Cameras - Page 15 of 34 - Facts, notes and thoughts about vintage cameras and other trifle matters

January 27, 2024

Kalimar Kolt 44

Kalimar Colt 44 / Hoei Anny 44 Paying tribute to the Kalimar brand, I pulled two identical cameras off the shelf, the Kalimar 44 and the Anny 44. Both are the same, just different name tags. Kalimar also sold the same camera under Kalimar 44. The 44 mark was popular with other camera models, relating to the frame size of...

127/Japan/Kalimar/USA/Viewfinder Comments: 0

January 24, 2024

Kalimar A

Kalimar A Kalimar was a photographic equipment distributor in the US, selling cameras and related paraphernalia. It was established in 1938 by MOT brothers Bob and Abe Lipshitz. Whatever value the brand had was taken over by Tiffen in 1999, just in time before the digital trend took over. The name appeared on many pieces of equipment; not much seemed...

35 mm/Japan/Kalimar/Taisei Koki/USA/Viewfinder Comment: 1

January 24, 2024

Taisei Koki Welmy 35

Taisei Koki Welmy 35 Preamble One language is understood worldwide, with no need for translation over cultures or borders. This is the decimal number system. The characters will be differently pronounced but will always carry the same value. To compliment that, keeping spelling within the Latin-based languages is straightforward; keep it as it is and pronounce it as you wish,...

35 mm/Japan/Taisei Koki/Viewfinder Comments: 0

January 18, 2024

Shinano Pigeon J II

Shinano Pigeon J II Three Pigeon models were the last offered by Shinano: Pigeon J II, a viewfinder, which I deal with here. Pigeon 35 IIIc, a viewfinder, mentioned in McKeown, Kadlubek and Sugiyama, shows the same image as the Pigeon III. No further information is available; I have seen none for sale for the past decade or so. A...

35 mm/Japan/Shinano/Viewfinder Comments: 0

January 16, 2024

Shinano Pigeon 35 IIa

Shinano Pigeon 35 IIa At the heels of the first Pigeon camera, came a flight of siblings. Most followed the leader as viewfinders, with a few nonconformists, a TLR and an elusive rangefinder. Some changed their names to Lacon, but all carried the same DNA, as evidenced by their looks. Shinano made cameras for a very short time, between the...

35 mm/Japan/Shinano/Viewfinder Comments: 0

January 15, 2024

Shinano Pigeon

Shinano Pigeon camera Shinano began making cameras in Japan in 1951, with the wave of camera makers coming out of nowhere to cater to the GI contingent stationed in Japan. Most camera manufacturers of that era are just a historical footnote, with only a handful of brands that have survived. A detailed history of Shinano is described on Yashica TLR...

35 mm/Japan/Shinano/Viewfinder Comments: 0

January 8, 2024

Shinano Lacon C

Shinano Lacon C Camera Shinano!!!! I was looking online for Shinano when information poured down at a rate I did not expect for a seventy-year-old, likely defunct, camera factory. It took a while to realize that the elves in Google corrected my search term to Shimano, the bicycle and fishing parts maker, which oddly also has a camera. Back to...

35 mm/Japan/Obscure/Shinano/Viewfinder Comments: 0

January 7, 2024

Shinsei Monte 35

Shinsei Monte 35 The Monte 35 was made by Shinsei Optical, one of many Japanese post-ear camera makers of whom there is hardly any information. On the camera body, the name is marked as Monte35 or Monte-35. Per McKeown, there are two models, one with the trigger on the lens barrel and the other with the trigger on top. I...

35 mm/Japan/Obscure/Viewfinder Comments: 0

January 6, 2024

Meopta Opema

Meopta Opema Camera In the 1950s, Meopta had no 35mm camera to offer, while the format’s popularity grew like a fire in the hay. The Etareta, a solid and able camera, was adopted by Meopta from Eta to plug the hole. But, the Etareta still subscribed to the classic fixed lens, leaf shutter class. Meopta had higher aspirations, so at...

35 mm/Czechoslovakia/Meopta/Viewfinder Comments: 2

January 5, 2024

Meopta Etareta

Meopta Etareta Camera The Etrareta is a lovely little 35mm viewfinder camera, a sterling example of old-world workmanship, an era when cameras were made to last, not to be ‘upgraded’ and replaced every 24 months or so. A very well built, meticulously finished, sure not typical to the mass-produced East Block products of the 1950s. Made in the now-defunct Czechoslovakia,...

35 mm/Czechoslovakia/Meopta/Viewfinder Comments: 0