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Ismaelg
Tinkerer
Username: Ismaelg
Post Number: 97
Registered: 11-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 15, 2012 - 03:40 am: | 
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Hello,
I like the Kodak Ponies from the mid 50's. I have a Pony 135 Model C but when I tested it, all pics were very soft. Nothing in sharp focus. I need to eventually do more work on it but that's another story.
Thanks to forum member Finnegan, I just got a Kodak Pony II. This model has the excellent Anastar lens and was built from 1957 until 1962. This particular sample seems to be operational. It shows some signs of wear but nothing major. So I cleaned it and took it out for a spin with a roll of Kodak Gold 100.
In this link you can see the article I wrote about it.
http://www.portadafotografica.com/showthread.php?1502-Enigmatica-Kodak-Pony-II
The article is in spanish but the pics tell the story. The first pic shows how I got it, then pics of it after the cleaning and most important, sample pics with it.
I was pleasantly surprised with it! The EV scale instead of the more traditional f-stop scale takes some to get used to. I still have to get around it. Some images were overexposed but that was purely user error.
Finnegan told me the shutter would occasionally stick, taking a bit longer to close. I noticed in one of the pics some motion blur, so yes it does, but in general it is working properly.
Hope you like it and your comments are welcome.
Thanks!
Ismael |
Connealy
Tinkerer
Username: Connealy
Post Number: 71
Registered: 02-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 15, 2012 - 09:33 am: |
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Nice review of the Pony II. Also enjoyed your forum article on the other great American 35mm, the C3. I would be interested in learning about any other on line resources in Spain or Latin America about vintage cameras that you might be aware of. Thanks.
- Mike |
Br1078lum
Tinkerer
Username: Br1078lum
Post Number: 433
Registered: 11-2010
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 15, 2012 - 07:04 pm: |
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The EV system is probably why I never botherd to shoot my Pony II. That, and my 135C takes great shots, no problem with the sharpness. The shutter, on the other hand, can be unreliable.
PF |
Finnegan
Tinkerer
Username: Finnegan
Post Number: 255
Registered: 09-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, December 15, 2012 - 08:27 pm: |
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That is a great write up on the Pony. The photo of the yard with the playhouse shows the quality of photo this lens can produce. Even the leaves of the palms are distinct. Same for the rejas in the house across the street (car photo). The photos look the same as the photos produced by the Ektar lens in my Kodak Signet 35. I think the Anastar is a re-named Ektar really.
Yes, it is hard to work with the EV system if you don't have a meter with an EV dial. The odd thing about the Pony line is there is no Pony III but there is a IV. The model IV had the kindness to have two scales to read but, if you want to use F stops you have to turn the camera up side down because that scale is on the bottom. Inconvenient. But, at least, it has shutter speeds of 1/30 to 1/250. There was also a Pony 135 that was made in France and has an Angenieux lens. I really would like to have a French Pony.
I think I have an 828 Pony around here somewhere but, since there is no 828 film around, I didn't think you would want it. Also I had considered to include an Argus slr body (M42) since you have the C3 and it would be a nice contrast but I stripped the skin off it to recover a Konica TC and it has a "monster" in the viewfinder (big green fungus) not to mention, the shutter (Copal Square) "drops" half of itself out of the way upon winding so, maybe that would have been too much restoration work. The lens was named Cintar (in M42 mount), believe it or not, but it was a standard 6 element like most slr lenses (made in Japan). I sold that since I had to recoup some $ on this "mistake" I bought.  |
Ismaelg
Tinkerer
Username: Ismaelg
Post Number: 102
Registered: 11-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 24, 2012 - 05:53 am: |
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Thanks for the comments!
Mike, I haven't found any dedicated vintage camera resources in spanish. That's one of the reasons why I started the museum section in my forum. Of course you are all invited to join
I dream of one day been able to open a real museum not just with cameras, but with research information, details and even shots from each one when possible. I don't like seeing old cameras on display but nobody knows anything about them.....
Since the Pony II has a single shutter speed of around 1/60, I found a conversion table where EV10 is about f4, EV15 about f22. So for this camera each EV value is about a stop between f4 and f22.
Hmm... I was not aware of a french Pony.. interesting. I've heard you can adapt 135 to 828 but I've never tried it.
Thanks!
Ismael |
Connealy
Tinkerer
Username: Connealy
Post Number: 74
Registered: 02-2008
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 24, 2012 - 08:50 am: |
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There are several camera museums in Buenos Aires. The oldest is a labor of love by Amy Corder who has a nice web site to complement the physical location. Not in Spanish, though. |
Finnegan
Tinkerer
Username: Finnegan
Post Number: 257
Registered: 09-2009
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, December 31, 2012 - 05:07 pm: |
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Now that you mention "camera museum", it made me remember Farmacia Gelpi in the shopping center on Avenida Americo Miranda in Reparto Metropolitano (Centro Medico).
The owner had a small showcase on the wall full of old cameras and literature on display. Most of the cameras were common snapshot cameras of old days with a few mid range ones but one of them was a Rolleiflex Automat. The owner was never there so I could not offer to buy the Rolleiflex. This was in 1990.
Anyway, later on, Walgreens forced Gelpi to move and took their space. Gelpi moved across the street by the bakery. I don't know if they set up the "museum" again or even if the owner is still alive. |
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