Dad's Cameras

One of the coolest things about having a dad who is also a camera buff is being able to rummage through his stash of vintage film cameras. And I think this one's a beauty!

This one is a Seagull Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) 4A made in Shanghai in the 1970's. It comes with a leather carrying case and strap. I took the shot above with a single light source, a Pixar-esque Ikea desk lap, pointed in front and straight down at the camera. To get the glow in the top lens element, I stuck my Noka E63 cell phone with the flash turned on inside the waist level viewfinder to light up that lens.

Completely manual with a 75mm f/3.5 coated lens. Neither requires nor accepts batteries. So metering is best done with an old fashioned handheld light meter. 

This is the film advance leaver. The button to the left of it allows for multiple exposure on the same frame of film. Being a medium format camera, this Seagull accepts 120 film of course. 

The Depth of Field (DOF) chart inside the focusing knob is simply gorgeous!

My favourite part is the waist level viewfinder. It's like old school live view! Seeing the image composed on the focusing screen really makes you feel attached to the image that you are capturing. The grid lines help leveling the shot and a helpful popup magnifying glass aids in critical focusing.