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Photography Culture

This Rare German Police Camera Will Set You Back $3,500. But Why?

Julien Matabuena
No Comments
08/21/2018
2 Mins read
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Calling all vintage camera collectors: you might want to check out this rare German police camera on eBay right now.

In today’s episode of rare vintage camera finds, we present to you this rare secondhand German police camera we spotted on eBay. It’s posted by Dresden-based Classic Camera Store and carries a Buy It Now price tag of $3,500.

According to the posting, the camera comes with a Zeiss Tessar f4.5 50mm lens and is clean, has no scratches, no fungus, no separation, and no haze. The camera body, on the other hand, is in good used condition and with traces of use.

It’s described as a camera “used for repro shooting.” Repro cameras, according to Camerapedia, are “the largest available cameras” and are used in offices to reproduce important documents such as maps, construction plans, scientific drawings, and artworks “with the best possible photographic accuracy.”

We tried to find out more about this camera but it seems that it’s so rare, information isn’t readily available! Our best guess, then, is that this Zeiss unit was used to produce negatives or photographs taken in forensics and other police-related activities. What do you think?

This police camera is just one of our many quirky vintage camera finds that were used in police and army operations – even in espionage. If this is something that’s right up your alley, read on.

Among our finds is the Zeiss Ikon German Luftwaffe Me 109 gun camera from the World War II era, a 16 mm movie camera that could easily be mistaken for a missile.

Another is the military-issued Zenit Photosniper, a beast of a camera which may or may not get you in major trouble.

A smaller find is the DORYU 2-16, an ultra rare subminiature camera shaped like a pistol.

But if you’re going for really, really small, there’s the beautiful 14k solid gold ring that doubles as a spy camera from the Soviet era.

If you could have one of these in your arsenal – photographic arsenal, that is – which one would it be? Sound off in the comments!

All images by Classic Camera Store on eBay.

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