Pony II w. single speed shutter and 3.9 / 44mm Anastar lens.

[iggers]

I had tried the Pony IV, with its fine f/3.5 44 mm Anastar lens, and wanted to see whether the simpler Pony II comes close. This camera from the late 1950s has a  f/3.9 44mm Anastar lens and one shutter speed (1/125). It has an Exposure Values scale instead of apertures, and zone focus from 2.5 feet to infinity. I loaded an ancient Kodak C-41 black and white film (400asa) that I received from a member in a mystery box. Here are the results:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fortinbras/sets/72057594091269243/

[keithslater]

Iggers,
Nice photos.  I bought a pony II at an antique store today.  Do you know what the Exposure values are?  I'm guessing that the dot past 10 is f3.9.  
Keith

[iggers]

Thanks.

The Exposure Values Scale? Thank goodness for the latitude that modern color print film allows, as our guesses on this can be off and the pictures should still turn out.

The stop before 10, call it EV9.5, I agree should be 3.9.

The stop at the other extreme, EV15 is it? - is either f/16 or f/22. I'd say 22.

I actually posted a question on the photonet forum asking about this, but the answers were not clear to me.

How about the following:

EV9.5 = 3.9
EV10  = 4.5
EV11  = 5.6
EV12  = 8.0
EV13  = 11
EV14  = 16
EV15  = 22

BTW, I guess you've figured out that it needs film for the shutter to fire?

[connealy]

You may be able to sort out the EV numbers using the Pony IV since it has normal shutter and aperture values on the bottom of the lens.  The EV combination of shutter and aperture numbers is on the lens' top.  When I set the aperture to f/16 and the the shutter to 1/125 that gives me 8+7=15.  I think EV values may be consistent across cameras, but in the case of these two, there is a bit of a difference in the available f-stops at the low end.  How Kodak imagined this system to be easier to navigate is a bit of a mystery.

[ImageMaker]

EV 15 is f/16, 1/100.  However, if the shutter is actually 1/60 instead of 1/125 (as seems likely with a fixed speed shutter, which is likely a lot simpler than the Flash 200 and Flash 300 on the older Pony models -- also a better choice for synchronizing with a bulb flash) it would make sense for the aperture to close to f/22 and the scale would fit with the known maximum opening of the shutter.

[iggers]

I forget where I found the reference to the speed being 1/125, but what you write makes sense.

EV 15 is f/16, 1/100.  However, if the shutter is actually 1/60 instead of 1/125 (as seems likely with a fixed speed shutter, which is likely a lot simpler than the Flash 200 and Flash 300 on the older Pony models -- also a better choice for synchronizing with a bulb flash) it would make sense for the aperture to close to f/22 and the scale would fit with the known maximum opening of the shutter.

[Glenn Thoreson]

Ancient C-41 B&W film? Oh my, I suddenly feel so much older. Please don't confuse the elderly.