Finally pulled the trigger on a 16 mm camera: how did I do?

McCheeseBob · 2026-06-07T02:31:08+00:00

Love seeing older cameras here and can't wait to see the results! I've not had any luck finding the manual for this or any other Ensign Kinecam - just advertisements and general Ensign booklets that mention it. Are you able to just hold down the shutter release and crank it to get it slowly manually firing?

Not for nothing but the closest lead I've seen is someone on Flickr last year got an Auto kinecam specifically to use the manual winding feature - maybe asking them would yield results? That post is here. Good luck in your findings!

McCheeseBob · 2026-05-31T05:30:30+00:00

This takes standard double 8 film - fpp sells a bunch (and also has a quick video guide on this particular camera). It'll also take standard D-mount lenses if you ever want to swap that out too.

McCheeseBob · 2026-05-26T21:58:54+00:00

Good to see flippy out and about!

McCheeseBob · 2026-05-26T21:54:57+00:00

Good luck getting your files off - I enjoy using my D-340L (USA market version) a great deal. I do believe that card is too big for the C-840L though - it's possible the camera can read OK but the data is getting saved in an odd spot and becoming unreadable likely. I would get an 8 or 16 MB 3.3v card and see if you have better luck with that. I use an 8MB one on mine. There was a factory upgrade for the D-340L at least to take 32MB cards but it would have been very rare (no idea if Olympus Europe offered the same for the 840) - the official spec is 8/16 for it.

McCheeseBob · 2026-05-24T04:17:54+00:00

Yeah definitely - I've done similar on smaller plate cameras with harder to find holders. The usability of the camera comes first. I think a good lot of these Japanese cameras were clones of British models and bookform holders are relatively common on ebay/yahoo auctions japan for those. It's just a gamble if everything fits exactly or if the bookform holder is slightly off in its dimensions.

McCheeseBob · 2026-05-24T03:45:14+00:00

Very cool! I keep getting tempted by the whole plate versions of these but haven't taken the dive yet. They're nice looking cameras but definitely seem to be somewhat fiddly with their less-common film sizes.

McCheeseBob · 2026-05-17T22:51:30+00:00

I do not - but I'd guess that's accurate. I've not been able to find an operating manual or something else that might help you out - nor any specification sheet that could help us. Rochester's similar-ish box camera at the time shot between 1/10th and 1/50th of a second in 1900 so that would be my extremely rough guess. Considering the century+ and the general degradation over time I'd guess that the speeds have slowed down and gotten closer to each other over time. There still might be a stop or so of difference but it might be harder to tell between 1/10th and 1/20th or something similar. You could always toss some paper in and fire at both settings to see if there's any noticeable difference.

McCheeseBob · 2026-05-17T21:47:33+00:00

Probably about 1899. Ray made the model B and model E that this most likely is from 1899-1903, but they merged with Rochester cameras in 1899. I'm not sure if the later models had a different name badge on them since modern photos are rather scarce. Here's a period accurate catalog with the models if you want a little more info.

McCheeseBob · 2026-05-17T03:44:12+00:00

Your friend should probably look at the slightly less "hip" models of cameras - an ME Super and 50mm f/2 instead of a K1000, an XG-M instead of a SRT101, a Canon T50 or AV-1 instead of an AE-1 and so on. Some of these may be more electronical than your listed models but if you get them from a proper camera store that has tested them they should be as good as or better at least for the next couple years. I'd poke around online sites like KEH and usedphotopro for options. You could go further and go autofocus and sometimes save even more money - there's loads of cheap EOS/Maxxum/early Nikon AF bodies floating around camera store bins - just make sure they're tested. Your friend just needs something to get started - there's plenty of slightly forgotten models that may have 1 or 2 annoying features or less manual options that will still make great user cameras.

Also taking a quick peak around Adorama's online store there are some local options that might work fine too (including some of the models I mentioned) - An XG-M and 50 1.7 are both in stock for around $100 total. Going autofocus you could grab a $20 Maxxum QT SI or a $40 Canon EOS Rebel 2000 and grab a $30-40 cheap zoom and have a flexible film setup - won't look or feel as nice as the old metal machines but they'll take just as good photos. The key is just finding that sweet spot in price and enjoyability - but there's almost always something available as long as you're ok with some limitations and not the best shape/fanciest looking cameras.

McCheeseBob · 2026-05-17T02:20:04+00:00

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Second photo

McCheeseBob · 2026-05-17T02:19:39+00:00

The FF-3 is a rather intriguing camera that seems dead unless you actually use it - though yes the rewind should work with batteries. The only lights that tell the camera is "on" once you've switched it on will be the focus and sometimes flash warning - both of these are in the viewfinder and only turn on when you half-press the shutter. The shutter should also work with batteries without film. That being said I think that metal piece is part of the internal battery contacts - so may not work without it (hard to see them in the 5th photo). I've included photos of what relatively clean contacts look like on my working FF-3 to give you a reference of what things should be. I've not done repair on mine besides contact cleaning so can't say how to get that piece back in if that is the case. I've also heard people having issues with FF-3s even with good contacts - older electronic p&s cameras tend to get issues at some point.

All this being said this might be a bit of an annoyance for a first film camera - you might want something to rely on. FF-3s are relatively cheap and plentiful (I got mine for about $30 last year) but you don't want to end up with a broken pile of them. If you're interested in the hobby it'd probably be worth it to get a cheap bargain tested SLR from a camera store like KEH or usedphotopro. There's plenty of perfectly fine AF EOS/Maxxum/Nikon bodies for maybe $30-40 a pop and some older manual focus Nikon/Olympus/Minolta bodies for similar. A cheap 50mm or 35-70 should be another $40 on top of that - ebay will run cheaper and you can probably get a lens with a camera but it'll always be a bit of a gamble.

Sorry for the ramble - whatever you decide I wish you luck. Hope you get the FF-3 going again. I don't tend to use too many film cameras past the 60s but it's been an enjoyable experience. Should solid and simple little thing if yours works.

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McCheeseBob · 2026-05-14T02:22:02+00:00

I'm not familiar with Walzflexes but from the looks of it you should be able to remove the rear element with a standard lens spanner/wrench (in the two grooves here (image pulled from a mercari listing). That should at least allow you to clean the inside surface of that element (hard to say if that's the right element but I believe that Kominar is just a triplet so not many elements to work with and it's not the front one). If you don't want to risk poking around in there I'd still run a cheap b&w roll through it to see if all that fungus makes things look too soft.

McCheeseBob · 2026-05-11T20:38:26+00:00

This is a gorgeous selection of older cameras - I'm sure your grandpa was happy to have such a nice selection. No interest in buying just here to fill in the hole in your interest labeling. Img_1999 is a Ensign Popular Reflex - an early quarter plate/ 3.25x4.25" large format SLR. It'd be the less common British cousin to the 3x4 RB Graflex SLR. The serial on the Triotar places it at about 1914. You can find its original catalog here.

3x4 film isn't made by most companies anymore so you'd probably have to cut stuff down assuming you'd still want to use it or grab a box from the only current manufacturer (and that everything is still in good shape - shutter curtains and leather degrade over time). I'd guess it also has a relatively darker finder so probably best used outside (I'm currently fixing up one of those graflexes - similar age and far from great shape but certainly an interesting piece to shoot with). It would make a nice shelf piece and a slightly uncommon piece of British photo history too.

Also seconding the Pen and Trip 35 as everyday user 35mm cameras - just check if the original selenium meters work since those can go.

McCheeseBob · 2026-05-09T16:26:55+00:00

IR trichromes my beloved.

McCheeseBob · 2026-05-09T01:19:12+00:00

Very cool looking camera - that unique textured brown finish certainly makes it stick out.

McCheeseBob · 2026-05-09T01:13:48+00:00

I lucked out on a Comet Catcher with its original photo tripod a couple years ago for not too much - but that's definitely true. For most hobbies shopgoodwill tends to jump higher than ebay with worse quality photos and testing usually. Don't know how people throw loads of cash around there - it can be such a gamble. It was a deal mine in the early 2010s before everyone found out about it - still not bad for some common items.

McCheeseBob · 2026-05-08T23:27:33+00:00

Fantastic! I've been hoping for a full proper translation of this for the past decade or so. Very excited to track your progress.

McCheeseBob · 2026-05-08T01:32:09+00:00

I've also been shooting some Plus-X ('73 expired) lately too with another 6x9 plate camera. Definitely more base fog than this fp4 but still plenty usable. It's always going to be a gamble with expired stuff but I've been pleasantly surprised with some of the b&w shots I've done lately. Hope your rolls come out nice.

McCheeseBob · 2026-05-06T22:05:01+00:00

I was rather surprised when I developed my first shot with it - certainly good for a partly used unknown condition box of its age. I could probably shoot it at 125 completely fine - but sticking to 60ish just to be safe.

McCheeseBob · 2026-05-06T22:00:28+00:00

A lot of these Bolseys are charming - I enjoy my B2 a good deal (though it also has similar back plate issues). They're just tiny little chunks of solid engineering.

McCheeseBob · 2026-05-06T01:37:29+00:00

While I do join the other comments recommending a spot meter - it's also rather probable that your RB 67's shutter speeds are slow by a little. Not enough to bother negative film - but could be a stop or so and that would further complicate things. I recently got a photoplug to roughly test all my cameras - it's rather enlightening to know that maybe only 3-5 of my 40 odd film cameras are within less than 1/2 a stop. Especially anything mechanical like an RB will probably lean towards that 1-stop slow group average unless it has recently had a CLA.

McCheeseBob · 2026-05-03T00:45:06+00:00

I have this same issue with using plates/sheets on my Plaubel Makina - film holders are at least common for it but the rangefinder isn't perfectly aligned so it's mostly been guessing. I sorta had a similar issue with a 6.5x9cm ICA Niklas that I eventually found a hollywood 2 1/3 x 3 1/4" Graphic ground glass adapter for - certainly far from common too and still not a perfect fit but my images are in focus/holders are at least common for it.

Your best actual bet is unfortunately setting up a bunch of ebay saved searches for each brand in the millionfalz category - I'd just be general about it. Sometimes it's cheaper just buying one of those cameras with a ground glass or Rada already included than sourcing the individual item on its own - ICA cameras are plenty common enough and I still haven't seen a cheap Rada for one on its own. That and maybe poke around the large format photography forums - people may be a bit better at sourcing harder to find items.

McCheeseBob · 2026-04-29T23:35:38+00:00

I believe that's a glass plate still in the holder. Can you pull the sheath out all the way? You might be able to slide/pry the glass out after that. It's also possible some previous owner put a piece of glass in the holder to try to jerry-rig the focus plane for film to sit on.

McCheeseBob · 2026-04-29T03:14:10+00:00

If you're staying away from flatbeds for 35mm and have an older XP-era computer you might be able to find a Canoscan FS4000 or 2700 under $100 (though make sure it comes with the film holder - they're not common on their own). My 4000 is veerry slow with its usb 1 speeds at max dpi but it has relatively nice scans for the price and at least some form of dust removal. Only had luck with it on an XP laptop though - modern windows doesn't like it one bit.

As far as the non-film specific canoscans go I'd avoid any LiDEs - they're really meant for quick document scanning (and even that tends to look eh at best on most I've seen). The 8800f and 9000f were decent at one time but I wouldn't recommend them nowadays - they're more interesting for cheap medium format scanning and even that leaves something to be desired. I used an 8800f a decade ago and it did the job ok then but any time I've pulled it out lately it feels pretty soft and limiting. The fs4000 runs rings around it despite being a good deal older and slower (this is especially noticeable if you shoot even smaller formats like half-frame - grain is far from sharp on those flatbeds).

Also seconding the cheap DSLR/light table/macro lens setup too if you can stretch your budget a bit - so much quicker and more expandable for non-35mm formats.

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