12. An Italian 1950s camera... in Italy!

The Bencini Comet was manufactured in Milan, Italy in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Its clean blocky appearance in aluminium appealed to me and I was intrigued that it clung on to the now elderly 127 film format, with a frame size of 32 x 41mm. Plus, if you've read earlier posts you'll know that I have a neat device for cutting easily available 120 film down to this size. So in it came to the collection.

The shutter needed some work to get it to release more reliably, and as usual the lens and viewfinder needed a jolly good clean, but apart from that it was in pretty good condition.

Where to try it out? It had to be Italy! In March 2023 we were going to Venice, one of the most photogenic places in Europe with fantastic architecture and of course gondolas. Come on Bencini Comet, we're going on holiday!

The thing I like most about working with vintage cameras is the element of suspense. We live in a world surrounded by technology and social media, which allows us to access virtually anything immediately. Film cameras take me back to my childhood where we had to wait for everything! You have no idea whether your shot has been successful until you get home and have time to develop the film, which can be days or even weeks later. And I think that this factor makes you take more time with the shot, carefully framing the subject, thinking more about the various settings, remembering to wind on the film, so as not to waste the limited exposures. Taking a photo becomes 'an event'.

The focal length of the Bencini Comet appears to be about 40-50mm (slightly smaller than what the human eye sees). However, the viewfinder is seriously tiny, just 2.5mm x 3mm, so judging the extent of what is actually in the shot can be tricky!

This first photo is of the Palazzo Ducale, the Doge's Palace, and you can see that I've lost the bottom of the ground-floor arches. There is also some distortion to the left of the shot, which could just be where the film is not rolled tightly enough. Just so many things to think about with a film camera!

There are very limited controls on the Bencini Comet, just a rudimentary focusing ring (3-20ft & infinity) and a little lever to switch the shutter to Bulb mode for longer exposures. The aperture is fixed at 1/11 which is fine for landscape shots, not so good for portraits. As almost everything is further away than 20ft I just leave the focus on infinity most of the time. That pesky little lever for Bulb mode though - easy to catch on something and not notice!

Have you also noticed the ridged barrel on the lens? It looks like it would be the focusing ring but no. It actually has no purpose whatsoever and is completely fixed! It's an odd choice for styling on what is otherwise a clean line camera, because it must have collected grime in all those ridges.

A trip down the Grand Canal in bright sunshine is the next test for this little gem, but with such limited control of settings I hop off the boat for photos on terra firma. With the sun dancing on the water, there are plenty of opportunities to capture the essence of Venice. Overall I'm pleased with the level of detail this little camera is able to record.

Having had previous success with night shots on a WWl camera, I thought why not? Venice is relatively quiet in March because it's after the famous Carnival in February, yet before the spring and summer season really gets going. So a stroll around St Mark's Square and along the quay one evening gives a rare opportunity to practise some night photography without too many people around.

Which is just as well, because these shots take absolutely ages to set up; dragging cafe tables all over the place to act as a tripod, balancing the camera on various 'stuff' from the handbag to keep it rock steady, waiting for the occasional other tourist to pass out of shot, and guessing how long to keep the shutter open for.

The results though are not bad, considering the camera is about 70 years old, and the person behind the lens is not so young either!

There is nothing more enjoyable when I'm holding one of my vintage cameras than the look on the faces of people passing by! It's even better when someone actually recognises the camera and stops to chat. I'm setting up a shot in Arsenale di Venezia, the ancient shipyard, when a smiling gentleman comes up to me. 'Buongiorno!' followed by something including the words 'Bencini', so at least I know what he's talking about. It turns out his father owned one of these, so he recognised it immediately. He's fascinated that I have one which still works. 'Ciao!' we finish, before he trots off happily and I turn back to the job in hand. No-one ever looks even vaguely interested when I whip out my iPhone or Nikon.

Every corner of Venice has an interesting view, whether it's a church tower (almost inevitably leaning), a tiny side-canal, the opulent facades and Rialto Bridge of the Grand Canal or the surprising Eastern influence in doorways and windows. Walking around this fabulous city is a great way to explore some of the hidden treasures. You can easily get lost in the narrow alleyways and multitude of bridges, but eventually you always come to a vaporetto stop, where you can pick up a boat to take you home.

Buona notte Venezia, arrivederci!