Analogue Buys: ...Well, Sort Of

Today I went to visit my father at parents' house. I haven't been there since 2004, so it felt pretty weird at the beginning and I was quite nervous, but then it turned out definitely not a bad day at all. My grandmother had a few film cameras she no longer uses,and as my dad told her about my photo-mania, she decided to give them to me in case I could use them. She did not give me her Nikon FM2, which my father kept telling me about for a whole phonecall last week, but that's really not a problem as I already have a Nikon FM [from my mom's father... looks like I'm not the first photo-geek in my family!], and I like my Canon Ae-1 better anyway [it just feels easier to use]. She didn't give some pretty old Agfa camera [I can't name the model] as well, she just said she will keep it for some more time before handing it to anyone, which I can totally understand as it used to be her father's [my great grandfather's] camera.

Anyway, here's what I came home with:

Olympus µ zoom
I already own a µ, the one that came out some time after this one. They're great cameras you can practically use everywhere, I even took some decent concert photography with mine [which still was my mom's, back then] with a low ISO roll, so I could use having two of these.

Nikon L35 TW AF
A nice point and shoot camera with w/t options. Quite huge, compared to most of my 35mm compact cameras, but nice.

Canon Sure Shot zoom-S
This is another big, heavy camera much like the L35. But this one seemks to kick major ass. I just can't wait to try it!

Ricoh YF-20
Again, a point and shoot camera. It doesn't look that good [though it's red] and I'm not too enthusiastic about it. 

Haking Pix 35M
I'm always über-excited when I get my hands on a camera that's not even slightly mentioned in Camerapedia. And when the camera might be some kind of quirky toy camera, I could really explode with joy! This one is a cheap point and shoot camera from the '80s, I guess, and it really looks like one of those kids-targeted [toy] cameras you could get for a fewbucks. It even has an empty roll of Konica XG100 loaded, so I'll have to try it asap!

Moulinex 110 Pocket Travel Camera
Still boxed and sealed, this is your usual cheap-plastic-branded 110 camera. I already own a 110 Petri spycam, and it feels much better built than this thin piece of black plastic. I don't know if I'll ever try this one, I only have one 110 cassette and it's already exposed, and I don't plan on buying some new. Sorry, tiny one.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, after all this '80s-finds, let me introduce you to the camera that most likely made my day...
Bencini Comet S
Well, well, well, I just can't tell you how long I've been tracking these on ebay, and finally I have one... and I got it for free! This cute baby from the '50s looks in perfect condition, the shutter works both on B and 1/50, the lens is clean and everything is okay. The only problem is I can't seem to turn the focussing ring . There were some moist signs in the viewfinder, but this camera is so simple I managed to unscrew some stuff, take the whole viefinder structure out, clean it, put everything back in its place, and giggle like a little girl 'cause this shiny baby really kills me. I can only see one cons to this camera, which is: it is a 127 camera... but my grandmother still had a sealed roll of 127 Kodakolor... expired in 1979! I really can't tell if I'll ever use this camera, it almost scares me the idea of wasting such a precious roll, also because I guess it's not that easy to find someone to process it nowadays... I guess I'll just have to wait 'till I can sort things out.

Unfortunately, my grandmother did not find any other roll of film, except for a Kodak Gold 200 expired in 2005 [I obviously wished for some slide film, but anyway]. She did gave me, though, a lovely Cine Canonet 8, a Super 8 video camera which belonged to my long-gone uncle F. I don't think I'll ever use it, but it looks super good, and I like it 'cause it was my uncle, and I like to have stuff that used to belong to people in my family.

While my grandmother was looking for more cameras, she also found two dead Canon Ixus digital cameras, which made me laugh 'cause the oldest one was the one she bought in 2006: after 5 years she already changed three cameras, while the old Comet's still here and in perfect shape.... even the Haking-whatwasitsname is still in working condition! Okay, it's 1 am, I will not start with the same old "Film is [way] better"-thing, I promise. Actually, I think I'll just wish y'all good night and go back to cuddling my new toys!

Just one thing: I decided not to take any digital photos of the cameras 'cause I'd rather keep this blog as digi-free as possible. I might do it someday, but definitely not now. Tonight it's analogue time!

Good night, y'all!

Sidsel T.

Some say he’s half man half fish, others say he’s more of a seventy/thirty split. Either way he’s a fishy bastard.

2 comments:

  1. aahhhh reading all this made me feel a little envious! :( i only have a la sardina, two of my mum's 35mm cameras and my grandpa's old Canon Canonet! lucky girl, you! :) have all the fun in the world trying out these cameras, i'm excted to see the photos! xx

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  2. Wow what a great haul! So jealous of you right now! Haha

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