Zeiss Ikon pocket tripod

This vintage tripod from Zeiss Ikon would have been a very nice piece of kit in its day.  In fact it still is.  The leather case is well stitched with a strong yet discreet carrying strap, two horizontal slits on the rear for attaching to other straps and a Zeiss Ikon branded popper stud.  The length of the case, which snugly fits the retracted tripod is only 22 cm/8 5/8" and with tripod inside weighs a mere  284g/10oz so this is definitely a tripod that could be carried in your pocket with ease.

When fully retracted, the rounded feet on the 8-stage metal legs click into place keeping everything nice and secure.  The legs extend along a pair of matching grooves on each and lock into place with spring loaded studs.  At full extension the tripod will realistically offer about 105 cm/41 3/8" of height (at its lowest you get about 17.5 cm/6 7/8"). It's reassuringly stable both indoors and out, though offers nothing like the support of a modern tripod once the wind picks up. With its standard 1/4" thread you could also use it with any modern camera if so inclined.

Rollei 100 XLC flash

I picked up this nice little flash unit from eBay last year but have only shot one test with it, a couple of quick portrait snaps (just to test that the thing worked more than anything else).

For such a small unit, measuring only 67mm(H) x 60mm(W) x 42mm(D), it's surprisingly powerful.  Using it with the Rollei 35B is interesting because the camera's hotshoe is located on its underside meaning that the light from the flash enters the shot at a bit of an unusual angle.  This isn't necessarily a bad thing and you don't have to turn the camera upside down but it can result in faces with unflattering Dracula shadows if you choose not to.  Also, from a distance there's the risk of the light hitting the floor in front of your subject rather than the subject itself.  With practice though I'm pretty sure one could get used to shooting with an underslung flash, simply by adjusting framing to suit.

I've uploaded a .pdf of the manual here.
 

Building a Rollei 35B kit.....part 1

In the late 1970s my Dad bought a Rollei 35B.  The camera was attractive because despite its tiny size it possessed a number of sophisticated functions, making more creative photography possible.

More than 30 years later I'm now attempting to build up a Rollei 35B kit from the surviving camera, case and manual.  I've managed to get a flash unit which interestingly fits to a hot shoe on the underside of the camera, a space-saving measure which allows the top of the body to hold the shutter release, film winder, exposure meter and frame counter.  Not bad for a space of only 95x30mm!

Check out my post here for a full specification, link to a .pdf of the manual and further images.  Also go here to see some initial test shots.