Foto-Flex TLR Camera
Marcy’s Foto-Flex Camera Review: Manufactured by Hadds Manufacturing in Chicago, the Foto-Flex has to be the ugliest camera I’ve ever seen. The Foto-Flex takes twelve square images on 127 film. It was in a box of cameras that I bought at an auction. Its made of metal, with a plastic viewfinder hood, and weighs close […]
Imperial 620
Imperial 620 and Imperial Herco 620: The Imperial Six-Twenty Snap Shot camera was made in the USA. It’s completely plastic, right down to it’s cute little plastic handle. It’s 2 3/4″ wide 3 1/8″ deep and 3 3/8″ tall (not including the viewfinder). There are absolutely no settings to have to fiddle with on this […]
Penny King
The Penny King Camera: Who cares if the Penny King is the cheeziest of the cheezy? As long as it has the MAGIC LENS. That MAGIC lens? It’s not made of diamonds or crystal … it’s not even cubic zirconia. It’s plastic. Magic plastic. Must be rare earth plastic. Made in Hong Kong, this camera […]
Zeiss Ikon Contessa 35
Contessa? An Italian countess? Italian royalty horning into this delicate photographic ecosystem that is my studio? My friend, Joanie, gave me this camera. She said, “Hey! I’ve got this old camera. Do you want it?” Like I’m going to say no? Turned out, it was this super cool little number – the Zeiss Ikon Contessa […]
Auto Flash Super 44
One day in an effort to promote world peace through junk store cameras, to lighten my load and to possibly get a little run in, I took a short train ride from our Airbnb rental ( a converted garage) into Brighton, England. I ended up lessening my load by one camera, then adding three, then […]
Birdseye Camera
I had some fun with the Birdseye camera today. Took my friend’s eagle sculpture out for a photo opp. (That’s at the bottom of the page.) The original review is here: Cam McCubbin sent the Birdseye to me, all the way from Canada. It accepts 620 film, so I re-loaded some 120 onto 620 spools. […]
Rollop
The Rollop. When my friend first gave this camera to me the name kept reminding me of Trollop. After a while, it became Roll-up … like, fruit roll-up. It hung out in the studio for nearly a year. I picked it up one day and thought, “I’m going to load this sucker!” I opened it […]
SceneX
This camera came all the way from Iowa – in its original box – “From DIXIE”. It came with it’s original instruction sheet. There was even film inside! This teeny tiny (2″ x 3 1/4″) plastic camera was made in the U.S.A. It takes 8 images on 828 film. I finished off the roll. The […]
Mini Camera
The hell I went through to get these images! The hell I say! I bought this “mini camera” off the Internet. When it arrived, there were two mini cameras in the box. I’m sure it was an oversight on the sender’s part, but it turned out to be a good thing for me. I have […]
Traveler 120
I found the “time” Traveler 120 camera in a junk store in Wheeler, Oregon. It weighs enough to anchor a small boat. Its made of metal. I think they call it pot metal? Manufactured by PHO-TAK CORPORATION, Chicago USA. It actually says “Time Traveler 120” on the front, but I don’t believe the word “time” is […]
Coronet 3-D
Mike Levy of SELECTING AND USING CLASSIC CAMERAS fame gave me this camera. It was kinda bunged up, but in working condition. Just the way I like ’em. Sporting a binocular viewfinder, this 3-D camera was manufactured in 1954. It has a little finger that you slide across the front to cock the shutter. […]
Sunbeam six-twenty
I purchased this camera at the Puget Sound Photographic Collector’s Society camera show. They hold this show every April in Kent, WA. I paid a whopping five bucks for it. It’s gray deco self is cute enough, but I knew I had to own it when I turned it upside down to find, “HELEN’s. 1956 Won it for a […]
Dover 620-A Camera
Manufactured in Dover, New Hampshire, the Dover 620-A is one of the weirdest cameras I’ve used. I bought it at a camera show. I bought it because it’s weird and four bucks was within my budget. When I carry this camera, I need nothing more … other than maybe flashbulbs. Stamped on the camera’s back is what might […]
Anscoflex and Anscoflex II
The Anscoflex and the Anscoflex II cameras were designed by Raymond Loewy (the same guy who designed the Studebaker Avanti & Lucky Strike cigarette package). The Anscoflex & Anscoflex II cameras have big, fabulously bright viewfinders. The Anscoflex II has two built-in filters, one yellow, one close-up. Only one filter can be used at a […]
Tower One-Twenty Flash
The Tower camera, sold by Sears, Roebuck and Co, takes eight 6×9 images on 120 film. The lens says “Precise” (impressive, eh?) “f110mm Tower lens”. This camera is all metal and weighs a ton! The viewfinder is on the side. As you can see, my flash attachment is kinda missing the most important part. I’ve […]
Wardette
The Wardette box camera … oh boy. Now we’re going to reminisce about Montgomery Ward. Monkey Ward’s used to have a photo section where they sold cameras and darkroom equipment. This camera was sold at Montgomery Ward stores and is a typical box camera. I like the patriotic theme, with those stars across the top of the […]
Rocket Camera
In the mid 1990’s we were driving to Alaska in an old beater Ford pickup, stopping here and there along the way. One of our stops was a junk store in Spuzzum, British Columbia. It was fate. It was kismet. It was absolutely meant to be. I can’t describe to you the importance of that moment in my life – and not […]
Brownie Hawkeye
My mom had one of these. If you were born before 1970, your mom probably had one of these too: When I was a kid, it sat on the floor in my older brother’s room. I remember picking it up and making the button click. Then I’d mess with both buttons and it wouldn’t click […]
Argus 21 Mark Finder
Marcy’s Argus 21 Camera Review: It’s been said that many professional photographers cut their photographic teeth using an Argus camera. Well, I broke a nail once. This particular Argus 21 came to me via eF**. From the moment I laid eyes on him, I knew he wanted to party! He was busting out of his […]