By:
On:
In: Camera Review Blogs
With: 3 Comments

When you think of toy cameras, specific models instantly come to mind—names like Diana, Debonair, Lomography, and Holga. I have in the past reviewed the FPP Debonair, a solid toy camera, but the first toy camera and the one that stuck the most is the Holga. Sadly my camera broke several years back, and I never bothered to replace it. While I did mean to replace the Holga with another one, the sad fact is that in 2015 Holga nearly vanished if not for the quick actions by Freestyle and the Sunrise company. The two managed to recover one mould and restarted production. The HolgaRead More →

By:
On:
In: Camera Review Blogs
With: 0 Comments

I’ll be the first to admit, the relationship between me and Soviet-built cameras has been a rocky one. My first experience with Soviet cameras was with the Zenit B (this camera’s meterless cousin), it’s lack of automation was my downfall. Next a Zorki 4 with a pinholed shutter curtain, the Keiv 88 wasn’t too bad. I had excellent shots with a Fed-2, and a tonne of problems with a Smena 8m and I don’t even want to speak on the Zenit 122K. But after hearing James Lee (who loaned out this camera originally for review, I have since purchased my own) talk about how greatRead More →

By:
On:
In: Photography
With: 0 Comments

The fine folks behind the film photography promotion website Emulsive have done it again! In the footsteps of last year’s FP4Party, they have started to run a couple of different monthly participation events for film photographers around the globe through the use of Twitter. Sadly I didn’t participate much in the FP4Party mostly because of time conflicts; I decided to make a point to join in on this year’s film parties. Being free of most projects it freed my hand to keep up this time around. This year’s first party is a celebration of Kodak TMax. Tmax a modern film emulsion that was released inRead More →

By:
On:
In: Camera Review Blogs
With: 0 Comments

One more shot, one more shot! While today such a call is commonplace in the day where the number of images you can get is dependent on how fast your camera’s shutter works and how large and fast the memory card that you have in your camera is, but back in the early 20th Century, asking for one more shot could mean sacrificing one in the future. But many iconic images and photographers worked with large format cameras and the idea of a Press Camera pre-dates the camera I’m reviewing today by nearly three decades. While the Crown Graphic is not as well known asRead More →

By:
On:
In: Camera Review Blogs
With: 6 Comments

It’s the red dot special, but not the red dot you were probably expecting. While Leica is best known for their rangefinder cameras, both the older Barnack and the iconic M-Series Leica produces a line of single lens reflex cameras in response to the cameras coming out of Japan. While the early cameras were strictly manufactured by Leica, by the mid-1970s, they had teamed up with Minolta. The agreement produced the Leica CL/Minolta CLE both rangefinder cameras, and the Leica R3/Minolta XE! The first time I picked up this camera, having never used a Leica SLR before I was hoping for something special, but IRead More →

By:
On:
In: Camera Review Blogs
With: 0 Comments

Most of my experiences with communist built cameras have been gear from the failed Soviet Bloc, which is all well and good, but those cameras were not exactly known for their quality control, offset by the ease of repair by the layperson. However, there is still another communist state still producing cameras even today, and that’s China. The Shanghai Camera Factory started production of their Seagull 4A line in 1968, and by the 1970s the Seagull 4A-103 came into being. At first glance, you’d probably think that the camera in question is a German Rolleicord and you would be partially right. The 4A-103 is aRead More →

By:
On:
In: Camera Review Blogs
With: 2 Comments

Sometimes a camera sings, sometimes a camera just sucks, and then there’s the Maxxum 5000. It’s a meh camera, K-Car of cameras, the Maxxum 5000 isn’t the bell of the ball, and it is a little meh on the handling, but for basic, no-nonsense SLR photography, the 5000 is a cheap option with an A-Mount. Let me explain a little bit more. Some cameras are amazing that they grab your attention as soon as you pick it up, for me that would be the Nikon F2, F3, and F5. Also the Rolleiflex 2.8F and several other cameras. Others are so downright terrible that you wantRead More →

By:
On:
In: Camera Review Blogs
With: 0 Comments

If there is one type of cameras that I have little experience with its folders. Back in the summer, I did have a chance to review one; nothing could prepare me for the Ventura. It’s a camera with a bit of an identity issue, in addition to the Ventura Deluxe it could also be the Ventura 66 or the Isolette II, and while this camera did not perform how I thought it would it did give me a pleasant surprise. The history nerd in me also digs the fact that the camera was made in the “US Zone” part of the occupation of Germany afterRead More →

By:
On:
In: Camera Review Blogs
With: 0 Comments

I’m a sucker for mechanical match needle SLRs. They’re simple, elegant and great to learn on and even now still a joy to shoot. The FT3 is just that, an easy to use, fun camera that can if needed double as a self-defence weapon. The sad part is that the FT3 only was made for a few months before being superseded by the Nikon FM. A unique creature among the more-consumer-oriented Nikkormat lines the FT3 can use AI and AI-S lenses even if they don’t have the coupling claw. Sadly you won’t be able to use the Non-AI glass that many Nikkormat shooters love. CameraRead More →

By:
On:
In: Camera Review Blogs
With: 2 Comments

There is a certain class to folders; they have a sleek look that harkens back to the early days of photography. These cameras offer a slim, compact option to bring medium format when space is at a premium. I would have loved to have brought a folder to Europe in 2015 to have a medium format option. Especially in places like the Waterloo battlefield, Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Bruges, but I could not find the right one. The full name of this camera, the Zeiss Ikon Super-Ikonta C 531/2, would have been the perfect camera with a big 6×9 negative, rangefinder focus, and slim size. ForRead More →