Rollei SL26 One of my favourite cameras is the Rollei SL26, a single lens reflex camera for the 126 cartridge introduced in about 1968. I find it strange that anyone would even think of making a high-quality camera for 126 as the design of the cartridge (with no pressure plate) appears, according to the experts, to make a really high-quality result impossible. The original price of the camera even more of a problem; given the things that were being said about 126, it seems unlikely anyone would pay about £153 ($299) in 1969 for the camera. The SL26 has an f/2.8 40 mm. Tessar lens taking Rollei bayonet I filters, Compur shutter, t.t.l. CdS meter and hot shoe. Accessory lenses were available; the f/3.2 28 mm. Pro-Tessar and f/4 80 mm. Pro-Tessar, but these were also expensive and could not be used on any other camera. Production ceased in about 1973.

I have used my SL26 and I was quite happy with the resulting enprints (except that they displayed my photographic ineptitude in clear prints with good colour so I could not blame the camera).

Braun Nizo 148 Another camera I like is the Braun Nizo 148 Super-8 cine camera. The camera has an f/1.8 8 to 48 mm. zoom lens with macro capability. Filming speeds are 9, 18, 24 and 32 f.p.s. and single frame. In addition, there is a time-lapse facility, offering three speeds - 5 f.p.s., 1 f.p.s. and 1 frame per 5 seconds. Flash synchronisation is possible with 1 frame per 5 seconds and single frame. The zoom is operated manually or can be power driven using a rocker switch on the camera top plate. The camera has fully automatic exposure with manual override. It is finished in an unusual brushed satin chrome which, sadly, does not stand up to really hard wear very well. It looks stunning though, when in excellent condition, and the same finish was used on a whole range of Nizo cameras including the S800 which, I believe, was used in Star Trek (episode 'Patterns of Force') when Captain Kirk had to bluff his way into a conference as a film cameraman. It looked very convincing too; quite at home in the 23rd century. In 1971 this camera cost about £475 in Britain so it's small wonder they are not seen very often secondhand.

Canon Dial I like to know about cameras which have featured in TV shows, especially science fiction shows, which I have enjoyed. The Prisoner (episode 'Free For All') used a Canon Dial to good effect. This little camera, marketed in America as the Bell and Howell/Canon Dial, takes half-frame pictures on 35 mm. film. The spring motor is wound using the hand-grip and the half-frame pictures are unusual in being landscape format (most half-frame cameras, like the Olympus Pen, take portrait format pictures). The camera has a Canon SE f/2.8 28 mm. lens (takes 48 mm. filters, which cover both the lens and the metering cell, thus making adjustments for the filter factor automatically) with zone focusing, and a built-in CdS meter. The spring drive powers both wind and rewind. The four speed shutter is set manually, and the required aperture selected by the metering system. The satin chrome finish adds to the futuristic appearance although, like the Nizo finish, it does not stand up to hard use. In 1964, which is about the time it was introduced to the U.K., it was supplied with a pouch case, and cost about £34.

I have used a Canon Dial, and had what seemed like all of the tram drivers in Blackpool 'tooting' at it; it's a real attention-grabbing camera - not one to be used by anyone at all shy. Sadly the spring motor can be fragile, so it is not wise to use the camera too much. We also find the handgrips nearly always have a split in the trim.

Note: I like to give price information in both sterling and American dollars. However, this information is not always available to me, in which case I use whichever I can get. I do not convert from one currency to the other; market conditions vary and camera prices were often very different in the U.S.A. and Britain, so conversion would not give an accurate picture.

Top of Page