Cameras made in Germany (West or East)
This is the Werra, a 35mm scale focus camera produced in Jena, East Germany by VEB Carl Zeiss Jena starting in 1954. This is the first version in a long line of Werra cameras that were produced in a variety of configurations until 1968. Later versions of the Werra came …
This is a KW Prakti, a fully automatic 35mm camera produced by VEB Kamera und Kinowerke Dresden from 1961 to 1964. The Prakti is notable as being one of the first cameras to not only have an internal electric motor for advancing the film and cocking the shutter, but also …
Mistakes were made…again! Back in January, I posted a second look review of the Zeiss-Ikon Contessa 35, a camera that I had previously reviewed and drew some incorrect conclusions about due to me having a camera in less than stellar operational condition. A reader of this site named Peter noticed …
This is a Kodak Regent, a folding rangefinder roll film camera made in Stuttgart, Germany by Kodak AG starting in 1935. The Regent natively shoots eight 6cm x 9cm images on 620 roll film or with the use of a mask, sixteen 4.5cm x 6cm images. The Regent was a …
In my quest for cameras to review for this site, I’ll occasionally stumble upon some interesting lenses that I pick up to pair with the film cameras they are designed for, but sometimes I like to see what they can do digitally. There are a huge number of sites filled …
This is a Kodak Instamatic 500, a fully manual, but high end Instamatic camera built in Stuttgart, Germany by Kodak AG between the years 1963 to 1965. The Instamatic 500 was one of Kodak’s few Instamatic cameras built in Germany, by the same German division responsible for their premium Retina …
This is a Welta Weltini II, a 35mm folding rangefinder camera made by Welta Kamerawerke in Freital, Germany between the years 1938 and 1941. The Weltini II is similar to the Weltini I with a different top plate and cosmetics but is otherwise the same. Both cameras were rangefinder equipped …
This is a Zeiss-Ikon Voigtländer Vitessa 1000SR, a 35mm rangefinder camera produced under both the Zeiss-Ikon and Voigtländer names from about 1967 to 1970. This camera’s dual branding was a byproduct of Zeiss-Ikon’s 1965 merger with Voigtländer AG. Despite having the Zeiss-Ikon name, the camera was entirely designed and built …
This is a Rollei 35 T, a premium 35mm scale focus camera, built by Rollei-Werke Franke & Heidecke in Singapore starting in 1974. The Rollei 35 T was a later evolution of the original Rollei 35 which was first introduced in November 1966. When it was released, the Rollei 35 …
Mistakes were made. Pulling back the curtains here , I can imagine at least a few readers of this site believe there is a vault filled with a never-ending supply of mint condition, perfectly working cameras, glistening under hi-powered LED lights, much like how you might see fine works of …
This is a Zeiss-Ikon Cocarette 519/2, a folding bed camera that shoots 6cm x 9cm images on 120 roll film. The Cocarette was considered a premium model in Zeiss-Ikon’s post merger catalog. Originally a Contessa-Nettel model that was first produced around 1919, the Cocarette was continued under the Zeiss-Ikon brand …
There’s a saying that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and when it comes to prestige products like handbags, watches, and cameras, there are whole industries of companies looking to counterfeit those products and sell them as the real thing. For cameras, the most commonly imitated examples are screw …
