Difference between revisions of "Acies"
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− | The '''Acies'''<ref>'Acies' can mean 'eyesight' or 'sharpness' in Latin.</ref> is a viewfinder camera for full- or half-frame pictures on standard 35 mm film, made by the FAF company in Venice for a few years from 1947, and distributed by Giorgio Moretti.<ref name=DC>Danilo Cecchi (2002) [http://www.nadir.it/ob-fot/CECCHI_IFI_3/index.htm ''L'Industria Fotografica Italiana | + | |image_source= https://www.flickr.com/photos/90900361@N08/7837/32656118477/in/pool-camerawiki |
+ | |image= https://live.staticflickr.com/7837/32656118477_e7e65b53b2.jpg | ||
+ | |image_align= right | ||
+ | |image_text= <small>image by eBayer gihas_59</small> | ||
+ | |image_by= | ||
+ | |image_rights= wp | ||
+ | }} | ||
+ | The '''Acies'''<ref>'Acies' can mean 'eyesight' or 'sharpness' in Latin.</ref> is a viewfinder camera for full- or half-frame pictures on standard 35 mm film, made by the '''FAF (Fabbrica Apparecchi Fotografici)''' company in Pordenone (close to Venice) for a few years from 1947, and distributed by wholesaler Giorgio Moretti of Venice.<ref name=DC>Danilo Cecchi (2002) [http://www.nadir.it/ob-fot/CECCHI_IFI_3/index.htm ''L'Industria Fotografica Italiana: Terza Parte: Le 35mm dal dopoguerra ai giorni nostri''] (''The Italian Photographic Industry: Part 3: 35 mm from the Second World War to the Present Day''). Article hosted at [http://www.nadir.it/ Nadir magazine]; text in Italian.</ref><ref name=MM>[https://www.mistermondo.com/?camera_category=faf Acies and Acies III] and some FAF company history, at Dario Mondonico's [http://www.mistermondo.com/ Mistermondo.com].</ref> | ||
− | The Acies | + | The body of the Acies is aluminium, with an elongated octagonal shape when seen from above. The lens is mounted on is a shallow superstructure on the front, and there is another on the top, containing the viewfinder. Some of the surfaces of the camera are covered with black leatherette; the top and bottom are painted with crackle-finish paint. |
− | The Acies | + | The Acies normally has a 5 cm f/4.5 Elinar anastigmat lens, with front-element focusing; an unusual example seen at Westlicht has an f/5.6 lens.<ref name=W>[https://www.leitz-auction.com/en/Giorgio-Moretti-F.A.F.-Acies/AI-21-13674 Acies] with unusual f/5.6 Elinar lens (the auctioneer's notes describe the camera as a prototype) offered but not sold, at the [https://www.leitz-auction.com/en/Cameras/Past-Auctions/Auction-21/ 21st Westlicht Photographica Auction], on 23 May 2012.</ref> The camera has an in-lens shutter with four speeds 1/20 - 1/150 second, plus 'B'. Dario Mondonico states that the lens is a screw-fit in front of the shutter, but there are no accessory lenses for it.<ref name=MM /> It has a reverse-Galilean viewfinder, with a ''tiny'' eyepiece. Film advance and rewind are by winding knobs, and there is a frame counter on the top housing. |
− | + | The original Acies is unusual in having a control on the base to select between full- ('G') and half-frame ('P'); it seems that the format could be changed mid-roll. Two later versions of the camera in 1948-9 are full-frame,<ref name=DC /><ref name=MM /> but otherwise similar; an example of the Acies III shown on the Mistermondo site has a shutter with speeds to 1/300 second, and a slightly different frame counter than the original model.<ref name=MM /> | |
+ | One contemporary user, Colin Smedley,<ref>Colin Smedley: [http://www.oscarpix.co.uk/oscstory.htm ''The Incredible Oscar Story''] at [http://www.oscarpix.co.uk/openhs1.htm Oscar's Open House].</ref> describes the Acies as 'an innovative but truly awful camera', <br>and tells how he traded his in against a Braun [[Paxette|Super Paxette]] three weeks after buying it. | ||
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
+ | ==Links== | ||
+ | *[http://bencinistory.altervista.org/002B%20fotocamere%2047/02G1%20FAF%20ACIES.html FAF Acies] da [http://bencinistory.altervista.org/index.html Fotocamere Italiane 1946-1964] | ||
[[Category: 35mm viewfinder]] | [[Category: 35mm viewfinder]] | ||
− | [[Half-frame viewfinder]] | + | [[Category: Half-frame viewfinder]] |
+ | [[Category:Italy]] | ||
+ | [[Category:A]] | ||
[[Category: 1947]] | [[Category: 1947]] |
Latest revision as of 17:30, 23 January 2024
image by eBayer gihas_59 (Image rights) |
The Acies[1] is a viewfinder camera for full- or half-frame pictures on standard 35 mm film, made by the FAF (Fabbrica Apparecchi Fotografici) company in Pordenone (close to Venice) for a few years from 1947, and distributed by wholesaler Giorgio Moretti of Venice.[2][3]
The body of the Acies is aluminium, with an elongated octagonal shape when seen from above. The lens is mounted on is a shallow superstructure on the front, and there is another on the top, containing the viewfinder. Some of the surfaces of the camera are covered with black leatherette; the top and bottom are painted with crackle-finish paint.
The Acies normally has a 5 cm f/4.5 Elinar anastigmat lens, with front-element focusing; an unusual example seen at Westlicht has an f/5.6 lens.[4] The camera has an in-lens shutter with four speeds 1/20 - 1/150 second, plus 'B'. Dario Mondonico states that the lens is a screw-fit in front of the shutter, but there are no accessory lenses for it.[3] It has a reverse-Galilean viewfinder, with a tiny eyepiece. Film advance and rewind are by winding knobs, and there is a frame counter on the top housing.
The original Acies is unusual in having a control on the base to select between full- ('G') and half-frame ('P'); it seems that the format could be changed mid-roll. Two later versions of the camera in 1948-9 are full-frame,[2][3] but otherwise similar; an example of the Acies III shown on the Mistermondo site has a shutter with speeds to 1/300 second, and a slightly different frame counter than the original model.[3]
One contemporary user, Colin Smedley,[5] describes the Acies as 'an innovative but truly awful camera',
and tells how he traded his in against a Braun Super Paxette three weeks after buying it.
Notes
- ↑ 'Acies' can mean 'eyesight' or 'sharpness' in Latin.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Danilo Cecchi (2002) L'Industria Fotografica Italiana: Terza Parte: Le 35mm dal dopoguerra ai giorni nostri (The Italian Photographic Industry: Part 3: 35 mm from the Second World War to the Present Day). Article hosted at Nadir magazine; text in Italian.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Acies and Acies III and some FAF company history, at Dario Mondonico's Mistermondo.com.
- ↑ Acies with unusual f/5.6 Elinar lens (the auctioneer's notes describe the camera as a prototype) offered but not sold, at the 21st Westlicht Photographica Auction, on 23 May 2012.
- ↑ Colin Smedley: The Incredible Oscar Story at Oscar's Open House.