Choosing an Vintage Camera
If you are new to using old cameras the choice can be quite daunting, there are numerous different styles and hundreds of different makes but I will try to give you some guidance on what would work for you.
First of all, what do I mean by the term “vintage camera”? Well, any analogue camera that uses film to capture the image (rather than digital technology). This covers a time period of between 1895 and about 1995. Understanding different film types is a good place to start when choosing a vintage camera as you want to be able to get film to be able to use the camera you buy.
1) Film Types - There are 3 different film types a) plate/sheet film, b) roll film c) canister/cartridge film.
a) Plate/Sheet Film. Very early cameras, from about 1840, used glass or metal sheets as the film medium, this has developed into more modern large format sheet film that starts at a 5”x 4” negative size and gets larger. While it is possible to use any of these cameras, you need deep pockets and a lot of time and patience! I would suggest this would be rather over ambitious as a starting point!
b) Roll Film. From about 1895 flexible film was developed and put onto a roll that could be loaded into a camera. Lots of different size were developed most of which are no longer available, with a couple of notable exceptions.
One of the very early roll films named “120” went on to become the medium format film of choice that was used in many amateur and professional cameras, it hasn’t been out of production since 1900. Depending on the camera it can give 6cm x 4.5cm, 6cm x 6cm or 6cm x 9cm negatives. (Larger negatives can be produced by specialist cameras.) While similar to 620 or 220 film, 120 film cannot always be used in those cameras so makes sure the camera say it takes 120 film, (or E20 if it is an Ensign Camera)
Another early roll film is 127, this is a smaller sized roll film than 120 that also gives a range of negative sizes depending on the camera. It has been out of production for a while but recently has been made again. It was manly used as an amateur film in cheaper cameras than 120 film.
c) Canister/cartridge film. This is film type that is the easiest to use and most modern. 35mm film (developed in the 1920s) is the most common and well known canister film, it has never been out of production since its introduction and gives the cheapest price per picture of any film type. It has been used in hundreds of different types of camera from the cheapest to the most expensive.
110 cartridge film is back in production and is used in very compact instamatic cameras.
My advice - Buy a camera that takes 120 or 35mm film.
2) Camera types - I will take my own advice and make some suggestions for cameras that use 120 and 35mm film. I will try to keep to more classic and more budget cameras (sub £100). This selection is of course influenced by my bias and experience! Others may have very different ideas.
a) 120 film.
Box Cameras. The original roll film camera was the “box” camera, a simple box with a simple lens fitted to it. This type was made famous by the Kodak Box Brownie but most manufactures made them in the period from 1900 to about 1950. The good news is that these are cheap from about £5/£10 and most of them take 120 film, but not all. Negative size is normally 6cm x 9cm giving 8 shots per roll of film. They normally have a fixed focus, maybe a couple of aperture settings and no shutter speed adjustment. The view finder is normally of a waist level type, where you hold the camera at waist level and look down through a window that shows a reversed image. This makes the camera quite slow to use and no good for action shots. I use my Zeiss box camera for portraits and where I have the cooperation of the subject!
Folding Cameras. Again like box camera these were made from the 1900s to the early 1960s, but often with an extra level of sophistication! Most will have a choice of shutter speeds, aperture settings and focus adjustment. They are normally capable of “better” results than box cameras but this can depend on many factors and what you consider better is! They can be bought from as little as £20. Early cameras tend to have waist level view finders and post war cameras tend to have an eye level view finder that can be faster to use. The post war cameras by manufactures like Zeiss, Voigtlander and Ensign are capable of very high quality images often in the 6cm x 6cm format that gives 12 photos per roll of film. But if you want the most out of a roll film go for 6cm x 4.5 cm for 16 photos. While post war cameras tend to be in 120 film, pre war cameras can be in a wide range of film sizes so do always check, most camera will have the film size written inside the camera.
Twin Lens Reflex Cameras (TLR). These are a non-folding cameras with two similar lenses, one for looking through and one that takes the picture. Technically these are another step up from a simple folding camera with the two lens allowing you to adjust the focus as you look at the image through the waist level view finder. Again these tend to use the 6cm x 6cm 120 film format. They are more bulky than a folding camera to carry around. Price can be a big factor as the best quality cameras can cost £200+ for Rollieflex and other sortafter makes, you would want to do a fair amount of research before spending this sort of money. This style of camera was made from the 1930s until the 1970s and was used by a lot of professional photographers and serious amateurs.
My advice - For a box camera a pre-war Kodak Brownie Portrait (is has an extra close up lens) is always a good investment. For a post-war camera but with a classic look a folding 1950s Ensign 16-20 camera will give you a compact quality camera at a good price that gives 16 6cm x 4,5cm negatives. For a TLR look a Voigtlander Brilliant is a good budget choice, they were made from the late 1930s until the 1950s.
b) 35mm Cameras
Folding Cameras
View Finder Cameras
Single Lens reflex Cameras