Japan Archives - Page 15 of 19 - Facts, notes and thoughts about vintage cameras and other trifle matters

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

September 12, 2021

Rich-Ray Richlet

Rich-Ray Richlet Current Richlet value An online search for a camera returns loads upon loads of entries. It is rare that only a few entries are found. Such is the case with the Richlet, made by Rich-Ray. I saw this camera while searching on Buyee, which is the online equivalent of a slot machine. The camera was odd, unlike any...

Bolta/Japan/Mini camera/Obscure Comments: 0

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

January 1, 2021

Topcon Unirex

Topcon Unirex I first learned about the Topcon name in the early ’70s. Topcon and Nikon’s optical comparators were used in the tool shop to follow complex shapes. Nikon had been a well-known brand, Topcon not so. Fast forward twenty years, fate brought theodolites my way, Topcon again. It took another twenty years for me to realize that Topcon also...

35 mm/Japan/SLR/Topcon Comments: 0

December 26, 2020

Yashica TL-Electro

Yashica TL-Electro Yashica TL-Electro current value Yashica TL-Electro user manual After looking into the Yashica Electro camera line, I pulled out a Yashica TL-Electro that has been humbly sitting on the shelf for several years. The camera has al the good reasons to be humble, being one of a large group of almost indistinguishable compact SLRs that were churned out...

Japan/SLR/Yashica Comments: 6

December 3, 2020

Yashica Electro 35

Yashica Electro 35 Preamble I was looking for a camera among the rangefinders and realized that there are Yashica Electro cameras everywhere. Six of them. I remember where I got two of the lot, where one was the first in my collection. Till now I had not looked closely at them, and it seems that although they carry different model...

35 mm/Japan/Rangefinder/Yashica Comments: 3

November 23, 2020

Walz / Lafayette Electrick

Walz / Lafayette Electrick Walz camera family list Walz Electrick current value Lafayette Electrick current value Walz / Lafayette Electrick user manual The Walz camera brand shows little in an online search. It is mentioned on the fly as both a manufacturer and distributor, with no hard evidence to support either fact. With Japanese camera brands, it is either...

Japan/Rangefinder/Walz Comments: 0

October 30, 2020

Canon Dial 35

Canon Dial 35 Preamble On a bright summer day sometime in the early 1980s, I was negotiating the narrow streets of Salzburg, Austria. Being a medieval city and spread around a hill, streets are winding to boot. As a navigation instrument, I used a large sheet of paper printed in many colours, which, for the benefit of the younger readers,...

35mm half frame/Canon/Japan/Spring loaded/Viewfinder Comments: 2

Category: Japan