SEM Baby
I like to think I don’t have a “type”. I like colorful, little plastic cameras that make snapping noises. I like tin and Bakelite 127s. I do have some nice cameras – cameras that are too good for me. These are mostly gifts from people who never in a million years would have given me grampa’s […]
HIT Camera
Here’s a fun cam! Mike Levy sent me this HIT camera way back when. She fits perfectly inside the box she arrived in, though I’m not convinced this camera originally came from the factory in this box. I have a HIT knock-off (and have reviewed it). This actual HIT camera is quite chunky for […]
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 […]
Voigtländer Vitoret 110
The Voigtländer Vitoret 110 is the most fun I’ve had with a camera in a long time! Teeny tiny (a mere 4 5/8″ x 15/16″ x 1 3/8″) this 110 instamatic is made of very high quality plastic. There’s a sliding switch on the bottom that opens both the lens and the viewfinder covers. The […]
Yashica Electro GSN
I received the Yashica Electro G from Bob Hickey. It’s in great shape, except it’s missing the little button that you press to test the battery. No biggy. The GSN was in a box of junk I purchased at an auction for $6. I saw the box had a camera in it and I simply […]
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 […]
Bencini Comet
The guy at the Mini Flea Market in Brighton, England asked me, “Why did you choose that particular one?” The question surprised me and I halted for a moment. “What drew you to it?” he asked. As I’d sifted through his boxes of junk cameras, I kept in mind I only had just so much […]
Argus C3
This review is out of control. It’s nearing springtime and I need to weed it and trowel the rows. I’m not one for thinning my seedlings however so, if you’re going to read this, you’re going to suffer. I think it’s turning into my quest for World Peace, rather than an actual Argus review. My […]
Canon FT QL
It’s a Canon Ft QL. A client of mine said, “I know you like cameras. I’ve got a Minolta I want you to have.” Then she handed me a Canon FT. I’ve always been a Nikon girl, but what am I gonna do? I gave her a polite thank-you, deciding that I’d discretely throw it […]
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 […]
Hollywood Reflex
They say Hollywood is a tough town to get a break in … and this is one tough camera. A cast metal twin-lens reflex “style” (meaning, not the real thing) camera. Manufactured in 1947 … well, what do you know? I just happen to have a roll of 620 film that expired in May of ’47! […]
Univex Iris
The basics: Made by Universal Camera Corp. USA. The lens is an Ilex Vitar 50mm. 7.9 – 22f. Shutter speeds are “I”, “B” and “T”. Very deco, with a viewfinder on the top. It takes six exposures on Univex film. The lens assembly pops out, away from the body. Made of heavy metal and 2 […]
Perfex Fifty-Five
A Perfex to ponder: This camera sat on the shelf of a junk store near here for months! They wanted six bucks for it. Six bucks is well within my camera-buying budget, but what the heck was I ever going to do with a camera in THIS condition? It sat there for so long…I […]
Kiev 60
Forget the gym membership. Hefting this thing around will give you not only an upper body but also a core work out. A friend gave me this camera. With that TTL meter on top, it looks like it’s wearing a baseball cap sideways, doesn’t it? Meter and all, it weighs in at almost 4 pounds […]
Pilot 6
While tumbling the Pilot 6 camera about in my hands, I had this vision of Jessica Lang in the American Horror Stories series “Freak Show”. The thought holds true for my menagerie of messed up junk store cameras … “Zeez are my munsters.” I said, in Jessica Lang’s pretend German accent. “Zay ah my family, zeez […]
JEM Jr. Box Camera
Here’s a nifty all metal box camera that I picked up in Conway, WA. It’s got top and side viewfinders. Made by the J. E. Mergott Co. in Newark NJ, the camera takes eight 6×9 images on 120 film. On the top of the body is a small lever for “I” and “B” […]