This is a Watson 35mm scale focus folding pocket camera made by Welta-Kamera-Werk based out of Freital, Germany. The Watson was an export variant of the Welta Welti which is a very similar camera. Although the Welti/Watson line of cameras were not high end, they were not low end either.…
This is an Exakta VX 35mm SLR made in 1954 by Ihagee Kamerawerk based out of Dresden, Germany. The Exakta was in production from 1933 through 1970. The Exakta was notable as being the first ever Single Lens Reflex camera for both 127 roll film (1933), and 135 format 35mm…
What is it? This is a Wirgin Edinex II from 1951, built in Wiesbaden, West Germany. It is a scale focus 35mm camera with a relatively simple 3 speed + bulb shutter, and a relatively fast f/2.8 50mm lens. The Wirgin camera company has a confusing, but fascinating history that is…
This is an Aires 35-III L fixed lens rangefinder camera made by the Aires Camera Works corporation out of Tokyo, Japan. The design loosely resembles the Leica M series of the same era. This model was very popular in Japan and received glowing reviews from the media. The “L” in…
This is a Canon AV-1 35mm SLR camera which was the fourth in the family of Canon A-series film SLRs released in the late 1970s. The A-series was one of the most popular line of cameras in the world and helped cement Canon as one of the top camera makers…
What is it? This is a Miranda Sensomat 35mm SLR camera made by the Japanese Miranda Camera corporation. Although marketed as a budget model, the Sensomat line of cameras featured several features found in much more expensive cameras such as an interchangeable prism and stop down TTL metering. The Miranda…
What is it? This is a Kodak Retina IIa rangefinder camera built by Kodak AG, the German subsidiary of the Eastman Kodak company. Kodak released a series of German built Retina cameras starting with the original Retina in 1934, all the way through the non-folding Retina S2 in 1969. Throughout…
What is it? This is a Kiev 4 (Type 3) rangefinder camera made by Kiev Arsenal in Kiev, Ukraine, which at the time was part of the Soviet Union. Today, there is a whole sub-genre of cameras made in the Former Soviet Union which are popular with collectors. The common…
What is it? The front plate on this camera says it is an AGFA B2 Commander, which is a folding camera from the 1940s that takes 120 roll film and uses scale focus. Beyond that, I have struggled to find more information about this little camera online. What little I…
This is a Pentax Sv 35mm SLR film camera made by the Asahi Optical Company, based in Tokyo, Japan. The significant feature of the Sv is it’s inclusion of a self-timer which was not available on earlier models. It was one the last models of the Pentax S-series and was…
What is it? This is a Minolta XG7 (Minolta refers to it as an XG-7 on paper, but the camera’s name plate says XG7) which is a manual focus 35mm SLR camera introduced in 1977. The name XG7 refers to a model sold in the United States only. Minolta sold…
As my collection of old cameras grows, I feel as though I have learned a few things along the way. There are many sites on the ‘net from people like me who collect and talk about their cameras, so I thought it might be beneficial for anyone considering getting into…
