I almost couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the photos taken with this camera. I mean come on! With a Brownie? It's just a box!
Of all the Brownies that I've seen in my flea market rounds, and trust me, there's been a lot, this definitely is in the best condition. And although the price, 19 euros seemed a bit pricey when I saw it because 12 euros was the most money, until this one, I've put to this kind of cameras. Just a box. But what a box it is!
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I found the camera from a red cross flea market on one of my day trips to Turku. I don't actually buy that much from charity flea markets because lately they've been pricing their product a bit too high for my taste. It's weird that a charity place feels the need to do that because they get all the things they have as donations. And I suspect a lot of people who really need to buy their clothes or every day items cheap use charity flea markets because of the low prices. But lately the prices haven't been that low. Perhaps that's why I did find this camera. Someone else before me had already thought that 19 euros is too much. But I've seen worse. Brownie cameras that are in really awful condition have 30 euros price tags which is truly ridiculous. Everything that is old isn't automatically valuable. There's also items that are crap and should be either sold for just couple of euros or thrown away.
Anyway even if a Brownie camera isn't something a person absolutely needs to have (except I do) all the prices, including kitchen stuff, linen, clothes, furniture are beginning to be too expensive for a person who doesn't have that much money to begin with. So it's a somewhat dubious thing to buy from charity places because there are people who need the stuff more than I do and I can afford to buy the things somewhere else. Also I'm wondering that am I participating in keeping the prices up when I buy stuff from there?
But then again, the money goes to help people (I hope not only the employer or the workers there) and as already stated, perhaps owning a Brownie isn't a necessity to anyone else.
Good that we have that topic covered and my conscience is clear now.
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Except for a minor dust the camera was in very good condition.
There's this pully thing that you pull to take close-up photos. 5 feet = 1,524 meters. Jeez that's close.
See that beautiful surface and clear lenses. Ready for film!
But you know what that means?
Roll, roll, roll in the
dark, dark, dark from a
spool, spool, spool to another
one, one, one 'cause you're a
fool, fool, fool who just
swore, swore, swore never to
do, do, do that again
but, but
here we are.
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Manual: https://www.browniecam.com/brownie-user-manuals. First line, third from left.
As usual I've done nothing to the photos. Few of them might be better if post-processed but as I want to show you what kind of results does this camera and this film give in different conditions, I've left them as they are and I'll show you the photos with all of mine and the cameras flaws in the pictures.
I think this is a double exposure of the same place and perhaps also just couple of seconds in between so that the lines you see on the upper right corner(ish) are from the same tram that already is photographed on the left. Or it's the same place but with a different tram. Who knows! I can't remember.
I probably should write down all the things that make the photo like shutter speed and light amount and double exposure places but I just can't be bothered.
I like this photo. If the escalator photo hadn't been so good I think I would have chosen this to be the best photo.
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More trams, here you go.
This is from my favourite cafeteria. An awesome waffle place and a tiny cafe.
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| Samsung Galaxy Note8 | Kodak Brownie Flash III |
I had to take a comparison photo because the tree was just so delicious and it's a good thing that I did because although you can of course clearly see that the Brownie lens is no match to the lens on my smartphone, it's still pretty amazing quality as it was made between 1957 to 1960 and, may I remind you, JUST A BOX!
https://www.brownie-camera.com/23.shtml
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A single exposure of a wintery city and a double exposure of a bus and icicles.
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| Samsung Galaxy Note8 | Kodak Brownie Flash III |
Comparison photo and about one second exposure with Kodak Brownie Flash III.
I feel that I should call this camera The Third because it deserves such a tittle.
What did all this cost me?
Too much I say. The train tickets are not included in the cost or the weary hours spent walking and chasing busses in Turku since the buss lines suck when you don't want to always go through the city centre as it then takes longer than just walking the short way from A to B but if your feet are already tired and you're tired and cranky, you have to go to the location B from A through C and voilá, an hour spent to a 3 km journey.
Kodak Brownie Flash III: 19€
Ilford PANF Plus 50: 9,50€
Film developing: 17,90€
Film scanning to TIFF: 20€
| Film cameras Baby Brownie 1 Balda-Bünde Baldixette 1 Bilora Bella 66 1 Bilora Bella 66 Standard 1 Certo-Phot 1 Closter C63 1, 2 Coronet D-20 1, 2, 3, 4 Cosina Flash 35E 1, 2, 3, 4 Dacora Daci 1 Fed 3 1 Felica 1, 2, 3, 4 Fujica Flash S 1 Halina Paulette EE II 1 Mamiya M 645 1 Kodak Box 620 1, 2 Kodak Brownie Six-20 Model C 1 Kodak Pocket Instamatic 200 1 Lubitel 2 1 Voigtländer Bessa 66 1 Yashica 44 LM 1 ZIAG Colora F 1, 2 ____________________________________________________________ Digital cameras Sony A6400, 16-50mm 1Sony A6400, Laowa 25mm f2.8 1 Comparison: Sony A6400, Canon EOS 550D, Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7, Sony Cyber-shot DSC-P32, Canon PowerShot A550 1, 2 | Films (color) CineStill 50D 1 Fujicolor Super HR 100 1 Fujifilm 200 1 Fujifilm Superia 200 1 Kodak Gold 200 color 1, 2, 3 Washi X 100 1 ____________________________________________________________ Films (b&w) Adox CMS 20 II Pro 1 Adox HR-50 1 Adox CHS 100 II 1 Fomapan 100 1 Fomapan 200 1 Fomapan 400 1, 2 Gevaert Gevapan 1, 2, 3, 4 Ilford PanF Plus 50 1 Ilford Delta 100 1 Ilford Delta 400 1 Ilford XP2 Super 400 1 Ilford Delta 3200 1 Lomography Fantôme 8 1 Rera Pan 400 1 Retropan soft 320 1 Rollei Retro 400S 1 Rollei RPX 400 1 Washi A 12 1 Washi Z 400 1 |
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