Topic: Can you guess what camera this is?

[beck]

Crown Graphic? Crown Royal? I dunno really. Do you? Nice knobs. Har.

[gregor]

koni-omega 120.  Replaced by the much nicer model, the Rapid.

[Late Developer]

Just thought of a good title (well, I think so  ) for the original photo - "Beauty and the Beast".

Gregor, is that camera for real? It looks like the most over-engineered, complex and, frankly, ugly machines I've ever seen. No doubt it produces / produced great photos but it looks like a car crash. Only my opinion, though....

[moominsean]

funny i was just looking at koni omegas yesterday, and was thinking that's what this might be but couldn't find an example of the older version...

[Wensleydale Blue]

Nice Hat Terrible dentures!

Just a thought - is anyone able to hazard a guess as to what the photo itself was likely to have been taken on?

[Phil Bebbington]

There are a few of the Rapids on EvilBay - big vatiation in the prices, but, they  do look sweet, you know, car crash sweet.

[Francois]

is anyone able to hazard a guess as to what the photo itself was likely to have been taken on?

Probably shot on some view camera (probably 8x10) in a studio somewhere in a big city... the background looks fake...

[gregor]

yes indeed that is a for real camera!  over-engineered is somewhat mildly put. It was designed as a military camera and then later models were introduced to the general public.  

I had a Rapid M model.  With a tack sharp Hexanon lens it was a beautiful camera.  Bulky, but no heavier than, say a Mamiya c330 for example.  The lever at bottom right is the film advance - a pull/push mechanism with surprisingly large teeth on the gears..

This photo is the Rapid - one version prior to the Rapid M which had interchangeable backs for 120 & 220.

If you're looking for a relatively inexpensive 6x7 with a great lens it's a good choice.

just found this on the Omega 120:

http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Omega_120

It's impossible to tell what the photo of the woman (w/cam) was taken with - there were so many studio cameras in the 1950s.  Likely an 8x10 as Francois said.

[sapata]

...and I thought Holga was the most ugly camera ever !! 

In the end no one probably even pay attention to the camera anyway (apart from us )

[Ed Wenn]

Whoah! That first camera is indeed an ugly spud. The later Rapid certainly looks better though...in fact I thought it might be one of the ones that Eggleston uses, but I think that's a Mamiya Press.

[moominsean]

yeah eggleston uses a mamiya press, with a silver front...at least in "eggleston in the real world".

[Nigel]

I'm amazed by the range of tone in that image, it's hard to tell on a monitor but from deep back to white, it's just so smooth, no visible grain! (Are you sure it's not digital? he he he) 

[Francois]

I think it's been airbrushed on a large format negative. Used to be pretty common practice for portraits.