Halina cameras were made, to put it politely, to a price by Haking out of Hong Kong. Of all the Halina models this Twin Lens Reflex is one of their better efforts but quality never stood in the way of price, the lens in particular being rather dubious. The basic folded steel shell is shared amongst several Haking models from the focus free Halina Prefect, Kinoflex, Star-Lite, Sunscope, Votar Flex or Wales Reflex. However the Halina AI is a true Twin Lens Reflex with ground glass screen, fully shaded hood and magnifier. The two blade leaf shutter is of Haking origin and fairly simple, speed control is poor but the action is commendably light and vibration free. Haking were fond of a bit of mirror polished chrome plate and they've not been shy in covering the Halina A1 with it. Photographically it's decidedly average, but as a bit of shelf bling, it's hard to beat. When it arrived the camera was in poor condition and a strip down revealed extensive water damage to the shutter, the return spring had oxidized to powder and the shutter leaves rusted through. An interesting repair scheme was devised that entailed filling the holes in the shutter leaves with thick black paint, allowing to harden then sanding and polishing back. A new shutter leaf return spring was wound from salvaged photocopier springs! Then to really give the old Halina a birthday, the entire shell was stripped and repainted. This camera was donated to the collection in April 2006 by Mr. F. R. Garvock. The Twin Lens Reflex camera was adopted by a significant proportion of camera makers as there was a perception amongst the public that such cameras represented an elite, and there is always a market for something that looks the part without actually being able to back up it's visual claims.

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Body No. N/a
Shutter, Haking, B, 25, 50 & 100th
Lens, Halina Anastigmat 80mm and f/3.5
Condition, 5F

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