Robot Vollautomat Star IIS
Another camera? Why would you need another camera? You've asked yourself this question ever since you bought, well, your second camera. For some photographers, the answer is as simple - they just want another camera. For others, the answer has to be more considered. The second group of photographers needs to know what this camera does that some other camera won't do. What images can I make with this camera that I can't make with the equipment I already have? Many cameras won't pass this test, but one camera maker came up with a nearly unassailable answer: a small, rotary shutter camera with automatic clockwork film advance.
In 1934, Hans Berning bought the rights to a small camera designed by Heinz Kilfitt that produced a 24mm x 24mm image on a standard 35mm piece of film and he produced the first Robot cameras. These cameras were able to stretch the number of images on a roll of film from the 36 to 50. In the midst of the Great Depression, getting more images on a standard roll of film was a good selling point, but what about the design of the camera? That was as new as the image size as well.
The distinctive winder on the top of the camera body (or underneath it, depending on the model) meant that the film would automatically advance the film after each exposure. Fully winding up the advance spring meant the film would advance through the first 25 images or so without having to be re-tightened. With the use of a cable release, a photographer could shoot almost hands-free. While some Robots have viewfinders, the Robot Vallautomat does not. Use your skills and knowledge of hyper-focal distance focusing (aka, zone focusing) and shoot with the real freedom that this camera provides.
Still think you don't need another camera in your arsenal? Look and listen to a Robot and imagine the possibilities that all the advancements of 1934 can bring you.
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