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 You can imagine when this camera was superseded and so 'tossed' in the cupboard drawer folded and never to be opened again!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?
"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".
