Episode 114: The One With No Title

Episode 113 of the Camerosity Podcast marks the crew's return after a six-week break, recorded spontaneously without the usual invites—resulting in a rare episode with no callers but an overwhelming amount of gear-acquisition-syndrome (GAS) talk. The hosts open by catching up personally, including Mike's ordeal surviving over ten days without power after a derecho storm hit his area. From there, the conversation shifts into recent camera acquisitions from both Japanese auction sites and traditional sources, including Theo's new black chrome Leicaflex SL2 and Anthony's long-awaited "bucket list" Rolleiflex SL66, which he acquired by trading in his Leica M4-2 (a camera whose film-loading system he never got along with).

The episode covers a wide range of specific gear and technical discussions rather than a single hands-on review. Notable cameras discussed include the obscure DeMaria-Lapierre Telka III folding rangefinder, the Voigtländer Vitomatic III CS, and the Honeywell-related Zeiss-Ikon Contessa S310. The group dives into technical comparisons such as Nikon Ai versus AiS lenses, aperture priority versus shutter priority metering across brands like Canon, Konica, and Olympus, and the relationship between the Leica R4 and Minolta XD. There's also substantial discussion of medium format gear, including Theo's Pentacon Six TL repair using a donor body and shooting expired Kodak Panatomic-X film, as well as Rolleiflex SLX and SL66 details like battery options and macro/lens-reversal capabilities. On the digital side, the hosts discuss vintage DSLRs at length, arguing the Nikon D300 may be one of today's great digital camera bargains, and comparing it to the D200, D300S, and D7000, along with how software like DxO PhotoLab can improve results from older lenses.

The overall takeaway is less a single verdict than a celebration of the hobby's ongoing pull—the hosts affirm that GAS doesn't pause even during a podcast hiatus, with new acquisitions, repairs, and rediscoveries piling up. They also touch on broader trends affecting the hobby, such as the increasing difficulty of finding technicians willing to repair obscure cameras and the value of old print resources like Asahi Camera guides as online research resources continue to disappear. The episode closes with the usual invitation for listeners to join future recordings and shape upcoming topics.

AI-generated summary. May not capture every detail — read the full article below for the complete picture.

For Episode 114, we were really missing some of our overseas listeners so we decided to shift time zones and record at a more European friendly time zone…on a Saturday!

We were down two hosts, but joining Paul, Stephen, and Mike were Bob Rotoloni, Greg Harp, Leo Lukens, Leon “mamp” Blankenhorn, Norris Liu, NP, Ron Gee, Wayne Scheipers, and Will Pinkham.

Mike starts out with a heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed to the care package after his unexpected surgery (which also is why we’ve been short on episodes lately), but we quickly get into GAS with Wayne’s fancy new Nikon Zf. We compare it to some other Nikon DSLRs, but quickly get back to film business comparing the viewfinders of the Nikon S2 and SP rangefinders.

Norris covers some of his Texas auction pickups including a crazy spinning 360 degree panoramic camera which then leads to a short discussion of every other 360 cameras we could think of!

Paul shares with us his challenges with a Ikoflex TLR which he says you need a manual to operate and Mike gets into his recent obsession with Arco 35 “Japanese Retinas” to which he is trying to collect them all. Norris Liu does a live unboxing of a Ricoh Singlex which he recently picked up and we get into the differences between that camera’s Nikon F lens mount comparing it to real Nikon cameras and their Nikon F mount.

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!

For this episode, I’m trying out a new transcript feature where the audio of this show is automatically transcribed into a text file with time stamps. It doesn’t get the names of the people who are speaking but the text is mostly accurate so if you’d like to read along, check it out!

https://mikeeckman.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/CamerosityEpisode114Transcript.txt

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 our next episode, we are going to be giving out a bit of homework to our hosts and callers. We want everyone to come prepared to discuss up to 4 cameras and rank them however you like. You can pick your 4 favorite cameras, your 4 most hated cameras, 4 cameras you find the most interesting. It doesn’t really matter the ranking, just rank 4 cameras and be prepared to talk about them! We are going to be recording episode 115 on Monday, October 26th at 7pm Central Daylight Time, 8pm Eastern Daylight Time, and 11am Tuesday the 27th Australian Eastern Daylight Time (Sydney). For more time zones, please consult the World Time Buddy calculator and plug in your time. Make sure you set your calendars and look out for the show announcement at the usual locations and be prepared to join us!

In This Episode

0:13 – Intro and catching up after a long break
2:01 – Mike gives thanks for the listener care package during surgery recovery
4:02 – Wayne’s new Nikon Zf, compared with Z5 and D3200
6:39 – Leo’s Nikon S2 rangefinder with 35mm f/2.5, and SP haze problems
10:12 – Kodak Vision3 250D without Remjet from Atlanta Film Company
13:22 – 3D World TL-120 three-lens 3D camera and Nishika N8000
19:17 – Stereo camera haul: Realist 45, David White, Wirgin Stereo Cameras
22:56 – Rare Hachiyo Stereo Alpin and Haneel TriVision Bakelite stereo camera
25:44 – Texas estate auction lots and Globuscope 360° panoramic camera
28:19 – Other spinning panoramic cameras: Lomography Spinner 360, Seitz Roundshot Medium Format Camera
29:15 – Auction shipping costs and caveats
33:54 – Bob Rotoloni’s Nikon rangefinder book versus Larry Gubas Zeiss-Ikon reference books
35:38 – Argus K, Argus B, Argus A and C3 finds
41:20 – Rapitake, Whittaker Micro-16 and Ansco Memo cassette reloading
45:38 – Collectors who accumulate many copies of one camera
47:14 – Fixing a Kodak Retina’s Compur shutter
48:36 – Will’s Ricoh 500, freeing a stuck focus, and Graflex 35
51:47 – Steven’s Olympus mju mini Digital S color collecting
54:00 – Patience with deals, plus a cheap Nikon 18-200mm VR lens
56:41 – Ikoflex quirks and Kine Exakta interlocks and self-timer
1:00:40 – Live unboxing of the Ricoh Singlex and its Nikon F-mount
1:06:30 – Arco 35 rangefinders and the coupled View Arco viewfinder
1:13:22 – Budget Linholf Technar unboxing
1:15:20 – Will Travel 4×5 with Nikonos rangefinder and Topcor 90
1:16:21 – Meyer Optik Primotar E and lenses with limited taking apertures
1:22:57 – Pentina and the French Telka III 6×9 folder
1:24:56 – Wrap-up, ideas for future shows including motion picture cameras

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, Stephen, 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.

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