Kodak No 8 Cirkut Outfit

If you have ever seen one of those old 4 foot long panoramic pictures, this is the style of camera most commonly used to make them. The "8" refers to the film width in inches. The Cirkut Outfit was composed of a standard folding bed plate camera, a removable Cirkut back and the special geared tripod head. Unlike Cirkut Outfits, Cirkut cameras were purpose built and could be used only for panoramic shots.

Side View and Description | Manual

Thornton-Pickard MkIII Hythe

Designed to emulate a Lewis machine gun, the Hythe camera was used as a training tool for aerial gunners. In wartime, 120 roll film was much cheaper (and safer) than live .303 ammo. The "gun's" controls are comparable to an actual Lewis gun, but the charging handle advances the film and cocks the shutter. The trigger fires the shutter. The simple fixed focus, aperture and shutter speed were intended to judge a gunner's aiming skills, not take a pretty picture. Although purely a camera, it uses an actual functioning Lewis gun magazine. Presumably, this was to give the gunners practice at changing magazines, as its presence was not required to operate the camera. A Japanese copy of the camera omitted the magazine.

Graflex No. 0 Graphic

Another "not quite sure what they had in mind" camera. The No. 0 Graphic has a fixed focus Kodak anastigmat hiding behind the little flapper door on the front. Pulling the release lever (on the left front in the photo) opens the door and fires the shutter. It had a Graflex focal plain shutter with speeds up to 1/500th sec. The Newton finder on top has a mirror, which in this photo, is deployed to shoot 90 degrees from the direction you are looking. Presumably this was for candid shots.

The "Davon" Micro-Telescope

"It's a dessert topping. No, it's a floor wax!" What idiot would argue the legitimacy of a simple microscope's presence here, were it not for the fact F. Davidson & Co. sold this thing (in part) on the basis of its use as a photographic device. The brochure illustrates examples of high magnification photographs taken with this unique (circa 1920) micro-telescope. Operation as a microscope was as one may expect. where the Davon differentiated itself was in the addition of telescope adaptors, which were inserted in a socket under the stage. Equipped with a choice of telescope adapters, the degree of magnification was impressively high. The unit installed for the photo here was a special photographic piece, with built in adjustable diaphragm. Light gathering was less than impressive, so stopping down considerably, while it may have helped sharpness, would likely extend exposures to excess. I have little information on exactly how the sample photographs in the book were created, so my example below is probably not up to the equipment's full potential.

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With a little fiddling I was able to capture a sample photo. While in a pinch a converted microscope may be usable as a spotting scope, I wouldn't recommend it as part of your regular camera kit. The above left image was taken with a Canon PowerShot S2 IS with the zoom at about 400mm. The yellow circle shows the approximate area of the Davon produced image. Not bad, eh.

Ernemann Ermanox

Although nothing special by today's standards, in 1924 the Ernostar f2.0 100mm lens was super fast, and helped usher in a new style of available light candid photography. The photographer Erich Salomon used an Ermanox to create many famous images of celebrities and politicians. Another famous photographer, who at least briefly used the Ermanox, was Alfred Eisenstaedt. He is said to have been influenced by Salomon's work. I've always joked about wanting to live in a garage with house attached, well here is a lens with camera attached.

Top View

Le Coultre Compass Camera

The most features in the least possible space. Long before our modern micro miniature digital cameras came along, the Le Coultre Compass Camera (circa 1930s) had just about every feature imaginable in the smallest possible size. It even incorporates stereo and panoramic photo features. The complete kit includes a beautifully made tripod with a pocket clip like on a pen. The body of the camera is a masterful example of pre CNC machining.

Sakura Petal

Notable for having been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's smallest camera, the Petal is otherwise more novelty than camera. A round disk of film held six round images. Made in occupied Japan shortly after the war, many were brought home by returning GIs. The balsa wood box, tissue paper instruction sheet and original red ribbon all add to the effect. Petals are not particularly rare, but they're too cute to ignore.

Camera Instructions

Echo 8 (model 1)

Produced by Suzuki Optical Co. in the early 1950s, the Echo 8's only real claim to fame was being featured in the movie Roman Holiday. Have a close look at the camera used by Eddie Albert to take spy photos of Audrey Hepburn. The Ebay seller of this camera claimed it was bought in eastern Europe and may have been "KGB Issue." I took that with a grain of salt, but on receiving it I must say this thing, though in good shape, has clearly seen a lot more use than its novelty status would suggest. Maybe it really did get used to spy on people. Although the lighter is functional, its not a good idea to fill it today. The bottom cap tends to leak and the fluid eventually ruins the camera.

Component Parts View

Camera Lite (model 1)

Its a lighter, no its a camera, no its a Camera Lite! This particular example is marked "Made by Continental Merchandise Co. NY", however, I believe it was actually manufactured by Suzuki Optical, or maybe they truly were US made on contract to Suzuki. I have read elsewhere on the web this simplified model was produced to fill an inventory shortfall when the movie Roman Holiday caused a surge in Echo 8 sales. The camera used 16mm film, run through a special film slitter to create two strips of 8mm film with sprocket holes on one side.

Camera Instructions

Camera Lite Model B

As if overwhelming demand dictated further evolution of the design, for some reason Suzuki Optical created a second model of the Camera-Lite. Referred to on the box as Model B, the revised camera/lighter incorporated a two speed shutter. While I understand the fixed "I" setting was intended to produce an adequate daylight exposure, how they expected a Bulb setting to genuinely enhance the photographic experience of this marginal device is beyond me. The other obvious change is a textured finish to the lighter body. The Model B came packaged with three 20 exposure rolls of film, a vinyl case and instructions printed on rice paper.

Camera Instructions

Nikon S

The Nikon S range finder. Substantially similar to the older Nikon M, but less than 1/3 the price. I'm no expert on Nikons. I like these because they are well made and in my 2D photography years I always used Nikons.

Nikon S2

The S2 was a very popular camera, incorporating several improvements over the S. These included film wind and rewind levers, a bigger range finder and other improvements. It was also the first Nikon to use the now standard 24 x 36 mm image size.

Tessina 35 Automatic

From the "smaller than a pack of cigarettes collection," the Swiss Tessina 35 Automatic is a real jewel. It shoots a half frame 35 mm image in specially loaded cassettes. The image is reflected onto the film plain by a mirror. Film is automatically advanced by a clockwork mechanism. Wind it up and you get about 6-8 shots in quick succession. If you want to shoot candids, hold the shutter release button down until you're out of earshot. The advance operates when you release the button and is quite audible.

Nikon F2A

The F2A, last of Nikon's all mechanical professional cameras, is hardly a collectable. Rather it is a dead reliable workhorse. However, I've sold out and moved over to a digital SLR (from the competition no less). The 8 mm fisheye lens is more novelty than serious everyday equipment, but the round picture has its place here and there, and the lens is impressive for its large spherical chunk of glass.

Sample Photo

Canon EOS 10D

Never thought I would abandon my beloved Nikons, but in the final analyses Canon won out. I believe the Nikon D100 is slightly sharper, but it falls down on lens selection - formerly a Nikon strong point. The real killer was its incompatibility with my existing Nikkor Ai lenses. The lens mounted here is an 80-200mm zoom with auto focus and image stabilization. Using a 2x doubler the max effective focal length jumps to 400mm. Historically, this is tripod territory. I don't know how it works, but the IS will render sharp hand held images. Except for the close ups, all the shots on the '03 Reno air races pages were shot hand held with this setup. Film is still slightly better, but the digital wins on convenience.