So i was hunting for a 1950’s medium format folder over the Christmas holidays this 2014.  i thought i wanted to continue to refine my medium format skills in and out of the darkroom.  i also wanted to stick with the 6×6 negative format, as my enlarger does not support anything larger.  i like shooting medium format, and i wanted a camera slightly more portable than the Hasselblad 500 :).  most of the research i did showed that unless i was willing to pay around $300 for a cleaned, lubricated and re-bellowed Agfa or Ansco there was a good possibility i would end up with a useless camera.  this also bore fruit with the amount of ebay sellers i contacted and asked questions about their product.  most, if not all were not worth the $100 being asked.  i flitted back and forth, Agfa Isolette II, Isolette III, Ansco Speedex Special R etc etc.  in between those, i also looked at the low end of Tube cameras like the Agfa Isola and the Ilford Sporti, but nothing seemed to hit that sweetspot of price vs features vs shipping.  in amongst the Tubes i kept going back to the Braun Gloria and its little siblings the paxina 29 / 35.  Most Gloria’s were running in the $300 range as well and seemed to be pretty few and far between.  as well, most were in the UK or continental Europe and shipping was just too much.  i finally happened upon a sale in the US.  i let it go for a while, but as my folder search failed more and more often, i kept coming back to the ad, and finally pulled the plug.  for about $150 CAN i bought myself a Braun Gloria in supposed excellent working condition.  these are a few of the first black and whites from it, on Fuji Acros 100.  As you can see, there is a bit of a light leak sometimes 🙂