Japan Archives - Page 16 of 19 - Facts, notes and thoughts about vintage cameras and other trifle matters

October 8, 2020

Yashica Rapide

Yashica Rapide Preamble Yashica Rapide current value Yashica Rapide user manual The days are both early autumn and mid-Corona. Being of the at-risk population, I stay mostly at home. As the weather changes it is time to switch from summer shorts to track pants which are my winter at-home staple. However, my girth has shrunk from extra-large to a mere...

35mm half frame/Japan/Viewfinder/Yashica Comments: 2

September 13, 2020

Nikon EM

Nikon EM Nikon EM current value Nikon EM user manual To build a new tech product it takes several factors. First, to define a need or use, thereafter technical capabilities, then cost constraints and design limitation. Need or use are defined by how the maker sees the market today and in the future. Technical capabilities are both external – what...

35 mm/Japan/Nikon/SLR Comments: 2

September 3, 2020

Taron Chic

Taron Chic Taron chic current value Taron Chic user manual At the heels of the WZFO Alfa comes another odd, vertical camera, the Taron Chic. At the heels is not entirely correct as it refers to the order it is being presented on this site, where the Taron Chic was introduced a year earlier than the WZFO Alfa. The difference...

35mm half frame/Japan/Taron/Viewfinder Comments: 0

June 19, 2020

Yashica 35

Yashica 35 Yashica 35 current value Online research is much like panning for gold. There is information like sand, but only a few and far between nuggets of any value. Moreover, most of the useful information is copied over and over, just to create a critical mass for the search engine to bite. About five years ago I looked for...

35 mm/Japan/Rangefinder/Yashica Comments: 4

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

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

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