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A place for items that didn't fit anywhere else
This is sort of a miscellaneous page, for items that just didn't seem to quite fit into the other categories.
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What do think is the prettiest camera?
A while back I tried to compose a list of cameras I thought the most attractive to me in each of various categories (you are free to make your own list - this is just my favorites). In Twin Lens Reflex cameras, the Yashica 44 stood out to me. The smooth lines - I like this over their knob wind models. I like the two-tone coloring, maybe because most TLR's look so much alike with the all black (and me being a black camera body fan usually!)finish. The smaller TLR's in the 127 format seem cuter to me also. The Sawyers is more practical, but I still like the Yashica 44 most for looks. |
I like the lines of the Konica III
Konica III has always been a big favorite of mine for attractive lines and design. Konica often seemed to be a style leader - I think their first SLR was one of the most attractive designs made also - rare and hard to find now days though. Voightlander was a radical, which meant some very attractive cameras - I like the Vitessa which I talk about under folding cameras. Also some rather odd or unconventional cameras, including the Prominent shown below. |
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If only it was the real thing!
This is a beautiful camera, and it even says Leica on the top and lens cap. Who knows what it would be worth if it were the real thing, but it is just a Russian Fed 1 in Leica dress. Even the fake looks impressive when you show it off. From what I can tell checking it out, it is probably usable - but not perfectly so. I have some reservations about the shutter curtain condition - I suspect it has pinholes. So it is mainly just a show piece. I think it is my most impressive show piece for impressing friends - the gold look and wood veneer make it look expensive and rare to the average person. See favorite links page for a site with information on this and other Russian fake Leicas. |
How about ugly camera winners?
I have shown several cameras that may qualify for ugly in other sections, like the Mercury II and the Kodak 35RF. Here is another one that is ugly and awkward. The DeJur D-1 & D-3. I think it is actually cute even in it's homeliness, but nothing can change the fact it is awkward. I think it might qualify for the worst wind/viewfinder design. The viewfinder is on the right end of the camera (and rangefinder too in the case of the D-3), and the wind is there also. It starts in the middle of the top of the camera with a "rapid wind" lever. It is 2 stroke, and no way you can keep your camera to your eye or even close and wind with this baby. Lenses interchange, using the same thread as the Braun Paxette, but I haven't confirmed if they interchange (ie, are same body depth to focus the same).
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My only Stereo camera
The seller didn't quite know what he had, and I wasn't real sure myself. But since my 2nd 35mm camera I owned was a Photrix, it seemed like a Photrix stereo camera would be an appropriate addition to my collection. Like the Photrix, it is an Iloca product. Seems a little tempermental and I have yet to shoot it, but it does all seem to work. |
The camera that started this collection
I hadn't really been thinking about starting collecting again until fall 2002. I work in a photo store, and a customer through the door was inquiring about the value of a camera they purchased at a garage sale. I told them, and finding out they planned to put it on eBay made them an offer for myself. That is how I ended up with my Voigtlander Prominent. Soon after the bug had struck, I got signed up on eBay, and am collecting again. About 10 years ago I had a complete Prominent system - 2 bodies, 50mm f2 and f1.5 normals, 35mm and 100mm lenses and Turnit finder - that I really enjoyed using. Someday I may have that all again, but right now I at least have the one camera. It is a handsome camera of the quality of Leica and Contax. Many consider it awkward, primarily due to the placement of the focus around the rewind. Having shot them for many years, I find it comes quite naturally back to me again - probably still not quite as comfortable as conventional cameras, but fairly fast and natural.
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Prettiest 35mm SLR
There were many 35mm leaf shutter SLR cameras made in the 50's and 60's, starting with the Contaflex in the mid 50's. I loved the look of the original Contaflex I and II, but even more I like the clean lines of the first Retina Reflex. The 50mm f2 Xenon lens on the first Retina I thought had nicer lines and appearance than the later Retina Reflex S and after cameras. Also creating cleaning lines, though I don't like this feature, is putting the wind on the bottom. I think it is awkward, especially since most of us are used to top wind, but it does make for a cleaner look for the top. |
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