Camerosity

In what ended up being the longest episode we've ever done and the first ever to exceed 2 hours, Episode 115 was one that we tasked our hosts and listeners to come prepared to share four cameras that meant something to them.  It didn't need to be "the best" but it could be four cameras that have special meaning to you, four cameras you use the most, or four cameras you wish you had.

As the recording began, you all responded to the challenge with no less than 22 callers who joined Anthony, Mike, Paul and Theo for the discussion.  Joining us were returning guests and some new callers including Ben Ryerson, Brian from Central PA, Mark Widhalm, Greg Harp, Ira Cohen, Jeremy Scott, Jess Keller, Joao Gomes, Leo Lukens, Miles Libak, Pat Casey, Rollin Banderob, Sippu Rout, Travis and Shane from Impulse Camera, and Vlad Kern.

Starting off the show, we were joined by Jess Keller from Light & Lens Studios in New York and Travis and Shane from Impulse Camera, two new faces in the camera retail world.  All three guests share with us their origin stories and why they decided to open a camera store in the era of online shopping and discuss what makes their stores different from all those that came before them.

Once we got into the discussions, we spent about 5 minutes per person hearing their choices.  By far, Nikon was the most represented brand with many guests sharing their favorite models, but we got into the weeds with some truly obscure cameras like an Austrian Leica copy, the mystical Kodak Regent II, and a wild completely custom 4x5 camera made entirely of Legos.  Check out the gallery below showing this homebrew camera made entirely by Brian from Central PA.

While we mostly stayed with film cameras, some digital cameras made an appearance too such as the Nikon Zf and the Panasonic Lumix care of Theo and his upcoming trip to Laos.  This episode was heavy on GAS and not much else, but if you're a fan of the show, you know that's not a bad thing, so check it out, listen to everyone's choices and let us know what you could have chosen had you joined us!

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!

If you'd like to read a text transcript of this show with time stamps, click the link below.  It doesn't get the names of the people who are speaking but the text is mostly accurate so if you'd like to read along, check it out!

http://mikeeckman.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/CamerosityEpisode115-clean-transcript.txt

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 our next episode, we will be tapping into Anthony's knowledge of both IR and underwater photography.  While something that a lot of people have experience with, Anthony is drawn to these two special sub-niches of photography and we thought it would be interesting to hear his, and your thoughts on shooting Infrared and underwater photography.

We are going to be recording episode 116 on Monday, November 16th at 7pm Central Standard Time, 8pm Eastern Standard Time, and 12 Noon Tuesday the 17th Australian Eastern Daylight Time (Sydney).  For more time zones, please consult the World Time Buddy calculator and plug in your time.  Make sure you set your calendars and look out for the show announcement at the usual locations and be prepared to join us!

In This Episode

• 0:13 – The theme: four cameras that mean something to you
• 4:07 – Meet Impulse Camera (Milwaukee) and Light and Lens Studios (NY)
• 5:17 – How the new stores started; Sony A6100 launched Impulse
• 13:06 – Why new camera stores succeed today: community and film's revival
• 16:42 – Anthony's Gainesville café as a film hub
• 18:31 – Paul on why traditional camera stores closed
• 22:34 – Paul: Contarex Super, Kodak 35 Rangefinder, Retina II with Ektar
• 27:19 – Roland: Canon T90, F-1 New, EOS-1, EOS A2E
• 29:14 – Jeremy: Yashica-D, Olympus Pen F, Canon FTb QL
• 34:32 – Keeping the Canon FTb battery door from falling off
• 35:48 – Jeremy's Nikon Zf with an adapted TV lens
• 37:27 – Viltrox lenses for Nikon Z: 28mm pancake, 85mm f/1.8
• 40:03 – Brian: Zeiss Super Ikonta 531/2; Voigtländer Bessa RF
• 42:47 – Brian: Mamiya C33 and handheld Graflex RB Series B
• 47:10 – Brian's working 4x5 camera built from Legos
• 51:34 – Miles' wish list: Bronica RF645, Leica R8, Fujica AX-5, Olympus Pen EM
• 53:55 – Greg: Canon A-1, Miranda Sensorex II, Kodak Retina Type 119, Bessa RF
• 57:12 – Jess: Yashica Mat 124G, Olympus Pen FT, Canon AE-1 Program, Canon R6
• 1:03:32 – Joao: Alpa Reflex 9f and complete Kodak Ektra system
• 1:07:52 – Joao: Kodak Regent II and the Austrian Wica Leica copy
• 1:11:37 – Ira: Honeywell Pentax Spotmatic, Asahiflex (Tower), Pentax LX, MZ-S
• 1:17:47 – Theo's Laos travel kit: Nikon F3, Nikon FM2, Lumix GX7
• 1:20:49 – Theo's Leicaflex SL2; smooth advance like the Topcon RE Super
• 1:22:32 – Nikon F3 tips: mechanical backup release, missing memory-lock button
• 1:24:58 – Vlad: KMZ Drug, Lomo LC-A, Iskra, Nikon FM
• 1:31:59 – Anthony: Nikonos III and amphibious vs. underwater lenses
• 1:35:08 – Anthony: Robot Royal 36 and Rolleiflex SL66
• 1:38:05 – Leo: beat-up Nikon F, Nikon F2 with 50mm f/1.2
• 1:41:21 – Paul's f/1.2 lens haul, including Tomioka 55mm f/1.2
• 1:42:37 – Leo: Horizon 202 panoramic and Minox 35 GT
• 1:45:07 – Ben: Nikon D50 and Konica Autoreflex T3
• 1:47:57 – Paul's $30 Konica 40mm f/1.8 listener offer
• 1:48:59 – Sippu: Nikon FE2, Fujica ST801, Contaflex S, Zeiss-Ikon Icarex 35S
• 1:52:18 – KW Praktina tip; spotting repainted black Soviet cameras
• 1:54:50 – Pat: Kodak Bantam Special, Kodak Brownie Super 27, Brownie Special, Nikon F2
• 2:00:10 – Wrap-up; next show November 16 at 7 p.m. Central

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, Stephen, 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.

Order Your Very Own Camerosity Podcast T-Shirt! - https://www.zazzle.com/z/tbykl0hg

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

Jess Keller - Light & Lens Studios - https://www.lightandlensgf.com/

Travis & Shane - Impulse Cameras - https://www.impulsecameras.com/

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

Camerosity in Spanish Podcast - https://camerosity.es/

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 Episode 114, we were really missing some of our overseas listeners so we decided to shift time zones and record at a more European friendly time zone...on a Saturday!

We were down two hosts, but joining Paul, Stephen, and Mike were Bob Rotoloni, Greg Harp, Leo Lukens, Leon "mamp" Blankenhorn, Norris Liu, NP, Ron Gee, Wayne Scheipers, and Will Pinkham.

Mike starts out with a heartfelt thanks to everyone who contributed to the care package after his unexpected surgery (which also is why we've been short on episodes lately), but we quickly get into GAS with Wayne's fancy new Nikon Zf.  We compare it to some other Nikon DSLRs, but quickly get back to film business comparing the viewfinders of the Nikon S2 and SP rangefinders.

Norris covers some of his Texas auction pickups including a crazy spinning 360 degree panoramic camera which then leads to a short discussion of every other 360 cameras we could think of!

Paul shares with us his challenges with a Ikoflex TLR which he says you need a manual to operate and Mike gets into his recent obsession with Arco 35 "Japanese Retinas" to which he is trying to collect them all.  Norris Liu does a live unboxing of a Ricoh Singlex which he recently picked up and we get into the differences between that camera's Nikon F lens mount comparing it to real Nikon cameras and their Nikon F mount.

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!

For this episode, I'm trying out a new transcript feature where the audio of this show is automatically transcribed into a text file with time stamps.  It doesn't get the names of the people who are speaking but the text is mostly accurate so if you'd like to read along, check it out!

http://mikeeckman.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/CamerosityEpisode114Transcript.txt

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 our next episode, we are going to be giving out a bit of homework to our hosts and callers.  We want everyone to come prepared to discuss up to 4 cameras and rank them however you like. You can pick your 4 favorite cameras, your 4 most hated cameras, 4 cameras you find the most interesting. It doesn’t really matter the ranking, just rank 4 cameras and be prepared to talk about them!  We are going to be recording episode 115 on Monday, October 26th at 7pm Central Daylight Time, 8pm Eastern Daylight Time, and 11am Tuesday the 27th Australian Eastern Daylight Time (Sydney).  For more time zones, please consult the World Time Buddy calculator and plug in your time.  Make sure you set your calendars and look out for the show announcement at the usual locations and be prepared to join us!

In This Episode

• 19:17 – Stereo camera haul: Realist 45, David White, Wirgin Stereo Cameras
• 0:13 – Intro and catching up after a long break
• 2:01 – Mike gives thanks for the listener care package during surgery recovery
• 4:02 – Wayne's new Nikon Zf, compared with Z5 and D3200
• 6:39 – Leo's Nikon S2 rangefinder with 35mm f/2.5, and SP haze problems
• 10:12 – Kodak Vision3 250D without Remjet from Atlanta Film Company
• 13:22 – 3D World TL-120 three-lens 3D camera and Nishika N8000
• 22:56 – Rare Hachiyo Stereo Alpin and Haneel TriVision Bakelite stereo camera
• 25:44 – Texas estate auction lots and Globuscope 360° panoramic camera
• 28:19 – Other spinning panoramic cameras: Lomography Spinner 360, Seitz Roundshot Medium Format Camera
• 29:15 – Auction shipping costs and caveats
• 33:54 – Bob Rotoloni's Nikon rangefinder book versus Larry Gubas Zeiss-Ikon reference books
• 35:38 – Argus K, Argus B, Argus A and C3 finds
• 41:20 – Rapitake, Whittaker Micro-16 and Ansco Memo cassette reloading
• 45:38 – Collectors who accumulate many copies of one camera
• 47:14 – Fixing a Kodak Retina's Compur shutter
• 48:36 – Will's Ricoh 500, freeing a stuck focus, and Graflex 35
• 51:47 – Steven's Olympus mju mini Digital S color collecting
• 54:00 – Patience with deals, plus a cheap Nikon 18-200mm VR lens
• 56:41 – Ikoflex quirks and Kine Exakta interlocks and self-timer
• 1:00:40 – Live unboxing of the Ricoh Singlex and its Nikon F-mount
• 1:06:30 – Arco 35 rangefinders and the coupled View Arco viewfinder
• 1:13:22 – Budget Linholf Technar unboxing
• 
  1:15:20 – Will Travel 4x5 with Nikonos rangefinder and Topcor 90
• 1:16:21 – Meyer Optik Primotar E and lenses with limited taking apertures
• 1:22:57 – Pentacon Pentina and the French Telka III 6x9 folder
• 1:24:56 – Wrap-up, ideas for future shows including motion picture cameras

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, Stephen, 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.

Order Your Very Own Camerosity Podcast T-Shirt! - https://www.zazzle.com/z/tbykl0hg

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

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

Camerosity in Spanish Podcast - https://camerosity.es/

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/

After a six week break, the Camerosity crew are back with another episode, but unlike most, we decided not to send out invites and instead just got everyone together and hit the record button.  As it turned out, we hit record so fast, we forgot to make an intro!

On this, the 113th episode of the Camerosity Podcast, what we lacked in callers we more than made up for in massive amounts of GAS!  Who would have thought that keeping five camera collecting lunatics away from each other for a month and a half and we would get ourselves into so much trouble?!

We start the show with a brief summary of what each of us have been up to and Mike dominates this section complaining about being without power for over 10 days in mid August due to a massive storm called a derecho which decimated the area he lives in.  We quickly get to more interesting discussions, recapping recent pickups both through Japanese auctions and more traditional channels including Theo's beautiful new black chrome Leicaflex SL2 and Anthony's "bucket list" Rolleiflex SL66.

We get into more obscure cameras too, such as a beautiful French folding rangefinder called the DeMaria-Lapierre Telka III, a late Voigtländer rangefinder called the Vitomatic III CS, and a Honeywell inspired and Zeiss branded camera built in Braunschweig, Germany called the Zeiss-Ikon Contessa S310.

There is a ton of GAS in this episode, but you'll just have to listen to the show to know what it is, but in addition to specific camera models, we talk about the differences between Ai and AiS lenses, the merits of aperture priority AE vs shutter priority AE, and even a hearty discussion about our favorite midlevel DSLRs including a comparison between the equally awesome Nikon D300 and D7000.

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.

We don't yet have a topic for the next episode, but whatever it is, we will record it on Monday, September 21st at 7pm Central Daylight Time, 8pm Eastern Daylight Time, and 6pm Canada Saskatchewan Time.  For more time zones, please consult the World Time Buddy calculator and plug in your time.  Make sure you set your calendars and look out for the show announcement at the usual locations and be prepared to join us!

In This Episode

• Camerosity is back after taking several weeks off / What exactly is a derecho?
• Mike survived ten days without power / Generators, sump pumps and keeping the camera collection dry
• Buying cameras from Japan / Buyee shipping options / ECMS versus air shipping
• Lithium batteries can dramatically change your Japanese shipping options
• Documenting damaged packages when buying through Buyee
• Theo gets cameras from Japan to Australia surprisingly quickly
• Shipping cameras from the United States to Australia can take considerably longer
• Theo's beautiful Leicaflex SL2 / Black chrome versus black paint
• Leica black chrome wear / Early Leica M6 finish problems
• Leica R4, R4S and R4SP / Which version should you buy?
• The Leica R4's relationship to the Minolta XD / Why some cameras have noticeable shutter lag
• Minolta's "Final Check" metering system / Feature or workaround?
• Aperture priority versus shutter priority / Which does the Camerosity crew prefer?
• Canon AE-1 / AV-1 / AT-1 and the Canon A-series exposure modes
• Konica's preference for shutter priority
• Nikon Ai versus AiS lenses / Why AiS mattered for shutter priority and program exposure
• Olympus OM cameras and why Olympus never offered conventional shutter priority
• Learning f-stops with pizza mathematics
• Mike buys an Olympus M-1 from Japan / M-1 versus OM-1
• Leica's objection to the Olympus M-1 name
• Olympus M-system lenses / Other subtle M-1 differences
• Stephen buys a broken lens just to get the lens hood and accidentally fixes it
• When a parts camera turns out to be better than the camera it was supposed to repair
• The Honeywell rangefinder that wasn't a Pentax
• Zeiss Ikon S312 / Zeiss Ikon Contessa S310
• Anthony's Zeiss Ikon Voigtländer Vitessa 1000 SR
• Theo's Pentacon Six TL / Carl Zeiss Jena 80mm f/2.8 Biometar
• Repairing a Pentacon Six using a donor body
• Shooting expired Kodak Panatomic-X in medium format
• Getting thirteen exposures from a 12-exposure roll
• Pentacon Six shutter sounds / Thankfully not as violent as a Pentax 67
• Adapting medium-format lenses to Micro Four Thirds and Nikon F
• Biometar versus Biotar / The history of the Zeiss Biometar design
• How the Biometar design ultimately contributed to the Flektogon
• Paul is tempted by a Rolleiflex SLX on Facebook Marketplace
• Rolleiflex SLX batteries and modern replacement options
• Paul finds an extremely nice Contax IIIa with 50mm f/1.5 Sonnar
• Anthony finally gets his bucket-list Rolleiflex SL66
• Anthony trades his Leica M4-2 for the Rolleiflex SL66
• Why Anthony never got along with the Leica M4-2 film loading system
• Rolleiflex SL66 macro capability / Reversing lenses / Lens movements
• The Camerosity camera circle continues / Anthony's old cameras find new homes with listeners
• Finding the correct Rolleiflex SL66 strap
• Stephen rediscovers early Nikon DSLRs / Nikon D70 for $25
• Nikon D200 versus D300 versus D300S
• Why the Nikon D300 might be one of the greatest digital camera bargains today
• APS-C isn't necessarily a disadvantage / 28mm becomes a useful 42mm equivalent
• Nikon D300 autofocus fine tuning / Using Ai and manual focus Nikon lenses on digital bodies
• Theo used the D300 as one of his main digital cameras for years / Nikon D300 versus D7000
• Why the D7000 blurred the line between consumer and professional Nikon bodies
• Nikon's excellent inexpensive 18-55mm DX kit lens
• Nikon 18-200mm DX superzoom / Better than pixel peepers might suggest
• DxO PhotoLab profiles can transform older lenses
• Correcting chromatic aberration, softness and distortion with modern software
• Buying a camera because you already own the brochure for it
• Mike's final Buyee shipment... supposedly / Telka III
• Asahi Camera annual camera guides / Researching obscure Japanese cameras
• Why old camera magazines remain invaluable historical resources
• The decline of blogs and disappearing online camera research resources
• Mike's Voigtländer Vitomatic III CS / Ultron f/2 lens / A working Voigtländer rangefinder is apparently possible
• eBay Global Shipping sends a camera on a tour of North America
• Stephen's month-long shipping odyssey from the United States to Canada
• Mike buys a Certo Six, a beautiful camera, perfect bellows, dead rangefinder
• The increasing difficulty of finding technicians willing to repair obscure cameras
• Camera repair options have noticeably declined during the lifetime of Camerosity
• Sarah Davis begins learning Hasselblad repairs
• Why the next generation of camera repair technicians is so important
• Jeremy Scott rescues auction purchases for several Camerosity listeners
• 45 Argus cameras weigh approximately 51 pounds
• Jeremy apparently now has a pile of Olympus OM cameras to repair

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, Stephen, 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.

Order Your Very Own Camerosity Podcast T-Shirt! - https://www.zazzle.com/z/tbykl0hg

Sarah Davis Photo Repair - https://www.sdavisphotorepair.com/

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

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

Camerosity in Spanish Podcast - https://camerosity.es/

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/

Whenever you get a bunch of camera collectors together to talk about rangefinders and SLRs, the focus of the conversation almost always centers around those models with interchangeable lenses.  Thread mount Leicas, Contax rangefinders, Nikon F-series and Zeiss-Ikon Contarexes almost always dominate the discussion.  While certainly worthwhile cameras to talk about, lens swappable cameras overshadow their fixed lens counter parts, and for Episode 112, the Camerosity crew decided to take a deep dive into those rangefinder and SLR models where the lens can't be removed.

Joining Anthony, Paul, Stephen, Theo and Mike are regular and first time callers A.J. Gentile, Aaron in Idaho, Basile from Montreal, Ben Ryerson, Fernando Villava, Greg Harp, Howard Sandler, Marty Olsen, Ron Gee, Sarah Davis, Vlad Kern, and Wayne Scheipers.

We start off the episode asking if anyone who listened to Episode 111 was inspired to buy anything from a Japanese auction, but then we hand over the virtual mic to Vlad Kern who had a crazy eBay story regarding an extremely rare Smena camera he ended up selling, buying back, and then having to sell a second time.  In addition, we were joined by Sarah Davis who came back on to check in with how her repair business has been going.  Since her first appearance on the show in Episode 108, several Camerosity listeners have reported being very happy with her repair services.

When we finally got on topic, we shared our love for a large number of mostly fixed lens rangefinders including the Minolta Hi-Matic 7, Yashica Electro series, the Mamiya Super Deluxe, Konica III, and even though we primarily stayed with 35mm cameras, we discussed Fuji's lineup of excellent 6x4.5, 6x7, and 6x9 rangefinders including the popular "Texas Leica".  In addition to covering GAS, Anthony asked the question if any fixed lens rangefinders ever had telephoto lenses, and Mike gave a quick lesson on what exactly the Yashia Electro's "Pad of Death" is and what it sounds like.

For fixed lens SLRs, we covered models by Mamiya, Zeiss-Ikon, Nikon, Canon, and a few others.  Mike shared one of his favorites, the strange Fujica ST-F with the Ihagee Exa style shutter and in body flash.

It wouldn't be a Camerosity show if we didn't get off topic, and our listeners were quick to ask questions about adapting Soviet lenses, what the difference is between an Industar and a Jupiter, whether or not Zeiss lenses for Contax SLRs are better than Yashica lenses, and whether the Vectis APS SLR was responsible for Minolta going out of business.

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.

We don't yet have a topic for the next episode, but rest assured whatever it is, it will likely involve a bunch of adults irresponsibly spending their money on half century or older cameras!  When we know what we plan on talking about, we will be sure to update you through the usual channels, but we will record Episode 113 on Monday, August 10th at 7pm Central Daylight Time, 8pm Eastern Daylight Time, and 6pm Canada Saskatchewan Time.  For more time zones, please consult the World Time Buddy calculator and plug in your time.  Make sure you set your calendars and look out for the show announcement at the usual locations and be prepared to join us!

In This Episode

• Has anyone bought anything from Buyee since the last episode? / Nikon F90X
• Vlad Kern's crazy eBay story / Soviet Smenas / Paul's experience with International shipping
• Cameras are one of the only collectible things that do their job as good or even better than when they were new
• Most cameras, even when new weren't very accurate at their maximum shutter speeds
• Pentax SP 500 with missing 1000 speed / Fujica ST605 with 700 shutter speed and f/2.2 lenses
• VF Moto Shutter Speed Tester / Shutter speed testers with LED light sources
• Using a CRT monitor to check shutter speeds
• Minolta Hi-Matic 7s /  Voltage differences with Mercury batteries
• Theo bought the Agfa Makro 110 camera and it needs 3 Mercury batteries
• Paul really hates the Konica Auto S2 and S3 / Yashica Lynx 5000 and 14 Rangefinders
• Yashica Electro 35 series / Theo has an Electro 35 GL / Pad of Death
• Konica II and III series rangefinders / Konica IIIM Half-Frame Model / FED Mikron 2
• Mamiya 528TL SLR / Mamiya Super Deluxe Rangefinder / Majamatic
• Other Fixed Lens SLRs / Contaflex / Kowaflex / Nikkorex / Canonex / Fujica ST-L
• Fuji GS645S / Fuji's lineup of medium format rangefinders / Fuji GL690 Professional / What is a "Texas Leica"?
• Kowa made two fixed lens rangefinders with telephoto lenses / Kowa T85 and T100
• Why do Fuji Medium Format Rangefinders have a shutter counter on the bottom?
• Voigtländer B / L / BR / Vitomatic IIa / Vito III / Voigtländers with Ultron lenses
• Vitoret 110 Camera / Marty bought a Minolta Vectis off Paul / Other APS SLRs
• Bridge SLRs / Olympus iS-Series / What is a Bridge Camera?
• Why didn't Pentax make Rangefinders? / Many Japanese companies "stayed in their lane"
• Teraoka Auto Terra Super / Minoltina-S / Greg Makes Lemonade from Lemons
• How do Yashica Lenses compare to Zeiss Lenses for Contax SLRs?
• Industar 50 and other Soviet Lenses / Adapting fixed rangefinder lenses to M39 and M42
• The next episode of Camerosity in Spanish will be about Soviet cameras and lenses

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, Stephen, 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.

Order Your Very Own Camerosity Podcast T-Shirt! - https://www.zazzle.com/z/tbykl0hg

Sarah Davis Photo Repair - https://www.sdavisphotorepair.com/

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

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

Camerosity in Spanish Podcast - https://camerosity.es/

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/

We're back in time for both the 111th Episode and the belated 5th Anniversary of the Camerosity Podcast!  Even though we forgot about our own anniversary, we commemorated the occasion with a topic from the Discord suggestion box, buying cameras from Japanese auctions!  If at first, this seems like a dry topic, then clearly you aren't the target audience for this show as any option for more GAS is always welcome here!

Joining Anthony, Paul, Stephen, Theo, and Mike are a combination of regular callers and a couple newbies, A.J. Gentile, Bryan Hewitt, NP from Discord, Greg Harp, Heath from Maryland, Ira Cohen, Jeremy Scott, Jody Oliver, Marty Olsen, Nick Marshall, Ron Gee, and Will Pinkham!

For those who have only experienced buying cameras through eBay, the first thing you should know about buying on Japanese auction sites is that if you are not in Japan, you need to use a proxy and while there are many out there, they're not all the same.  Starting off the show, we attempt to explain the differences between the most popular options, what's similar about them and more importantly, what's different.

On the show were a large number of people who have experience with these types of proxy sites, so the various callers shared their experiences, both good and bad, with them, detailing what they liked and where things can go wrong.

In our attempt to explain how all these proxies work, we did a pretty poor job of promoting them, and by the end of the show, we may have turned people off from ever wanting to use one!  But hey, the more information you have, the better you are able to make a decision.

While a majority of the show stayed on topic, we did get to some recent GAS near the end, including Mike's white whale and pickups from A.J., Greg, Will, and a purchase that Stephen made during the show!

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.

The recording for the next show is just a couple days away, but for Episode 112, we are going to discuss fixed lens rangefinders and SLRs.  While collectors and users often get the most excited over interchangeable lens cameras, there were a huge number of excellent fixed lens cameras and since many don't get a lot of love, we hope to change that on the next show.  We will record Episode 112 on Monday, July 20th at 7pm Central Daylight Time, 8pm Eastern Daylight Time, and 6pm Canada Saskatchewan Time.  For more time zones, please consult the World Time Buddy calculator and plug in your time.  Make sure you set your calendars and look out for the show announcement at the usual locations and be prepared to join us!

In This Episode

• 5th Anniversary of the Camerosity Podcast / Introducing the returning callers, and a couple of new ones
• eBay is the de facto used camera marketplace, but Japan has their own auctions
• Stephen’s GAS is extreme
• What are Buyee, From Japan, and ZenMarket? / What about Yahoo! Auctions Japan and Mercari Japan?
• Proxy services are above board and welcomed / Sometimes items are restricted, but you have other options
• Yahoo! auctions are a soft close, unlike eBay, and it affects sniping
• Coupons from the proxy services, and the tricks to using them
• Why junk can be near mint, and near mint can be junk
• What experiences have we all had with the condition of items?
• Mike spotted an issue with a Baldaxette through the photos that wasn’t in the description
• NP’s expired film-buying experience
• Lack of buyer protections and lack of contact with the seller compared to eBay
• Consolidated shipping is a huge plus
• Why you can end up paying for shipping twice, and options for tariffs
• Packaging can vary when you consolidate, and beware of batteries
• Deals can be had with items that are less desirable in different regions
• Camera models sold in Japan can have different names than in other countries
• Some items can be listed on both Yahoo! and eBay at the same time, and it’s not always legit
• Fun with translations
• Anthony takes us to Europe with Catawiki, and compares notes with Ira Cohen
• Greg Harp and Ira share their big wins with mislisted items: a 1950 Canon and a Leica IIId
• The Arco 35 with View-Arco is becoming Mike’s White Whale
• Superbuy is a proxy service for China
• Stephen goes over Inspection and insurance options on Buyee
• Greg got some cameras he didn’t buy
• Paul’s domestic Mercari misadventure with the Rolleiflex SL66
• Sharing the GAS: A.J. Gentile’s Kiev 4a and Aires 35-V
• Marty Olsen snagged a Minolta Maxxum 500si from a $5 bin
• Will Pinkham had a banner week, getting Canon 110ED 20, Agfa Karat 36, and Lavec Mini Spy XR8
• Jeremy Scott ran into Norris Liu on Whatnot
• Bryan Hewitt modified a Mamiya film back with the Mercury Works 135 Pano Conversion Kit for RB67 Back and uses it on his Graflex
• Theo picked up an Agfamatic 5008 Makro pocket after the 110 episode
• Ron Gee got a King Regula after reading Mike’s review, and bought a Rollei 35 T from Paul, a Universal Minute 16 is Greg’s latest
• Mike finally found a MIOJ Konica I

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, Stephen, 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.

Order Your Very Own Camerosity Podcast T-Shirt! - https://www.zazzle.com/z/tbykl0hg

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

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

Camerosity in Spanish Podcast - https://camerosity.es/

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/

We have returned with the tiniest episode we've ever done, covering 110 Pocket Instamatic and other 16mm subminiature cameras.  This was a topic which the Camerosity crew had no idea would be so popular, but our loyal listeners came through and delivered a full show of giant opinions about cameras which make tiny negatives!

On this episode, Anthony, Paul, Stephen, Theo and Mike were joined by A.J. Gentile, Edward Michelet, Eric Schneck, Fernando from Germany, Greg Harp, Ira Cohen, Pat Casey, and Will Pinkham where everyone spoke about their favorite Pocket Instamatic and 16mm subminiature cameras.

We started things off with a bit of history and moved into one of the most consistently popular 110 cameras, the full system Pentax Auto 110 SLR.  We talk about other premium 110 cameras like the two Minolta 110 SLRs and the Canon ED, along with a really neat German camera called the Agfamatic 6008 Makro Pocket, a camera that was so awesome, it inspired Theo to buy one while the show was recording.

We talk about challenges with the format, including its extremely small size, the lack of a pressure plate, and how 110 opened the door to the ill fated Kodak Disc format which in turn, brought us T-Grain film still used today with film stocks like Kodak TMax.

We cover a wide variety of other cameras, including some interesting 16mm cameras made by Minox, Yashica, and KMZ in the Soviet Union and even a few bizarro ones like the Tasco binocular camera and the Voltron Star Shooter 110.  It wouldn't be a Camerosity Podcast episode without us getting off topic, and for this episode, our diversion ended up being all about camera batteries!

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.

The next episode is coming soon, and as of this writing, we don't yet have a topic, but I am sure it will be something to stretch your GAS budget even farther than before.  We will record Episode 111 on Monday, June 29th at 7pm Central Daylight Time, 8pm Eastern Daylight Time, and 6pm Canada Saskatchewan Time.  For more time zones, please consult the World Time Buddy calculator and plug in your time.  Make sure you set your calendars and look out for the show announcement at the usual locations and be prepared to join us!

In This Episode

• The History of 110 Film / Kodak introduces Pocket Instamatic in 1972
• Limitations of the Cartridge Design / Film Flatness Issues
• Pentax Auto 110 SLR / Lenses Lack a Diaphragm
• Best 110 Cameras: Canon 110ED, Minox 110, Voigtländer 110
• Agfamatic 6008 Makro Pocket, Minolta Weathermatic 110, Pocket Fujica 110
• The Unreliability of the Rollei 110 Camera
• European Perspectives on 110 / Agfa's Significant Investment in Premium 110 Designs
• 110 Slide Film / Kodachrome and Ektachrome in 110
• Problems Caused by Projecting 110 Slides in Standard Projectors
• Reloading 110 Film / Single Perforations / Film Speed Notches
• Which Cameras Can Accept Reloaded Film
• Other Subminiature Cameras: Minolta 16, Kiev 30 & 330, Vega 2
• Who Was the Target Audience for 110 Film?
• Kodak Was a Film First Company / Comparisons to Disc Film / T-Grain
• Tasco Binocular Cameras / A Horse Race Radio Camera
• Mike Wants a Cyclops Binocular Camera / Theo Bought an Agfamatic 6008 During the Show
• Stephen Loves the Voltron Star Shooter 110
• Where to Buy Batteries / Kodak's K-Type Battery / Storing Batteries

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, Stephen, 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.

Order Your Very Own Camerosity Podcast T-Shirt! - https://www.zazzle.com/z/tbykl0hg

Adam Paul's 110 Camera Round Up - https://quirkyguywithacamera.blogspot.com/2018/04/small-format-size-big-format-results.html

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

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

Camerosity in Spanish Podcast - https://camerosity.es/

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/

Way back in the early days of the Camerosity Podcast, we did a show with Canon historian and author Peter Kitchingman, and recently as the gang looked back at what topics were worth revisiting we decided to come back to Canon rangefinders.  But what expert would we get this time?  As it turned out, Peter was available and willing to come back so we decided to retread this bountiful topic and deliver a "Part Deux" to Canon rangefinders.

Joining Peter and the regular hosts were Greg Harp, another excellent resource for these cameras who has a great deal of knowledge, plus listeners A.J. Gentile, Ben Ryerson, Ira Cohen, Jeremy Scott, Joan, John Roberts, Norris Liu, William Smith, and Will Pinkham.

We start off with some brief history and then get into some of the earliest Canon rangefinders like the original Canon and the slightly later Canon J and JII.  Moving onto the historically significant S, SII, and IIBs and eventually covering the II, III, and IV series.  We move along to the back loaders like the V, VI, P, and 7 series, covering various lenses, including the 0.95 Dream lens, a very rare original Canon mount wide angle lens, and others.  Greg and Peter even share a bit of knowledge about Canon's X-Ray cameras which they made during and after the war.

Although a majority of you probably wanted to hear the most about the interchangeable lens models, we give some love to the fixed lens Canonet models like the trigger wind Canonet, the Canonet QL17 G-III, and even some of the more economically priced models.

Unusual to a Camerosity episode, we largely stayed on topic for this only only slightly veering into one Argus lens (blame Mike for that), but we answer a bunch of questions such as why is having different magnification ratios for the rangefinder useful, why is having separate viewfinder and rangefinder windows better, and what role did Nippon Kogaku play in Canon's history.

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 number 110, and we listened to you all for a topic and you chose 110 "Pocket Instamatic" cameras.  This means the Pentax and Minolta 110 SLRs will definitely make an appearance, but in the event we can't fill a whole episode about 110 cameras, we are opening up the discussion to all 16mm subminiature cameras.  We will record Episode 110 on Monday, June 8th at 7pm Central Daylight Time, 8pm Eastern Daylight Time, and 6pm Canada Saskatchewan Time.  For more time zones, please consult the World Time Buddy calculator and plug in your time.  Make sure you set your calendars and look out for the show announcement at the usual locations and be prepared to join us!

In This Episode

• Peter Kitchingman is Back / Peter Still has Hundreds of Copies of His Book for Sale
• A Show Listener Recently Picked up a Canon JII and Asked What it Was
• The Origins of Canon's Early Models / Rangefinder Less Canon J
• Nippon Kogaku's Role with the Early Canon Cameras / Serial Numbers are Difficult to Track
• Canon J-Mount vs Leica Thread Mount (24 tpi vs 26 tpi) / The Canon SII Was the First LTM Canon
• Canon Remained Profitable During the War Making X-Ray Cameras
• Mike Thinks the Rotating Prism Was One of Canon's Best Features
• Which Canon is Good for a First Time Canon Rangefinder Owner?
• Quick Ways to Differentiate a Canon II, III, and IV / Canon IV Sb
• The Never Ending Questions About the EP Mark
• Some Canon Sleeper Lenses / Canon Often Launched Cameras with Wide-Angle Options
• The Canon V-Series / Lever Wind Models and the VT Trigger Wind Models
• Japanese Summilix 50mm f/1.4 Canon Lens / Trigger Film Advances
• CR Skinner and the Canon 1950 Model / Origin of the Name "Dream Lens"
• Canon 7 / Canon f/0.95 Lens and its Use in Hollywood / Stanley Kubrick's f/0.7 Zeiss Planar Lens
• Differences Between the Canon 7s and 7sZ / Lenses with Hoods Which Block the Viewfinder
• Why Do Some Lenses Inexplicably Skyrocket in Value? / Influencers
• The Helios-44 is Influencer Proof / Getting Stuff from Ukraine
• Canon Made Some Decent Fixed Lens Rangefinders Too / Trigger Winds
• Canonet 19 / Canonet QL17 GIII / Canonet QL25 and 28 Models
• Canon Cameras at the Leitz Auction / Repainted Black Cameras
• Tips on Identifying a Repainted Camera vs an Original Painted Camera
• What Are the Advantages of Having Multiple Magnification Ratios in a Rangefinder?
• Auxiliary Viewfinders / Canon V and VIs Have Built in Automatic Parallax for Viewfinders
• Experiences with Canon or Konishiroku Collapsible 50/3.5 LTM Lenses
• Keeping a Record of Camera Provenance and History

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, Stephen, 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.

Order Your Very Own Camerosity Podcast T-Shirt! - https://www.zazzle.com/z/tbykl0hg

Camerosity Podcast Episode 18 w/ Peter Kitchingman - https://camerosity.podbean.com/e/episode-18-canon-rangefinders-with-peter-kitchingman/

If you would like to order Peter Kitchingman's book, email him at peterkcrf@iinet.net.au.

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

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

Camerosity in Spanish Podcast - https://camerosity.es/

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/

Episode 108 is all about a topic we've touched upon in a large number of Camerosity Podcast episodes, but after reviewing our show notes, we realized we had never covered thoroughly in a single show.  Since you've probably already read the title of this post, I can't really hide that I'm talking about TLRs, or Twin Lens Reflexes for those of you who are acronym-adverse.

Theo was absent for this one because he only likes cameras that involve 7 of something, but joining Anthony, Paul, Stephen and Mike are callers A.J. Gentile, Brian MacDomhnail, Chris Sherlock, Ethan, Joao Gomes, Howard Sandler, Jeremy Scott, Norris Liu, Robert Rotoloni, Sarah Davis, and Will Pinkham.

We quickly get started with some TLR history and then introduce a couple of our first time callers.  One such caller for the show was long time listener/first time caller, Sarah Davis who repairs cameras and specializes in TLRs.  What Sarah lacks in gray hairs she more than makes up for in experience.  Studying under some well respected camera technicians, Sarah has learned from the best and can now tear down most mechanical TLRs and Nikon film cameras, bringing them back up to life.  We regularly hear of long time technicians retiring or passing away and it is refreshing to have a new option for your camera repair needs.

As you should expect, we cover a tremendous amount of GAS including some of our favorite models medium format, 35mm, and subminiature TLRs.  In the roughly hour and forty minutes runtime, we cover the gamut from some of the most popular Rollei and Yashica TLRs to some really wild and rare models like the Welta Superfekta, the Tessina 35, AGFA Flexilette, and we even take the opportunity to talk about our beloved Chuzhao (which isn't actually a TLR).  Mike discusses the closest he'll ever come to shooting a Nikon TLR, why he hates the label "Pseudo TLR", and shares some trivia about interchangeable lens TLRs.

If you were to assume that an entire episode about TLRs would attract everyone who loves shooting TLRs, you'd be mistaken as we hear from a couple callers who aren't fond of the design, especially the horizontally flipped viewfinder, and why it can be difficult to get perfectly straight horizons.

In addition to TLRs, we cover topics that are TLR-adjacent such as some of the different designs of focusing screens, why Rick Oleson's screens are better, and some fascinating pros and cons to leaf shutters, including why most of them can't actually move any faster than 1/500th of a second.

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 our next episode, we will be revisiting Canon rangefinders (again).  We tried to do this for Episode 108 but had to push it back due to a scheduling conflict, but we're giving it another go!  The last time we spent a majority of an episode on these wonderful cameras was way back in Episode 18, so we thought it was time to invite some newer fans of the show to call in and share which models they love and whatever else they want to talk about!  We will record Episode 109 on Monday, May 18th at 7pm Central Daylight Time, 8pm Eastern Daylight Time, and 6pm Canada Saskatchewan Time.  For more time zones, please consult the World Time Buddy calculator and plug in your time.  Make sure you set your calendars and look out for the show announcement at the usual locations and be prepared to join us!

In This Episode

• Quick TLR History / The Original Rolleiflex Used 117 Film
• Original Rolleiflex compared to Rolleiflex T (photo)
• First-time caller Ethan has four TLRs, but confesses he doesn’t like shooting them
• Stephen Strangways find he tilts not only film TLRs, but also the digital Chuzhao and Paul Rybolt figures it’s due to shutter button placement
• Paul likes the Rolleicord and Rolleiflex, but hates identifying them. Xenons, Xenars, Planars, and Tessars, oh my!
• Sarah Davis fixes Yashica, Rollei, and Mamiya TLRs, as well as some Nikon and Canon SLRs
• Chris Sherlock of Retina Rescue has repaired some Tele Rolleiflexes: “try and take note of what I took apart, and put it back together so it works.”
• Sarah shares why the Yashica TLRs, after the Pigeonflex and Yashima Flex, are so durable
• Brian MacDomhnail took Mike’s advice to pick up a Yashica-D to replace his Lomo Lubitel
• Mike finds the non-Mat TLRs are simpler and smoother, Sarah recommends the Yashica-Mat LM and EM
• Anthony Rue had a Rolleiflex 2.8E that he traded for a Leica M4-2, but kept his Yashica Mat 124, but shoots his Meopta Flexaret VI the most,
• Anthony also loves his Voigtländer Superb, and Mike has a theory as to why it’s so different
• Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex “coffee can”
• Focusing screen brightness, Fresnel lenses, Rick Oleson Bright Screens, Martin Seelig’s mirrors
• A.J. Gentile has tips on shooting with TLRs
• Howard Sandler thinks the Minolta Autocord and Ricoh Diacord have great ergonomics, Sarah has some repair insights into them, and Mike explains the Autocord’s backwards film loading
• Leaf shutters vs. focal plane shutters, and the tricks used to get leaf shutters beyond 1/500th, as on the 1/800th Kodak Chevron and Tourist, the Graflex Super Speed Graphic’s 1/1000th, and the Minolta V2 and V3
• Are the Mamiya C-series cameras, TLRs with interchangeable lenses, huge and reliable, or just huge?
• The Koni-Omegaflex M is even bigger / Rex Reflex
• The reason for TLRs, and medium format film
• Going smaller: Agfa Flexilette, Bolsey Model C, Samocaflex 35, the Gakkenflex DIY kit
• Even smaller yet: Tessina 35, GemFlex, Goerz Minicord
• Is it a pseudo-TLR, or something else? Argus 75, Voigtländer Brillant, Lubitel, Kodak Duaflex, Bedfordflex, Windsorflex
• Paul’s Rollei Magic Rant, and why it breaks Mike’s brain
• João Gomes on the underappreciated Zeiss-Ikon Contaflex and Ikoflex III
• Norris Liu’s funky Toyocaflex 35, Welta Superfekta and Perfekta
• Paul’s 1937 Minoltaflex (photo he sent in FB group chat)
• Jeremy Scott brings up f/2.8 TLRs with his Rollei, and Mike has a Fujicaflex
• Anthony’s Ansco Automatic Reflex 3.5 regret, Mike expands on the history of them, and Norris has a Rocca Super Reflex
• Will Pinkham opens a can of worms about viewing and taking lenses
• Stephen didn’t think his Mamiya C330f was too huge, just too convoluted, and servicing simpler cameras to keep them working
• Wrapping it up with some one-off TLR models
• A surprise guest swoops in like a Seagull

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, Stephen, 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.

Order Your Very Own Camerosity Podcast T-Shirt! - https://www.zazzle.com/z/tbykl0hg

Sarah Davis Photo and Repair - https://www.sdavisphotorepair.com/

Chris Sherlock - Retina Rescue - https://retinarescue.com/

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

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

Camerosity in Spanish Podcast - https://camerosity.es/

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 over a year, one of my most sought after guests to come on the show has been Chris Sherlock of Retina Rescue.  Way back in December 2019, I had a chance to sit down and have a discussion with Chris and I have wanted to have another opportunity ever since and it finally happened!

Episode 107 is all about Chris Sherlock and his experience repairing and collecting the Kodak Retina system.  I promised Chris, I would make it very clear that he is still retired and is not taking in any new work, but Chris is still active on YouTube, publishing complete walkthroughs of CLAs on Retinas and other cameras.

Joining Chris are Anthony, Paul, Stephen, Theo, and Mike and a long list of callers, including A.J. Gentile, Aaron Knesal, Ben Ryerson, Doug Willoughby, Eric Schneck, Fernando Villava, Joao Gomes, Greg Harp, Howard Sandler, Michael Boudreaux, Norris Liu, Pat Casey, Robert Rotoloni, and Will Pinkham.

Chris starts things off with how he got started repairing cameras, all the way back in the 1970s working for Kodak in Wellington, New Zealand and then continues onto his first Retina models and why he started his site.

We discuss a wide range of Kodak Retina models, from the folders, solid bodied rangefinders, to the SLRs.  Chris, Mike, and others share their favorite models and which ones we recommend for first time shooters and which ones have issues to look out for.  Chris explains what kinds of problems the Retina cocking rack may cause and why the later cameras have a long silk cord in them.

It wouldn't be a Camerosity Episode if we didn't get off track, so we can thank Howard for bringing up the Voigtländer Ultramatic, Theo gives an update on the most recent Sydney Camera show, Greg Harp shares his recent 1930s Canon Standard pickup, and Aaron talks about his Yashica 44 TLR he bought from Paul.

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 our next episode, we are will be revisiting Canon rangefinders.  The last time we spent a majority of an episode on these wonderful cameras was way back in Episode 18, so we thought it was time to invite some newer fans of the show to call in and share which models they love and whatever else they want to talk about!  We will record Episode 108 on Monday, April 27th at 7pm Central Daylight Time, 8pm Eastern Daylight Time, and 6pm Canada Saskatchewan Time.  For more time zones, please consult the World Time Buddy calculator and plug in your time.  Make sure you set your calendars and look out for the show announcement at the usual locations and be prepared to join us!

In This Episode

• We Are Recording While Artemis II is Coming out of Radio Blackout / Anthony's Artemis Launch Photos
• Chris Sherlock is Not Coming Out of Retirement / Chris Still Gets Requests Daily to Repair Retinas
• How Chris Got Started Repairing Cameras / Working in Wellington Repairing Instamatics
• Chris's First Retina was a Retina Ib / Started Selling on Auction Web (Predecessor to eBay)
• The First Version of Retina Rescue was an ISP Personal Page
• Spare Parts Are Important to Camera Repair / Chris's Tips for Starting to Repair
• Anthony Gets his Dad's Retina Reflex III Repaired by Chris
• Paul Barden Also Repairs Some Retinas / Chris's YouTube Videos Are Incredibly Helpful Too
• Not All Retina Cocking Racks Are Weak Points
• Is the Retina IIIC the Best Retina? / Differences Between the IIIc and IIIC
• Using Auxiliary Wide or Telephoto Lenses on the Kodak Retinas
• The Retina With the Most Problems with Haze / Cleaning Lenses
• Were the Early Ektar 3.5 Lenses Actually Made by Kodak?
• What Would be Chris's Favorite Retinas to Shoot? / Kodak Retina IIS and IIIS
• How Far Did Chris Tear Down the Shutter when Doing a CLA?
• Doug Can Recognize Chris's Hands in a "Hand Lineup"
• Kodak Retina Automatics / Other Contemporary Cameras to the Retina
• The Kodak Retina II Type 122 is Unobtanium for Chris
• How Long Did it take Chris to CLA a Kodak Retina?
• Where were Chris's Customers From? / Selling Cameras is Difficult
• Retina Reflexes Had a Silk String Inside Them / Voigtländer Ultramatic
• You Can't Just Repair One Part of a Camera, You Must Do it All
• Chris Likes Jigsaw Puzzles But Not Zeiss-Ikon Contaflexes
• Mike's Favorite Retinas are the IIa, Ib, and IIIS
• Greg Picked Up a Canon Standard Rangefinder / Joao's Ansco Super Speedex
• Theo's Update on the Sydney Camera Show / Seagull TLRs
• Aaron Buys a Yashica 44 from Paul / Shooting 127 Film

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, Stephen, 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.

Order Your Very Own Camerosity Podcast T-Shirt! - https://www.zazzle.com/z/tbykl0hg

Chris Sherlock's Retina Rescue - https://retinarescue.com/

Chris Sherlock's YouTube Page - https://www.youtube.com/c/ChrisSherlock

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

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

Camerosity in Spanish Podcast - https://camerosity.es/

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/

Ever since the very first episode of this show, we've aimed to include as many of our listeners in our shows as possible, but that our hosts are located in three different countries and in four different time zones makes finding a time that works for everyone difficult, especially those of you in Europe and other European-aligned time zones where it is often the middle of the night when we typically record.

In an effort to give more people in these areas of the world the opportunity to join us, on occasion we change our recording time.  For Episode 106, we did just that and saw a large number of people show up!

Joining Anthony, Paul, Stephen, Theo, and Mike on this show were returning and first time callers, Brendon Wilson, Brian MacDomhnail, Fernando Villava, Ira Cohen, Joey Alvillar, John Wade, Josh Calvetti, Krijn Vogelaar from Holland, Kamil from Norway, Norris Liu, Pat Casey, Stuart Pratt, Vlad Kern, and Wayne Scheipers.

On this show, we covered a wide array of topics including one of Paul's most hated Nikons, John Wade shares with us a very interesting Ilford monorail camera which supports shooting on 35mm film, Ira shares his love for Eigenbau cameras, and we admire Krijn's beautifully painted Kodak box cameras.

In addition, we cover a large range of cameras from the AGFA Automatic 66, to the Kodak Medalist, Hasselblad SWC, Leidolf Lordomat, Mamiya RB67, the Tom Thumb 'radiocamera', and Mike shares a quick preview of a neat rangefinder camera he picked up called the Wenk Wenka.

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 our next episode, we are returning to one of the gang's favorite camera families, the Kodak Retina.  To help us navigate the nuances of so many Retina models, we are happy to welcome Chris Sherlock, of Retina Rescue.  Chris has many years of experience repairing Kodak Retinas and other leaf shutter cameras and is sure to have a great deal of insight into these wonderful cameras!  We will record Episode 107 on Monday, April 6th at 7pm Central Daylight Time, 8pm Eastern Daylight Time, and Tuesday April 7th at Noon New Zealand Standard Time.  For more time zones, please consult the World Time Buddy calculator and plug in your time.  Make sure you set your calendars and look out for the show announcement at the usual locations and be prepared to join us!

In This Episode

• Happy Birthday to Pat Casey / Kamil and the Olympus mju Zoom / Minolta Dynax 5 / Nikon F80
• Paul Really Hates the Nikon F70 / Mike’s First DLSR was the Nikon D40x
• Fujifilm Finepix Pro early DSLRs were F80 bodies
• John Wade has stopped writing books, but still writes for Amateur Photographer
• Ilford KI Monobar, a 35mm monorail camera
• John has Stanley German’s (Botanist in 1940s) specially made one off camera with all his slides
• Ira's Eigenbau and Frankencameras / Machinists Who Make Good Cameras at Home
• John showed a stereo camera which was converted to a Panoramic Camera
• Paul likes the pretty Kodak Model F 620 box camera
• Kodak pushed 620 across the world
• Agfa Automatic 66 and the Goerz Minicord
• Krijn's Hand Painted Kodak Brownies
• Brendan has a Mandelar Leica M lens, they are a hot item
• Third party lenses are really good value
• Wayne is shooting a Zeiss-Ikon Contessa 35 and a Kiev 88
• Vlad has had a few problems with US Customs
• Mike has gone 3D printing crazy
• Josh has a new Minolta Rokkor 40mm f/2 CL Leica mount
• Joey picked up a Hasselblad SWC which could have gone through the Camerosity rounds
• Leidolf Lordomat / Brian has reduced his camera collection a lot, he is enjoying the Pentax MX
• Wishing the I Dream of Cameras podcast congratulations for 100th episode
• Some cameras have strange battery compartments
• Fernando has a new Kodak Medalist
• Many photographers used the collected cameras as workhorses
• Good photographers do not rely on the camera alone for the results
• Kamil scored a Mamiya RB67 Pro S
• New seals are often needed for older cameras / Don’t put cameras in the sun
• Norris brought in a radio camera called the Tom Thumb
• Mike Picked Up a Wenk Wenka / Stuart has a Rolleicord 5b and some Zeiss Ikoflexes

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, Stephen, 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.

Order Your Very Own Camerosity Podcast T-Shirt! - https://www.zazzle.com/z/tbykl0hg

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/