Out & About Spring 2019

Out&About antiques

Smile you're on camera

Digital technology and wizardry may make photographers of us all, but THOMAS FORRESTER says the love of bespoke master-crafted cameras is still a great draw at specialist auctions C ameras are an area of collecting that is going from strength-to-strength. The prices of second-hand cameras and lenses are relatively low, meaning that you can pick up a good camera at auction for a fraction of the retail price. Other types of camera to consider buying are 35mm rangefinder cameras (with or without interchangeable lenses), folding cameras and twin lens reflexes. The first Rolleiflex twin lens reflex medium format cameras became popular in the 1930s and by the 1950s had developed into a finely-engineered instrument used by many serious amateurs and professionals, including fashion photographers.

Film photography is having a resurgence and now, much like with vinyl records, younger people are interested in experimenting with film, so the revival continues. Couple this with the fact that film photography is part of the training for photographers in art colleges and universities, our camera auctions are a busy place to be. The old lenses work with film and digital cameras, so we are finding an increasing demand for the lenses themselves, as buying them at auction is an inexpensive way to get a high-quality lens. And the prices of cameras, those made in the 1970s for example, are the same now as they were then. A Leica CL can be snapped up for £400, the same amount it cost 40 years ago. Good cameras, such as a Canon, Nikon or Pentax single lens reflexes can be bought for £50-100, while for a £100 more a Leica is a good buy (especially as new ones cost around £2,000). There is such a variety of camera that the areas of collecting are huge.

The upper lens was for the viewfinder and could be used at waist level, thus a photograph could be taken without the subject feeling intimidated, as the photographer’s face was not hidden behind the camera. An ‘entry-level’ 1950s Rolleicord or Rolleiflex T is worth around £100 to £200 at auction, but the more sophisticated models with faster lenses and built-in light meters are more desirable with the 2.8E (pictured) fetching £400 to £500 and the even more sought after 2.8F usually making £800 to £1,000. What does film give you that digital doesn’t? Using film encourages you to take your time composing your pictures. You have to think more carefully about the type of pictures you are taking as it is more expensive than using a digital camera and as a result you take a lot less pictures. If you don’t like sorting through hundreds of digital

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