Something New: I've caught GAS

No, I didn't eat too many beans. I'm talking about Gear Acquisition Syndrome. Beware - you may have it, too!

The other day I was browsing through my camera collection, and I realized that in 2013 things got just a little bit out of control. 14 new cameras... and that's not counting the cameras I made myself (about half a dozen different pinhole cameras).

So my most important New Year's resolution is... no more new cameras!

Okay, maybe just one if it's really pretty...

Meanwhile, let me introduce to you my 2013 acquisitions:

Horizon Perfekt

I lucked out on this one. Before all the piggy reforms there was a huge discount, and I had enough piggies saved to get it for free. It has since become one of my all-time favorite cameras.

No-brand Actionsampler

One of my colleagues mentioned that he got these funny-looking, little multi-lens cameras for three euros each at his local thrift store. So after work, I biked to the other side of town and bought three of them. Two of them I have already destroyed while trying to modify, while the last one I'm keeping. Yes, it's a crap camera. But in a strangely good way.

Pentax Auto 110

Even though I'm not a big fan of the 110 format, I just couldn't resist this tiny SLR. The auto exposure is pretty neat in low light situations.

Polaroid Land Camera 640

I already have a Polaroid camera but it was a model that you can't get film for any more. But for the 640 I can get (ridiculously expensive) Impossible film. I somehow dig how these pictures are sort of crap, but at the same time very cool.

Lomography Konstruktor

I was really excited when the latest Lomography camera turned out to be not screamingly expensive and is in fact pretty cheap. Building it was a lot of fun. It takes a bit of effort to get sharp pictures, but overall, I like the lo-fi lens.

Agfa Isoly Junior

A simple little box camera I stumbled upon at a local vintage market. It cost only two euros so I thought, what the hell.

Agfa Iso Rapid I

I already own several of these little Agfa Rapids but an extra cassette always comes in handy. So when I found this at the thrift store, I took it. It has a nice aluminum finish that sets it apart from my other Rapids.

Zeiss Ikon Colora-F

Another one from the thrift store. The pictures it produces are pretty unremarkable and the shutter button sticks a bit, but it does look pretty.

Kodak Instamatic 33

I already have an Instamatic 133x, but since I didn't have Instamatic film, I've never used it. Then I came across this Instamatic 33 which still had a cassette of film in it! So now I have re-filled the cassette with ordinary film and used it in all three Instamatic cameras I have.

Diana Multi-Pinhole Operator

The first pinhole camera that I didn't build myself! So good to have an actual shutter. And I love the color filters that came with it.

Gevabox

I went to an actual camera fair and walked around drooling over huge amounts of vintage cameras. After buying four of them, I saved my bank account by leaving. This Gevabox was one of the cameras I got just because it's beautiful. I haven't gotten around trying it yet.

Yashica Half 17 EE Rapid

Another one I got from the fair because it was pretty and shiny, and I like Rapid cameras, half-frame, cameras and Yashica cameras. I had some troubles with the shutter blades which were stuck together, but after some cleaning, I got it to work again.

Kodak Brownie Six-20 Model E

I have another one of these, but with a different front plate. I needed an extra 620 spool so I can start using my 620-cameras. I tried modifying a 120 spool before but it's a lot of hassle. Getting another 620 camera with an empty spool inside was easier. My spools are currently inside another camera, so I haven't tried this one yet.

Agfa Isolette II

The last one I got at the fair. I have all sorts of cameras in my collection, but I didn't have a folder yet. These Isolettes are apparently common as muck, and therefore very cheap. I love the spring release that pops open the folding bit. And it produces nice pictures, too (though I must remember it needs quite a bit of light).

escrito por stratski el 2014-01-15 #lifestyle #shopping #camera #collection #new #requested #g-a-s