KODAK SALE

Its been a while since posting, I have been busy photographing and listing for sale on EBAY loads of KODAK camera's plus a lot of old cine movie camera's. I did not realise how many old Kodak camera's I have collected over the past year!

I have some more to list and once this is complete i can continue with the restoration work on the vintage No1 Pocket Kodak.

Saying that, things will be busy next week as I am starting another 'restoration' project on Monday. This one will be to remove an old roof off a barn and replace. This includes salvaging the old oak beams and re-using the 100+ year old clay roof tiles.

There is also some stonework to be repaired and hopefully the weather will be kind but I guess its going to be cold! I did 'swear' that I would not do another building 'restoration' job for a while and concentrate on my 'buying & selling' venture but this was too good to turn down.

The main reason being, its at Rockfield Studio's, I may get to meet some famous 'rock star' but I doubt it. The last 'famous' person I met, or should I say. 'could of met' was David Byrne (X Talking Heads lead singer). Thing was I had gone to see him play in Nottingham at the theatre there years ago, great gig/show and was stood next to him in the foyer. Daft thing was, I never even realised it was him at the time as I was too busy making a 'feeble' attempt to 'chat up' some girl.

Anyway, it was a great night!

Restoring Kodak PART 4

I have just uploaded a video to Youtube, its the Kodak Pocket No.1 in action after finally getting the thing to open and close. Its now ready for the final cleaning down and preparing for the paint work. You can view the video here, its not much, in fact its my first every. You could say its not even a movie by definition, all I did was to string some photo's together so more like 'animation'?

How ironic, I have plenty of movie camera's that I could use, I even have a Sony Movie camera and what do I do? I use photo's and a very basic animation technic, stop motion? All it took was 6 photo's, I could have least used more to make the animation run more smoothly. Never mind, its a start and its also the very first thing I have published as a 'video'? I had better not give up the 'day' job and I guess 'Hollywood' wont come knocking but its a start.

Vintage Cine Cameras

Today I have been sorting through old cine cameras and finding out all about the ones I currently have to sell. I have taken some photo's ready for Ebay and just started some research about each model, I currently own around 15 or so!

Most are in a 'working' condition and the ones that are not may be, thats if I can figure out how to work them. I guess I could look this up on the internet, there are plenty of cine camera manuals and dedicated cine camera websites out there, but I much prefer figure them out for myself.

Most cine camera's appear fairly simple to figure out how to use but some can be very 'baffling'! Especially to someone new to this but I am learning something new with each camera.

I am amazed at some of the 'interiors' of these cine cameras, apart from being in excellent condition some look simply wonderful. You don't see anything like this in modern cameras, I guess its more about 'cost' and probably the fact that not many people would care as long as it worked.

It makes me wonder if there is a 'point' to what I have just said well I guess you could say yes. Take camera's for instance, the modern digital camera? I would not be without mine especially for the work I do but in the past couple of years, I have had to replace them at least every 18 months.

They do exactlly what they are meant to do but they just don't make them as 'robust' as they should do. Maybe there are one's out there but I am guessing these are not going to be cheap?  I could understand why if I were a 'wildlife' photographer or had to use the camera in 'extreme' places but this is not the case.

Maybe I should 'splash' out and buy a more expensive camera? I have never paid more than £200.00 for one and would worry if I did. The digital camera's I have owned in the past have all been your average, half decent and fine for the work that I do but they have all stopped working after a period of time.

Ironically, there is an exception and this still works today even though it must be over 10 years old and for the last 8 or so years has just been left in a desk drawer. Guess what it is? A Kodak! yes a Kodak DC215 Zoom that cost me a fortune when I purchased it.

The only reason I stopped using it was because I had upgraded to a camera with more 'megapixels, plus it would 'burn' through AA batteries no problem until someone advised me to use re-chargeble one's. Talking of Kodaks, I have managed to sort out the problem with the No.1 Pocket Kodak and its working fine now, will update later.

Just realised the time so its 'off to bed' for me, early morning start tomorrow. I am off to take some photo's, something I have been meaning to do for a while now. Its all very good 'dealing' in cameras but I want to go out and see what I can do. I will be using a digital camera, hopefully a 'film' one soon, its more of a practise run. Plus I am very good at editing photo's with Photoshop, I know its cheating but I have salvaged some great photo's. I guess when it comes to using 'film' theres going to be less chance of that.

One last thing, I have found out that the local college allows anyone to use there 'darkroom' and will also give advise. This is great news as I intend to have a go at developing the photo's I shoot, hopefully will be able to arrange something for next week.

Restoring Kodak PART 3

Well, I learnt something new today about restoring 'Vintage Kodak Camera's, to make the leatherette 'shine' use a good shoe polish. I hope I did the right thing but I do remember reading this somewhere.

So, today I glued most of the pieces of 'leatherette' back down to the camera except for the front panel that cannot be put back on until re-painting is complete. I then gave the camera a bit of a clean and polish, I was going to continue with trying to sort out the sliding action.

The camera's 'bellow' unit slides now or should I say 'glides' nicely until it reaches the case. This is where there hinge underneath the lens should rise up and the whole lot should fit back in the case. It then jams and will slide over back into the camera case but requires some 'jiggling'. I cannot see any obvious signs of why this is happening and its causing me concern, if I cannot sort this out then the camera will only be a 'display' piece.

I would be happy to have this on display, even in its current condition, but then I am biased. The challenge was to restore the camera in order to take some photo's. so I guess its back to the 'grind' stone.

I did manage to date the vintage 'Pocket No.1 Kodak Camera' but unsure how accurate this is, it would be great to find out if the dates correct and how many were produced. Anyway, here's some more photo's of progress so far. i am 'chuffed to pieces', which reminds me of a joke -

My friend suffers with manic depression so I pushed him in front of an old  'steam' train. He was 'chuffed to bits'! Oh well, it made me laugh.

"Restoring Kodak" PART 2

I managed to do a bit more work on the "Kodak Pocket Camera" today even though its been 'one of those days', busy! busy! busy! Today I stood not 25 feet away from where some of the defining moments in 'rock' history were made! Or should I say 'created'? I was at the studio where Queen recorded the 'Bohemian Rhapsody' album, 'Oasis' first album 'Definitely Maybe' was recorded (or should I say the first attempt?). I could go on as this was just a few 'groups' who have recorded there such as 'Led Zeppelin' but back to the camera.

I said it was 'one of those days', for some reason my 'blog' won't let me upload any photo's. I have managed to remove a lot of the paint and rust but still have a lot to do. I was un-decided about doing this as its a question of re-painting so that it don't spoil the look. Thanks to some advice from a helpful chap, Michael over at the vintage-camera-online forum , I have decided to go with the re-paint option.

I know that this is not the easiest especially getting good result and the only way I can think of doing this is using some sort of 'spray' method. I do not think painting by hand will produce the best results, thankfully I have a friend who renovates old 'Harley's'. He's a 'dab' hand at spray painting and I guess I could get some advice on the 'mechanics' of the camera. I know there's a big difference between motorbikes and camera's but he's great at fixing anything. I  could cheat and ask him to do it for me but I guess I will have to learn some new skills.

So, until I sort out this 'blog', I'm sorry but no pictures. I will retry later on. I am off 'wrapping", no its not a spelling mistake, the only 'rapping' I do is packaging my Ebay sold items!

Update, if you are seeing pictures then great the blog is working!

RESTORING A KODAK No.1 POCKET FOLDING CAMERA

Having thought about it, I decided to try restoring this "Kodak Pocket No1 Camera" which as you can see is, in a very poor condition. I thought that as I buy and sell camera's I should learn more about them. This is something I have never attempted before, I still get baffled by some and how they open, so you could say that I am not even a 'novice'!

I had thought about restoring a different camera which was in a lot better condition, see previous post, but it looked too easy. As this was going to be my first attempt at "restoring a vintage camera", I thought I would choose something more challenging. Jump in at the 'deep' end so to speak.

This old "Kodak Pocket Camera" has been sitting on my desk for some time now; I had considered at one time or another to Ebay it. I even considered throwing it away; thankfully this is something I never do! I hate to see anything 'thrown' away. I guess that’s why I am surrounded by all sorts of 'junk'; my wife’s words not mine.

I should tell you about the camera first and its current condition, there's plenty of photo's, as you can see, showing the obvious signs of damage but there are some that you would not be able to see. The lens and shutter were in a good condition and look like they will not require much work. The door is seized in the 'open' position and the bellows unit is seized tight in the 'closed' position. I have forgotten the technical term for the view finder attached near the lens but as you can see, there isn't one! There's plenty of rust and missing paint plus the leatherette is not in the best of condition, forever the optimist. So, I guess its time to get started......... 

Firstly, I removed the lens case which came out nice and easy. In fact the lens is in a very good condition and the shutter action fires at all speeds. The lens just requires some cleaning and it should be as good as new.

The second job was to dismantle the rest of the camera and this proved difficult as the door and bellows were seized, as shown in the picture. Also, it did take a while to work out what parts came loose or were meant to. I did not want to force anything but everything seemed stuck, got there in the end though.

There was no way the bellows and lens was going to come out without a fight, it was difficult. I tried gently easing the sliding piece (what is the correct term for this?) along the track but it would not budge. A little bit of oil helped but I was unsure in case the oil would damage the bellows, I was hoping the bellows were going to be in a good condition.

The one job I did not fancy doing was replacing the bellows as this looks like a very difficult. I may be wrong and I was not convinced 'patching' the bellows, although would work, was a choice. I was hoping to retain the original bellows, in fact I hope to keep as much of the original camera.

Well, it was a fight but I won, the bellows and lens unit slides up and down the track, not brilliantly but it’s a start. Also, the bellows look in very good condition, bonus! I have given them a bit of a clean and checked if they leaked any light. Not one bit, not even a 'pinhole' and all looks really good. I still may have to remove the bellows though so that I can work on the rest of the camera.

I am dreading this part as everything looks fixed with some kind of rivet? I am sure there's an easy way or even a specialist tool for doing this, I guess I will have to do some research.

So, door opens smoothly now, the lens and bellows unit slides back and forth (not smoothly yet!), I will have to go and figure out what to do next. I did have a little 'play' around with the lens to see how all this 'fit' together. The one thing I guess I have learnt is that the lens, so far, is the easiest bit to remove. This is good to know especially when I see 'old cameras' for sale where the lens is broke.

That does remind me to start looking around for spare parts, I wonder if there is a somewhere out there a 'Kodak' spare parts dealer? Or do I have to buy another Kodak Pocket camera for spares? Defeats the object really as I don't think I will find another camera in a worse condition or if I did I may be tempted to restore it!
Since starting this blog, I have been recommended some very good reference books. I have put them on my 'christmas' wishlist,  I might be lucky. They are costly but a 'must' for anyone interested in buying/selling and restoring camera's, or so I am told.

If you wish to assist me with advice then please do as it will be appreciated.

Kodak Vigilant Six-20 - Please Tell me How,What & Where!

Well, here it is a great KODAK VIGILANT SIX-20  It was introduced in 1939-49  during which time ?????? were made. "??????"? How many do you think are around today? How many?

There are signs of age but mainly "cosmetically", I bet if you loaded a film into this it would produce some great photographs. I have digital camera's less than a couple of years old which could not do this. What & Where is the best place to get the film from?

I guess the great thing about these "folders" is the fact that they "fold" and so this helps preserve them. You can imagine when this camera was superseded and so 'tossed' in the cupboard drawer folded and never to be opened again!

I have noticed in my short time of "handling" camera's, I should say "dealing" but anyone who knows about camera's is going to either be a photographer or a collector. I cannot imagine anyone just "dealing" in these just like a lot of antiques and collectables.

In fact an antique dealer once told me you are either one or the other, collector or dealer, and at the time I did not pay too much attention to this. I get what he meant now, it gets harder each time to part with some of the things I have owned.

I digress, back to the camera in hand. The shutter action works fine on all speeds and the lens looks in good order, scratch free. There is a little bit of rust here and there but only what you would expect on a camera of this age. How do you clean the lens and take care of minor rust?

Thankfully it has obviously been lying dorment in a fairly 'safe' place but like a lot of these camera's with "leatherette" covering, they do tend to have a few pieces either missing or coming loose. In this case or should I say "on this case", there's very little damage. Where the leatherette has come loose is on the corners and this should easily "glue" back down. What Glue and How easy is this to do?

There's a couple of "scuffs" on the top viewfinder but this should be easily restored. Overall though, the case is in a very good condition. What paint?

The door catch is a problem that needs some attention, its nothing major and just requires the catch to be adjusted. Apart from that everything else appears to work as it should do.

As I was saying earlier, due to the design, internally these camera's can be found in a very good condition. This one is is excellent shape and even the bellows has no obvious signs of wear. Mechanically, everything works nice and smoothly like the day it was made, not bad for something that is getting on 100 years old.

The film compartment is also very clean which is often the "norm" on most camera's as long as they have been handled with care. Take a look at those bellows, they are as good as new and have no pinholes or leakage at all. How do you make sure the bellows is in good order?

So, there you have it, the next thing to do is to restore the camera, load some film and start taking some photo's.

"Is there anybody out there" Hello hello can anybody hear me.................

If anyone would like to help me restore this camera and show me how to load a film, get it developed and hopefully publish the final results. Hints and tips all welcome and firstly I need to know how to "glue" the leatherette back down. Whats the best glue? How do I do it so it does not look out of place and so on. All help will be appreciated and you never know, once I have completed this little (or it could be big) project I may give the camera away.

I say "may" only because I might keep this one to myself as it would be my "first" one, I hope to restore and use more in the future. If this is the case then I am always in possesion of some great old camera's and equipment so i will offer an alternative. This is not a prize as such, so don't go all out trying to win, I am a strong believer in the old saying "One good deed deserves another".

EASTMAN KODAK No 4 A Model B Bellow Camera

Well you just don't know what you may find when you open some of these old Kodak folders. I don't even know where I got this one from and its been sitting on the shelf for the last year or so. I remember trying to open it up when I first aquired it but could not figure out how to do this.

Look what it turned out to be, I was very surprised as i thought it would be the usual "Kodak" folding camera. As soon as I saw the "Morrocan" red leather bellows, I new it was not your usual camera. I think I have identified it correctly when I say its a "EASTMAN KODAK No 4 A FOLDING CAMERA MODEL B with BAUSCH & LOMB RAPID RECTILINEAR LENS IN A KODAK AUTOMATIC SHUTTER". Thats a mouthful and I may be wrong,

I guess I am still learning how to identify old camera's and all about them, I still have a long way to go. I could not even figure out how to connect the camera lens to the door when open! I will have to have to "google" it, not unless someone out there could explain to me how to do this. I will probably figure it out myself but I am worried about causing any damage.

This is a great looking camera it obviously requires some restoration work but the shutter action works and the bellows are in very good shape. Even the lens does not look to bad considering its age, no scatches or visible marks.

What a great find and just when I was about to give up on another "folder" that I could not open, hey presto out pops a very nice "KODAK VIGILANT SIX-20 WITH KODAK No 1 DIAMATIC AND KODAK ANASTIGMAT f:8.8 100MM LENS"!. More about this one later on.

Black & White Photography Magazines from £1.65 plus P&P.

"Vintage Camera's","Old Cine Camera's" and "Camera Equipment"

I am selling all sorts of cameras and camera equipment some are very "old camera's". Here are some photo's of the camera's to be auctioned on MY EBAY over the next week or so. If you are interested in any then please get in touch, I can be contacted at contact@charliequins.com.

I have some Leica, Leitz Wetzlar bits and pieces, BRONICA, for sale and these are already listed on Ebay starting at a really low price.

I have an assortment of old Cine camera's 8mm & 16mm for sale, some are already listed on Ebay including a very scarce "Emel Cine Camera" and a "EUMIG" cine camera.

and many more to come, keep watching!

Lens or Lenses
I have some old and collectible camera lenses for sale including a Dallmeyer lens, a nice "Ross of London" lens and various others.

"Vintage Collectible Camera's"

I have many old and collectible vintage cameras for sale, some are already listed on Ebay. I will be listing more over the coming weeks including:

So, keep an look out for what's to come you might get a nice bargain as well as a nice collectable camera!