Recently the camera collecting bug bit me again and I started collecting old, manual cameras. They are wonderful machines to use and to look at. Although they miss some (well, actually all) of the amenities of modern cameras, they are much better for that. With a classic camera you, the operator, have complete control over the image, and photography remains an ever learning hobby, preventing boredom and creating joy and great pleasure when you can look at your works and boast: "I created that!" My collecting is tightly connected with use and I will seldom purchase a camera that I cannot take pictures with. Also, my interests gravitate around medium and large format. I prefer a large, 6 cm x 6 cm negative shot on 120 film, or a 4x5 inch sheet. The tremendous amount of detail in these negatives allows for large blow-ups that are sharp and clear, full of rich tonalities and detail. You can never get even close to this quality with a 35 mm camera or with one of the new, cheesy APS toys.
Below please find a few useful tidbits of information
that will, hopefully, enhance your enjoyment of the cameras you have. First,
here are a few camera cleaning, restoration and maintenance
tips. Also, here you will find some useful film processing
info. When you get your own full fledged darkroom
here is what to look for.
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