Amateur Photographer - UK (2019-06-21)

subscribe (^03303331113) Iwww.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 15 June 2019 53
TonyKemplenontheÉ
TonyKemplen’sloveof photographybeganasa teenagerandeversincehehasbeencollectingcameraswitha viewto testingasmanyashe
can.Youcanfollowhisprogressonhis 52 Camerasblogat52cameras.blogspot.co.uk. More photos from the CrestaII:www.fl ickr.com/
tony_kemplen/sets/72157671785296778/
Koda k Brow n ie
Cresta I I
Tech Talk
TheBrownieCrestaII wasmadeof
plastic and took 120 roll film
uitea lotof the
camerasthatI write
aboutin thiscolumn
areunusualoresoteric
modelsthatmanyreaderswould
beunlikelyto gettheirhandson,
butthatcan’tbesaidof the
BrownieCrestaII. Evennow, 60
yearsaftertheywerelastmade,
youdon’thaveto lookfarto find
one,usuallyforlessthana fiver.To
thosewhogrewupin the1960s,
thisstyleof simpleeye-levelbox
camerawillbefamiliar,beit this
particularmodel,orthevery
similar-lookingBrownie127.
Fromtheirintroductionovera
centuryago,untiltheendof the
1940s,Kodak’sBrowniecameras
wererectangularboxes;early
versionsweremadefromthick
cardboardandlateronesfrom
sheetmetal.Thisallchangedin
the1950s,whenplasticbecame
thego-tomaterialforcheapmass
production,andcurvesratherthan
rightangleswerein fashion.
A decadebeforeKodak
introducedtheCrestacamera,
BoxBrownieswereheldat waist
level,andtookeight6x9cm
photosona rollof film.Asthe
’50sdrewtoa close,thisshifted
toeye-levelcamerasandsquare
negatives,anda morecost-
effective 12 picturesperroll.
Unlikemanyof theprevious
generationsof BoxBrownies,
which used the now obsolete 620
rollfilm,theCrestatakesthestill
available 120 format.There’sno
needtofiddlearoundin a
darkroomre-spoolingfilm;it’s
simplybuyit, loadit, shootit!
Asyoumightexpect,the
specificationsforthiscameraare
prettybasic– there’sa fixed-focus
Kodetlensanda singlespeed
shutter,withno‘B’setting.Two
littlesliders,oneoneachsideof
thelens,allowyouto engage
eithera close-up(4-7ft)lens,or
a yellowfilterin frontof thelens.
Backin the1960s,colourfilmwas
stillnewandrelativelyexpensiveto
process,somostuserswouldstick
to black& white.Theyellowfilter
hastheeffectof slightlydarkening
thebluesky,addingemphasisto
theclouds,andwasquitea
commonfeatureevenonvery
basiccameras.Althoughthereis
provision for using fl ash via a
proprietaryscrew-inmounting,
likemostBrownies,theCrestaII
is bestsuitedto outdooruseon
a brightday.
GiventhattheBrowniewas
aimedat black& whitefilmusers,
I thoughtI’denterintothespirit
andloadedit withsomeFujiAcros
ISO 100 film.Theimagequality
isn’tbad,beingreasonablysharp
in thecentreof theframe;there
is noticeablelossof definition
towardsthecorners,butby
placingmysubjectonthe
diagonal,I’vemanagedtokeep
thesepartsof thescenefreeof
importantdetail.Seenfromthis
perspective,wecouldbelooking
at a Gothicrocket,butin factthis
is themonumenttothevictimsof
Sheffield’sCholeraepidemicin
1832.I tookadvantageof the
yellowfilter,ascanbeseenby
the clearly defi ned clouds.
Thiswell-knownandcommonlyfound Kodak
camera is put to the test in Sheffi eld
The yellow filter emphasises the clouds in this photo of a Sheffield monument
© TONY KEMPLEN
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