Too close for missiles; switching to guns….
Since its inception in 1932 the Minox subminiature camera has been the essential spy camera. Its compact design, sturdy construction and mechanical shutter have transformed the Minox from a photographic curiosity to a legendary spy camera. History Designed in 1932 by Walter Zapp the Minox was first produced in their Latvian factory VEF (Valsts elektrotehnisk? … Read more
The Konica, or Konica I (also known as the Konica Standard or just Konica) is the first in a series of rangefinders that come at the beginning of a company that would go on to produce quality cameras for generations. As a mechanical 35mm film camera, the Konica I is a fine example of the … Read more
At this point in 1978, Canon has been making cameras for 45 years when they released the the Kwanon (pronounced kannon), named after the Buddhist bodhisattva of mercy of the same name. With the AE-1 having been introduced just two years earlier Canon was setting their sights on users that didn’t need full manual control … Read more
There are a lot of cameras out there, too many at this point, but there are few cameras that have the same notoriety as the Canon AE-1. History Released in 1976, the Canon AE-1 was the first camera produced that was controlled entirely by electronics. Canon also made use of new mass production techniques and … Read more
Introduced in December of 1980, the Mamiya ZE-2 Quartz is definitely a child of the 80s. There’s lots of plastic and cheap material where the leather covering should be. Mamiya has a storied past and a well deserved reputation for building high quality cameras with amazingly sharp optics. Adding that reputation Mamiya seemed to be … Read more
There are cameras that you find and wonder “How on Earth did I not know about this?” The Gelto DIII is one of those cameras. It’s a beautiful little camera that packs a big punch Backstory The Gelto camera line is comprised of a series of medium format cameras built both before and after WWII … Read more
The Pax M4, a compact 35mm film camera that’s the perfect size to toss in your bag and take everywhere. The M4 is the next iteration of the Pax M3 and there aren’t that many differences. Adding a frosted center panel to the rangefinder makes the M4 bright-line viewfinder bright and clear. There are subtle … Read more
The F3 was Nikon’s third professional film camera and would remain a top-of-line body in the family until it was discontinued in 2000. Even though there were newer cameras with more advanced features like the F4 and F5, Nikon continued to produce the F3. There are several models of the F3, each with their own … Read more
Bronica started designing and producing medium format cameras when it was founded 1958 by Zenzabur Yoshino in Tokyo, Japan. They continued to produce high quality cameras until 2005 when the last model, the RF645 was discontinued and ended their 47 year run. I stumbled onto the Bronica S2 system in 1995 while wandering around a … Read more