When you collect vintage film cameras, if they don't work, just send it out for a CLA and some technician will take it apart, clean it up, lube what needs lubing, calibrate the shutter and it is ready to go, good as new!  How boring!  If the simplicity of CLAing a film camera is not enough of a challenge for you, perhaps you should consider collecting vintage digital cameras.  Incompatible memory cards, legacy file systems, unsupported USB cables, and batteries which no longer hold a charge are all the rage!

Although the era of digital cameras barely exceeds three decades, the earliest days of digital saw a tremendous amount of innovation and strange designs because camera makers were still trying to figure out what and how a digital camera should look and work like.

In this episode, the Camerosity crew (minus Anthony) go over this early innovative era of digital camera design and pick out some of the coolest cameras of the era.  Many of these cameras have early sensors which do not stand up to the quality of modern designs, but that's not why we collect them,

Joining Paul, Theo, and Mike are returning callers AJ Gentile, Larry Effler, Mark Faulkner, Miles Libak, Pat Casey, Stephen Strangways, and Will Pinkham and we cover a great deal of history regarding the earliest and most important digital cameras like the Kodak DCS-100, Nikon E2Ns, and Minolta RD-175.  We declare two cameras from the late 1990s to be historically significant moments in camera design, on par with that of the Leica and Nikon F.

Stephen Strangways shares with us his wide depth of knowledge about camera sensors.  We discuss the differences between CCD and CMOS sensors, why companies made the switch between the two, motivations of Live View, and why DSLRs eventually gave way to digital mirrorless cameras.

We discuss the limitations of early CCD sensors, what are hot mirror filters, why we think Nikon missed the mark on mirrorless, plus we cover a great deal of cool digital cameras, some of which have features cameras today don't have, like the Sony Cybershot DSC-F828, Olympus E-100 RS, Panasonic GF1, and the Ricoh G900.

In addition, Mike shares his large collection of 17 Pentax Q-series cameras, plus a very strange "camera coffin", a wooden Nikon rangefinder camera that has the guts of a Sony alpha mirrorless inside.

As it is officially the holiday season and each of our schedules has gotten increasingly complicated, we do not yet know when the next show will be, or what we will discuss.  Rest assured, that once we know, you'll know.  Be sure to follow us on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, our new BlueSky page, and right here on mikeeckman.com.

In This Episode

• What Exactly is 'Vintage Digital'? / Differences Between Still Video and Digital Cameras
• Kodak Had the Most to Lose with Digital But Pioneered it Anyway
• Apple Quicktake 100 / The Kodak DCS-100 Was Used in the Gulf War
• Did Kodak's Involvement in APS Impact Their Role in Developing Digital Cameras?
• Early CCD Sensors Were Extremely Difficult to Make, Resulting in Smaller Sensors
• The Sony Digital Mavica Was the Beginning of the End for Polaroid
• The Digital Mavica Was Also the Introduction of Digital to Many People
• Floppy Discs Gave Way to PCMCIA Cards and Eventually Flash Cards
• So Many Different Formats, MemoryStick, SmartMedia 3v and 5v, Compact Flash, etc
• Minolta RD-175 DSLR / Early Digitals Didn't Write JPGs / Converting Extinct Formats
• Sony Cybershot DSC-F828 / Sony's Night Shot Feature and How it Worked / Digital IR Photography
• Early Digital Cameras Had Weak IR Filtration, Throwing a Color Cast on Images / Hot Mirror Filters
• Why Did Digital Cameras Switch from CCD to CMOS Sensors? / Live View and Video Recording
• Problems with Sony Sensors / Canon and Fuji FinePix Pro SLRs / Leica M9 Sensor Problems
• Early Live View Sensors Would Overheat / Externally Cooling Camera Sensors
• What Drives the Popularity of CCD Sensors Today?
• Larry and Paul Love the Canon G-Series / Canon Color Science / Olympus E-100 RS
• Sigma Foveon Sensors / Foveon Merrills and Quattro Cameras
• The Nikon D1 Was the Watershed Moment for DSLRs / Nikon E2Ns
• Canon Did Well with the Digital Rebel and 18-55mm Kit Lens
• Kodak DCS Pro SLR/14 Was the First Full Frame DSLR In a Nikon Body and Mount
• Polaroid Polachrome Instant Slide Films
• The Switch from DSLR to Mirrorless / Panasonic GF1 / Sony SLT Cameras
• Nikon One and Pentax Q-Series Mirrorless Cameras / Nikon Missed the Mark On Mirrorless
• "No one will ever shoot the Superbowl with a smartphone"...or Will They?
• Digital Mirrorless Cameras Generally Have Poorer Battery Life Compared to DSLRs
• Most Camera Makers Never Made a Profit off Making Digital Cameras
• In February 1986 Herbert Keppler Made Several Predictions About Electronic Cameras
• Leica M11 / Pentax W90 / Canon Digital Rebel / Epson R-D1 / Pentax 645 Digital / Ricoh G900
• Kurt's Strange Nikon Rangefinder Wooden Sony Digital Camera / Hasselblad Lunar and Stellar Digicams

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

The Camerosity Podcast is now on BlueSky @camerosity.bsky.social.  This modern, and clean replacement for Twitter is a nice alternative to cluttered social networks out there.  Follow us there for show announcements and other content.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Keppler's Vault 86: Electronic Still Photography - https://mikeeckman.com/2021/03/kepplers-vault-86-electronic-still-photography/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

At the end of Episode 80, we promised an entire show dedicated to Zeiss-Ikon.  Unfortunately, things got in the way of us being able to dedicate the necessary time to prepare to cover such a complex and important company, so we decided to pivot and do another GAS episode.

Anthony and Theo were only able to make brief appearances, but joining Paul and Mike on this show was a well rounded cast of callers including AJ Gentile, Antony Hands, Fernando from Germany, Rafael E, Wannes Scheipers, Will Pinkham, and first time callers, Andrew Curley, Charles Lawson, and Jem!

A large number of Zeiss-Ikon cameras were discussed including the Contax rangefinders, Contarex, folding Nettars, Contina, Contaflex, and the square format Tenax and Taxonas.  AJ shares his thoughts on his recent pickups of a Aires 35-V and Rolleiflex SL35, Wannes picks up an interesting book about the Kodak Vest Pocket, and Charles shares a story of how he gets his Kiev cameras repaired by a Ukrainian war hero.

Mike talks about a very rare camera he was able to "borrow" from Used Photo Pro in Indianapolis, along with some recommendations on the most innovative and best user American rangefinders and medium format cameras, and a very well done book about the career of Heinz Waaske.  We also cover a very strange 1980s Fisher-Price video camera that records video onto standard audio cassettes, the I'm Back Digital Camera back, why auto focus lens adapters all suck, and Antony shares his love for the JollyLook foldable instant camera and pinhole camera.

This was a wide ranging episode with a huge number of different cameras and topics covered, so rather than continue to promote it here, I recommend you hit the play button below, or on whatever your favorite podcast player is and enjoy!

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you! Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show. We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

For Episode 82 we are going back to digital....waaay back and going to attempt to cover some early digital cameras.  While everyone knows that digicams are seeing a resurgence of interest, what were some of the earlier models that are worth checking out!  Are there any undiscovered gems out there?  Even I don't know the answer to that one!  We will record Episode 82 on Monday, November 25th at 7pm Central Standard Time and 8pm Eastern Standard Time.

In This Episode

• Mike Fell for GAS After the 80s Episode / Pentax ME-F with AF 35-70 f/2.8 Lens
• Mike Convinces Roberts Camera to Loan him a Detrola 400 / The Tamarkin Auction Was Last Saturday
• What Were the Best American Cameras Ever Made? / Bell & Howell Foton / Kodak Ektra / Kodak Signet Series
• Kodak 35 / Military Kodaks / All of the Signets are Good Except the Kodak Signet 80
• Bridge Cameras / Ricoh Mirai / Olympus IS-Series / Canon Photura
• Wayne Picks Up a Book About the Kodak Vest Pocket Cameras in World War I
• Kameras für Millionen - Heinz Waaske, Konstrukteur / Will Gets a Ricoh 500 and Ricoh-Matic / Zorki 10 and 11
• Fisher-Price PXL2000 Video Camera / Recording Videos of Punk Rock Shows on Cassette Tapes
• Zeiss-Ikon Contarex Bullseye / Zeiss-Ikon Taxona / Tenax Cameras / Contarex Lenses
• Rafael's Favorite Camera is the Zeiss-Ikon Contina / Contaflex and Magazine Film Backs
• Hasselblad XPan and SWCs / Converting Hassy 500 Backs to Shoot 35mm / Horseman 3D
• Folding Zeiss Nettars and Ikontas / Zeiss Made Great Triplets
• Paul Bought a Graflex XLSW From Tom Zoss / Steve Grimes Modified Cameras
• Is the Zeiss-Ikon Contax IIIa a Good User Camera? / Adapting Contax Lenses
• Charles Gets His Kiev and Contaxes Repaired by a Ukrainian War Hero
• AJ Shot Mike's Gifted Kodak Tourist and Picked up a Rolleiflex SL35 and an Aires 35-V
• Aires Made Lots of Good Cameras / Aires III-C
• Sending Cameras to Canada May Get Rejected if You say its a Camera on the Customs Form
• Kowa SW Wide Angle Camera / Kepler Telescope Viewfinders
• Why Did Nikon and Others Have Different Names for the Same Cameras?
• Minolta Dynax 7s Are Great, But.... / 3D Printing Replacement Camera Parts
• Jollylook Instant Camera / Jollylook Pinhole Camera
• Another Underappreciated American Camera is the Argus Argoflex Forty
• Canon P and IVS Rangefinders / Horseman Convertible / Viewfinder Photography
• I'm Back Digital Adapter for Film Cameras / Other Film to Digital Adapters
• Contax Rangefinder Adapters to Nikon Z Mount / Autofocus Adapters Suck

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Used Photo Pro (Robert's Camera) - https://usedphotopro.com/

JollyLook - https://jollylook.com/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

Everyone get out your Aqua Net hair spray and G.I. Joe lunchboxes because it is time to hop in the Hot Tub Time Machine and go back to the 80s!  In this, the 80th episode of the Camerosity Podcast, we revisit the decade where Michael Jackson and Madonna reigned supreme, taking a look at everyone's favorite cameras from that decade.  The Nikon F3, Minolta Maxxum 7000, Olympus XA2, the Minox 35 series, Contax RTS II, and many, many more.

Joining Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on this show are returning callers AJ Gentile, Mark Faulkner, Miles Libak, Mina Saleeb, Pat Casey, Patrick Rapps, Will Pinkham, and first time caller Christopher Wells.

Each person shares stories of the cameras they used during the 1980s, but Patrick Rapps didn't get the message about the 20th century and went back all the way to 1889 with his beautiful and fully functioning Kodak No.2 String Set.  This camera was the follow-up to the original 1888 Kodak and shares many of the same design features, including that camera's distinct round film gate!

We get into a little bit of history of early point and shoot cameras and how their autofocus systems work and why so many of these early cameras consistently have such high image quality.  We discuss the history and merits of Kodak's Disc film cameras and two features of those cameras that influenced cameras that would come later.  We revisit the era of electronic still video cameras like the Canon Xap Shop and the original Sony Mavica.  We talk about focusing auto focus cameras and reflect back on how focus screens work from the Rick Oleson episode.  Theo shares with us a strange 3 lens 110 film camera, and finally, we answer a question asked in the Camerosity Facebook page about a recommendation of a compact SLR for a 10 year old.

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you! Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show. We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.  

Our next episode will be Episode 81 and we are planning on tackling the complex and wonderful world of Zeiss-Ikon.  Since the recording of Episode 80 however, some scheduling conflicts have come up which may require us to pivot this show and postpone it.  We won't know until we get closer to the show date, so if Episode 81 comes and it is not about Zeiss, we didn't forget, we just had to change at the last minute.  As of right now however, it is still on.  We will record Episode 81 on Monday, November 11th at 7pm Central Standard Time and 8pm Eastern Standard Time.

In This Episode

• Mike Forgets How Long Ago the 1980s Was / The Leica M6 Was Popular with Hobbyists
• Minolta Maxxum 7000 and Nikon N2020 Were Popular for the Every Man
• Nikon 4004 and 5005s Were Dogs, but the 6006 and 8008/8008s Were Very Nice
• Pininfarina Designed Nikon SLRs in the 80s and Created the Red Stripe
• Anthony's Go To 80s Nikon is the Nikon FM2 / FM2 Motor Drives
• Converting Non-Ai Lenses to Ai / Theo Loves the Nikon FA
• Paul Loves the Nikon F3 / HP Finders / Nikon F3P / Nikon FM3a
• Nikon L35AF "Pikaichi" / Nikon OneTouch AF3 / Pikaichi 46mm Lens Filters
• Olympus XA Series / Minox 35 Series / Agat 18K / Mamiya U
• Early Point and Shoots Had Superior Image Quality Due to Single Focal Length Lenses
• Canon MC / Plaubel 67W and 670
• Fuji Brought Back the Folding Camera with the GS645 / GS645W / GA645
• Patrick Rapps and His Kodak No.2 String Set from 1889 / The Original 1888 Kodak
• Don Goldberg Still Services the Minox 35 Series / Chinon Bellami / Canon Snappy S
• Canon Aqua Snappy and Minolta Weathermatic Underwater Cameras / Ricoh 500 ME / Yashica T-Series
• Mike and Mina Both Love the Contax RTS II / Contax RTS III / Repairing Contax SLRs
• Autofocus SLRs Were Not Meant to Be Manually Focused / A Nod Back to the Rick Oleson Episode
• Manual Focus SLRs with Focus Confirmation / Canon AL-1 / Minolta X-600 / Pentax ME-F
• Cameras Supporting External Autofocus Lenses / Canon T80 / Revue AC3 w/ Revuenon AF Lens /  Nikon F3AF
• Olympus and Konica Both Gave up on Interchangeable Lens SLRs in the 1980s / Konica Tomato and Konica Recorder
• Trivia: Name a Rangefinder Camera with Leica Thread Mount You Could Still Buy New in the 1980s
• Kodak Disc Film / T-Grain Film / Scanning Disc Film
• Mike Forgets What Decade He's In And Talks about APS Film
• Tasco Binoculars Camera / Canon Xap-Shot and Still Video Cameras / Sony Mavicas / Bronica GS-1
• Mark Picked Up a Pentax 17 / Film for Classics 620 Spools / Theo Gets a Rollei 35AF
• Listener Question: What Small Form Factor SLR Would You Recommend for a 10 Year Old?

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

On this episode of the Camerosity Podcast, the guys took a suggestion off the top of the Camerosity Suggestion Box™ and dedicated this episode to medium format SLRs.  That's right, finally, an entire episode dedicated to Bronica, Mamiya, Rolleiflex, Kiev, and Norita SLRs (but not that H-brand).

Joining Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on this show are returning callers A.J. Gentile, Brian Zeman, Miles Libak, Will Pinkham, and first time callers Andrew Wells, Fernando from Germany, Henry Blanton, Robert Wawrzinek, and Tom Zoss.

The show gets off to a quick start with the Bronica system, one that Mike has limited experience with, but the listeners make quick work out of recommending an accessory that Mike immediately decided he needed.  Our love for this Japanese SLR starts with the early S-series, moves into the GS, and finally ETRS series, but one is a clear favorite.

Another well received SLR is the Kowa Six which Mike has been tirelessly shooting in the weeks prior to this show, ready to share his thoughts.  Anthony and Andrew both share their strong desires to own a Rolleiflex SL66, and Fernando shares his love for Soviet and East German medium format SLRs.

A huge number of "less common" cameras like the KW Reflex Box, VEB WEFO Master Reflex, Fujita Six, Folmer-Graflex National Graflex, and both the horizontal and vertical versions of the Ihagee Exakta 66 get their mentions.  We point out the 6x6 SLR with the fastest medium format lens ever made, who is best to repair Mamiya SLRs, and ponder the age old question, "Why didn't anyone ever make a 6x9 SLR?"

We get a little off topic, discussing John Minnick's Aero-Liberator SLRs used by Graham Burnett, Graflex's "Stove Top" SLRs, and Tom Zoss's custom Graflex XL with a very wide Rodenstock lens on it.  Plus, as an added bonus, we cover the only 16mm SLR in any of our collections, the KMZ Narciss SLR!

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you! Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show. We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

Our next episode will be Episode 80 and we're taking the opportunity to dedicated this episode to cameras of the 80s (you get to pick the century).  The 1980s saw a huge advancement in auto focus SLRs, the use of lightweight plastics, and the beginning of the "bridge camera" era.  If you're fans of gems like the Nikon FM2, Minolta X-700, Leica M6, or the Yashica Samurai, this is the episode for you!  We will record Episode 80 on Monday, October 28th at 7pm Central Daylight Time and 8pm Eastern Daylight Time.

In This Episode

• Mike Owns Two Bronica SLRs / Bronica S2 / Bronica GS-1
• Kiev-60 SLR w/ Screw Lens Mount Adapter / ARAX Repaired and Upgraded Cameras
• Order Matters on the Kiev Cameras / Repairing Kiev SLRs / Kievs with Pentacon Six Mount
• Paul Declares the Bronica and Kowas to Be Value Leaders / Early Bronica S-Series
• Bronica S2 Has a Removable Helicoid Which Adds Flexibility / Adapting Other Lenses to Bronicas
• Mike's Early Review of the Kowa Six /  Kowa 66
• Fujita 66 / Kalimar Six / Kodak Duo Six-20
• John Minnick and Graham Burnett's Aero-Liberator SLR / Stove Top Graflex SLRs
• Mike is Working on a Review for the Folmer-Graflex National Graflex
• KW Reflex-Box is a Box Camera That's Also an SLR
• Brian GASses Mike into Buying a Winder Grip for the Bronica GS-1
• Anthony's Favorite Medium Format SLR is the Rolleiflex SL66 / The Scheimpflug Effect
• Ihagee Exakta 66 Horizontal and Vertical Cameras
• Kochmann Reflex-Korelle / Master Reflex
• Norita 66 and Pentacon Six / The Noritar 80mm f/2 Lens is Faster than Most Medium Format SLR Lenses
• Repairing the Rolleiflex SL66 / Watching Watch Repair Videos on YouTube / Chris Sherlock's Camera Repair Videos
• Bill Rogers is a Great Resource for Mamiya SLR Repair / Mirror Stop on the Mamiya 645s
• How Many People Shoot Both Medium Format Rangefinders and SLRs?
• Nobody Made a 6x9 SLR / The Fuji 690 Rangefinder Series is as Close as You'll Get
• Two Huge Cameras are the Gowland Flex and Fuji GX680
• What is the Difference Between the Mamiya RB67 and RZ67?
• KW Pilot 6 / Chinese Great Wall DF Series
• Tom Zoss's Custom Graflex XL with Rodenstock Wide Angle Lens
• Mike Likes Vignetting / Bill Rogers for Mamiya Repair / Who is Repairing Retinas Now
• The Only 16mm SLR We Know About / KMZ Narciss

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

One of the benefits to having four hosts is that if something comes up and someone can't be on a recording, the show can go on.  For Episode 78, we were short Anthony, so what did the guys decide to talk about while he wasn't there?  One of Anthony's favorite cameras of course!  The Zeiss-Ikon Super Ikonta 532/16 is a medium format folding camera that shoots 6cm x 6cm images and is one of the very few medium format folding cameras with both a rangefinder and fast f/2.8 lens.

In addition to it being one of Anthony's favorite cameras, it is also a favorite of professional photographer Johnny Martyr who, along with a stable of vintage Leicas, shoots his Super Ikonta professionally, offering medium format prints to his clientele.  On this episode, Johnny shares with us his motivation on why he incorporated medium format into his business and why he chose this specific camera.

Episode 78 was light on guests as Paul, Theo, and Mike were also joined by returning callers AJ Gentile and Miles Libak, but we made up for it with a nice discussion of GAS!  The conversation eventually moved from 6x6 folders to 4.5x6 folders and Mike gave his recommendation on one of the best Japanese 4.5x6 folding rangefinder cameras, the Konica Pearl IV.  In addition, Mike also recommended an unlikely 6x9 folding camera as a value champion that still punches above its weight with a great lens.

Paul shares some recent cameras he's dug out of his crypt and Theo talks about his recent adventures with a Nikon S2 and Olympus Pen FT and how he accidentally redscaled some film without knowing it.  We briefly discuss the merits of prism based viewfinders and what would happen if you purposely loaded black and white film backwards.

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you! Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show. We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

Episode 79 will be all about medium format SLRs.  If you're interested in Bronica, Mamiya, Kowa, Norita, Praktisix, (but hot Hasselblad) SLRs, this is the episode for you!  We will record on Monday, October 14th at 7pm Central Daylight Time and 8pm Eastern Daylight Time.

In This Episode

• Only Three Hosts / AJ Working on His New Blog / Paul is Still Doing Long Trips for Cameras
• Johnny Martyr is Exploring Medium Format / Voigtländer Perkeo Inspired Him
• Welta Weltur / Zeiss Super Ikonta B and Fast f/2.8 Lenses
• Paul’s Loves the Plaubel Makina 6x7
• Viewfinders Made with Prisms vs Beamsplitters / Kodak Medalist has a bright viewfinder
• Mike Randomly Sends Cameras to Johnny / Miles Had an Ensign Selfix 820 Special 
• Super Ikonta 6x4.5 / Strap Lugs / Paper Thickness Can Cause Transport Issues in Some Cameras
• Welta Weltini is Too Complex / Semi Leotax
• Konica Pearl II, III, or IV Are All Great 4.5x6 Cameras
• The Voigtlander Bessa 66 is Nice / Gallus Delux is a French Foth Derby / Voigtländer Perkeo 127
• Kodak Tourist / Voigtländer Bessa III 667 /  Fujifilm GF670 Professional / Balda Super Baldax
• Theo has been shooting the Nikon S2 and the Olympus Pen FT
• Highlight is the Robot II which accidentally used to red scale film
• Does anyone know what happens in putting B&W film backwards?
• Very Easy to Put Film Backwards in a Mamiya RB67
• Mike got a Zeiss-Ikon Hexacon / Pentacon FM
• The Mamiya 6 is Just As Good as the Mamiya 7
• Mike Wants to Shoot Cameras to Just Enjoy Them Now
• Miles is Testing an Uncoated Biogon on a Prewar Contax
• A Brief History of the Contax and Why We've Never Done a Zeiss-Ikon Episode

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Johnny Martyr - https://johnnymartyr.wordpress.com/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

In what is a record for the longest time between recording and release, Episode 77 is finally here!  Recorded more than 2 weeks ago, in this episode we follow up Episode 76 with a second episode about "stuff we know".  Before they were podcast superstars, Theo, Mike, and Paul have blogs and we wanted to share some behind the scenes secrets of the wonderful world of blogging.

Joining us are fellow bloggers, Peggy Marsh, Alex Luyckx, Eric Jason, Dan Cuny, and Jim Grey who tell us their origin stories, what their process is for how they choose what to write about, and what's next for their blogs.  Joining us are non bloggers, A.J. Gentile and Will Pinkham who get inspired and consider making their own blog!

As a group, we also discuss the state of blogging, has the luster of long form reviews been replaced by byte sized content from TikTok and Instagram Reels?  Alex discusses his experiences with Adox Scala and black and white reversal developers, Dan Cuny talks about his collection of vintage film negatives that he scans and posts online, and Paul reveals a guy he found in China that can modify standard Hasselblad backs, turning them into Hasselblad XPan sized panoramic backs.

Because of a combination of regular delays along with a laptop crash which required this episode to be edited from beginning to end twice, Episode 78 has already been recorded before Episode 77 was ready for release.  Paul, Theo, and Mike had an intimate discussion with Johnny Martyr, A.J. Gentile, and Miles Libak about shooting medium format, Mike's favorite Japanese 4.5x6 folding camera, and how the process of professionally shooting film in the digital age has changed from before.

Episode 79 will be all about medium format SLRs.  If you're interested in Bronica, Mamiya, Kowa, Norita, Praktisix, (but hot Hasselblad) SLRs, this is the episode for you!  We will record on Monday, October 14th at 7pm Central Daylight Time and 8pm Eastern Daylight Time.

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

In This Episode

• How Blogging Relates to This Podcast / A Private Blogger Facebook Chat Has Improve All Our Sites
• Will There Ever Be a Video Version of the Camerosity Podcast?
• Peggy Marsh from Camera Go Camera / Do Not Reverse Her Blog's Name / Argus C3 / Purma Special / Photavit 828 / Agilux Agimatic
• Alex Luyckx and His Origin Story / Alex Loves Seeing How Different Developers Can Change How a Film Looks
• Developing Adox Scala Film / Black & White Reversal
• Set a Realistic Time Table for New Articles to Maintain Excitement and Quality
• Paul Has a Blog and He Reviews One Camera Every Decade!
• Eric Jason from Aperture Preview / Samoca 35 II / Perfex Cameras / Radio Companies That Also Made Cameras / Clarus MS-35
• Eric Works for Retrospekt Repairing Polaroids
• Has Blogging Lost Its Luster? / How Much Readership Is There? / TikTok and Reels Byte Sized Content / Mr. Beast
• Dan Cuny Gives Mike a Run for His Rare Camera Review Money / Inoca Six Stereo Camera
• Mike Has No Idea How Many Cameras He Has / Cornu Ontoflex TLR
• Dan Loves to Digitize Old Negatives and Plates / Old Images Tell A Great Story / Mike Doesn't Like Ansel Adams
• Jim Grey Joins the Show and Talks about Down the Road / Operation Thin the Herd
• Reply to Every Comment / Jim Acquires a Camera For the Purpose of Reviewing It
• AJ Started a Youtube Channel During the Pandemic to Stay Busy
• Tips For Starting a Photo Blog or Podcast / Do What You Love / Your Voice Matters / Have a Thick Skin / If You Want to Make a Blog, Do It!
• Perhaps the Greatest Thing About Blogging is the Content is Searchable / Sticky Content
• The Wayback Machine is Great for Web 1.0, But Not So Much for Current Gen Blogs
• Paul Found a Guy in China Who Can Modify Hasselblad Backs to Shoot XPan Format
• Theo's Mamiya 7 Habit is Driving Mike to Drink / Extinct Blogs
• Mike is Sending Anthony a Leonardo Pinhole Camera

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Peggy Marsh - Camera Go Camera - https://cameragocamera.com/

Alex Luyckx - https://www.alexluyckx.com/blog/

Eric Jason - Aperture Preview - https://www.aperturepreview.com/

Dan Cuny - https://www.dancuny.com/camera-collecting-blog

Jim Grey - Down the Road - https://blog.jimgrey.net/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

For most episodes of this show, we rely on experts to come and talk to us about a specific topic.  We value the experiences and knowledges of people who know a lot about a brand or a style of camera to teach us something that we didn't already know.  For Episode 76 however, we decided to go with something the Camerosity hosts are already experts on, which is buying and selling cameras.

You don't get to have the experiences between the four hosts without access to a great deal of hardware, so we thought for this episode we would share some stories of how we all got to where we are at today.  In addition to our personal experiences, Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike share their best tips and tricks not only for buying cameras but also when it comes time to sell something.

Joining us on this episode are returning callers, Mark Faulkner, Mike Litwin, Will Pinkham, and first time caller Cody Yoder.  We cover the basics of buying and selling on eBay but also ways in which we've accumulated gear through estate sales, Facebook Marketplace, and through good old human interaction.  Paul shares his thoughts on the state of buying and selling, Mike discusses one of his favorite eBay sellers and why he doesn't buy from them anymore, and Anthony shares his story for how he met one of the most eccentric camera collectors in Florida.

In addition to buying and selling, Cody tells us a story about how he literally walked into a garage full of Hasselblads, Theo gives us an update on what it was like shooting and developing film while on vacation in Vietnam and Paul answers a question for how he decides how much to offer a seller when buying a large collection.

For the next episode, we are sticking with topics we know well and will dedicate Episode 77 entirely to blogging.  This podcast wouldn't exist if Mike had never started mikeeckman.com and met Anthony, Paul, and Theo through his site, so if you've ever been interested into the behind the scenes of researching and reviewing cameras for a website, this is the episode for you.  In addition to Mike and Theo's thoughts, we are going to solicit some of your other favorite bloggers and get their thoughts as well.  Episode 77 will be recorded on Monday, September 16th at 7pm Central Daylight Time and 8pm Eastern Daylight Time.

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

In This Episode

• How is the eBay Camera Selling Market Going? / Paul Buys Cameras from Cody Yoder
• Cody's Camera Garage Find / Hasselblads / Paul Stays Away from Facebook Marketplace
• The First Wave of Vintage Cameras Have Already Been Sold By Their Original Owners
• The Bottom of the Box is Where the Fun Stuff Is
• Mike's Biggest Missed Opportunity Came When He Just First Started Collecting.
• Anthony's Friend's Big Rollei Haul / Rolleiflex SLX / Paul's 800 Mile Day
• How Do You Calculate What You'll Pay When Buying a Large Collection?
• Selling on eBay Sucks Right Now / Paul Got in Trouble with eBay
• Anthony's Perspective on Old Cameras in Florida / How Anthony Met Bernard Danenberg
• Kurt Ingham's Collection / Buying Used Cameras in Australia
• Mike Litwin Has Been Buying Several Camera Books / Larry Gubas's Zeiss Book
• The Current State of Camera Repairs
• Cameras That Often Don't Work: Pentax ES II and Konica FT-1 Motor
• Mark's Bad Experience Selling His Leica M3
• Tips for Buying on eBay: Be Patient, Use Wishlists, Build a Network of Other Collectors, Common Misspellings
• Mike's Favorite eBay Seller Used to be Tictocnmore / Buying from Antique Malls
• Tips for Selling on eBay: Take Good Pictures, Put Effort Into Your Description, Require Signature on International Buyers
• Theo's Experiences Shooting and Developing Film in Vietnam
• Mike Still Doesn't Like Shooting 58mm Lenses

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Mike's Guide to Buying and Selling Cameras on eBay - https://mikeeckman.com/2019/04/gas-attack-buying-cameras-on-ebay/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

A brand of camera that we've talked quite a bit about on this show is Pentax, but in every episode where this brand came up, the same book and author gets brought up as a great resource for screw mount Pentax and Takumar lenses, which is "The Ultimate/Definitive Asahi Pentax Collector's Guide 1952-1977" by Gerjan van Oosten.  While this is a great book to read, this is a podcast, so we like to talk to people, so for Episode 75, rather than continue to talk about a book, we went straight to the source and got the book's author, Gerjan van Oosten to join us!

For this episode, we were missing Theo, but joining Anthony, Paul, Mike, and Gerjan are returning callers Patrick Casey and Wannes Scheipers.  Gerjan discusses some of his least favorite Takumar lenses, backwards compatibility of Takumar lenses, what's so special about the 8-element Super Takumar 50mm f/1.4 lenses, why the Spotmatic doesn't actually have a spot meter, what Honeywell had to do with Pentax, export market cameras like the Asahiflex H2 and Asahi Pentar, and a fun discussion about a prototype camera called the Pentax Metalica.

In addition to Pentax camera and lens GAS, we get into discussions about why so many early SLRs had 58mm lenses, a little bit of Nikon history, Anthony's recent habit of breaking into churches, shooting the Horseman Convertible, and Mike's thoughts on the Leica M5.

Gerjan covers his book and that there's three editions of the camera, all with significant changes from the earlier versions.  Only the latest 2023 edition is currently for sale direct from him, so if you're interested in buying this excellent book straight from him, he sells them direct on eBay at the following link:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/335212596808

We had a lot of fun recording this episode, but we will be taking a break from new shows for a little while.  Although we have some ideas for future shows, nothing is planned at the moment, nor do we know when the next episode will be recorded, so be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

In This Episode

• Introducing Gerjan van Oosten / Pentax ES II
• Recommendations for Takumar Lenses for Someone Getting Started / Gerjan Won't Recommend These Three Lenses
• Takumar 17mm and 20mm Fisheyes Are "Art Lenses"
• The Mystique of the Takumar 50mm f/1.4 8-Element Lens
• Asahi Started making cameras with a 35mm SLR / Mike Loves the Asahiflex / Are the Earlier Cameras Built Better?
• M42 Version of the Takumar 58mm f/2.4 Lens / Mike Doesn't Love the 58mm Focal Length
• Paul Made Mike Buy a Nikkor 5.8cm f/1.4 Lens / Why Did Early SLRs Often Have 58mm Lenses?
• Gerjan Has 3 Versions of His Book, from 1999, 2021, and 2023 and They're All Different Inside
• Did Pentax Ever Try to Make a 35mm Rangefinder?
• The Beatles Loved the Asahi Pentax Sv
• Asahu Pentaxes and Honeywell Pentaxes / Pentaxes for Different Markets
• There Was Going to be a Pentax H4 But the Name Sounds like Death in Japanese
• What is the Difference Between Preset and Automatic Lenses?
• Early Yashica Yashinon and Asahi Takumar SLR Lenses Look Remarkably Similar
• Many 50mm Lenses Aren't Actually 50mm
• Pentax Rarities: Asahiflex H2 / Asahi Pentar / Pentaxes Sold in Export Markets
• Are All Iterations of M42 Takumar Lenses Backwards Compatible?
• Are K-Mount Pentax Lenses Inferior to M42 Takumars? / De-yellowing Radioactive Lenses
• The Pentax Metalica Could Have Been a Game Changer
• Why Did Asahi Sell Pentaxes in the US Under the Honeywell Name?
• Herbert Keppler's Influence on Pentax / The Pentax Spotmatic Doesn't Have a Spot Meter
• What is in the Future for Pentax?
• Anthony Loves the Horseman Convertible and Paul's Leica M4-2
• Anthony Breaks into Historic Churches to Take Photos
• The Leica M5 Has One of the Slowest Meters Ever Made
• Zeiss-Ikon Super Ikontas / Anthony Loaned Three Different Models to Mike

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Gerjan van Oosten - https://www.facebook.com/groups/1088887718612334

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

As the world's first, number one, and only open source film photography podcast, we take pride in that in each episode you all get to influence the discussions we have.  For Episode 74, we decided to take it a step farther and dedicate the entire episode to two broad topics that listeners of this show have suggested to us.  The first is to cover the confusing and wide array of third party lenses and the second to go over some tips and tricks for home film development.  Never ones to disappoint our listeners, the gang took your suggestions to heart and turned both into a whole episode...mostly!

Joining Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike was a full house of returning callers A.J. Gentile, Dan Cuny, Dan Hausman, Mario Piper, Michael Wescott (Wes) Loder, Miles Libak, Ray Nason, Robert Coates, Will Pinkham, and Mark (sorry, Mark, we didn't get your last name!)

We quickly jump into a lens discussion first clarifying what exactly is considered a Third Party Lens maker?  From there the wormhole quickly opens as we bounce around with discussions regarding Asanuma, Vivitar, Kiron, and what Mike calls the "German B-List Lens Makers" like Steinheil, A.Schacht, Staeble, Enna-Werk, and many others. Wes jumps in and pivots the discussion to the vast array of lenses available for the Akarette/Akarelle and Lordomat systems, and then Mike quickly gets back on track professing his love for the Wirgin Edixa.

We cover the Voigtländer Zoomar and the rash of very good Chinese lens makers like TTArtisan, 7Artisans, Light Lens Labs, and the obscure Japanese lens maker MS-Optics.

For home development, we cover a whole host of hacks from doubling up on rolls of 120 on a single spool, how Mike pushes HC-110 to the absolute limit when developing black and white and Anthony chimes in with his suggestions for how to make shooting a Minox camera the most affordable way possible.  We get into other things like tips for flatbed scanning and what everyone thinks about digitizing.  It was certainly a live discussion, but I should probably stop typing here and encourage you to listen to the episode.

For the next episode, we are revisiting one of our favorite brands of camera, Pentax!  Although we have dedicated multiple whole episodes to Pentax, this time we have Pentax historian Gerjan van Oosten who authored "The Ultimate Asahi Pentax Screw Mount Guide 1952 - 1977" which I consider to be one of the most definitive Pentax resources ever written.  The amount of info that Gerjan has about Pentax, Takumars, and everything relating to screw mounts is far more than we can ever hope to capture in a single episode, but we will certainly try!  To accommodate Gerjan's European time zone, Episode 75 will be recorded on Monday, August 5th at the special time of 2pm Central Daylight Time, 3pm Eastern Daylight Time, and 9pm Central European Time.

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

In This Episode

• Clarification on the Ricoh Singlex and the Nikon F Mount / Recommendations for PASM Manual Focus Cameras
• What is a Third Party Lens Maker? / Almost Every Japanese Camera Company Started Off Making Lenses
• Asanuma Was One of the First Good Third Party Lens Makers / Later Became Kiron
• Vivitar Was a Marketing Company But Was Instrumental in Developing Computer Designed Lenses
• Vivitar Serial Numbers / Ponder & Best / Vivitar Flash Units
• What are T-Mount Lenses? / T-Mount vs Adaptall
• How Did Sears Become Such a Big Camera Distributor? /  Focal, Photo-Quelle, Revue, Hanimex
• The Beginning of Zoom Lenses / Nikkor 43-86 Zoom / TV Lenses
• Akarelle, Akarette, and Arakrex / German "B-List" Lens Makers / Lordomat Lenses
• Mike Really Likes the Steinheil Quinon Lens / Wirgin Edixa SLR Lenses Are Not the Same As Regular M42 Lenses
• Voigtländer Zoomar 36-82mm f/2.8 Lens / The Beauty of Imperfect Lenses / Some Lenses Can Be Too Perfect
• Chinese Lenses / Light Lens Labs, TTArtisan, 7Artisans Lenses / MS-Optics Lenses
• Voigtländer Cosina Lenses / Super-Nokton 28mm f/0.8 / Paul Loves the Nikkor 58mm f/1.4
• Tricks for Loading Film on Paterson Reels / Loading Robot and Photavit Cassettes
• Developing Your Own Film Saves a Ton of Money / High Upfront Cost to Get Started
• Scanning with a Flatbed vs Digitizing / Negative Lab Pro / Building a Home Development Kit
• Loading Two Rolls of 120 Onto the Same Reel / Mike Prefers the Unicolor C41 Kit
• Monobaths / Scanning vs Digitizing / Kodak TMax Kills Fixer
• A Flatbed Scanner is More than Adequate for 90% of Film Scanning
• Avoiding Newton Rings / A&R Glass / Target Photo Frames
• Anthony Economizes Shooting Minox Cameras By Cutting His Own Film
• Nikon S Rangefinder Lenses / Compatibility Between Nikon and Contax Lenses

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Dan Cuny - https://www.dancuny.com/camera-collecting-blog

Wes Loder - https://wesloderandnikon.blogspot.com/

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

For the second episode in a row, we promised to deliver a thrilling discussion about two brands of Japanese cameras that have more in common than you might think.  Fuji and Ricoh both started making products for the photography industry right before the war, but originally started out in different industries, for Fuji, it was celluloid plastics and Ricoh (then called Riken) it was as a chemicals research company.  Each took a path making lenses and cameras, but in both instances photography was never each company's main focus.  Both Fuji and Ricoh invested heavily in the photocopier industry in the later part of the 20th century, and both successfully made the jump into the digital camera world.  Both companies continue to make new cameras today, Fuji with their excellent lineup of X-Series digital mirrorless, and Ricoh with their GR point and shoots and their ownership of the Pentax brand.

In this episode, Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike are joined by Paul's personal Fuji rep, Bob Grzesiak, returning callers Brad Swain, Howard Sandler, Mark Faulkner, Miles Libak, and first time caller, Dan Cuny.

We extensively cover many of Fuji's medium format cameras from the Texas Leica, their variety of 4.5x6, 6x7, 6x8, 6x9, and even their lone 6x17 model, plus the company's mid century rangefinders, the extremely compact and very quirky Fujica Mini, their entry into SLRs with the Fujicarex, the Fuji ST-series, and the unloved Fuji AX-series.  For Ricoh, time is spent on their Auto-Half series and Hi-Color 35, along with some of Ricoh's screw mount SLRs and Mike's favorite Ricoh, the Anscomark M interchangeable lens rangefinder camera.

In addition, we get to hear which of these two companies used to throw the best parties for camera dealers, a little bit of history regarding the Fuji Finepix S-Series DSLRs, a bit about the Ricoh GR-series, plus a strange digital camera that had not only interchangeable lenses, but also interchangeable sensors, plus some bonus discussion about Mamiya Prismat "bastard cameras" like the original Ricoh Singlex with the "sorta" Nikon F-mount, and a strange Tower branded camera made by Mamiya with an Ihagee Exakta lens mount and a Canon lens.

This proved to be a very lively discussion, covering a huge amount of different camera models from two brands that don't get discussed nearly as often as others.  If you find that your collection is thin on cameras by either of these manufacturers, this is the episode that will surely flare up a case of GAS.  Get ready to open your wallet!

For the next episode, we will be exploring the world of third party lens makers like Vivitar, Sigma, Tamron, Spiratone and many others, plus we hope to revisit a topic that started in a thread on the Camerosity Podcast Facebook group regarding home processing.  Episode 74 will be recorded on Monday, July 22nd at 7pm Central Daylight Time and 8pm Eastern Daylight Time.

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

In This Episode

• Fuji and Ricoh Have Remarkably Similar Histories / Roico 127 Camera
• Fuji Made LTM Lenses and One Nikon S-Mount Lens in the 50s
• Fuji Made the Hasselblad XPan / Fuji Large Format Lenses
• Fujica ST-801 and ST-901 / Fuji's f/1.6 and f/2.2 Lenses and 1/700 Shutter Speeds
• Fujica 35SE Rangefinder and Other Fixed Lens Rangefinders / Fujicarex II SLR
• A Change of Priorities Caused Fuji To Change Their Lineup in the Mid 1960s
• Rapid Cassette Fujis and the Half Frame Fujica Mini
• The Fujica V2 and Compact Deluxe Rangefinders Are Excellent
• Fuji GF670 and Other Folding Cameras / Fujicaflex Automat TLR
• Bob Loans a Fuji G617 to Car & Driver and They Destroy It
• The Fujita 66SL (Kalimar 66) is Not a Real Fuji
• The Fuji GX680 is Massive and Difficult to Sell
• Fujifilm FinePix S-Pro Series DSLRs / Super CCD Sensors
• Fuji Ignored Their AX SLRs / Fujica AX-5
• The Ricoh TLS-401 Has a Useless Waist Level Finder
• Paul Used to Party Hard With the President of Ricoh / Ricoh Solar Powered Cameras
• Ricoh Made the Anscomark M in Exchange for Photo Copier Technology from GAF
• The Ricoh Singlex Uses a Variation of the Nikon F-Mount But it is Not the Same
• Mamiya Made Prismat Cameras That Are the Basis for the Nippon Kogaku Nikkorex, Ricoh Singlex, and Many Others
• Other Bastard Mamiya Cameras / Canon Canonex / Mamiya Prismat and Tower Cameras with Canon Exakta Mount Lenses
• Ricoh GR-Series Compact Digital Cameras / Ricoh GXR Interchangeable Sensor Cameras
• Ricoh Diacord / Ricoh 500 and 519M /  Ricoh Hi-Color 35
• Mark Faulkner Sells his Leica M3 / The Mystique of the M3 / X-Raying Boxes at Bowling Alleys
• Kenneth Panda Sells Kits to Adapt Fuji Ace Instant Cameras to Use Instax Film
• Lightning Round: Which Cameras Do You Regret Not Taking Out More Often?
• Shooting IR and Full Spectrum Through Modified Digital Cameras / Sony DSC-F828
• Kodak Bantam Special / The Canon 7 is Still the Best Value in LTM 35mm Rangefinders

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Mark Faulkner - https://thegashaus.com/

Dan Cuny - https://www.dancuny.com/camera-collecting-blog

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

We return with the first episode with all four hosts in nearly two months with a great show.  We had plans to discuss Fuji and Ricoh on this episode, but like our reputation as the first and only open source film photography podcast, sometimes things don't go as planned.

Recorded within a week of the release of the new half-frame Pentax 17 and a video preview of the upcoming Rollei 35 AF, the gang and I just knew we had to share our thoughts on these two new cameras.  But since none of us have actually seen either camera, we called someone who we knew would have some insight into what it is like to make a new camera in 2024, Marwan El Mozayen from Silvergrain Classics.  As you remember, in Episode 52, Marwan came on the show and talked about his project re-releasing the Widelux panoramic camera, along with the support of none other than Jeff Bridges.

Joining Marwan, Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on this episode are returning callers AJ Gentile, Daniel Bemes, Patrick Casey, Patrick Rapps, Skip Williams, William Pinkham, and first time callers Antony Hands, John Frank, and Brad (we never did get Brad's last name!)

We extensively cover the Pentax 17 and the announcement of the Rollei 35 AF with some behind the scenes thoughts on the development of both cameras, but after covering those two models, Marwan shares with us what's new with the new Widelux, where in development it is at, and possible futures for the camera.

Beyond that, we discuss other swing lens cameras like the Noblex and Viscawide 16, and after that we finally manage to get into Fuji a bit, mainly with their instant film cameras, we cover models like the FP-1, the merits of Instax Wide, and even a brief mention of Fuji's Integral film, called Fuji Ace.  Antony shares with us his love for the Fuji GF670 and GF670W, and Mike promotes a new Argus book that was recently released.

This was a very fun episode chock full of great discussion and interesting information.  As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you! Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show. We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you've been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

Silvergrain Classics Discount Code: During the show, Marwan El Mozayen mentioned that listeners of this show get a discount when ordering a copy of issue #23 of their magazine.  To receive this discount, use code: CAMER24510 when ordering.

For the next episode, since we barely scratched the surface of Fuji and never got to Ricoh like we had planned, maybe we'll do that...or maybe we'll do something else.  WHO KNOWS?!  All I can tell you is that we are back to our regular 2 week cadence of recording new episodes, so whatever we end up talking about, Episode 73 will be recorded on Monday, July 8th at 7pm Central Daylight Time and 8pm Eastern Daylight Time.

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

In This Episode

• Guess Who's Back? Marwan's Back! / A Brief Intro
• Introducing the Pentax 17 / Marwan Had an NDA Early in the Process of Making the Pentax 17
• Pentax Chose Half Frame to Appeal to Those Used to Smartphones / Many Style Cues Taken from Classic Pentaxes
• Zone Focusing is Ideal for the Type of Lens in the Pentax 17 / What Kind of Shutter Does it Have?
• The Rollei 35 AF is Made By a Company More Known for Instant Film Cameras
• The Rollei Name Today Has Nothing to do with the Original Rolleiflex Name
• Antony Had to Sell Many Cameras to Afford His Leica M7 / The Leica M7 is Awesome
• Pentax is Planning More Cameras, Possibly a Mechanical SLR
• New Electronic Cameras from Pentax and Mint Restart the Clock on Failing Electronic Cameras
• Younger Generations Are Much More Portrait Ratio Oriented
• Silver Bridges is Making the Widelux-X
• The Original Wideluxes Were Never Completely Reliable, the Widelux-X Has to be Better
• Some Parts for the Widelux-X Can Be Used as Replacements for Parts in Original Wideluxes
• Priming the Widelux Lens Before Shooting it Can Help Reduce Uneven Exposures
• Electronic Noblex vs Mechanical Widelux (and Horizont)
• There is No Release Date for the Widelux-X, It Will Be Ready When It Is Ready
• The Viscawide 16 is the Ultimate Swing Lens Camera!
• The Fuji FP-1 Was Made in the 1980s for Peel Apart Instant Pack Film and Was Awesome!
• Fuji Peel Apart Film Was Everyone's Favorite Instant Film
• The Fuji FP-100C Color Film Survives Much Better than the FP-3000B
• There is Zero Chance That Fuji or Polaroid Will Ever Bring Back Peel Apart Instant Film
• LomoGraflok Backs / Adapting 4x5 Cameras to Shoot Instax Wide / Polaroid 110 Cameras
• Fuji Ace Instant Film and Cameras Was Their Version of Integral Instant Film
• Instax Wide / What is the Future for Instax Wide? / Instax Wide 400
• Mike Wishes Fuji Had Made a Semi-Pro Instax Wide Camera
• Other Options for Shooting Instax Wide on Other Sheet Film Cameras
• Mike Promotes the new Book, Argus: Fine American Cameras by Phil Sterritt and Mike Reitsma
• Q&A From the Camerosity Discord / Ninja Star Bokeh / Konica Hexar AF
• Fuji GF670 and GF670W Folding Camera / Get the New SilverGrain Classics Issue

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

Japan Camera Hunter's Live Preview of the Rollei 35 AF - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWz7A2e05Xc

Argus: Fine American Cameras - https://argusinfo.net/argusbook/ArgusBookMain.htm

Silvergrain Classics - https://shop.silvergrainclassics.com/detail/index/sArticle/42181/sCategory/92

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/