Photographica: Box, Box Camera

Is is possible to have too many box cameras? The answer, I believe, is a resounding no. Although the technology is incredibly simple, every box camera has its particular charm. From the luxury of Kodak's Beau Brownie with its leather covering and enamelled Art Deco face plate, to the whiz-bangery of the Conley Kewpie to the minimalist Agfa B-2 Cadet to the efficiency and precision of the Zeiss Ikon Box Tengor, box cameras are, frankly, amazing and once you're under their spell it is impossible to escape. Here's a wonderful site on vintage box cameras.

This Friday I received a spiffy Zeiss Ikon Box Tengor 54/2 (late 1930s). Cosmetically, it is in gorgeous condition, the only flaw being the missing leather carrying strap. Like most box camera leather carrying straps, it probably broke and was removed by its previous owner. The late 30's version of the 54/2 Box Tengor features a few refinements to the concept of the camera. The late 20's version featured a pull-up tab that changed the f-stops and a second pull up tab that adjusted the focus to one meter for a portrait setting or 12 meters for a group setting. This adjustability is great, but my experience has been that I have to be spot-on with my distance measurement. A few inches forward or back either changes the focal point or puts it out of focus entirely. The late 30's version of the 54/2 has three f-stops: 11, 16 and 22 which one can change by adjusting a dial below the lens. Focus can be adjusted in a similar method by a dial around the upper part of the lens, but now one can zone focus: one to two meters, two to eight meters, eight mters to infinity thus increasing your chances of obtaining an acceptibly focused photograph. Also, the ground glass viewfinders of the late 20's 54/2 have been replaced with a brilliant viewfinder which is a vast improvement in low light conditions. I'm looking forward to putting a roll of film through my new Box Tengor.

Speaking of Zeiss Ikon cameras, Zeiss Ikon Cameras 1926-39 by D.B. Tubbs is a wonderful guidebook on the wide variety of Zeiss cameras produced in the years between the World Wars. My single quibble with the book is that it doesn't explain the infuriatingly obscure numbering system of Zeiss Ikon cameras. For the collector of Zeiss Ikon cameras this is a priceless book.

While at a local Barnes and Noble yesterday I picked up a book of essays on Cindy Sherman's photographs, October Files: Cindy Sherman. I've only read part of one essay, but it looks to be quite a good book. However, beware! Post Modernist theory and critique are rampant within the book and if Roland Barthes, Arthur C. Danto, memes and signposts are the stuff of nightmares for you, stay away! Cindy Sherman's The Complete Untitled Film Stills is now available ... sans theoretical text no doubt.