level brilliant finders.<br /><br />The bellows were incredibly dusty but free of holes, the lens cleaned up nicely, but the shutter will need work. The lens/shutter wobbles a bit on its brace. It looks like someone took the camera apart one too many times - many slotted screw heads are chewed up. Only the "Semi-First" embossed patch of leatherette remains, save for an odd scrap or two hanging on for dear life. The rest of the metal body is scratched and shows minor surface rust. It's a cute little camera that deserves my sympathy.<br /><br />Who knows when the last roll of 120 was run through her ? Not wanting to let the B.B. rest any longer, I loaded the last roll of Ilford 3200 that Chuck Forman sent me almost a year ago. I took the camera out for a 4AM stroll through Rutherford, Kearny, and Newark. Being that the only "accurate" shutter speed was B, it made perfect sense to test the camera in this fashion. I guess that's why it's called the B.B., right ?</p><div></div>

[gabor_szabo3]

<p>1.</p><div></div>

[gabor_szabo3]

<p>2.</p><div></div>

[gabor_szabo3]

<p>3.</p><div></div>

[gabor_szabo3]

<p>4. Should read : "Old Synagogue, Broad St., Newark"</p>

[gabor_szabo3]

<p>Try again :</p><div></div>

[gabor_szabo3]

<p>5.</p><div></div>

[richterjw]

<p>I think No.2 is the best of the bunch. It was really fine. Congratulations on the find, and good luck with restoring it. JR</p>

[gabor_szabo3]

<p>Thanks, Jeremy. <br>

This is the only such folder I've seen in person. And, sure enough, as soon as I received this little "Petri", I spy another one in a classified ad in my area. I suppose more than a few became souvenirs brought back by servicemen ? <br>

I wasn't expecting much. It was just a pleasurable late night/early morning journey with this folder as a tag-along. The viewfinder is incredibly small and , from the looks of the framing, more than a little inaccurate. <br>

I'll probably run some finer-grained film through it again, before I mess with the shutter.</p>

[Rick_van_Nooij]

<p>My vote goes to Paisano's Restaurant as well. Nice composition. The camera looks like a nice little folder.<br>

Nice find.</p>

 

[Lou_Meluso]

<p>Well how fun is that! Neat little folder and pics. I like St. Stephen's and tree shot a lot. Great find! Clearly you can shoot well with anything, working or not!</p>

[gabor_szabo3]

<p>Louis, you know it's almost mindless to set the aperture to f/11 , count to twelve, and pray you have a decent exposure. <br>

Still, it's a wonderful exercise to play around with a box camera or an otherwise broken folder and just chew through some film for the fun of it. Which is why I respooled some Ektar and loaded up a Kodak Tourist and some Argus 75's in anticipation of the Fall foliage.<br>

I encourage other Classics forum posters to take a "non-functioning" camera and simply use Bulb setting. Heck, if you have one with a crummy lens, remove the glass and make a pinhole. </p>

[lauren_macintosh]

<p>Gabor: they are all good but for me that stanley is as they say is the cats meow: [LOL]</p>

[JDMvW]

<p>Dang, that's really super. I like them all. 'Good thinking' on how to use a camera with only B working. ;)</p>

[capitalq]

<p>Impressive stuff, Gabor. Paisano's Restaurant is my favourite.</p>

[rick_drawbridge]

<p>Paisano's it is, though St.Stephen's is great; nice work with a very basic little folder. It's certainly an unusual "find" ! Stanley seems to approve...</p>

[fabio b]

<p>nice idea, really elegant way to take pictures. paisano's one is nice, but the cat pic is tecnically more difficult to to your way, and beautifully rendered. i'll follow your idea.<br>

regards,<br>

fabio</p>

[jodys]

<p>Niiice. It's a shame to let these sit and rot without ever running film through them. I was very surprised when I tried out my first (a Wirgin) and got the results under a loupe.</p>

<p>We should have a 'post your folders' thread soon. I just picked up a couple, and I'm waiting for my somewhat rare SIDA Turf coming in the mail.</p>

[ralf_j.]

<p>I love # 2, dark and serene, well done.</p>

[Two23]

<p>I like all of them. I have a couple of 3200 rolls but haven't got around to using them yet. Now that dark is coming earlier I will have to give it a try. Last month I bought a c.1915 Kodak Autographic Special. I discovered it had several pinholes in the bellows. I told my wife it was y new night camera, LOL.<br>

Kent in SD</p>

[chuck_foreman1]

Glad to see you getting some use out of the film. I really liked the restaurant shot! Reminds me of the street scene in

Lady and the Tramp Buona Notte. Lucky you with a usable Folder! I've also considered the "project" Six-Twenty I was going to fix the lens on! Umm ..that pin-hole idea sounds good! Great Job wih the B&W!

[donald_dinaro1]

<p> I have two of these BB. Semi First late cameras. Both of them i disassembled and completely serviced. The Semi first B.B. Late is a WW2 Japanese built camera that was NEVER imported into the USA! They are War Booty! The Wester model 1 shutter is well made and accurate as a swiss watch after being cleaned in a ultra sonic cleaner that is! The triplet First anastigmat 7.5cm F:3.5 uncoated lens is very sharp once disassembled and cleaned and relubed. Bellows can be a nightmare, it goes without saying, they dont make them anylonger. They appear to be some kind of leather composite material. First thing I do is use Neatsfoot oil on them to make them soft again, provided they are intact. I love the dual viewfinders and they are easily disassebled and cleaned. Surprisingly good optical array, mine are very bright and clear. I collect WW2 folding Japanese cameras because they are 100x rarer then German or American cameras. Camerapedia is the best source of information on these cameras, McKweons book which i love, is highly inaccurate when it comes to WW2 period of japanese folding cameras in information, or just plain missing from the book!</p><div></div>