PRODUCT PROFILE - Y2K Special
The Retro Eumig Viennette Submarine

They don't get any classier than this!

The Eumig Viennette Super 8mm camera was produced in 1967 and retailed for $177.00. Sometime afterwards (1968), Eumig commissioned a designer by the name of Rene Hugenschmidt to design an underwater housing specifically for the Viennette. He came up with the Viennette Submarine "Hugy Foyt/Switzerland."

Now, just to keep things straight, this housing ONLY holds the original Eumig Viennette camera with the f1.9 9-27mm (3X) zoom lens. Note that this is an internal focusing lens. Later Viennettes with bigger zooms and external focusing will not fit this housing.

It took some time to acquire the correct camera for this housing. Of course, Ebay is my recommended place to shop for hard-to-find items. I took a chance the light meter worked and was happily rewarded. I was fortunate to realize that this housing was developed during the making of the first Viennette so did not make the mistake by purchasing the incorrect camera. By the way, I have seen the housing also appear on EBay from time to time.

The camera is ergonimcally very nice to hold. Focusing is unique (at least in 1967) as there is no focusing done by the operator. Simply set the zoom and the focus is done for you. For every zoom length on this lens there is an optimum focus point. Eumig set the camera up so that as you changed the zoom ratio the front element moves backwards and forwards to keep this optimum focus point. Don't look for this camera to give you those wonderful blurred backgrounds on extreme telephoto scenes. This camera guarantees you will capture the moment as soon as you pull the trigger. Everything from about 2 feet to infinity will be in focus on a sunny day. Dark days will yield a closest distance of about 22 feet at the maximum focal length of 27mm.

The camera's front element has a 55mm filter thread. The interesting thing is that you could use the Cokin filters on this camera since the filter does not rotate (since there is no focusing required). So feel free to experiment with graduated filters! Also, the camera offers 24fps - something rather rare in auto-only cameras. This is an excellent feature to find in any Super 8mm camera.

The housing is an absolute beauty - a "smooth-joy" to hold. Now, admittedly, I have not yet dunk-tanked this unit. My plans are to fill it with tissue paper, replace the gasket and use lots of silicone and dunk it in the lake. Then I will dry it off and open it to check for leaks. At this point in time, I view this as an excellent splash-proof housing, albeit very heavy! A friend of mine commented that this looks more like a spacecraft housing than an underwater housing. He may be right?

The camera comes with a tungsten-filter key fitted to a slot on topof the camera. When removed the camera will properly expose K-40 outdoors (in case you loose the key) but there is no way to remove the filter without the key - unless you have a movie light with a built in slot-key. These are very common in older movie lights. Interestingly, it also takes six "AA" batteries! Rather unusal for a non-sound camera. Perhaps the extra two batteries are for the light meter. Thankfully, this camera does not require separate button-style batteries. The six batteries may also be for the 24fps setting. There is a provision for both an external remote switch and a single frame plunger. The best aspect of this camera is the ability to override the camera aperture by +/- one f-stop. This is very important for underwater use (you would tend to want to open up the aperture).

I would recommend this early-model Viennette camera as an excellent beginners camera. The automatic focus will give you the confidence to shoot film without worrying about all the different settings possible on more advanced cameras. The lens should yield excellent contrasty images (this is a good thing) and good color. The ability to shoot at 24fps is a nice feature to aid in video transfer at a later date. As for the underwater housing, this is best left to professionals and people with more than one camera they can risk losing. I say this because I just don't quite trust the latching mechanism for water tightness. Perhaps some duct tape would help out matters!

Back on July 31, 1967 - when my camera was made, times were different. The manufacturers actually tested their cameras prior to shipping them to the dealers. My Viennette actually came with a small strip (6 frames) of black and white film showing a test chart! Located just below the stamped serial number, there are also the names of no-less-than five people who each checked the optical and mechanical functions, performed the film test, and performed some type of "despatch control" prior to shipping the camera out of the factory. This camera harkens back to a time when things were built with pride by individuals. The human touch is very evident in the construction of this camera. The leather carefully applied to the sides still holds up despite some 32 years having passed.

The underwater housing was superbly matched to the design of the camera. In fact, it seems one is not compete without the other. Just looking at the alignment of the lenses in the coupled unit shows people, not machines, designed these fine pieces of Swiss/Austrian ingenuity.

Camera Advantages:

• Click-in, click-out cartridge loading.
• Built-in automatic conversion filter.
• CdS exposure meter.
• Single frame, 18 and 24fps.
• Smooth power zoom.
• Light meter is powered by AA batteries.
• Internal focusing allows use of circular polarizers.
• Excellent ergonomic design.
• Battery check.
• Exposure override of ASA.

Housing Advantages:

• All camera operations can be performed in the housing.
• Excellent weight in the water.
• Top and bottom 1/4" mounts for external lights.
• Shackle for safety rope.
• Footage counter visible.
• Easy viewing of subject.
• Excellent ergonomic design.

Camera Disadvantages:

• No exposure lock mechanism.
• Takes 6 "AA" batteries.
• Not an XL (low-light) camera - probably has a 170 degree shutter.

Housing Disadvantages:

• Off-center locking latches - possible water leakage.
• Very heavy out of the water.
• Oversize gasket required.
• Possible additional straps required to make watertight.