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@johnmargettslincoln
Ensign Midget model 2
Apart from my Soviet ‘spy’ camera, this is my smallest camera. Not only does it fit into the palm of my hand, it is much smaller than the palm of my hand – see photo. lens: Ensar focal length: ? apertures: ƒ/6.3 to ƒ/22 focus range: 3 ft to infinity lens fitting: fixed shutter: leaf speeds: 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, T, B flash: No! film size: E 10 Who made this camera? It would seem to be the…
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Pentax S1a
This Asahi Pentax S1a is mostly a standard Pentax from the late 1950s to mid 1960s. As a note, at this time “Pentax” was a model name, the maker being Asahi. Later, in the 1970s, Asahi changed the company name to Pentax and the model names became letters and numbers but not actual names. lens: Asahi Super Takumar focal length: 55mm apertures: ƒ/1.8 to ƒ/16 focus range: 0.45m lens…
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Ricoh Auto Shot
This is a fairly small point-and-shoot camera from Ricoh. Small – but surprisingly heavy. The camera is made form die-cast aluminium alloy. Introduced in 1964, the widespread use of plastics was still in the future. This camera measures 73.5 by 113 by 56.5 mm (dimensions provided by Ricoh) and weighs 480g. lens: Rikenon focal length: 35 mm apertures: ƒ/2.8 to ƒ/22 focus range: 3 feet to…
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Zeiss Ikon Cocarette 514/2
Zeiss Ikon Cocarette 514/2
This Cocarette is a fairly standard folding camera from the early 20th century. The design was by Contessa Nettel in around 1920. When Contessa Nettel merged with other makers to form Zeiss Ikon in 1926, Zeiss Ikon continued to make Cocarette cameras until 1930 or 1931. My camera is the Zeiss Ikon version. Zeiss Ikon made an astonishing variety of the basic Cocarette design. Mine is the 514/2…
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Ricoh TLS 401
So, yet another 1960s 35mm SLR camera. There were many of these, and most were much of a muchness. The 35mm SLR cameras that I add to my collection either have historical interest or an interesting quirk. This Ricoh has a definite idiosyncrasy and is also a descendant of the Nikkorex F. The Nikkorex F was designed and made for Nikon by Mamyia and Mamyia subsequently sold the design to Ricoh who…
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Leitz Eldia
I saw this device on Ebay with a very vague description – no real indication as to what the device might actually be. It was made by Leitz (the makers of the Leica camera) which suggests it would be both well designed and well made. So I put a bid in and got the device for £8.00 – a bargain! Fortunately for me, the device came with full instructions, making the use of the device clear (full…
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Mir or Мир
My 'new' Mir camera from the Soviet Union.
This is a Soviet camera made in the KMZ factory in Krasnogorsk near Moscow. KMZ stands for Krasnogorski Mekhanicheskii Zavod (Krasnogorsk Mechanical Works in English) which is still operational (September 2022). KMZ is better known for their Zorki and Zenith cameras both of which were derived from Leitz’s Leica II camera. The name “Mir” can mean either peace or world. This camera shares its name…
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Rajar No 6
This is another Bakelite camera – my others are the Soho Model B and the VP Twin. The later Soho Model B design is clearly derived from this Rajar No 6 – they even use identical struts. This camera appears to have been designed in 1929 and is an Art Deco design. It was made by APeM – this company had a chequered history and part of it ended up as Soho Ltd, the makers of the Soho Model B mentioned…
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Dating Cameras.
You might not be interested in knowing the exact age of your cameras but most collectors are. Having a precise date is good but no always possible. The dates that cameras were made between can be ascertained from promotional literature and catalogues. The British Journal of Photography Almanac has adverts for many camera models – these do not actually date the camera but if a camera is…
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Soho Model B
My instinct is to call this a folding camera but it does not actually fold; rather, it collapses. This is an Art Deco camera dating from the 1930s. In fact, I think it could be called Streamline Moderne as it has plenty of curves and no angles. From my Interweb searches, it would seem that this camera dates from 1935. This camera is almost entirely made from Bakelite which is a very early…
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Wirgin Supreme
This camera is a bog-standard folding camera from the Inter-war years (for our younger readers, “Inter-war” means from 1919 to 1939). This is a German camera made in Wiesbaden in Hesse. The only name on the camera is the model name “Supreme” embossed in the leather on the back. There is no maker’s name anywhere. I know it is German because there is a small leather carrying handle which is…
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Appraising Old Cameras and pricing.
Appraising Old Cameras and pricing.
This chapter deals with deciding on whether you want a particular camera or not. The first stage s to have a good look at the camera and deciding if it is a camera that you want in your collection – on line, the ‘good look’ means at the photographs. The second stage, once you have decided that you want the camera, is to decide how much you are willing to pay. This section is entirely about how I…
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Sources of Old Cameras.
Sources of Old Cameras.
So, you have decided you want to collect cameras and which themes that interest you. How do you actually get your hands on the cameras? There are a number of ways and the easiest is to let it be known amongst your social circle that you are collecting. An amazing number of people will find old cameras when having a clear-out and will happily give them to you. Other sources are car boot sales,…
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Types of Collecting
If you are collecting cameras you are, of course, free to collect what you want in whatever way you want. Many people do this and end up with thoroughly eclectic collections – and all joy to them. Other people prefer to collect with a theme and purpose. Personally, I collect cameras that are particularly interesting in some way – mostly cameras that were innovative in some way. Other people want…
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History of Camera Development
History of Camera Development
All cameras share a basic design which has the same three components a light-tight boxa means of forming the imagea means of recording the image. The ways in which those three are manifested range from crude to very sophisticated. The earliest cameras were the crudest. In fact, they were simple wooden boxes with a slot at one end to take the glass plate and a hole at the other to take a lens.…
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Buying old cameras.
Introduction. This book is about collecting old cameras. Cameras have been around since the early 1940s. Photographic cameras were invented separately by Daguerre in France and Fox Talbot in England. Initially, photographers had to make their own wooden cameras and repurpose lenses from elsewhere. Actually, cameras were in use before photography was invented. The word ‘camera’ is Italian for a…
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Miranda MS–3
My latest new old camera which is a Cosina CT-9 sold in Britain by Dixons as a Miranda MS-3.
While Miranda were never one of the top camera makers in Japan, they were a serious maker. In 1978, the company ceased trading and in the early 1980s the rights to the Miranda brand were brought by the Dixons group in the UK. This MS–3 dates to the Dixons period. As I was perusing this camera after I bought it, I thought the top plate was very reminiscent of my Cosina CT–1. After a bit of…
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