35 mm Archives - Page 23 of 26 - Facts, notes and thoughts about vintage cameras and other trifle matters

December 30, 2021

Pentax S1a / H1a

Pentax S1a / H1a Pentax S1a user manual Pentax S1a current value In the early post-war years, the Japanese camera industry navigated its way into the mainstream. The market was going towards a single-lens reflex in a rangefinder size body. The Germans led the way, with the Japanese in tow: Canon after Leica, Nikon after Contax, and Pentax chose Praktina....

35 mm/Japan/Pentax/SLR Comments: 0

December 26, 2021

Pentax ES II

Pentax ES II Pentax ES II current value Pentax ES II user manual In the early 1970s the (Japanese) camera industry came to a level field, where save for the name most cameras offered similar specs. Some manufacturers such as Petri, Miranda, Topcon, and so just gave up, will not know if it was quality or marketing. Others were looking...

35 mm/Japan/Pentax/SLR Comments: 0

November 28, 2021

Olympus XA family

Olympus XA family model list About four years ago, I drove to Peterborough to pick up two Olympus Pen F. The seller suggested he has a few other cameras, which I always love seeing. It ended with an apple crate full of odds and ends, with which I happily drove home. A week later, the seller called, suggesting even more...

35 mm/Compact/Japan/Olympus Comments: 0

October 21, 2021

Kodak Retina I (117)

Kodak Retina I (117) Retina I 117 current value The first of the Retina line, a lovable and popular Kodak product. American as it comes but designed and made in Germany. A brainchild of Dr (jur) August Nagel, a trailblazer to whom we owe the 35mm film cartridge. Other klapp cameras of the time were larger than the petite Retina...

35 mm/Klapp/Kodak/USA Comments: 0

October 18, 2021

Kodak Retina I (119)

Kodak Retina I (119) Retina I 119 current value Retina I 119 user manual, French The third Retina, made in 1936. See more on the Retina family. Similar to the 117 and 118, with wind and rewind buttons made smaller, the frame counter moved from the rewind to the wind side, on the top. The manual frame advance lever is...

35 mm/Klapp/Kodak/USA/West Germany Comments: 0

March 10, 2021

Zeiss Ikon Contina family

Zeiss Ikon Contina family model list Zeiss Ikon of Germany was the equivalent of the American Kodak, where both companies had amalgamated several manufacturers under one roof. Zeiss Ikon was born out of the merger of Carl Zeiss, ICA, Contessa-Nettel, Ernemann and Goerz. The combined company kept using the original models’ names under the combined brand, which may confuse today’s...

35 mm/Rangefinder/Viewfinder/West Germany/Zeiss Ikon Comments: 0

March 8, 2021

Carl Zeiss Werra family

Carl Zeiss Werra camera family model list For current Werra prices, see camdex.ca Prologue I can think of no mechanical product that celebrates 65, yet still looks fresh and is usable. 65 years are almost three generations, where technology, style, use, materials, and so on have evolved. Today, a product made just a decade ago is of no use and...

35 mm/Carl Zeiss Jena/Compact/DDR/Werra Comments: 19

January 26, 2021

Topcon IC-1 Auto

Topcon IC-1 Topcon IC-1 Auto current value Topcon IC-1 user manual There are phenomena that science is yet to address. Some items regenerate themselves once you are sure that there is no more. For example, we have a robotic vacuum that roams the house like a drunken goat, till it docks into its port. After each run, the canister there...

35 mm/Japan/SLR/Topcon Comments: 2

January 21, 2021

Topcon Uni

Topcon Uni Topcon Uni current value Topcon Uni user manual About two weeks ago I had looked into A Topcon Unirex, and reminisced about the encounters I had with the equipment made by Topcon. Little did I know, but yesterday I paid a visit to the eye doctor, to find that all the mighty optical instruments he uses are Topcon....

35 mm/Japan/SLR/Topcon Comments: 3

January 16, 2021

Yashica MG-1

Yashica MG-1 Yashica MG-1 current value Yashica MG-1 user manual The Yashica Electro 35 camera line and its variants had gone strong for over ten years, till the novelty wore out and automatic cameras became a common feature. In 1975, Yashica introduced the two last cameras with the continuous shutter and over / under exposure light alerts. The Electro 35...

35 mm/Japan/Rangefinder/Yashica Comments: 0

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