Classic Camera Reviews

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Classic Camera Reviews
The “User Collectible” NPC 195: ...With Fuji Instant Film
Roger W. Hicks  |  Nov 08, 2012  |  First Published: Oct 01, 2012  | 

Limited production, exquisite fit and finish, and usability, too: how much more does it take to qualify a camera as a classic, or a collectible? Maybe a good dash of eccentricity; and the NPC 195 qualifies on all counts.

 

The fortunes of NPC (Newton Plastics Corporation) rose and fell with those of Polaroid. They were probably best known to most photographers for their Polaroid proofing backs using the late Marty Forscher’s patents for optical-fiber transfer of the image, though they also made a superb tripod head of unique design (the Pro-Head), a microscope camera, and more. They did a lot of government work, including for NASA, but a few years ago, after decades of success, they closed their doors.

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These Are the Cameras Used By 10 of the World's Most Famous Photographers
Jason Schneider  |  Aug 28, 2020  | 

When it comes to capturing timeless and transcendent photos, everyone knows that the person behind the camera is the most crucial factor and that the particular gear, he or she used, is less important. However, the camera is not insignificant to the creative process.

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Classic Camera Reviews
Tokyo Camera Show; Used, Collectible, And User-Collectible Results
S. "Fritz" Takeda  |  Sep 01, 2009  | 

The 31st Used Camera Show 2009 took place for six days earlier this year at the Exhibition Floor of the Matsuya department store, Ginza, Tokyo.

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Classic Camera Reviews
Tokyo Used Camera Show; Big Crowds, Despite “Digitization”
S. "Fritz" Takeda  |  Oct 01, 2007  | 

Some 15,000 visitors attended the 29th Used Camera Show sponsored by ICS (Import Camera Society) at Matsuya department store's convention hall, in which 19 leading used camera shops in Tokyo participated earlier this year. According to the show's organizers, the show generated some 15 percent more traffic compared with last year, despite a predicted decline in the...

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Classic Camera Reviews
Tokyo’s Used Camera Show 2006; Rare And Collectible Showcase
S. "Fritz" Takeda  |  Jul 01, 2006  | 

Tokyo, Japan--Ginza is Tokyo's Fifth Avenue. Cartier, Chaumet, Dior, Hermes, Tiffany, Harry Winston, and all the other flamboyant luxury stores are there. Department stores are there as well, but unlike their counterparts in the Western world, they are quality shops with many chauffeur-driven limousines in the parking lot. One of the most fashionable department stores...

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Classic Camera Reviews
Topcon RE Super: The First 35mm SLR With TTL Metering
John Wade  |  Nov 15, 2013  |  First Published: Oct 01, 2013  | 

Cameras with built-in meters were not rare in the 1960s, but the problem with camera meters before the Topcon RE Super was that the cell took in a different view than that of the lens. Using a standard lens that was mostly okay, but if a wide-angle or telephoto lens were fitted, changing the field of view and the part of the subject needing to be accurately metered, it was a different matter.

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Classic Camera Reviews
User Collectible Panoramic Cameras: Digital Is Easy…These Are For Film Buffs
John Wade  |  Jan 15, 2013  |  First Published: Dec 01, 2012  | 

Making panoramic pictures in the digital age is easy. But it’s a lot more fun to use classic panoramic cameras, many of which can still be bought and used today.

 

The first panoramic camera was the Megaskop, made in 1844 to produce daguerreotypes on silver-plated copper plates, 4.7x17.5” wide. Later, there were Cirkut cameras, made first by the Rochester Panoramic Camera Company in 1904 and later by Kodak. These cameras were, and still are, used to produce super-wide school or sports club pictures. As the exposure was made, a clockwork motor rotated the camera on its tripod while inside the film traveled from one spool to another, past a slit at the focal plane.

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Classic Camera ReviewsMirrorless Camera NewsVideos
Using a 1950 Plastic Lens on a Mirrorless Camera for Retro Fun (VIDEO)
Cynthia Boylan  |  Dec 01, 2015  | 

What's it like to use a strange plastic camera lens from 1950 on a modern mirrorless camera? That's the subject of this latest "Weird Lens Challenge" video from photographer Mathieu Stern.

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Classic Camera Reviews
Voigtlander Bessa R2S R2C
Two New R2 Variations
Roger W. Hicks  |  Apr 01, 2003  | 

The Bessa-R2C and R2S are both variants on the superb R2. Instead of the Leica bayonet mount of the R2, however, the new cameras have the original 1932-1961 Contax mount (R2C) and the original 1948-1963...

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Classic Camera Reviews
Voigtlander’s Bessa R3M And 50mm f/2 Heliar Classic Lens; A Retro Classic
Roger W. Hicks & Frances E. Schultz  |  Apr 01, 2007  | 

Pick up the new Bessa R3M (or R2M--only the viewfinders differ) and it takes you back in time. At a solid 430 gm (a fraction over 15 oz) it has the heft and overall feel of a high-quality camera from the 1950s or '60s. Appropriately, it is the best Bessa yet, produced to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of Voigtländer, and is engraved...

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Voigtlnder’s Bessa R3A; A Rangefinder 35 With Electronic Shutter
Roger W. Hicks & Frances E. Schultz  |  Apr 01, 2006  | 

Just when you thought the R2 was the pinnacle of Voigtländer Bessa design, along came the R2A and R3A. They differ from the R2 in several ways, most notably the adoption of an electronic shutter allowing Aperture Priority automation; this is combined with a new meter. Other significant differences are a revised (and easier-to-use) rewind crank; the addition of a back lock...

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Voigtlnder’s VSL 43; A New Entry-Level Film SLR
Roger W. Hicks & Frances E. Schultz  |  Sep 01, 2006  | 

Is there still a demand for an entry-level film SLR camera? The folks at Voigtländer seem to think so, evidenced by their new VSL 43. It is very much an entry-level SLR, with a manually set (but completely battery-dependent) shutter from 1/2 sec to 1/2000 sec, flash sync at 1/60 sec, manual focusing, manual diaphragm, and manual film advance. There is a through-lens meter...

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Watch This Classic Nikon F5 SLR Commercial Shot with the Camera at 8 Frames Per Second
Dan Havlik  |  Apr 16, 2019  | 

Now here's something very cool for fans of Nikon's classic analog SLRs. Nikon Rumors has unearthed the below commercial from 1997 for the Nikon F5, which spotlights one its most unique features.

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Classic Camera Reviews
Werra; An East German Wonder
Roger W. Hicks  |  Feb 01, 2009  | 

The Germans notoriously have a word for the guilty pleasure of enjoying another’s misfortune or embarrassment: Schadenfreude.

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Classic Camera ReviewsLens NewsVideos
What It’s Like to Shoot with a 105-Year-Old Lens on a Sony Mirrorless Camera (VIDEO)
Dan Havlik  |  Nov 02, 2015  | 

Ever wonder what it might be like to use an ancient lens on a brand new digital camera? Photographer Mathieu Stern did so he created a cool new video series where he does just that.

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