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Birmingham Camera Companies

My Dad worked for Coronet Camera pre-war, but the company let him go in a slump. He also worked making clockwork film projectors. He ended up as a foreman at Chamberlain and Hookham, precision engineers. Coronet had tried to re-engage him, but he had moved on. I have a few of the cheap Coronet cameras as keepsakes but sadly none of the cult collectable Midget cameras (price depends on colour). Given that they were given away as a free gift with breakfast cereal and the optical quality was poor, it is remarkable that they fetch £400 for some models. They are cute and you could put a complete collection in a row, but my head has always ruled my heart. Coronet had an associated works which did the plastic injection moulding.
 
Here's my Coronet D20 made in the 1930s. Box camera for roll film with waist level finder, close up lens and a filter for bright sunny days. My father in law bought me this a few years ago as a sentimental gift. Made of fibreboard and tinplate.
IMG_1722.jpeg
 
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Stokkie said:
Here's my Coronet D20 made in the 1930s. Box camera for roll film with waist level finder, close up lens and a filter for bright sunny days. My father in law bought me this a few years ago as a sentimental gift. Made of fibreboard and tinplate.
View attachment 170802
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My parents bought me a Conway box camera in about 1955 or 6 made without close up. You could take pictures vertically or horizontally and used 120 film. And no I did not keep it.
 
i had a aldis slide projector. that i used after making slides,..... bulk out of date 35m film was very cheap.my camera was a olympic bought from a shop in cannon st
 
Richard Dye said:
My parents bought me a Conway box camera in about 1955 or 6 made without close up. You could take pictures vertically or horizontally and used 120 film. And no I did not keep it.
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My father didn't keep any Coronet cameras either! I know that quality optics and cameras have been made in the Midlands, but these are cheap and cheerful. He did keep his Box Brownie.
 
mw0njm. said:
i had a aldis slide projector. that i used after making slides,..... bulk out of date 35m film was very cheap.my camera was a olympic bought from a shop in cannon st
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Pete, was that camera olympic or olympus?
 
These 120 mm roll film cameras are still usable, if you can get one without pin holes in the bellows. Lancaster earlier made quality view cameras. The negative is a glass plate and you focus the image on a screen with a black cloth over your head. On a tripod naturally. But you can achieve amazing quality. The image on the ground glass screen is upside down, but for landscapes or portraits this isn't a problem.

Viv's camera is much more portable. I used a Coronet Record Rapide as a teenager, which is a similar design, but inferior quality. Naturally there were light leaks and I moved to better cameras. These days smart new red bellows can be purchased to keep these old cameras going. {Picture Justin Cormac, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en}
Lancaster_View_Camera.jpeg
 
Stokkie said:
The image on the ground glass screen is upside down, but for landscapes or portraits this isn't a problem.
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Plus, the benefit of viewing angle correction by tipping the lens relative to the plate. Try that with a standard film camera. It would be a darkroom excercise.

What would be the reaction these days to wandering around with a black cloth over your head holding an iPhone to your face ?

Andrew.
 
Brummie a long time ago said:
Plus, the benefit of viewing angle correction by tipping the lens relative to the plate. Try that with a standard film camera. It would be a darkroom excercise.

What would be the reaction these days to wandering around with a black cloth over your head holding an iPhone to your face ?

Andrew.
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Andrew,

You just might start a new fad, you just never know these days :cool: !
 
Brummie a long time ago said:
Plus, the benefit of viewing angle correction by tipping the lens relative to the plate. Try that with a standard film camera. It would be a darkroom excercise.

What would be the reaction these days to wandering around with a black cloth over your head holding an iPhone to your face ?

Andrew.
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Tilt and shift are very handy in photographing buildings. Nikon and Canon make special, expensive lenses for digital cameras. Fuji had a film camera with shift. There are a few artists and enthusiasts using view cameras. Replace the glass plate holder in the Lancaster with a modern dark slide and you are away!
 
Richard Dye said:
Andrew,

You just might start a new fad, you just never know these days :cool: !
Click to expand...
A view camera with cloth is ideal for a special project which might enable you to take pictures in a place where the locals are not keen in having a modern camera in their face. The formal ritual and time setting up makes for interest. I've seen tintypes done this way and developed in a portable studio.
 
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