This is a Contessa 35 (model 533/24), a compact folding 35mm rangefinder camera made in Stuttgart, Germany by Zeiss-Ikon between the years 1950 and 1955. The Contessa was designed as a premiere fixed lens compact folding camera that had the features and quality of the best of what Germany could…
It might come as a surprise to those who collect vintage cameras today that not everyone knows how to use a TLR like a Rolleiflex. With a huge amount of information available on the Internet with countless review blogs like mine, easily searchable user’s manuals, and groups like the Vintage Camera…
What is it? This is an Argus C33, a 35mm rangefinder produced by the Argus Corporation in Ann Arbor, Michigan between the years 1959 and 1961. The C33 was an oddly designed, but ambitious update to the original C3 which added many features that had become standard for rangefinders in…
Good news everyone! Rangefinders are back! Wait a minute, where did they go? I guess a bit of perspective is due here. Prior to the early 1950s, the SLR was a niche product. The Ihagee Exakta was the only major 35mm SLR system around, and it was very expensive (yes,…
What is it? This is a Canon AL-1 35mm Single Lens Reflex camera which was first introduced in March 1982. It was the last in the Canon A-series which started with the AE-1 in 1976, and was one of Canon’s last cameras to use their aging FD lens mount. The AL-1’s…
If your experience with photography is limited to hand held 35mm or roll film cameras made within the last 100 years, you likely have never heard of the Packard shutter. The history of the Packard shutter and how it came to be is shrouded in mystery. There is very little…
What is it? This is a Konica III, a 35mm rangefinder made by Konishiroku Photo Industries in Japan between the years of 1956 to 1958. As the name suggests, this camera is a third in a series of compact, solid bodied, 35mm rangefinder cameras made by Konishiroku. The entire Konica…
The Kodak Medalist I and II were two cameras built by the Eastman Kodak Company between the years of 1941 to about 1952. First produced for the American military, very few Medalist I’s were sold commercially to the public. It wasn’t until after World War II when Kodak released the…
What is it? This is a Minox 35 ML 35mm compact camera made by Minox GmbH of West Germany starting in 1985. It was the first model in the Minox 35’s third generation with a redesigned body with a flatter top plate, all new electronics, shutter, and LED viewfinder. Perhaps…
Polio is a horrible, horrible disease. During it’s peak in 1952, Polio infected nearly 60,000 children and caused over 3,000 deaths in the United States. The numbers were significantly higher in other, less developed countries. The virus most commonly affected children, specifically those aged 5 and under. When a child…
What is it? This is a Kochmann Korelle 6×6 strut folding camera made in Dresden, Germany by Franz Kochmann Fabrik Photographischer Apparate starting in 1933. The Korelle 6×6 was the fourth in a series of strut folding medium format cameras first released by Kochmann in 1931. As the name implies, the…
For the past year and a half, film enthusiasts and camera collectors like myself have been reading about a resurgence of film photography. How the death of film that’s been ongoing since the early 2000s could be coming to an end. People are shooting more film than they have in…
