At the end of Episode 80, we promised an entire show dedicated to Zeiss-Ikon. Unfortunately, things got in the way of us being able to dedicate the necessary time to prepare to cover such a complex and important company, so we decided to pivot and do another GAS episode.
Anthony and Theo were only able to make brief appearances, but joining Paul and Mike on this show was a well rounded cast of callers including AJ Gentile, Antony Hands, Fernando from Germany, Rafael E, Wannes Scheipers, Will Pinkham, and first time callers, Andrew Curley, Charles Lawson, and Jem!
A large number of Zeiss-Ikon cameras were discussed including the Contax rangefinders, Contarex, folding Nettars, Contina, Contaflex, and the square format Tenax and Taxonas. AJ shares his thoughts on his recent pickups of a Aires 35-V and Rolleiflex SL35, Wannes picks up an interesting book about the Kodak Vest Pocket, and Charles shares a story of how he gets his Kiev cameras repaired by a Ukrainian war hero.
Mike talks about a very rare camera he was able to “borrow” from Used Photo Pro in Indianapolis, along with some recommendations on the most innovative and best user American rangefinders and medium format cameras, and a very well done book about the career of Heinz Waaske. We also cover a very strange 1980s Fisher-Price video camera that records video onto standard audio cassettes, the I’m Back Digital Camera back, why auto focus lens adapters all suck, and Antony shares his love for the JollyLook foldable instant camera and pinhole camera.
This was a wide ranging episode with a huge number of different cameras and topics covered, so rather than continue to promote it here, I recommend you hit the play button below, or on whatever your favorite podcast player is and enjoy!
As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you! Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show. We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!
The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.
For Episode 82 we are going back to digital….waaay back and going to attempt to cover some early digital cameras. While everyone knows that digicams are seeing a resurgence of interest, what were some of the earlier models that are worth checking out! Are there any undiscovered gems out there? Even I don’t know the answer to that one! We will record Episode 82 on Monday, November 25th at 7pm Central Standard Time and 8pm Eastern Standard Time.
In This Episode
Mike Fell for GAS After the 80s Episode / Pentax ME-F with AF 35-70 f/2.8 Lens- Mike Convinces Roberts Camera to Loan him a Detrola 400 / The Tamarkin Auction Was Last Saturday
- What Were the Best American Cameras Ever Made? / Bell & Howell Foton / Kodak Ektra / Kodak Signet Series
- Kodak 35 / Military Kodaks / All of the Signets are Good Except the Kodak Signet 80
- Bridge Cameras / Ricoh Mirai / Olympus IS-Series / Canon Photura
- Wayne Picks Up a Book About the Kodak Vest Pocket Cameras in World War I
- Kameras für Millionen – Heinz Waaske, Konstrukteur / Will Gets a Ricoh 500 and Ricoh-Matic / Zorki 10 and 11
- Fisher-Price PXL2000 Video Camera / Recording Videos of Punk Rock Shows on Cassette Tapes
- Zeiss-Ikon Contarex Bullseye / Zeiss-Ikon Taxona / Tenax Cameras / Contarex Lenses
- Rafael’s Favorite Camera is the Zeiss-Ikon Contina / Contaflex and Magazine Film Backs
- Hasselblad XPan and SWCs / Converting Hassy 500 Backs to Shoot 35mm / Horseman 3D
- Folding Zeiss Nettars and Ikontas / Zeiss Made Great Triplets
- Paul Bought a Graflex XLSW From Tom Zoss / Steve Grimes Modified Cameras
- Is the Zeiss-Ikon Contax IIIa a Good User Camera? / Adapting Contax Lenses
- Charles Gets His Kiev and Contaxes Repaired by a Ukrainian War Hero
- AJ Shot Mike’s Gifted Kodak Tourist and Picked up a Rolleiflex SL35 and an Aires 35-V
- Aires Made Lots of Good Cameras / Aires III-C
- Sending Cameras to Canada May Get Rejected if You say its a Camera on the Customs Form
- Kowa SW Wide Angle Camera / Kepler Telescope Viewfinders
- Why Did Nikon and Others Have Different Names for the Same Cameras?
- Minolta Dynax 7s Are Great, But…. / 3D Printing Replacement Camera Parts
- Jollylook Instant Camera / Jollylook Pinhole Camera
- Another Underappreciated American Camera is the Argus Argoflex Forty
- Canon P and IVS Rangefinders / Horseman Convertible / Viewfinder Photography
- I’m Back Digital Adapter for Film Cameras / Other Film to Digital Adapters
- Contax Rangefinder Adapters to Nikon Z Mount / Autofocus Adapters Suck
Links
The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.
If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.
The Official Camerosity Facebook Group – https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast
Camerosity Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/
Used Photo Pro (Robert’s Camera) – https://usedphotopro.com/
JollyLook – https://jollylook.com/
Theo Panagopoulos – https://www.photothinking.com/
Paul Rybolt – https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris – https://thisoldcamera.net/
Anthony Rue – https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/
Camerosity can also be heard on the following services:
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@camerositypodcast
Google – https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2NhbWVyb3NpdHkvZmVlZC54bWw
Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/camerosity/id1583252688
Amazon Music – https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9d316c9e-5461-4fa5-9e04-24fd27fffc3f/camerosity
Podchaser – https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/camerosity-1985806
Listen Notes – https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/camerosity-mike-eckman-3BShwKyvbO0/
Podcast Addict – https://podcastaddict.com/podcast/camerosity/3600607
GAS is about management of the disease, not ending the chaos- channeling it for the better. How?
Of all things, a spreadsheets, and the best option for me was google sheets so I could always have access to it. Steps:
Establish rules and objectives on the very first page. They must employ logic your brain accepts. For me, there were things I wanted to accomplish: single autofocus lens mount for digital and 35mm, single camera for any given type+format: 1x 35mm SLR, 1x medium format SR, 1x medium format RF, etc. Then also special types: 1x pinhole, 1x super8, 1x waterproof, 1x Instax. Basically identify all your use cases, minimize overlap, and figure out what types of gear fulfill your objects following your rules.
Once you have your rules and objectives, map them into exactly how many cameras that works out to be. This step, for me, results in 8 sheets. For simple cameras, I combine sheets, and for complex cameras with lots of pieces or that share a lens mount, it’s one sheet.
Now fit your collection into it. Identify overlapping cameras / lenses to sell. Fill in the lenses you think you need, fill in the cameras you think you need. Mark the stuff you need red, identify synergies for lens filter thread and other accessories.
Now that you’ve got your baseline goals, work toward them. Once you get rid of the “red”, switch to “sustaining GAS mode”. To feed your gas but prevent wasted time and money, you can still buy cameras, you can still buy lenes, etc. However, not, when you do, it’s a competition. Unsure what’s better – your current Bronica S2A or a 501CM for the medium format SLR slot? Get the 501CM, try it out, call it a “proof of concept”. If it’s better, you keep it, sell the Bronica, if it’s not, re-sell the 501CM.
I’ve used this method now for years to control my gas and continue to evolve my collection into cameras that work better and better for me. Just my TLR evolution, for example, has gone from a Yashicaflex D, to an Autocord “Export” model, then tried a 124G and kept the Minolta, and finally to a C330 + Kiev88 metered prism. Each time, I sell one, I keep the better, and the GAS monster chaos is… satisfied:)