Matt's Classic Cameras: Box and Twin Lens Reflex

Box and Twin Lens Reflex

	Agfa B-2 Cadet box camera	Small and simple, not much more than a box with a shutter and a handle, takes 6x9 pictures on 120 rollfilm.
	Agfa Ansco Shur-Shot box camera	A gift! A slightly more sophisticated box camera with TWO aperture settings! This model takes obsolete 116 film, but I have a secret...
	Agfa Synchro Box	Even more sophisticated than the similar Shur-Shot, this little gem has tripod mounts and flash sync!
	Agfa 'Weekender' (Clack)	The classic Clack eye-level box camera as sold in the US. Takes big 6x9 'weekend' size pictures on 120 rollfilm.
	Ansco Box	Another box camera? This one is a little different, and predates my other boxes. But heck it takes a nice picture!
	Argus Argoflex E	Classic bakelite TLR with a sharp little lens and simple Wollensak shutter.
	Kodak brownie Hawkeye	Art-Deco-inspired bakelite box camera with a simple but sharp lens and strong shutter.
	Kodak Duaflex II	Cute 620 TLR, just a small step up from a box camera. Kodar lens actually focuses!
	Kodak Duex	Quirky bakelite box camera with screw-out lens. Takes half-frame (6x4.5) photos on 620 rollfilm.
	Kodak Reflex II	Well-made American TLR from Eastman Kodak Corp. brilliant coated Anastar lenses.
	Kodak Starmatic II	Toylike box camera that autoexposes on 127 film with its selenium meter
	LOMO Lubitel 166	Plastic TLR considered a 'toy' camera but has nice sharp coated lens. Inspired by the classic Voigtlander brilliant.
	MIOM Photax Blindé	Revolutionary french classic from an unlikely source, takes 6x9 pictures on 620 film with its simple Boyer lens.
	Super Ricohflex	Japanese copy of Russian Lubitel, with sharp Ricoh taking lens and geared focusing.
	Voigtlander brilliant V6	Bakelite twin lens reflex, a true classic. Has a simple lens in place of ground glass and a sharp Skopar taking lens.
	Walz Walzflex	Well-made all-metal Japanese TLR from the medium format boom in the mid-fifties. Copal shutter, Kominar lens.
	Welta Peerflekta II	Handsomely styled mid-range TLR from Germany's Welta Kamera Werke. ROW Poloyt lens in a Cludor shutter.
	Yashica D	Classic 'budget' TLR from Yashica with Copal shutter and Yashikor lens.
	Yashica Mat 124	brilliant professional TLR from Yashica in the heyday of Classic Cameras, with superb Yashinon lenses.
	Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex Ic	Meant to compete with the Rolleiflex, this Tessar TLR has a selenium light meter with match needle on the focussing screen.

click a camera for more info

Box cameras are just that, small boxes of cardboard, wood, or metal, generally with a simple shutter mechanism and simple lens. Sighting is done by reflective viewfinders or in some models popup viewfinders. Often there is just one fixed aperture and one fixed shutter speed, though some models like the eclectic Zeiss Ikon Box Tengor are more sophisticated with multiple shutter and aperture settings and even flash sync.

Twin lens reflex or TLR cameras have separate lenses for viewing the scene (viewing lens) and exposing the film (taking lens), usually of differing quality but generally designed to give you as close a sense of the final image as possible. The image from the viewing lens reflects by mirror onto a ground glass with the image reversed left-right. The taking lens is incorporated into the leaf shutter mechanism much like on a bellows camera. Film formats are generally 620 (US), 120 (European) or 127, though the famed (and rare) Zeiss Ikon Contaflex TLR is 35mm. Some have available kits to accept 35mm, such as some Rolleiflex, Ricohflex, and Flexaret models. Quality in TLRs also ranges from plastic 'toy' cameras such as the Kodak brownie Reflex and Argus Argoflex 75 to the world-class and still-popular Rolleiflex.

If you have information to add or would like to ask questions about these cameras, their use or care, or even just want to say 'hey', feel free to email me, I always enjoy hearing from you!

Matt's Classic Cameras:

Box and Twin Lens Reflex

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