I have been wanting to get back to shooting some of my simple cameras, so I thought to start with my Vredeborch Felica. Though hardly bigger than my Ansco Panda, it sports adjustments for distance, speed and aperture. The lens looks to be a simple meniscus type, but the curved film plane helps with sharpness out to the edges.
I got out into our yard before getting caught up in my usual morning routine at the computer and shot up all twelve frames on the roll of Fomapan 100 in about twenty minutes.
The thing that makes taking pictures fun with these simple cameras is that they always produce images that exceed expectations if some care is taken in choosing subjects that are a good match for film speed and the camera's capabilities. In addition to which, in this case, it is fun to say "Vredeborch Felica". *
* From Ask Oracle:
Felica is a name with a rich history and diverse origins, primarily associated with the Latin word "felix" meaning "happy" or "lucky." It has been used as a given name for both girls and boys throughout history, though it is more common for girls today. The name holds a sense of joy, prosperity, and good fortune, making it a popular choice for parents seeking a name with positive connotations.
Felica is easy to write and pronounce, with a pleasant sound and a timeless feel. It has a few common nicknames like Fely, Fee, and Lica, adding a touch of familiarity and endearment. While not as common as some other names, it still holds a unique charm and a connection to historical figures and literary characters.
and
From Camera-wiki.org:
Vredeborch was a camera maker based in Nordenham, a town on the German North Sea coast. The name of the company come from the Vredeborch castle (Friedeburg in standard German; Peace Castle in English) established at the beginning of the city's history, circa 1407. The company Vredeborch GmbH was founded in 1945. Several of its cameras were sold under names given by other distributors. It stopped camera-making in 1970.
(They made a lot of medium format camera models in twenty-five years. I wonder if anyone has collected all of them. )
4 comments:
These look great. Curved film back? Is it curved in one axis? Wouldn't it need to be curved soherically? But then you would need a vacuum back. Oh, the possibilities.
I've wondered also about the motivation for the curve going just one way. Perhaps they reasoned that there would be more to be gained from making the correction on the long axis. It is a pretty common feature of simple cameras.
Oops, that was supposed to be spherically.
Thanks for the correction, though I just assumed "soherically" was some esoteric engineer jargon.
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