Charlotte Ortelli
Member
It seems common amongst photographers to accidentally find yourself buying loads of equipment you might not need, much to the dismay of your bank account.
I do something similar from time to time, although, I buy dirt cheap, usually broken, simple cameras.
There is a lot of fun in fixing them, and seeing what you get when you finally do use it.
In this case, the first (well, the revised model of the first) reflex Brownie.
The shutter was sticking, the lenses and mirrors were moudly, the strap was almost completely decayed, it was in a sorry state. It only cost 20AUD, so, I decided to give it a go.
Within four hours I had the internals cleaned, the glass cleaned, mirror clean again, and the shutter fires properly now.
The shutter was the most annoying part, as tends to be, but now it fires at the right speed without sticking, so I'm satisfied.
Some parts around the lens, and the leather still need a little cleaning, but I shall get to that once I've got some leather cleaner next week.
Brownies, and other simple box cameras can be really fun, and are rarely more than the cost of a meal.
I encourage you all to go "lo-fi" sometime, and maybe even use it as a chance to fix up an old, forgotten camera...
I do something similar from time to time, although, I buy dirt cheap, usually broken, simple cameras.
There is a lot of fun in fixing them, and seeing what you get when you finally do use it.
In this case, the first (well, the revised model of the first) reflex Brownie.
The shutter was sticking, the lenses and mirrors were moudly, the strap was almost completely decayed, it was in a sorry state. It only cost 20AUD, so, I decided to give it a go.
Within four hours I had the internals cleaned, the glass cleaned, mirror clean again, and the shutter fires properly now.
The shutter was the most annoying part, as tends to be, but now it fires at the right speed without sticking, so I'm satisfied.
Some parts around the lens, and the leather still need a little cleaning, but I shall get to that once I've got some leather cleaner next week.
Brownies, and other simple box cameras can be really fun, and are rarely more than the cost of a meal.
I encourage you all to go "lo-fi" sometime, and maybe even use it as a chance to fix up an old, forgotten camera...
