Cameras - Page 5 of 33 - Facts, notes and thoughts about vintage cameras and other trifle matters

July 31, 2025

Minolta Hi-Matic C

Minolta Hi-Matic C In the technology world, a product is expected to improve with the introduction of new models. It is not always the case in the photography world. In the old world, say the post-war years, many camera makers set up shop with high hopes, only to realize that to keep pace with cutting-edge technology offered by the majors...

35 mm/Japan/Minolta/Viewfinder Comments: 0

July 11, 2025

Minolta Hi-Matic 11

Minolta Hi-Matic 11 The Minolta Hi-Matic 11 was the last of the Minolta Hi-Matic’ classic’ models, a well-built, solid camera line. However, while the earlier Hi-Matic cameras were straightforward to use, the Hi-Matic 11 is a ‘read the manual first’ model. It could have been a result of advanced, progressive thinking, but the result did not add to this model’s...

35 mm/Japan/Minolta/Rangefinder Comments: 0

July 6, 2025

Minolta Hi-Matic 7 S

Minolta Hi-Matic 7 s Minolta used several naming conventions for the Hi-Matic cameras. The first camera was just a Hi-Matic, as with Canon’s first Canonet, which branched to other numbered models. It was followed by the Hi-Matic 7, then 7s, and later the 9 and the 11. The Hi-Matic 5 was introduced in 1969, a model exclusive to JCPenney stores....

35 mm/Japan/Minolta/Rangefinder Comments: 3

June 26, 2025

Minolta Hi-Matic family list

Minolta Hi-Matic family list The Hi-Matic models were a line of entry-level cameras aimed at the growing market of casual photographers, offered from the 1960s to the late 1980s. The cameras were positioned against similar camera class such as the Yashica Electro, Cosina Hi-lite, Canon Canonet, Konica C line, and Olympus 35 series. As with other camera makers, the Hi-Matic...

35 mm/Japan/Minolta/Rangefinder/Viewfinder Comments: 0

June 22, 2025

Yashica EZ Matic

Yashica EZ Matic In 1963 Kodak introduced the simplest camera possible, eliminated the agony of loading a #135 cartridge, and, on the way, also eliminated all other settings. Camera use was dead simple: open the back, drop the Kodapak cartridge, close, aim, and shoot. It was aptly named Instamatic, meaning from zero to 100 in an instant. I had one...

126/Japan/Viewfinder/Yashica Comments: 0

June 11, 2025

Yashica Minister D

Yashica Minister D At about the same time as the Yashica Lynx series, Yashica also issued the Minister models. The latter was meant for mid-market users, as Yashica’s home-brewed 35mm rangefinder that replaced the Nicca-based Y models but at a favourable price point. The Minister series debuted between 1960 and 1966 and were followed by the Electro models. The Ministers...

35 mm/Japan/Rangefinder/Yashica Comments: 0

June 4, 2025

Yashica Lynx 1000

Yashica Lynx 1000 Unlike most Japanese camera makers, Yashica did not go through the early camera styles and dug straight into the TLR models. It began in 1949 as an alarm clock maker, also making camera parts for the booming camera industry. The company name was Yashima, and it sold cameras under ‘Yashima – Camera’ in the US, shortened to...

35 mm/Japan/Rangefinder/Yashica Comments: 0

May 28, 2025

Steiner Brelland – Hunter 35

Steiner Brelland – Hunter 35 A couple of almost identical cameras have landed on my bench. The Hunter 35, a 35mm rangefinder, and the Brelland, a 35mm viewfinder. Other than the viewer and the engraved name, both are the same. Tracing back the manufacturer was easy, although searching for ‘Hunter Camera’ yielded tons of hunting/trail/wildlife cameras. However, once I ignored...

35 mm/Germany/Rangefinder/UK/Viewfinder Comments: 0

May 3, 2025

Druopta Vega

Druopta Vega camera Druopta camera list Czechoslovakia was a country artificially put together in 1918 in a shotgun marriage as a break out of the fallen Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was made up of several reluctant ethnic groups, much as the make of post-war Yugoslavia. It was disintegrated in 1993, split into Czechia and Slovakia, the largest ethnicities. In an overall...

35 mm/Czechoslovakia/Viewfinder Comments: 0

April 30, 2025

Mimosa Mimosa II

Mimosa – Mimosa II Camera Camera collecting, as with collecting any other subject, can be a sign of some mental disorder, I hope minor. An entirely normal person will not invest resources in a collection of, say, matchboxes, spoons, lighters, or cameras. Having a pet takes less effort, costs less, and gives much more in return. I am yet to...

35 mm/DDR/Viewfinder Comments: 0