35 mm Archives - Page 3 of 26 - Facts, notes and thoughts about vintage cameras and other trifle matters

December 4, 2025

David White Realist

David White Stereo Realist Unlike most other Utilitarian cameras, there is plenty of online information about the Realist, so rather than recycling existing data, I will add the relevant links and top it off with my own views. To recap, the Realist was the most popular stereo camera of the post-war stereo craze. This fashion did not last long; it...

35 mm/Rangefinder/Stereo/USA Comments: 0

November 28, 2025

Kodak Stereo 35mm

Kodak Stereo 35mm Stereo cameras had fascinated users since the early days of photography, going back to the mid-1800s, with the classic mahogany-and-brass luggables. Viewing was via a crane-like, long-billed device, with a postcard-sized double image, looking through a mask. Artists took the liberty of adding extra features, as an angel hovering over a baby, a sample of which I...

35 mm/Kodak/Stereo/USA Comments: 0

November 1, 2025

Yashica YK

Yashica YK Yashima, the forefather of Yashica, was established as a machine shop towards the end of WWII. Once the war was over, it shifted its focus to consumer goods and further began producing TLR cameras in the early 1950s. The first two models were Yashimaflex and Pigeonflex, and the Yashica name, short for Yashima Camera, was first seen in...

35 mm/Japan/Rangefinder/Yashica Comments: 0

October 29, 2025

Beauty 35 Super / Canter

Beauty 35 Super / Canter Beauty was known for its TLR cameras and made 35mm rangefinders for a short period, towards the end of its production. The first, the ‘35 Super’, was introduced in 1956, and the company stopped making cameras soon after, in 1963. The ‘Super’ term was added to this model to differentiate it from their first 35mm...

35 mm/Beauty/Japan/Rangefinder Comments: 0

October 23, 2025

Beauty camera family list

Beauty camera family list Preamble Researching camera information can be tedious. Where information is available in print, it takes a long time to retrieve. Online research is much faster when the search subject is unique, such as ‘Konica Autoreflex’. I mentioned this in the past while searching for Taron and had a massive yield of results about actor Taron Egerton,...

16mm/35 mm/Beauty/Japan/Klapp/Rangefinder/Sub compact/TLR/Viewfinder Comments: 0

October 9, 2025

Walz Comet

Walz Comet The Walz brand had existed before the war, selling photographic accessories since the mid-1940s. See more on Walz models‘ offering. Early models were Rollei-inspired TLR cameras, peppered with a few Klapp models, until they settled on compact 35mm rangefinders, as did all post-war camera makers in Japan. The first in this line was the Walz 35, a modest...

35 mm/Japan/Rangefinder/Walz Comments: 0

October 8, 2025

Walz Envoy 35

Walz Envoy 35 Walz was a Japanese camera manufacturer or distributor, depending on which version you follow. It was one of the few Japanese pre-war camera makers that entered the industry before the war, in 1936. Most other camera makers mushroomed after the war and lasted for only a decade or so. See more about the Walz legacy. Like other...

35 mm/Japan/Rangefinder/Walz Comments: 0

October 5, 2025

Walz camera family list

Walz camera family list Walz camera origins are shrouded in mystery; there are two versions, one siding with the opinion that they were distributors that sourced cameras from third parties, namely Zenobia, Tougudo, and Okada, while the other version suggests that they were actual manufacturers. There is no cut-and-dry evidence either way. The company first appeared in 1936 as Nihon...

120/127/35 mm/Japan/Klapp/Rangefinder/Walz Comments: 0

September 24, 2025

Aires rangefinder cameras

Aires rangefinder cameras Aires rangefinders list Aires 25-III Aires 35-V Images Aires cameras can be grouped into three categories: the early TLR, then rangefinders and lastly SLR models. Here, I look at the rangefinders group. Aires lasted for just over a decade, but in this short time, they offered an impressive array of cameras, or did they? A close look...

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

September 20, 2025

Aires Family List

Aires Family List Post-war Japan saw an abundance of camera makers, being a spending outlet for the American soldiers stationed there. Only a few manufacturers were in this trade before; most have converted existing facilities, such as those for making clocks, bicycles, sewing machines, and pecil sahrpeners, into camera production. Looking back at the long list of post-war brands, most...

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