Japan Archives - Page 9 of 18 - Facts, notes and thoughts about vintage cameras and other trifle matters

January 7, 2024

Shinsei Monte 35

Shinsei Monte 35 The Monte 35 was made by Shinsei Optical, one of many Japanese post-ear camera makers of whom there is hardly any information. On the camera body, the name is marked as Monte35 or Monte-35. Per McKeown, there are two models, one with the trigger on the lens barrel and the other with the trigger on top. I...

35 mm/Japan/Obscure/Viewfinder Comments: 0

December 29, 2023

Royal Camera Royal 35

Royal Camera Royal 35 Here is another camera maker that was established in Japan in the post-war years, mainly to cater to the spending habits of the 450,000 GI posted there. There is little information about it, just enough to see its name as a supplier to numerous camera distributors with a precious few models sold under its own name....

Germany/Japan/Rangefinder/Royal Camera/Wirgin Comments: 0

December 27, 2023

Brumberger 1651

Brumberger 1651 Camera Camera distributors do not attain much respect in history pages, be it in printed matter or online. If at all, they enjoy a brief mention on the fly. In a way, they deserve more appreciation for bringing photography to the masses, so much so in the transitional 1950s. Flourished in the post-war years, such distributors existed in...

35 mm/Japan/Rangefinder/Royal Camera/USA Comments: 0

December 25, 2023

Minolta XG-M

Minolta XG-M After the successful run of the Minolta SRT compact SLR line, Minolta continued with the X series, from the X-1 of 1973 through the XE and XG to the XD models, last introduced in 1982. The XG-M is a no-aspirations, vanilla SLR camera meant for the lower market end, offering a full-featured camera at a competitive price. The...

35 mm/Japan/Minolta/SLR Comments: 0

December 6, 2023

Minolta Maxxum STsi

Minolta Maxxum STsi The photographic industry Is relatively young, about 170 years old, but as with other modern technologies, it updates at an increasingly fast pace. A good example is written communication, which, within two generations, had evolved from Telex into short-lived fax technology, then into email, and now instant text messages over endless platforms. The same is true of...

35 mm/Japan/Minolta/SLR Comments: 0

September 27, 2023

Petri FTX

Petri FTX Preamble: I was looking for information about Petri cameras and could not find any in the reference books. It took time and frustration till I realized I needed to look for Kuribayashi instead. To be safe, I ordered the “Collectors Guide to Kuribayashi-Petri Cameras” by John Baird. The book came, and using a polite term, I was unimpressed....

35 mm/Japan/Petri/SLR Comments: 0

September 26, 2023

Ricoh SLX 500

Ricoh SLX 500 Ricoh made compact SLR cameras from 1963 to 2000, when digital cameras took over. Other than their 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...

35 mm/Japan/Ricoh/SLR Comments: 0

September 25, 2023

Fuji ST 705

Fuji ST 705 In the mechanical SLR golden era, Fuji, AKA Fuji Film or Fujica, made a series of number-name models that enjoyed high esteem, and most still survived as able shooters, available at modest prices. The ST 801, a groundbreaker at the time, fetches prices higher than the rest, at either chrome or black bodies. The first of the...

35 mm/Fuji/Japan/SLR Comments: 0

September 25, 2023

Kowa SE

Kowa SE Kowa had been at the rear end of the Japanese camera industry. I hold a camera that was made in 1964, so one would expect some reference about it in the printed guides. Not so. Kowa, an old established industrial company, branched into the camera trade in 1958 for a short 30-year period. Early models were compact viewfinders...

35 mm/Japan/Kowa/SLR Comment: 1

September 22, 2023

Pentax MZ-50

Pentax MZ-50 This camera does not belong here, it is too young to be considered a vintage and was not a classic model. I have it, so it is added. It was bought in the late 1990s when digital models began to pop up, low resolution and more of a novelty. The MZ-50 can do all; see specs below. All...

35 mm/Japan/Pentax/SLR Comments: 0

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