Recommended Reading 4/19/19

This week’s featured post is a review for the Coronet REX Flash by Alan Duncan at Canny Cameras.  I love reviews like this of little known and basic cameras as they are often overlooked on many camera review sites and blogs.

I’ve always made it a point here on my site to have a wide variety of well known and little known cameras to share information about and Alan seems to have the same idea.

Not only does he take the time give some historical context of the camera, he also covers it’s use and shares some really nice images he got from a roll of Fomapan 100 that he shot in it.  Well done, Alan!

Here are more great posts from some of my favorite sites:

On the other end of the “well known” spectrum, we have an excellent and very in depth look at the legendary Nikon F2 from Neil Kohl at EMULSIVE.  The Nikon F2 was the followup to the Nikon F which had been in production for over 12 years upon it’s release, and not only did it fill those shoes admirably, the fact that so many of these cameras are still in good working order justifies their reputation.  Take a look at Neil’s full review with some sample pics and see if one should join your collection!

As with any hobby, there’s bound to be some snobbery out there, especially when it comes to “prestige” pieces like Leica cameras.  Such is the snobbery that some people spew on the internet, that mounting a third party lens like a Soviet Jupiter or Canon rangefinder lens to a Leica is some sort of a crime.  This article from Hamish Gil tries to counter this belief with some support for those of us who might be able to afford a Leica body, but without the funds to get Leica glass.

In what might be the best love letter to photography that I’ve read in quite a while, this excellent article by Craig Sinclair at Casual Photophile entitled “My Favorite Camera is Not My Best Camera, Nor is it My Favorite Camera” is a look back on his first camera, a Bencini Comet S that was given to him by his dad when he was a child.  His story is about where he grew from that camera, and how his father influenced his photographic journey, coming back to the Bencini once again.  This is a really well written piece that speaks to the common theme that people hold onto cameras not only for the photographs that they can make, but for the memories of photographs they once made.

When I reviewed a Zenit E last October during my “Red October” phase, I did it out of obligation.  The Zenit E is one of the most successful Soviet cameras of all time, and one that is very common today, yet generally has a poor reputation as a basic and rudimentary camera.  After using it, I was impressed by how effortlessly it was to use, and the ease at which I got great photos from it.  It would seem that Dan Fernandez of 35mmc felt the same way.  His “love letter” to the Zenit E is a very well written piece that I agree 100% with.  It’s not hard to find a Zenit E (or any of it’s clones), and while it might seem like nothing more than a cold war era paperweight, Dan and I assure you it’s much more than that!

This week Jeb Inge from Casual Photophile shares his thoughts on 5 affordable rangefinder cameras worthy of your attention.  These kinds of top 5 lists are always fun for people like me to compare my thoughts on the recommended models, and I must say that with the exception of the Ricoh 500 G which I’ve never handled or shot, I can personally attest to the other 4 as being worthy of mention.  I have an especially soft spot for the Argus C3 which is a camera that people either love or hate.  Sure, the ergonomics on it suck, but if you slow down and really use it to it’s strengths, it’s a wonderful camera that’s incredibly affordable!

Segueing into another list, this week 35hunter shares his thoughts on “The Four Greatest Cameras In The History Of The Known Universe”, a short piece on his thoughts of the 4 cameras that best suit him for his needs.  I think lists like this are very important because photography is often an art of passion, and the camera is merely the tool.  If a photographer has a passion for something and one (or 4) of his tools best help him achieve that passion, then those tools must be great, right?  I can’t say I’ve handled any of the 4 in this list, but I enjoyed reading the author’s thoughts on them.

I purposely try to avoid any type of political discussions here as there’s plenty of other avenues for that, but this article from Wired discusses the announcement of the recent “Mueller Report” being distributed on CD.  CD, as in Compact Disc, a technology today that is as antiquated as 8-tracks were in the 1990s.  In a way, this article has a parallel to a site like mine devoted to other “obsolete” technologies like film! It’s an interesting look at how government aims to control the roll out of information by using a technologically ancient medium that people will literally have to “dust off” their CD-ROMs to be able to read.