Antique Cameras

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Antique cameras are of great demand and attract many photographers. They are hand crafted using materials such as metal, plastic, brass, polished, wood, and leather. They can be traced from as early as 1939 and give an important information about the technology used. They shed light on the kind of style used during the particular period of time they were in use.

They are of varying types namely; multiple lens, portable, hand stand, and box type. The wooden antique cameras range from box type to the portable type. The classic wooden type had magical images appear on the ground of glass of this item. This inspired the search for a way to fix these beautiful images. The box type has inner lenses that extend to 13 inches when the inner boxes are extended on focus.

In the mahogany box type, focus is achieved by sliding the inner section of the box in and out. They consist of sliding brass lens for focusing bright, sharp images on the ground glass with a Fresnel that works well for drawing.

It is important to restore these antique cameras. The metal parts of these items which are usually nickel plated or solid brass, should be well taken care of. This can be done by use of metal polish which can helps restore them to their original brightness. If these items are to be kept on display, then a coating of pasted wax will help prevent the metal part from tarnishing.The lens view finder can be cleaned using a cotton swab dampened with lens cleaner or lens cleaning tissue.