Vintage camera reviews, repairs and photography blog
This section of the site has reviews and repair information on the Vintage cameras I own or have owned
This is a quick pictorial review of the Mamiya/Sekor 500 DTL 35mm SLR camera which was introduced by Mamiya in the late 1960s. Mamiya/Sekor 500 DTL images My Mamiya/Sekor 500 DTL camera This camera is one of a very select few in my collection in that it was gifted to me. In fact, it was surprise gifted to me by a fellow camera collector John Bear, who also runs a vintage camera site called Camera Portraits. The story is that […]
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This post looks at the Elmo E-80 projector which is a standard 8 model made by Elmo, a very reputable manufacturer, in Japan in the early 1950s. Elmo E-80 Images My Elmo E-80 projector I bought this Elmo E-80 projector from eBay as an addition to my small (but worryingly growing) collection of movie projectors. It was sold as a working unit and it does power up and seems ok, but the two core mains lead supplied with it […]
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The subject of this short article is one of Canon’s early ventures into digital photography, the PowerShot A40 compact camera. This 2Mp, compact, zoom camera was made in about 2002 and offered a range of features for both the holiday snapshot photographer and the more advanced user. Canon PowerShot A40 Images My Canon PowerShot A40 I’ve had my copy of the PowerShot A40 for a number of months now having bought it when I became interested in vintage digital cameras […]
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This is a look at the Hitachi VM-C30E, an early VHS-C camcorder, which was made by Hitachi in Japan sometime in the early 1990s. Hitachi VM-C30E pictures My Hitachi VM-C30E camcorder This unit was an eBay purchase for a little over £10 which I bought simply as a nostalgic purchase. Being interested in the history of home photography, and with an eye to adding home movies to the Found-Film site, I’ve bought several 8mm cine films over the course of […]
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This post looks at the Nikon F-601 autofocus, 35mm, slr camera which was one of the higher, midrange offerings in Nikon’s line up of cameras in the early 1990s. Nikon F-601 Images My Nikon F-601 Camera I got my Nikon F-601 camera as part of a large collection of cameras which had been sold by what turned out to be rather an unscrupulous seller on eBay. They had bundled a large collection of faulty cameras and sold them as untested […]
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This post is about the Minolta Dynax 60 autofocus 35mm SLR which was the last 35mm film camera which Minolta produced, and a pretty capable performer is was too. Minolta Dynax 60 Images My Minolta Dynax 60 I paid a total of £2.99 for this camera, which was sold on ebay as faulty. The fault described was, ‘Camera faulty – back door stuck and won’t open’. I could see from the pictures the seller had posted that there was still […]
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The Waltax Junior is a 120 format, folding camera which was produced by Waltax in the early 1950s. It is a simple, cheap camera which was sold mostly as an entry level, holiday snap shot camera and that is reflected in the construction which is somewhat flimsy. Waltax Junior Images My Waltax Junior Camera I bought my copy of the Waltax Junior on eBay for a few pounds in an unknown condition. It’s certainly true to say that my camera […]
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The Ricoh Singlex II manual focus SLR camera was introduced by Ricoh in the mid 1970s as an improved version of their original Singlex TLS camera. Many of the changes introduced are cosmetic rather than revolutionary, but the Singlex II retains the solid, dependable attributes of the original camera. Ricoh Singlex II Images My Ricoh Singlex II camera This camera cost me £12 from ebay as a Buy it now, postage included sale. It was supplied as only a body, […]
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This is a look at the Braun Paxette interchangeable lens, viewfinder camera which was made by Braun of Nuremberg in the early 1950s. Braun Paxette Viewfinder camera images My Braun Paxette camera I found this camera as an untested auction sale on eBay with a starting price of £0.99 and eventually bought it for about £12 including the postage. When it arrived a few days after the sale ended, I discovered a clean unit in pretty good condition cosmetically, with […]
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The Pentax Spotmatic SP-500 is one of the cut-down versions of the Spotmatic series which Pentax launched after the original Spotmatic. The SP-500 lost the self timer from the spotmatic and also the top 1/1000 shutter speed (although it actually only lost the dial setting – the shutter still works at 1/1000). Pentax Spotmatic SP-500 Images My Pentax Spotmatic SP-500 I picked this camera up as part of a bundle of ‘untested’ cameras I bought from eBay. It was actually […]
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The Yashica J-3 is a 35mm Single Lens Reflex camera which was made in the early 1960s and features a useful range of shutter speeds, a built in light meter, a self timer and a universal M42 lens mount. Yashica J-3 Images My Yashica J-3 camera I bought my copy of the Yashica J-3 for £10 from ebay. It came with a Soligor 180mm telephoto lens and a 2X converter fitted, but for the purposes of the pictures above, I’ve […]
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In this post I’m going to show some pictures I took on my Fuji X-T1 mirrorless camera using a vintage Kodak Retina Ysarex f/2.8 50mm lens, made by Rodenstock, which was supplied as a standard lens on the Retina Reflex series of cameras. Of course, the Kodak Retina Ysarex won’t fit onto a Fuji X-T1 without an adapter, so to shoot these pictures I bought a cheap adapter from eBay to fit the lens on the camera. In fact, the […]
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Last week I picked up an Argus A2F viewfinder camera which I did a short review of here. I mentioned in that review that the shutter needed a clean and service, and this post covers the process I carried out whilst servicing the Argus A2F. Servicing the Argus A2F Images Servicing the Argus A2F Notes The actual procedure I used while servicing the Argus A2F is shown in the picture sequence above, but I’ll note down here anything which I […]
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The Argus A2F camera was one of the last of a series of viewfinder cameras made in the USA in the years just before and just after the second world war. At the time the series was made, they were a quite sophisticated camera for an American designed and made unit, although not in the same class as some of the German 35mm cameras of the time. My Argus A2F camera I found my Argus A2F camera on eBay in […]
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The Minolta Dynax 5000i SLR camera was produced by Minolta in Japan in the late 1980s as part of their second generation of auto focus, 35mm cameras. It was a mid range model in terms of feature set, although it was the entry level offering in their own camera range, sitting below the 7000i model. My Minolta Dynax 5000i Camera I actually bought my copy of the Minolta Dynax 5000i quite a while ago as part of a collection of […]
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