Thrift Store Find - 35mm Kodak Retinette, Model 30

This is a Kodak 35mm Retinette, Model 30 that I picked up from a thrift store.  The Retinettes were popular, and Kodak made many variations of this camera. It was built as a less expensive alternative to the Kodak Retina cameras. According to Wikipedia, the Model 30 was first manufactured in 1958.

The Kodak Retinette, Model 30 specs are:

45mm , f/3.5 Schneider-Kreuznach Reomar Lens

Compur Rapid Shutter 

shutter range - 1/500s - 1s, B setting

aperture range - f/3.5 - f22

accessory shoe, M-X flash sync

self-timer

tripod mount

leather case

The camera is in very good condition, with all shutter speeds working, and the aperture appears to close cleanly. It is a basic camera, with no metering and zone focussing. The roll of film that appears with the camera was loaded in the camera when I found it. It is a roll of Kodachrome II. I sometimes like to get the old rolls processed, but unfortunately, there are no more labs that do Kodachrome processing. I am looking forward to running a roll of film through this camera.

Cost:$15

Thrift Store Find: Ansco 1045 35mm Camera

I found this Ansco 1045 35mm camera at my local Goodwill store for $2.

It is a simple 35mm camera with 1 shutter setting, 2 apertures, a fixed focus 38mm/f5.6 lens, built-in flash. I am loading an expired roll of Fujicolor SuperHQ to test it out.

Vintage Camera - Agfa Silette 1

I finally had a chance to go shooting with my recently acquired Agfa Silette 1. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the lens has nice characteristics. This is a basic 35mm film camera, with a few more controls than one expects on a lower end 35mm camera. An interesting feature of this camera is that it has a countdown film counter. This type of counter tells you how many frames are left, not how many frames you've shot. With a full range of controls, I used a small Gossen light meter to set the exposure.

Agfa Silette 1

Film: 35mm

Shutter Speeds: B, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125

Apertures: f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11,f/16,f/22

Zone focussing. Minimum distance 3 ft.

Miscellaneous: No meter, hotshoe, countdown film counter (you must set it to the number of exposures in the roll when loading)

Lens: Color Agnar 45mm

The following photos were shot with Kodak Gold 200 (expired).

Unloading your 35mm Holga 135 camera.

I made a quick clip on unloading the Holga 135, but I seem to have misplaced it. Here are the 7 simple steps it takes to unload your Holga 135. These directions will also apply to any simple 35mm film camera, like the Lomo Fisheye, or other plastic 35mm cameras.

Step 1.
Press the rewind button on the bottom of the camera, this releases the winding mechanism.

Step 2.
Flip open the crank on the rewind knob.

Step 3.
Rotate the crank in a clockwise motion, with the camera lens pointing away from you.

Step 4.
Keep winding until you hear and feel the lead end of the film snap into the cassette. The tension on the knob will reduce quite a bit.

Step 5.
Pull up on the rewind knob to open the camera back

Step 6.
Remove the 35mm film cassette.

Step 7.
Take the film in to your film processor.

I am planning to reshoot this video, but you'll be able to rewind the film with these instructions.