Those that know Meghan and I know that we have what appears to be an on going camera acquisition “problem”. Really all it is, is a desire to try all of the cameras!!!
We have started collecting many vintage cameras now over the past few years, but in an effort to not let our collection get out of hand we decided to only collect cameras that work and can actually be used.
However, not all are winners and some are just easier or more fun to use but you have to shoot with them first to find out! Thus, we decided if we run a roll through every camera we are interested in, not unlike going on a 5 minute date with a bunch of strangers at a singles night, we can quickly see which are worthy of being added to our collection. Camera speed dating!
Here is most recent camera I had the pleasure of a quick date with….The Meopta Flexaret V, 120 format camera.
A few quick facts about the Flexaret V, it was made in 1958 by Meopta. It has an 80mm lens and f3.5 lens. Basically this camera is the Czech Republic twin of my Rolleicord Va, which I didn’t realize when I bought it but found quite amusing after I realized this little fun fact!
I had wanted to take my new Flexaret TLR out on the town for the afternoon, but it’s been pouring rain steadily for weeks, so I brought it out for drinks at my friends house instead. A while ago I had loaded it with Lomo CN 400 speed film, a bit of a slow film speed for optimal low light results but it was in there so I stuck with it. What first attracted me to the Flexaret was it’s swinging focus lever. It’s a neat idea and looks cool, though I realize now it’s a tad less efficient to use than a regular style focus knob. Some photos I took with the camera braced on a table turned out pretty sharp. I told everyone to hold still while I shot them, I should also factor in the possibility of my less than perfect focusing job. Its difficult to focus waist level viewfinders in low light. I enjoyed using the Flexaret and it is fairly straight forward with fewer quarks than some others I’ve used recently.
