A rusty Coronet

You know that feeling when you really think you should be making better use of your time but you get easily distracted by something that doesn’t really need doing.

Well it was one of those sort of days.

After deciding the Kowa 50mm lens isn’t in as good a condition as I thought it was I thought I’d take a look at what other medium format kit needs fixing, like the Kiev 88 I keep meaning to get sorted.

Instead, I pull out a rusty and mouldy Coronet 120 folding camera out of the cabinet of lost causes.

I really wish I’d taken a pic before I started. The leatherette covering has 50% missing and the two remaining pieces just came off in my hand along with a load of rust and corrosion.

Now, I know from experience someone will eventually comment how I’ve ruined a piece of history and I should have fully restored it back to its original factory finish. I’ll be polite. No.

Out came the wire wool, blower brush and Renaissance Wax and within half an hour we now have this, a cleanish but naked Coronet camera. I quite like it.

Someone will comment that the leatherette was what helped make it light tight etc

Well will it still work then? One roll of Ilford HP5 and eight frames later…

I think the lens is about f6 or f7? with no other aperture settings. And today’s light was just a bit right for its Instantaneous shutter setting, which is about 1/50th of second. There is also a T setting and with hindsight a tripod would have been a better idea.

Developed in Kodak HC110 Solution B for 5 minutes.

Hand holding an unfamiliar camera and its basic shutter at 1/50th turned out to be a big ask, I don’t think there’s one sharp frame.

But hey, that’s a wasted afternoon for you 🙂 I enjoyed it.