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MIke Sherck
13-Sep-2011, 15:45
My loving and lovely wife came home from an auction today with an old 5x7 camera. I'm thinking Century maybe, or Kodak 2D? It has geared front rise, geared rear swing and geared rear tilt. The only markings on it are "157" stamped into the bottom of the rail, which folds foreward, over the front of the camera. The lensboard has one of those old iris devices and there's a Packard shutter on the back (hose is cut off at the front face of the lensboard.) It's in really good condition; even the bellows seems reasonable. Can anyone identify it more certainly? I'd appreciate it.

Mike

Richard Rankin
13-Sep-2011, 16:20
Looks like a Gundlach Wizard or Korona to me. The thing in the front is a universal iris that is probably worth more than the camera...

Look around here: http://www.piercevaubel.com/cam/index.htm

Cheers,
Richard

MIke Sherck
13-Sep-2011, 18:08
Thanks for the links, fellows: this one appears to be a Conley Model 1, although with some features of the Model 2 front standard. Mine has brass instead of nickel hardware, so perhaps it was a Sears model. I forgot to add that mine is front focusing.

Although a quick web search indicated that Conley cameras are a bit uncommon, a few years ago Sandy bought me another Conley 5x7 folding camera from an auction. The bellows are shot but it has a Wollensak triple convertible lens in a pneumatic shutter and came in a case with five or six plate holders. I keep it because I'd like to some day make a new bellows and try dry plates made from liquid emulsion (like Liquid Light or something similar.)

Again, thanks for the help!

Mike