I have been after an original Olympus trip for a while now, however the prices are so volatile for them at the moment even the non working ones demand high prices, it’s crazy just how popular they are. So, I’ve had to settle for a camera that was sold alongside the “Trip” a 35 ECR.
Olympus 35 ECR
Asking for a reasonable price, this one flashed up on my phone and I purchased it immediately, I could end up regretting it but fingers crossed 🤞 it will not be too bad. If I’d left it a few minutes longer i believe it would have been snapped up.
I believe the main fault on this unit is a winder issue that is quite well documented on these cameras, and to be honest if that is the only issue then I should be able to rectify this and add it to my collection.
A good clean and assessment of the optics is the first and foremost action to take.
Another problem that sometimes raises its head on these units is with the two little batteries that originally powered the metering, they used to be mercury based 1.35v versions (PX640 x 2) and to add further pain to the problem, they can no longer be manufactured or legally purchased. There are alternatives but they are 1.5v and have been known to cause issues with the metering resulting in film exposure/rating issues, widely documented online. The best option is to purchase a battery convertor that allows you to use a more appropriate lower power pair of hearing aid batteries (Zinc Air 1.45v – 675 battery x 2), much friendlier in the long run as well as being a much cheaper option. However i will use this option only if there is the need to do so. I have a couple on standby if required.
Im really looking forward to running a black and white film through this camera, to develop it myself and see the results.
Come back and see what is found when the camera is assessed on its arrival.
Since starting this blog this is the first camera I have actively obtained for the purpose of repair/refurbishment. I love this little camera, my thoughts are this is a Bella series 1 as later versions had the name on the body not in the hot shoe area as this one does. A low cost point and shoot of its time, I have had dealings with one in the past when I had to remove some film from one in a darkroom when the transport got stuck back in the early 1980s. Now this one is a nice tidy example of the model, and really needs little doing to it so my intention is to get it cleaned up, touch up the paintwork and maybe run a roll of film through it to check the mechanism, i may re cover the camera body, and will then put it in to storage for moving on at a later date.
These little cameras were the instamatics, or Olympus trips of their time, instead of using 35mm film (how they were designed to look) this particular model used 127 roll film that took 4×4 cm exposures, that format of film is still available today but as rare as rocking horse dung. They were made of what is called “pot metal” in theory just alloy based metal in its cheapest form.
I’ll explain what I intend to do with this camera below.
Inspection
Original condition
On inspection the top has some light marking and scuffing that I can attend to with some polishing and a touch of paint, the black covering I may replace and some of the black metalwork will need some retouching. The internals again are fairly good so will just be cleaned on this occasion. The mechanism works ok, I have maybe detected some dragging on it so I will inspect it closer and I will lubricate accordingly if required. I will dismantle down the whole body as much as possible and give it a thorough clean, after all I doubt it has been cleaned that much in its 50+ years of existence.
Chipped paintwork and old covering
In fact I’ve decided to go to town on this one and really mix it up. I’m going to replace the leather with a synthetic leather, cruelty free and vegan friendly. No animals suffered to make this product! and it’s bright coloured.
Here goes…
So to start I’ve pretty much dismantled the camera, the covering was a type of leather, I do know that if it was left on it would probably survive another 50 years as it was stuck to last. I had to scrape this off, sand it down and clean with a special solution to get the remaining adhesive and dirt off. I will need to produce templates to cut out the replacement covering as a result of this process.
The strip down
The plan now is to touch up, buff up, retouch the paintwork again and give a final Polish before I apply the new covering.
Undercoat with a Matt black prior to buff upFilm backing plate. Rust removed and repainted
I’ve now finished all the painting I want to do to this little camera, I have glossed buffed and painted again and the next stage is to apply some new synthetic leather when I’ve decided the one I will be using.
Awaiting the new synthetic leather body
So all I need to do now is take some templates in preparation for when the new synthetic leather arrives.
See my update when the new covering arrives.
Information regarding this camera
The Bella is a line of cheap but attractive and well-built 120, 127 roll filmand 35mm cameras made by Bilora in Germany. The Bellas went through several revisions over the life of the name. The bodies are alloy castings, with added leather-effect covering – in various colour combinations. Each is styled a little more like a 35mm camera than a roll film one. The back is removable for film loading, and most models have a large back catch. The 44 models make twelve 4x4cm images on 127 film; the 46 modelsmake 6x4cm frames on 127, and the 66 models take 6×6 photos on 120 film. The Bella 44-1 was also sold by Ansco, rebadged as the Ansco Lancer. Bilora also used the names Roxa, Bonita and Reporter for Bella variants. Manufacturer: Bilora, Germany Shutter: B, 1/50, 1/100s In production: 1953-1966
Not just teacher but probably the most influential person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting in my life was Mr.Michael Twelftree my Junior school tutor in the two years prior to moving up to secondary school.
I was at Little Reddings Junior school in Bushey Hertfordshire circa 1976/7 our class was in free fall as previous teachers had lost control of us, Mr.Twelftree stepped in for our final two years and boy was he strict. Strict but fair, he had a stack of canes in the corner that he gave you the choice of when it was your turn to receive a wack for some reason. Very rarely administered however just the thought of it made you stay in line.
He taught me and others to sail, something I still try to do to this day, we learnt so much from him, he taught the lot English, Maths, Geography, Science and all sports and made us competitors and despite his strict ethic he taught us respect and he brought out the best in everyone he taught.
We learnt all about different knots as part of our sailing training, this resulted in us having a noose hanging from the classroom ceiling as a demonstration of a knot, you wouldn’t find that in a modern day classroom.
He taught me to be a better person, shaped me up well for my future and prepared me and my fellow students well for the next move in our academic advancement.
I respected this man better than my own father, I know this sounds terrible but he shaped my life and I like to think I didn’t turn out too bad as a result. My own father unfortunately didn’t step up to his role in my life but the less said about that the better.
I would have loved to meet Mr.Twelftree again and shake his hand and say just two small words
Life’s to do list has always been quite extensive for me. Within that list was the wish to attend an opera for the first time. That wish came true at the grand old age of 57, on Friday 24th March 2023 at the Demontfort hall in Leicester.
The Ukrainian Opera and Ballet company from Kyiv were here performing Puccini’s La Boheme.
La Boheme – Puccini (Picture from brochure supplier, not my own)
I had a read up of what to expect the night prior to attending. I must say I was not at all disappointed, it was a beautiful experience, wonderful singing and you cannot beat a live orchestra. Those stringed instruments sounded heavenly and it was a few hours of entertainment that I must admit just took you away from the pressures of modern life and transported you back to a time when the world was running at a slower pace.
Did i enjoy it? You bet ya, however I’ll have to attend the next one with someone who appreciates this entertainment as the wife does not fit that category.
I feel as if a void in my life has now been filled, I have found an appreciation for this type of entertainment that I thought I did not have. My journey into the world of opera has begun.
What tattoo do you want and where would you put it?
We were in Iceland about 5 weeks ago. A fantastic holiday full of spontaneity, I just wish I could lead that life 24hrs a day. Anyway I’m drifting now, the point of this post is that spontaneous action resulted in me getting a Tattoo there and then in Reykjavik at a local tattoo studio.
Helm of Awe and Icelandic runes
It’s a Nordic protection in battle symbol called a “Helm of awe” used to strike fear into people in the early years of the islands forming, I’ve used it as a protection in life of sorts. The Icelandic runes are the letters D & E that relate to the wife and my names.
So that’s what I’ve had done, I’m now looking at having another couple done relating to my home county. I think tattoos are great and that there are some stunning ones out there if done properly.
Mind you, you don’t half see some right rotten ones. Must admit they’re not for everyone but at the end of the day what you do to your own skin is your decision and yours only.
I’ve obtained three new (old) cameras this week to work on. And of the many thousands out there I think I have three lovely examples of good everyday cameras circa 1940-1965.
Halina Paulette, Braun Paxette and an Ensign Ful-Vue
Two of these cameras are 35mm and the Ensign is a 120 film camera. The Ensign needs a refurb and I will dedicate a page to the work that needs to be done on this unit. Fingers crossed the work on the other two cameras will be minimal, hopefully just a clean up however I will assess all cameras when they arrive.
Ensign Ful-Vue 120 film camera
I’ve never had any dealings with these cameras before so I’m kind of looking forward to putting some time in on them.
Halina PauletteBraun Paxette
I think the above two 35mm cameras are little beauties, they have so much character and show the magnificent design ideas of their time. I’m hoping to put film through all three of these cameras that I will develop and scan at home. Fingers crossed as I said earlier that there is not too much wrong with them all.
I’ll update the site with a blog and a small video for each one once work to restore them begins.
As I’ve got older my patience has become rather frayed. I don’t know why exactly, I believe there are a number of factors however again I believe work lies at the heart of my anxieties. The things I see and deal with have scarred me over the years and the, support from work is pretty useless if not non existent. I get by now, that seems to be life for me and to be honest when everyday becomes a routine it’s time to take action.
So what are those actions? That’s what my anxiety is, constantly questioning myself as to the way forward. I think honestly, that I need to change my job, however there is another anxiety as at my age chances of moving on are few and far between.
Coffee or hamburger anyone?
(I am not in anyway running down anyone working in these sectors) chances are they wouldn’t employ me either 🤦♂️
A cracking little example of a unit that was in production between 1946-60. The leather pouch is showing signs of age and wear and tear, it has a small split and needs sewing, seeing it’s age this is to only be expected. I shall attempt to clean the cloth with a light detergent solution to remove the dirt and will then treat the leather to make it supple again, the buttons can be retouched with some black paint.
The unit itself just needs a clean inside and out, the hood needs a repaint, the mechanism seems to be good and both exposure settings are operating as they should. The exposure setting switch as well as the two synchro pins show signs of corrosion, I may need to buff these up or again source replacement parts. I may need to source a new strap. On close inspection it seems the mirror is damaged, looks like water damage on the underside but I won’t really know until I get it all dismantled.
Brownie reflex dismantled
Well today I have taken the unit apart, I’m really surprised just how clean the unit is inside after all these years, however there are a few issues. The hood is rusty and restricted in its movement, I have fixed this issue by smoothing out a few small bumps and freeing the spring mechanism with some camera oil, it works well now (see video below) however I still need to rub down and repaint. The lenses have been cleaned, the viewing prism has been cleaned and I am happy with these, the shutter works well so I won’t be touching this.
Brownie reflex mirror damage
The mirror that I mentioned earlier in this piece is not water damaged as first thought, it looks as if the original glue used to fix the mirror has damaged the backing hence the mark you can also see in the video.
Lens hood working and damaged mirror
To repair this I will be using a very thin piece of acrylic mirror that I will cut to size, I’ll show you how I have done this later in the report. The case is to be cleaned and a stitch repair is needed, some small touch ups are required but in general there is not an immense amount to do to get it back to how it used to look.
Lens hood: The lens hood is opened to look into the lens. It was quite pitted, rusted and chipped so I have buffed it down, cleaned it and repainted it. I’m pleased to say it’s a good finish and I’m pleased with it. Job done 👍
Lens hood before and after
Neck strap: this is the original strap or should I say cord. Severely frayed both ends this needed repair, one of the easier tasks to do. I’ve cut the ends off losing about 10cms of cord, the crimps are unusable however the two crimps where the screws attach to the body were salvageable and I rewound the cord back around these and secured this with a pair of pliers.
Cable neck strap pre fixing
Next I sewed the two pieces of cord together to make up for the loss of the original crimps, I then used two lengths of heat shrink tubing to further secure the cord and screw crimps.
Cord sewn, and then heat sealed
I think you’ll agree, nice simple repair, sympathetic to the original and will last a few years longer. Job done 👍
Camera case: in layman’s terms the word knackered should be used. As old as it is, it was quite dirty and the leather was tired and brittle. I’ve only used the suds off of hot water and tablet soap to clean the exterior and interior and this will do as it’s quite delicate anyway. If it doesn’t survive this treatment then I will dismantle the case and use it elsewhere. However the clean up was successful, I’ve now given it some treatment to moisturise it as such and it now looks completely renewed.
Before and after case cleanup
I will leave this overnight for the treatment to be absorbed I’ll then give the case a light buff up.
Leather repair complete. Leather stitching not my favourite pastime
Apart from a couple of stitches that needed putting in I’m happy with the case and will not attempt anything else with it. Job done👍
Mirror: Today the very thin acrylic mirror sheet arrived so I could cut out the new mirror I required to replace the damaged one. It’s exceptionally thin and I have glued it to the original mirror to cover the imperfection. I didn’t fancy seven years bad luck for damaging the mirror whilst trying to remove it.
Before and after mirror replacement
I was really pleased with the outcome here. This is a photo of the view through the new mirror
New mirror viewed through top of camera
I’ve cleaned the lenses as best as I can however the years have left them slightly pitted, no concerns with this though as the viewer is separate from the actual capture lens.
With this I am satisfied the camera has been sympathetically restored, it’s been reassembled packaged in an airtight bag with a silica desiccant sachet and put back into my personal collection
The completed project.
Time to put this little project to bed now. I’ve really enjoyed this one and I think these little old cameras will become my go to’s of the future. I’ve learned a lot and have learnt well from my mistakes along the way. Time to look for the next subject. So, for the last time on this project I get to say…..
Foxes Den 
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