Cameras - Page 31 of 34 - Facts, notes and thoughts about vintage cameras and other trifle matters

November 28, 2019

Topcon R

Topcon R / Beseler Topcon B Topcon R user manual Topcon R current value Topcon B Beseler current value Topcon made an unimpressive camera line from just before the war and ceased making them in the mid-1980s. The same cameras were sold by Beseler in the US, under different names, some similar while others bear no resemblance. The first Topcon...

35 mm/Japan/SLR/Topcon Comment: 1

November 27, 2019

Ricoh Singlex TLS

Ricoh Singlex TLS Ricoh made compact SLR cameras from 1963 to 2000, when digital cameras took over. Other than own brand, they sold via Sears and Kmart in the US, Foto Quelle in Germany and Universa in France. With the early models, they subscribed to the common in the market, whereas in the late 1980s, they climbed to the first...

35 mm/Japan/Ricoh/SLR Comments: 3

November 20, 2019

Ricoh 35 Flex

Ricoh 35 Flex Ricoh 35 Flex current value Ricoh 35 Flex user manual Another honourable entrant to the same-name-not-same-camera list is the Ricoh 35 Flex. Born in 1963, the first SLR from Ricoh was equipped with an uncoupled selenium meter. A year later, it saw a change to a CdS meter under the same name. Rest features and appearance unchanged....

35 mm/Japan/Ricoh/SLR Comments: 4

November 1, 2019

Zeiss Contaflex

Zeiss Contaflex My stepfather was a professional photographer, as had his father before him, at the beginning of the last century. His father did mainly family and events photography, where during the war my stepfather served in the British Army in Egypt, decoding aerial photographs and drawing maps. After the war, armed with a camera, he roamed all over Europe...

35 mm/SLR/West Germany/Zeiss Ikon Comments: 13

October 18, 2019

KMZ Zenit B / Zenit E

KMZ Zenit B / Zenit E KMZ Zenit B / Zenit B Global / Kalimar SR100 – US / Revueflex-B / Prinzflex-500 / Meprozenit Pro KMZ Zenit models list In 1980 I was posted to Lagos, Nigeria, the chaotic commercial capital of West Africa, perhaps all of Africa. Saying West, This place is as remote from the Western world concept...

35 mm/Kalimar/KMZ/SLR/USSR Comments: 0

October 8, 2019

Mamiya Sekor 500 DTL

Mamiya Sekor 500 DTL Mamiya Sekor 500 DTL user manual Mamiya Sekor 500 DTL current value $20 is all it takes to get a fully-fledged 35mm film SLR in operational condition, as classic as the Bullitt Mustang. At about the same year Mr. Cool raced the said Mustang down San Francisco streets Mamiya came out with a revolutionary camera. Evident...

35 mm/Japan/Mamiya/SLR Comment: 1

October 1, 2019

Mamiya ZM Quartz

Mamiya ZM Quartz Mamiya ZM Quartz user manual Mamiya ZM Quartz current value Camera makers are often associated with a certain style. As from the top, Leitz is associated with rangefinders. Rolley with TLRs; Olympus, Canon, and Pentax with SLRs; Agfa with viewfinders; Graflex with press cameras, and so forth. All these makers produced other camera styles as well but...

35 mm/Japan/Mamiya/SLR Comments: 2

September 25, 2019

Konica Autoreflex Half Frame

Konica Autoreflex Half Frame Konica Autoreflex current value Konica Autoreflex Half Frame user manual The year is 1966. The world camera makers rush to design and introduce compact SLR cameras. Saying ‘world’ and ‘compact SLR’ would seem all-inclusive, which is not. The Brits, Italian, French, and Americans have all but abandoned the high-end camera lines. The only real players yet...

35mm half frame/Japan/Konica/SLR Comments: 7

August 29, 2019

WZFO Alfa

WZFO Alfa WZFO Alfa current value WZFO Alfa user manual To its given luck, the Polish nation is located in between western and eastern Europe. On the face of it, it couldn’t be better, being a commercial and cultural gateway between the two. Regrettably, it was not so as each invading power marching either east or west had passed through...

35mm half frame/Poland/Viewfinder Comments: 0

August 22, 2019

Konica FT-1 Motor

Konica FT-1 Motor Konica FT-1 Motor user manual Konica FT-1 Motor current value A person who had been introduced to film photography in the past 30 years would take auto film advance for granted, let alone those accustomed to digital, where film winding is non-existence. In 1983 it was a novel idea. For an SLR. The Konica FT-1 does this,...

35 mm/Japan/Konica/SLR Comments: 4