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4.4.12

given and grateful

Don't you just love it when someone gives you something, for nothing? A few weeks ago I was gifted a Zeiss Ikon Contaflex complete with 3 Tessar lenses belonging to someone's uncle, a photographer in the 50s because, she said, she "wanted to see it go to a good home". Lady, you picked the right person.



      

All these test shots were taken while flânning (a new verb we have invented in our house.) Bearing in mind it had been stored in her loft for years and years, the light meter is dead and it had all kinds of dubious looking gunk on the lens it's not half bad. As an added bonus it came with 3 rolls of 1960s unused kodachrome in the original and extremely cute yellow metal canisters.
Yesterday a friend gave me a Kodak Brownie 127, and I'm looking forward to giving that a whirl soon too. Friends, go rummage in your family's detritus for gems like these.

Zeiss Ikon Contaflex/Carl Zeiss Tessar 2.8/50/Agfa APX 100
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17 comments:

  1. Lucky, lucky you! What a gift!!

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  2. lucky you indeed, I bet that expired film from the 60's will be fun to try! Love the results and she definitely gave it to the right person

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    1. unfortunately when I asked the geeks on flickr about using it they told me not to bother, it would be good for nothing :(
      But on the plus side they do look cute displayed :)

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  3. This is truly a great gift. And then the movies as well! The photos were taken on the 1960 rolls?

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    1. No Kristin, the films in the canisters are kodachrome (colour slide film)…... these were taken with Agfa APX, my favourite budget price b&w film :)

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  4. There is something very soft and beautiful about these images, and knowing how you came about the camera that captured them only heightens that. A friend of mine gave me her old Canon EF-M a couple of weeks ago, funnily enough saying the same thing, that she wanted a 'good home' for it. It's fab, I love it. Really looking forward to seeing what else you do with this camera (and the Brownie too). I would try the 60's film anyway, I wouldn't be able to resist I'm afraid, regardless of what anyone else said! The oldest film I've ever used expired in 1972, and as it happens I got the results back from the lab today - I'm really pleased with them. :) xx

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    1. Yay for the canon gift! Isn't it lovely when you get given these pre-loved cameras? Trouble with kodachrome is it needs K-14 processing and no labs do that anymore :( I could x-pro it but that seems such a waste…...

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  5. can't wait to see if the Brownie works too - will report back to the previous owner ;)

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    1. Even if it doesn't it's adorable ^_^
      xx

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  6. You lucky thing, that really was kind. I had a stranger give me $5 on the bus once because he said he didn't need it. It was strange, but nice :)

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  9. wonderful shots- i admire anyone that can shoot without a light meter, i can but i often suck at it :) that last shot (bottom right) is SO good.

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  10. That sounds like an interesting camera and from the results, I never would have guessed that there is gunk on the lens. The third photo above would make an exceptional print.

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  11. Hila, that restores your faith!
    Anne, have a great weekend too :)
    Thank you Kris, hope you're feeling better x
    Dottie, I cleaned that thing up to within an inch of it's life!

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  12. These photos really look to me like they were taken in the 50s, bw film with subjects like these gives that effect, I guess. I was gifted a Zeiss Ikon Contaflex B by an uncle, I was so excited then but I'm pretty sad now, it's very rusty (India is so humid!) & dirty, & just in examining it I managed to jam the shutter too. I'm deciding whether it's worth getting cleaned, because I have such a vast collection now, but I'm still very grateful for the gifts. Most people do not 'believe in film' anymore, they think the cameras too are obsolete, & most cameras today remain on a shelf, deep in a cupboard or worse still, thrown away. A photographer who I met recently (he only uses digital) gave me his mother in law's Olympus Pen from the late 60s... He said he had just thrown out an SX-70. It's sad! :(

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