I will place my cards firmly on the table and say that a Canon EOS 300 is not a camera that I had ever considered actively adding to my modest collection of vintage cameras. Then an acquaintance contacted me to say that they had one that they wanted to dispose of along with a few…
Category: 35mm
A Tale Of Two Praktica LLCs
What’s the fascination with the Praktica LLC?That’s a difficult question to answer. I guess it is the fact that this camera was an innovative departure for Praktica in that it had a vertical, metal, focal plane shutter unlike its predecessors that had cloth shutters and perhaps more importantly, its open-aperture, through the lens (TTL) metering…
Olympus OM-10
IntroductionI think it is fair to say that I have a few vintage cameras. Certainly not as many as a lot of collectors but certainly more than your average ‘Happy-Snapper’! However, I must confess that I have never owned an Olympus camera – that is until now. I chose to bid on this particular camera…
Thoughts on the Minolta Freedom Zoom 140EX Panorama Date.
IntroductionThe Minolta Freedom Zoom 140EX Panorama Date compact camera, There’s a mouthful! The name might accurately describe this camera but was it really necessary to include all its functions in the name? I guess that those entrusted with the marketing of this interesting compact camera felt the need to differentiate it from the ‘bog-standard’ Minolta…
It’s Quiet, Oh So Quiet! -The Minolta A-5
I have had this Minolta A-5 for a little while now but only just got around to testing it. As the title of this article suggests, it is extremely quiet to use and makes an ideal candidate for street photography. I tested it with a short roll of Fomapan 100 bulk film developed in XTOL….
My Argus ‘AF’ – An American Masterpiece?
I must confess to being rather taken with the ‘Art Deco’ period with its simple, clean shapes, often with a “streamlined” look. This has previously been reflected in some of my vintage camera collection, specifically in my four Flexaret twin lens reflex cameras. Although they were built in the Art Deco style they were not…
Fed 5 and its Radioactive Industar 61 L/D Lens!
I always attempt to source vintage cameras within the European Union and if possible in Greece so as to save on shipping and Customs duty. It is rare that I find anything in Greece but I have recently sourced a Fed 5 from Athens. It was described as ‘film tested’ and ‘fully functional’. I am…
Voigtländer Vito IIa
I have often heard that vintage Voigtländers are built like Volkswagens. Personally, I think that they are built like a combination of a Volkswagen, Mercedes and Audi! They were built to last; they are very well designed and they ooze quality! Let’s not forget that Voigtländer have been making cameras since 1849 and the company…
Voigtländer Vitomatic 1a
I could opt for my usual claim to have bought my Voigtländer Vitomatic 1a on a whim but in all honesty, that would not be true. The truth is that I really like Voigtländer cameras! That doesn’t mean that I have a lot of them but what I have, I am very pleased with. My…
Exa IIa – The Baby Exakta
I have lost count of how many times I say that this was another camera bought on a whim! I must confess to having a liking for older Soviet and German cameras. I saw this offered with another identical camera and a third one that came minus the lens. The deal was ‘Get the lens-less…