A Small Collection Of Cameras From The ‘Bay
A week or so ago, while I was searching for a Bolta Photavit IV on eBay (not to buy, I already have one but just for the craic), the algorithm suggested an entry that caught my eye: ‘Zeiss Ikon; Leidolf, Regular; Pouva; Collection; read!’ said the heading. The text continued (all machine translated from the original German), ‘Collection from a collection liquidation. These … have certainly not been used for a very long time. … Zeiss Ikon Nettar 515/16 (exteriorly above average) • Pouva Start • Leidox with case • (King Regula) Haponette LK. All are in good external condition for their age, with minor signs of wear’.
My interest was immediately piqued by the Zeiss Ikon Nettar 515/16, and the Buy It Now price of 22€ (35€ including delivery) was tempting for that alone, the others were a bonus. I like the Zeiss Ikon folding cameras, I have a 517/16 from the 1950s that is a most wonderful medium format camera, and I fancied comparing it with the 515/16 from the 1930s. I was a little put off by the statement in the text that the collection, ‘accurately depict the condition. Technically, they have not been tested at all; defects or functional limitations may be present, but are not guaranteed’. So none of them might not actually work and it was a bit of a punt whether my 35€ investment might be four useless cameras. Oh well, we’ll see.
A week or so later, a beautifully wrapped box turned up. That the seller had packed the box so well was encouraging, and inside the cameras were securely packaged, too. I unpacked them individually, and what follows are my first impressions of each camera. The first one out of the box was the Haponette LK. I wasn’t familiar with this camera, but from what I can tell it’s a rebadged King Regula L. Apparently, the German company Porst would licence and rebrand other manufacturers cameras as their own, much like the British high street store Dixons did with their Miranda brand cameras in the 1980s (and Kodak does with Reto today).
The Haponette LK was in really nice condition externally, and it even came with a black plastic lens hood that I’m sure is quite unusual to have survived with the camera. The shutter seemed to work well at all speeds, and hopefully are accurate, and the self-timer also works. In fact, I thought the self timer was the shutter cocking lever for a while and spent some time trying to find how to turn this off. It was only when I found a YouTube video on the King Regula that I realised what it was and I didn’t need to cock the shutter each time, the wind-on did that. Inside, the camera looked clean enough, but the back of the lens was quite grubby and will need some attention.
Next out of the box was the Leidolf Leidox, from another German camera manufacturer that I was unaware of. The Leidox was Leidolf’s first camera, produced in 1950, and it’s a 127 format camera. Even better, there was a film still in it. Of course, I only discovered the presence of the film after opening the back, so I’ve lost a couple of frames, but all being well the remainder will be … good? Playing with the camera, I think the shutter is a little sticky, so I might wind the film to the end of roll then respool it back to make an ‘unexposed’ roll. Then I can reload it into another 127 camera and use the remainder of the film while I see if I can loosen up the shutter mechanism of the Leidox.
The penultimate camera from the box was an early version of the East German Pouva Start. This was a cheap bakelite medium format camera produced between the 1950s and 1970s, and this version, with the pop-up viewfinder, was made until 1956. Of all of the cameras in the box, this is the one that didn’t work straight away, so I think I’m going to have to try and fix the spring inside. I do have a working model from the same period, the Pouva Start is a favourite of mine from when I was looking for something to get me back into film, so it’s not a complete failure if it doesn’t work.
Of course, I saved the best until last: the Zeiss Ikon Nettar 515/16. This was the whole reason for getting this collection, and I hoped it was functional. As described, the exterior of the Nettar was ‘above average’, though for a 90-year-old camera it definitely looked old. Unlike the later models, the 515/16 features a pop-up viewfinder and this will certainly need a clean. Likewise, the rear lens will need some attention. Unusually, the Nettar contained two empty plastic spools, but I can always use more of these. The shutter speeds and the aperture were fine, so after giving it a clean I’m looking forward to taking this out for a test run.
Over the next few instalments, I’ll give a more in-depth overview of each camera, and a test with film. In the meantime, if you are on Mastodon, you can now follow this blog directly. Just go to Mastodon and follow the ‘Snapshot’ WordPress account at @keithdevereux.wordpress.com. All new posts will be automatically updated to your timeline.
#Camera #Classic #Collection #HaponetteLK #LeidolfLeidox #Nettar #Oldcamerachallenge #PouvaStart #Retro #Vintage #ZeissIkon
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