I know I should be listing some cameras to sell, but I am procrastinating on that for a variety of reasons.

That choice has given me time to try some new to me cameras, like this one. I saw it online and thought, how beautiful is that?? Then I tried to find one and apparently they are really rare in the UK but quite common in USA. It is not surprising given that is where they were manufactured. There are a few cameras like that and vice versa.

Well, luckily a very kind friend found a good example for me and sent it across the pond and here it is. It is stunning to look at and the case was also in amazing condition..

This camera is from the very late 40s and early 50s, so around 80 years old, which is very impressive as you would not be able to tell to look at it. My example was shiny, clean and smooth, not a stitch out of place.

This great website has more technical details, the writer states their results were a mixed bag. Of course there is also Mike Eckman’s very detailed site too, he had the same kind of results. His post has a detailed history of the man responsible for its manufacture, plus he even has a strip down of the shutter. Fortunately, mine worked perfectly and I didn’t have to do anything to it.

I loaded the Bolsey with a roll of Harman Phoenix and carried it around for a couple of weeks. The name got a few comments from friends who liked to pronounce it ‘ballsy’, we are a mature lot over here. I ended up shooting most of the roll in Hereford and Ledbury. Everyone who saw it marveled at its beauty.

That yew tree is the Linton Yew, in the church grounds there were a few old yews, but this one was the most magnificent. It is one of the oldest trees in Britain. The dog on the side of the road is also in Linton. It is a statue, it frightened the life out of me and made me drive really slowly. The next day I went back, to see the tree again, I like trees, anyway the owner was mowing the lawn and I chatted with him. He put the statue there for that exact reason and it works, he says. It certainly does.

Back to the camera. I loved using it. The size of it was perfect, the weight from the metal made it more stable, and you can split the case to make it easier to carry. I did have trouble winding it on at first, clearly missing the ‘lift and wind’ instruction on the top. When you do wind it, the pin next to the shutter lever is retracted and the lever sits on top ready for the next shot. You can do that manually and create double exposures.

Of course, Phoenix is an experimental film so it might not have shown the Bolsey in the best light, so I tried another short roll. I have just bought a bulk roll of Fomapan 100 so used the very end piece to make sure it was all ok. Of course it was, but I sometimes have doubts when using a bulk roll. For this short roll, I took the camera to Leeds on a West Yorkshire Camera walk and a couple of shots left for a trip to Reading.

I like the results, the don’t wow me, but they definitely give a feel of the 1950s. The view finder also gives you more than you see which is a bit confusing when you see the final results.

So do the meh results spoil my love of the camera? No, I still love it. I find it very cute to look at and use. I like how the pin retracts when you wind it on. This is definitely a camera I am going to use again at some point. It is not going on my ‘sale’ pile.