Kodak 35 worth fixing?

[Farace]

I can't remember where I got it, but in one of my boxes of stuff, I found I have a Kodak 35 like the one pictured here:

http://kodak.3106.net/index.php?p=210&cam=1302

Everything is a bit stiff and dirty. Is this camera worth my time to fix it up, or is it just a curiosity?

Thanks!

[Xmas]

Before you stick it on e shelf as a curio or use it you could clean it carefully.

Before you use it you could google 'name + problem' or name + jam, etc.

Some people probably still use one. No worse then a kiev...

Noel

[Jocko]

Our esteemed and sadly scarce friend Regan has an interesting thread on his adventures with a Kodak 35 (read to the end for the payoff!) -
http://www.rangefinderforum.com/foru...t=28065&page=2

I think these are quite interesting cameras: they were widely used by US servicemen during the war, which often lends historical interest. I saw one for sale on the Isle of Wight (off southern England) which had the name, number and unit of an American Colonel engraved on it - possibly he left it there prior to the Normandy Landings. It would have been intriguing to trace the original owner, but I left it too late and it was gone...

Incidentally, General Patton, a great camera-buff, scathingly referred to these as "Five-Dollar Leicas"!

Cheers, Ian

[Farace]

Thanks for the link. I had searched before posting, but for some reason didn't turn anything up.

I guess I won't write it off just yet. It is an odd-looking camera, almost something HR Giger could use for inspiration. But worth cleaning in my spare time (whatever that is) and running a roll through for giggles.

[bob cole]

Originally Posted by Farace

I can't remember where I got it, but in one of my boxes of stuff, I found I have a Kodak 35 like the one pictured here:

http://kodak.3106.net/index.php?p=210&cam=1302

Everything is a bit stiff and dirty. Is this camera worth my time to fix it up, or is it just a curiosity?

Thanks!

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Bob, I never heard the Patton quote [ mentioned elsewhere, where he supposedly called them $5 Leicas ] but I believe the Kodak 35 is still a $5 usd camera...my old McKeown's camera guide valued it at $20-$30usd. About 10 years ago I sold one to a camera dealer for $5 and he just put it on display with a bunch of other old cameras...

[Jocko]

Originally Posted by bob cole

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Bob, I never heard the Patton quote [ mentioned elsewhere, where he supposedly called them $5 Leicas ] but I believe the Kodak 35 is still a $5 usd camera...

Hallo Bob. It was a favourite phrase he used on a number of occasions. Patton was an enthusiastic Leica user, but at first feared damaging his camera in action. He thus took a Kodak 35, a decision he quickly regretted. On May 25, 1943, during fighting in North Africa he wrote to his wife Beatrice asking for his Leica and ektachrome film - "I am having trouble with my 35-Eastman Kodak, Damned $5 Leica". A few days later he described being surrounded by admiring troops "with $5 Leicas". You can find this and much more in "Patton's Photographs" by Kevin M. Hymel and "The Patton Papers" vol. 2 by Martin Blumenson. Patton was no great shakes as a photographer (as he happily admitted) but even in the thick of action was never without a camera - his Leica is now on display at the Museum Of Cavalry and Armor, Fort Knox .

Cheers, Ian