Adding to the recent slew of results posted from cameras rescued or resuscitated...
I was poking around in the neighborhood antique store the other day after classes when I came across a Fujica Compact Deluxe. It was covered in dust and jammed into the back of a shelf of very dead Kodak Brownies, but the shutter seemed to be working and the price tag was a very reasonable $12, so I bought it. The salesperson at the counter told me that the store was participating in an Ann Arbor-wide "Midnight Madness" sale and then took 20% off the total bill - that was nice!
Still not knowing much about the camera, I went home, dusted it off, wiped down the body and glass (which was clean through and through, despite the heavy layer of exterior dust), checked shutter and winding functions, and went to read up on it online. While there wasn't too much floating around compared to more "well-known" cameras, there was enough on the Web to show that it was a promising find. 6-element Fujinon 45mm f/1.8 Planar derivative, Citizen shutter, focusing by way of a very cool thumbwheel on the back, and shutter priority and metered manual exposure powered by a common S76 silver oxide battery. I happened to have a spare S76 battery lying around and popped it in. The meter and autoexposure systems came back to life! Was tickled pink.
The next morning - a cold one with light snow - I loaded up the Fujica with some Memories 200 color film from David Murphy and then went out to meet a friend for coffee and a discussion on photography. The university art museum was exhibiting some Rolleiflex and large format photos from recent photojournalists in Afghanistan and Africa, all provocative and very inspiring. With the creative juices flowing, I went out into the street to get some photos with the "new" camera. This is what I ended up with:
This camera is a real sleeper! The autoexposure system was set-and-go, the lens sharp and focusing right on the button, and the thumbwheel focus control on the back, right under the shutter release, really helped nail shots on the fly when twisting a focus ring might have wasted precious seconds. And it's a handsome fella too:
(This isn't my own photo, but a nice one picked up from another Flickr user.)
