Camerosity

Episode 55: Travelling With Cameras and Film

In the first episode of Season 3 of the Camerosity Podcast, the guys and I opened up the call-in lines for the first time since late July and asked everyone who has travelled lately, what their ideal travel cameras are.  When deciding to take some cameras on a trip, what makes the cut or doesn't, and why.  In addition to travelling with cameras, what are your tips for getting through airport security, is it worth getting your film hand checked, or should you separate your film from your cameras into separate luggage.

Joining Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike are returning callers Mark Faulkner, Patrick Rapps, John Roberts, Howard Sandler, and first time callers Maxwell Whitaker, Mina Saleeb, and Kevin Knipp who all help us answer those questions.

In addition to our travel tips, we also stray into the world of mirror lenses and other strange lenses of the 20th century like the Voigtländer Zoomar, KMZ Rubin-1, and the Minolta Rokkor-X 40-80mm f/2.8 "Gear Box Lens".  As we often do, much praise is heaped upon Voigtländer and the Bessamatic SLR and Cosina Bessa Rangefinders, we share our opinions of Minox submini cameras, the Carl Zeiss Jena Werra, AGFA Karat 36, plus many, many others.

Later, hear Anthony admit that he's struggling with the decision of whether he needs to rebuy another Leica M3, whether or not people mix digital and film on vacations, and how many times Paul has bought the same camera more than once.

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 new to shooting and are interested in having an episode dedicated to people new to the hobby, 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, 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 red, for Red October.  That's right, the Camerosity Podcast is going to discuss the Soviet Photo Industry.  What are the best cameras to pick up for someone new to the hobby, which ones to avoid, and what are some under the radar models.  So for those of you looking to expand on your Soviet GAS, be sure to join us on Monday, October 2nd for the recording of Episode 56!

In This Episode

• How Do You Decide Which Cameras Will Go With You on a Trip / Theo and Anthony Are Going to Asia
• Bringing At Least One Digital Camera on a Trip / Panasonic Lumix LX Series
• John Roberts Took a Canon F1 and Nikon Z5 and Used the Same Lenses Using an Adapter / Mike Loves the Z5
• Mina Took a Nikon F-801 with Two AF Lenses
• Inspecting Film Through Airport Security / Put Film in Clear Bags, Be Polite, and Make the Inspection as Easy as Possible
• Some Airports Have a No Hand Check Policy / If You Are Eligible for TSA Pre-Check, Do It / ISO 800 Film And Up / CT Scanners
• Film Shield Bags Are Lined with Lead / Paul Once Lost an Entire Pelican Case of Film in Airport Security
• Anthony Is Going to Japan / Voigtänder Perkeo II / Olympus XA4 / Minox 35
• Howard Brings Cheap Cameras On Trips / Rollei 35 B / Mike Gets Stressed Out If He Brings Too Many Cameras
• Paul Travels Specifically for Photography and Food / His Wife Traveled with an RB67 One Year
• If Your Cameras Are Stolen While Travelling, A Tip Is To Also Lose Your Passport So You'll Stop Thinking About the Cameras
• Getting Film Stolen is Worse Than Cameras Stolen / Travel With Your Cameras and Film Separately
• Good Compact Digitals for Travel / Ricoh GR / Panasonic Lumix LX100
• Olympus Pen F Digital and Film Cameras / Half Frame vs APS-C
• Micro 4/3 Cameras Are Quite Good / Olympus OM-D EM1X / Olympus Pen Digitals
• Maxwell's Ideal Travel Camera is a Minox B He Bought from Paul / Getting and Developing Minox Film
• Slitting Film / 3D Printing Slitters / Using a TLR to Slit Film
• Anthony is Going to Attempt to Barter His Way to a Good Camera in Japan By Selling Argus C3s
• Theo and Anthony Love the Zeiss-Ikon Contessa 35 / Mike Not So Much / Voigtländer Vito III
• Carl Zeiss Jena Werra Series / The Werra is the Only Carl Zeiss Jena Camera
• Leaf Shutters That Go Faster than 1/500 / Kodak Tourist and Chevron / Minolta V2, V3, and Others
• Rudi Made Anthony Take a Bunch of 110 Cameras and 110 Film from Him / Minolta and Pentax 110 SLRs
• Mike Didn't Like the Canon 110ED / Anthony Loved his Minox 110 and the Vitoret 110
• Voigtländer Was Owned by Zeiss, Then Rollei, then Licensed to Cosina for the Bessa Rangefinders
• Voigländer Vitessa, Vito C, Bessamatic, Ultramatic / Voigtländer Zoomar Lenses
• Russian MTO 500 and 1000mm Mirror Lenses / Maksutov Invented the Catadioptric Lenses for Telescopes
• Soviet Rubin-1 Is Not a Copy of the Zoomar But is Similar / The Zoomar Originally Came on the KMZ Zenit 6
• Mike Attempts to Explain How a Mirror Lens Works / Mirror Lenses Are Almost Always Found in Mint Condition
• Nikon and Minolta Mirror Lenses / The Rokkor 250mm f/5.6 Mirror Lens is Very Good
• Minolta Rokkor-X 40-80mm f/2.8 Gearbox Lens
• Show Suggestions for Season 3 / Yashica / TLRs / Subminis
• Viscawide 16mm Swing Lens Camera / Large Format / Robert Shanebrook / Another Euro Episode
• Leicaflex SL Mirror Locks Just like the Nikon F
• How Many Cameras Have You Bought More Than Once?
• Anthony Is Starting to Miss His Leica M3 / Voigtländer Cosina Made Bessas / Contax RTS II and RTS III
• The Earlier AGFA Karat is the Rangefinder for People Who Don't Like Rangefinders
• We Have Lots Planned for Season 3, Stay Tuned!

Links

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 or Instagram page, or email us at camerosity.podcast@gmail.com.

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

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

Chuck Rubin Photographics - https://www.facebook.com/p/Chuck-Rubin-Photographics-100054624692201/

Mina Saleeb - https://www.instagram.com/crookandflail

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

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris and https://www.etsy.com/shop/Camerasandpictures

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/ and https://www.facebook.com/VoltaGNV/

Episode 54: Camerosity Unplugged

We're back....sorta!

For the month of August, the Camerosity Gang has been on vacation, traveling all over the United States Southwest and Northern Dairylands, battling Florida storms and insect borne illnesses, and handling the stress of a new job and shopping for a new home.

In a moment of spontaneous availability, the guys and I jumped on a Zoom call, hit record and just started talking.  If you've ever wanted to know what it would be like to be in a room (virtual or real) with Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike, this episode is what it's like, just four guys sitting around talking about whatever comes to mind.  In the spirit of Cocaine and Waffles, we put no effort into this, had no agenda, and just started talking.

As promised at the end of Episode 53, we will return soon with Season 3, featuring (slightly) more organized and thought out episodes.  We have a ton of great ideas for topics coming up, so please keep a look out for our next show announcement soon.  If you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, and right here on mikeeckman.com.  We will record our next episode on Monday, September 18th at 7pm Central Daylight Time.  Stay tuned!

This Week's Episode

• Paul and Black Paint Leicas / Anthony is shooting the Voigtländer Perkeo, Robot Royal, and Mercury II
• Florida Storms / Disruptions to Business / Shooting in a Hurricane / Waffle House Index / Florida Man
• Konica Genba Kantoku and Other Industrial Cameras
• Minolta Weathermatic / Canon Aqua Snappy AS6 / Sureshot A1 / Nikon Nikonos
• Mike is shooting with the Rollei 35 RF with TTArtisan 50mm f/0.95 / Konica Hexar AF
• Nikon 35Ti and Other Compacts Which are in Danger of Electronics Failure
• Theo’s Tale of Leica R Woe and What He Did to Solve it
• Theo is Also Shooting a Voigtlander Vitessa L with Ultron lens and Keks 2 Meter and Kodak 2238
• Anthony’s Vitessa is from the Original Importer / Voigtländer Prominent
• Theo is Also Shooting the Zeiss Ikoflex, Voigtländer Superb and the Zeiss Super Ikonta C
• Taking Panoramas with a Nikkor PC Shift Lens
• Paul is Overloaded With Cameras But Still Buys Leicas / 650 Boxes of Cameras
• Cameras with Sequential Serial Numbers
• Digicams Are Great for Kids to Learn Photography
• Theo is the Adapter King of Australia
• Lots of Voigtländer Brillants and Kodak Vest Pockets Have Been Found
• Rolleiflex with Duct Taped Polaroid Back / Leica Accessories Made in Japan
• Paul Did the Americana Festival and Met Patrick Rapps / Ray Nasson visited Mike
• Theo Bought a Canon FTb from Peter Kitchingman Without Knowing
• Anthony talks about John Minnicks and the Aero Liberator
• Anthony had his Canon IV Sb Repaired and Loves It
• He also Had Robot Royal, Mamiya 645 Lens and Tower 22 Repaired
• We Keep the Repairers Busy / Robot Royal / Anthony is Feeding Ticks

Links

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 or Instagram page, or email us at camerosity.podcast@gmail.com.

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 and https://www.etsy.com/shop/Camerasandpictures

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/ and https://www.facebook.com/VoltaGNV/

Episode 53: Unobtanium

We've covered a lot of gear on this podcast before.  Some cameras are ones that flew under the radar that deserved some recognition as something worth checking out, others were less common models in which a bit more effort (and cost) were required to add to a collection, but then there's a level of camera in which no amount of money or effort will result in one coming your way.  These are the Unobtanium cameras, models which are so expensive, or so hard to find, that even the most experienced of collectors don't have them.

Joining Anthony, Theo, Paul, and Mike on this episode dedicated to the hardest cameras to find are some people who have found some of the hardest cameras to find, Ira Cohen, Ray Nason, Robert Rotoloni, Patrick Rapps, Rudi Berden, and James Thorpe.  Each of these guys has at least one camera that for most people would quality as unobtanium.  How they came across each model varies, but nevertheless, represent some of the coolest and hardest to find cameras ever made.

As we did in the last episode, we start off this one with a question, asking our guests to define what exactly qualifies as unobtanium.  As you might expert, rarity and cost are definitely prerequisites, but what about functionality or provenance?  Does a camera that's very difficult to find in working order or a camera formerly owned by the Beatles still qualify as unobtanium.  In addition to rare cameras, lenses and accessories can qualify too, so we get into some extras that are really hard to find as well.

If you were to break down types of unobtanium cameras, one that would be the hardest of the hardest to find would be prototypes, so in this episode we spend time talking about some of the coolest prototypes including two interchangeable lens rangefinders made by Minolta and Konica, but also Robert Rotoloni goes DEEP into the rabbit hole of prototype Nikon rangefinder cameras and lenses.  If you thought the Nikon SP was the most advanced 35mm rangefinder the company ever made, think again as there were two others.

The rest of the episode is all over the place, discussing rare cameras by Ilford, Argus, Wica, Premier Instrument Corp, and LeCoultre.  We are quite certain that we missed some other rare and otherwise difficult to find cameras, but as always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  We would love to hear from more listeners, especially those who are new to shooting film or collecting cameras.  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 new to shooting and are interested in having an episode dedicated to people new to the hobby, 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, 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.

As we did last year, we're taking the entire month of August off to relax, soak in some sun, and maybe even catch up on shooting all of the cool cameras we've all picked up in the past year so we will not be back with Episode 54 until September.  The guys and I will still be active on the Camerosity Facebook page, so keep in touch with us there, and once we have an idea of when we'll record the next episode, and what possible topics we might discuss, we'll be sure to let you know!

This Week's Episode

• How Do You Define "Unobtanium" / Rarity, Expensive, or Something Else? / Unobtanium Lenses
• Cameras Not Known to Be Very Reliable: Kodak Ektra, Hasselblad XPan, Graflex 3A
• Rudi Berden Reviews the Kodak Ektra / Leaving Notes in the Film Compartment
• Cameras that Have Provenance or Were Owned by Someone Famous
• Mike is Collecting Cameras Owned by Other Collectors
• Before the Internet, Finding Rare Cameras Was Extremely Difficult / Paul Finds a Leica Luxus
• Walter Dorwin Teague No. 1A Gift Camera
• Cameras that Have Cross Appeal to Different Collectors, The Price Goes Up Dramatically / Mickey Mouse Cameras
• Paul Handled 80 Boxes with 640 Cameras in Them in One Day / Graflex Combat Graphic
• Kodak Bantam Special in Original Box / Versions with Supermatic and Compur Shutters / Using the Bantam Special
• Nippon Kogaku Almost Made a TLR, Two Prototypes Were Known to Exist
• Other Companies Made Cameras with Nikkor Lenses / Aires Flex TLR / Sawyer's Mark IV / Mamiya Six
• Minolta Sky Prototype / Konica FR Rangefinder Prototype
• Andrew Lloyd MPP Press Camera / Robot Royal 18 Half Frame Camera
• It is Very Difficult to Assign Value to Extremely Rare Cameras
• Konica IIIM with Half-Frame Mask / Unobtanium Accessories / Getting a Pax 35 To Work is Not Easy
• Patrick's Strange Okaya Lord 5D / Rudi Reviews the Super Kodak Six-20
• Digital Unobtanium / Epson R-D1 Digital Rangefinder
• Ira Cohen's Most Wanted Camera / Mike Helps Ira Buy a One of a Kind Camera / Lausar 127
• James Thorpe's Unobtanium is a Zecaflex Folding TLR / Welta Superfekta / Zeiss-Ikon Contaflex TLR
• The LeCoultre Compass is a Very Unobtanium Camera...Except for Ira
• Bob's Nikon Rarities - Follow Along The Rotoloni Report 4: Nikon Rangefinder Prototypes
  • 50mm f/1.8 Nikkor RF Lenses / 35mm f/1.4 RF Lens / Nikkor-O 50mm f/1.0
  • Nikon Screw Mount RFs / Nikon SPX / Nikon SP2 / The Original Nikon Rangefinder
• Paul and Mike Are Cornering the Market on Lens Hoods and Lens Adapters
• Ilford Witness / The Melcon II Looks like a Nikon Rangefinder / Wica Rangefinder
• Mike's Recent Unobtanium GAS / Military Kardon / Argus K
• Unobtanium Accessories / Some Unobtanium is More Difficult to Find in Other Countries
• Cameras That Are Opposite of Unobtamium
  • Argus Brick / Kodak Vest Pocket / Voigtländer Brilliant / Pentax K1000 / Canon AE-1 / Big Royal View Trashcam / Yashica Electro 35
• Anthony Shoots a Pentax Takumar 18mm f/11 Pancake Lens / Theo Won't Buy a Contax T2
• Paul and the Americana Folk Music Gathering in Scottsdale, Arizona

Links

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 or Instagram page, or email us at camerosity.podcast@gmail.com.

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

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

Americana Folk Music Gathering - https://americanafolkgathering.com/

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

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris and https://www.etsy.com/shop/Camerasandpictures

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/ and https://www.facebook.com/VoltaGNV/

Episode 52: Panorama City

Venturing back into the early days of the Camerosity Podcast, the topic of panoramic cameras came up often on the show, so often that we jokingly referred to ourselves as the widest film photography podcast out there.  As we often do, the gang got distracted in later episodes by various other formats, brands, and special guests, but we thought it was time to revisit our love of all things panoramic and take a ride to Panorama City.  No, not that Panorama City in southern California, but the land of Hasselblad XPans, Fuji G617s, Horizonts, and Noblexes.

Joining Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our wide journey was a motley crew of panoramic enthusiasts, fans, and just passers by.  Returning guests, all the way from Cape Town, South Africa, Dean Blumberg, Ray Nason, Skip Williams, Richard Driver, Andrew Smith, and Mark Faulkner.  Also, first time callers Patrick Rapps, Rudi Berden, and Paul's ex-Fuji rep, Bob Grzesiak were in attendance.

Not content with only talking to people who like to use existing panoramic cameras, also joining us from Silvergrain Classics is Marwan El Mozayen who most people in the film community know as helping to bring back a new version of the Widelux F8 swing lens panoramic camera.  With the support of Hollywood A-lister and renowned Widelux fan, Jeff Bridges and his wife Susan, Marwan shares the back story of how he became involved in resurrecting this panoramic classic.  Marwan isn't just some PR guy helping to spread word about his company's project however, as he has extensive knowledge of other panoramic cameras like the Noblex, Soviet Horizonts and many others.

We started the show off with what we thought would be a pretty straightforward question, but the topic of what exactly defines an image or camera as panoramic elicited a pretty interesting discussion, relating panoramic still photography to that of cinematography and that angle of view should be considered in addition to physical size.

Differences between wide angle panoramic cameras like the Hasselblad XPan and swing lens cameras like the Panoram-Kodak were discussed, along with cropped panoramic, 3D printed masks, how to use a perspective control lens to shoot panoramic digitals, and even some panoramic developing and scanning hacks that make like easier for the hobbyist.  With Marwan on the show bringing back the Widelux, we did a lighting round asking every participant what other cameras you would like to see someone make an attempt at bringing back (who wants to guess what Theo's was?).

[label type="warning"]Silvergrain Classics Discount Code: [/label]During the show, Marwan El Mozayen mentioned that listeners of this show get a discount when ordering a copy of issue #19 of their magazine, which features a ton of information about the upcoming re-release of the Widelux.  To receive this discount, use code: WLX10 when ordering.

Like all other episodes of the Camerosity Podcast, we were excited to go down the panoramic rabbit hole but had no idea of how deep it would be.  We ventured into some discussions that I could have never imagined, sharing the love and passion for this subset of  photography with a fascinating and very experienced panel of callers.

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  We would love to hear from more listeners, especially those who are new to shooting film or collecting cameras.  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 new to shooting and are interested in having an episode dedicated to people new to the hobby, 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, 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 of the Camerosity Podcast will be all about "unobtanium cameras", those cameras you never thought you'd get a chance to see, let alone use.  Maybe it's a rare one of a kind prototype, or a common, but REALLY expensive camera that is beyond your budget.  If you can't find or afford it, come on the show and join us for Episode 53, which will be recorded on Monday, July 24th!

This next episode will be our Season 2 finale before the gang goes on vacation.  As we did last year, we're taking the entire month of August off to relax, soak in some sun, and maybe even catch up on shooting all of the cool cameras we've all picked up in the past year.  We will return in September!

This Week's Episode

• What Do We Mean When We Say “Panoramic”? / Widescreen in Cinematography
• Banquet Cameras in the 1900s / Banquet vs Kodak Cirkut Cameras
• Aspect Ratio as a Starting Point for Panorama / Aspect Ratio vs Field of View as a Way of Defining Panorama
• Is the Fuji G617 Panoramic or Wide View?
• Can a Cropped Image be Panoramic? / Cropping Before and After Taking the Image / The Hasselblad XPan and the Noblex 135 S
• What Makes the Widelux Special? / The Mechanics and Simplicity of a Swing Lens Camera
• The Original Kodak Panoram / Kodak 3A Using 122 and 616 film in Old Folders for Wider Aspect Ratios
• Zeiss Super Ikonta 616 and Zeiss Cocarette / 3A Graflex
• Camera Hack and 3D Printed Adapters for Older Film Types
• Silvergrain Classics and the Project to Resurrect the Widelux F8
• The KMZ Horizont Was the First “Modern” Swing Lens Camera
• The Shift from Medium Format to 35mm Swing Lens Cameras Under the Widelux Brand
• Jeff and Susan Bridges and their Love of the Widelux
• How to Visualize Shooting with a Widelux / Looking to Cinematography Instead of Still Photography for Panoramic Compositional Ideas
• Depth of Field in Panorama / Using Contact Lenses to Modify Swing Lens Properties
• The Best and Worst About the Noblex / Every Released Noblex was Really a “Mostly” Working Prototype
• The Mechanics of Reproducing the Widelux / Swing Lens Camera Repair
• Horizont 202 The Affordable Swing Lens Alternative
• Pulling Back the Curtain on the Hasselblad XPan’s Reliability Issues
• Skip’s Mamiya Pro S 220 Back with a Mercury 3D Printed Film Gate Adapter
• Dean’s Bronica ETRS Kludge / Skip’s Cameradactyl Homunculus 69
• Turning to 3D Printing for Wide Aspect Ratio Adapters
• The Virtues of the Fuji G617 / The G617 goes to the North Pole
• Paul’s Sony A7 RII with a Nikkor Perspective Control Lens for Digital Panoramas
• Rudi’s Zone Image Pinhole 617 / Patrick’s Sinhao Wide Aspect Hack
• Back to Silvergrain Classic and Details on the Release of the New Widelux
• Lightning round: Pick One Camera you Want to see Brought Back!
  • Minolta XM Motor / Hasselblad XPan / Plaubel 67 / Fuji GW690 / A Miranda That Works / Mamiya 7 / Fuji GX617 / Nikon FM3a / Panon 120 swing-lens / Kodak Medalist / Mamiya 6
• Theo’s Panora Wide Pic / Minolta P's and Masked 35mm Point and Shoots / Viscawide 16
• Lightroom and Photoshop for Panoramic Merging / Flatbed Panoramic Scanning Hacks
• Panoramic Chromes and AGX Imaging for Pro Level E6 Developing and Scanning

Links

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 or Instagram page, or email us at camerosity.podcast@gmail.com.

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

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

Silvergrain Classics Widelux Revivial - https://silvergrainclassics.com/en/2023/07/the-widelux-revival-project/

Andrew Smith – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClXrAlbnU3gvdRrJ5gAR4mw

Mark Faulkner – https://thegashaus.com/

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

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris and https://www.etsy.com/shop/Camerasandpictures

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/ and https://www.facebook.com/VoltaGNV/

Episode 51: Kodak with the Eastman Museum’s Todd Gustavson

Hot off our 50th episode, the Camerosity Podcast goes back to the roots of our name, exploring the rich history of Eastman Kodak, one of the most influential companies in the photographic world.  You can't talk about the history of Kodak without George Eastman and what better way to explore that history than with Todd Gustavson, curator of the George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY.

Todd has been on the show before, but in this the 51th episode, he gets center stage, talking of his role at the Eastman Museum, the origins of George Eastman and how his company got started.  In this episode, you'll learn about George Eastman making dry plates in his mother's kitchen, his motivation for making the original 1888 Kodak, where the name "Kodak" comes from, early 20th century Kodaks, prewar, postwar, and everything in between.

Also joining us on the show is the only person in the US I would trust with Kodak Retina repair, Paul Barden.  Back in 2022, long time Retina guru Chris Sherlock hung up his lens spanners and retired from Retina repair.  Not willing to leave a void in quality Retina service, Chris passed on his knowledge to Paul, who lives on the west coast of the United States.  This not only means that there is still a quality option for Retina repair, but for those of you in the US, shipping rates are much cheaper than to New Zealand!  Listen to this episode as Paul talks about his work repairing Retinas, what some of his favorite models are, and what models he does and doesn't repair.

In addition to Todd and Paul's massive amount of Kodak knowledge, we go deep into some of the best Kodak cameras ever made, the Kodaks Ektra, Medalist, Monitor, and Regent get discussed here.  We talk about Walter Dorwin Teague, Dr. August Nagel, and Hubert Nerwin.  Mike shares what his all time favorite Retina is to shoot, Anthony discusses his nomination for a medium format Retina, Todd and Mike talk about Joe Mihayli and his contributions to Kodak's legacy.

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  We would love to hear from more listeners, especially those who are new to shooting film or collecting cameras.  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 new to shooting and are interested in having an episode dedicated to people new to the hobby, 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, 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 of the Camerosity Podcast will be our widest ever, as the gang discusses panorama photography and panoramic cameras.  If you've ever wanted to know what it's like to shoot a Hasselblad XPan, Soviet Horizont, Noblex, or a Widelux camera, this is the episode for you!  Episode 52 will be recorded on Friday, June 30th.  We hope to see you there!

This Week's Episode

• What is the George Eastman Museum and Why Should Anyone Go There?
• Largest Collection of Nitrate Film / Over 10,000 Cameras / Not Just Kodak Is on Display / One of Louis Daguerre's Original Cameras
• Paul Once Got Liquored Up in the George Eastman Museum / The Museum Has an Impressive Music Room
• George Eastman's Early Years / Eastman Dry Plate Company / Eastman's First Film Wasn't Actually Film
• The 1888 Kodak / Origins of the Kodak Name / Variations of the Original Box Kodaks
• George Eastman Pioneered Dental Care and Donated a Ton of Money to Local Schools
• What Caused Kodak to Move Away from Simple Box Cameras to More Complex Folding and Other Camera Designs?
• Early Color Film Was a Two Color Film / Kodachrome Was a 6 Layer Black and White Film with Color Filters
• Super Kodak Six-20 / How Many Were Made?
• Kodak's Priority Was to Manufacture World Wide / Kodak Canada and UK
• Kodak Film Was One of the Most Complicated Consumer Products Ever Made
• Was It a Coincidence that Kodak Started Producing Much More Advanced Cameras Right After Eastman Died?
• Kodak 50th Anniversary Brownie Camera Was Given Away to Children for Free
• Why Did Kodak Hire Dr. August Nagel to Make Cameras For Them?
• The Original 35mm Type 135 Cassette is Slightly Different Than the Ones Today
• Introducing Paul Barden Who Studied Under Chris Sherlock to Repair Retinas
• Paul Does Not Repair the Retina Reflexes or All the Models Chris Repaired
• Disabling Dead Meters on the Later Retinas Actually Improves their Usability As There's Less Parts to Move
• Which Retinas are the Most Dependable Shooters After Receiving a CLA?
• Mike is Working on a Review of the Retina IIIC /  Mike's Favorite Retina to Use is the Retina IB
• Not Having a Rangefinder is Not Always a Bad Thing / The Retina Accessory Lenses Aren't Very Easy to Use
• Besides the Retinas, What Other Great Kodak Cameras Were Made After the War?
• Kodak Signet 35 / Kodak Ektra / The Ektra's Focal Plane Shutter Was Like No Other
• Anthony Loves the Kodak Medalist / The Kodak Chevron is Not a Replacement for the Medalist
• How Much Influence with Walter Dorwin Teague Have on Kodak?
• Kodak Was Always a Film First Company / The Profit Margins Making Film Was 10x Higher Than Making Cameras
• Kodak Tourist and Monitor Folding Cameras / Series III Pocket Folding Kodak
• The Problem with Nearly All Folding Kodaks Are the Bellows, They All Leak Light
• Kodak Retina Bellows Usually Do Hold Up To Time and Rarely Leak Light
• The Kodak Duo Six-20 Is Like a Medium Format Retina / Kodak Regent
• Mike Summarizes Other Great Kodaks to Shoot / Kodak Signet 35
• Kodak Dated Their Lenses and Cameras Using a Code Inspired by the CAMEROSITY Podcast! / UK Lenses Used CUMBERLAND
• What Was Kodak's Motivation With Instamatics and Disc Film? / Kodak Disc Film Was Better Than People Gave it Credit For
• Hubert Nerwin, Designer of the Zeiss-Ikon Contax II and III Designed the Kodak Instamatic Type 126 Cassette
• A Kodak Designer That Doesn't Get Talked Much About is Joeseph Mihayli / Mihayli Designed the Super Kodak Six-20, Ektra, Medalist, and Much More
• What Are Some Good Kodak Reference Books Out There? / Robert Shanebrook, Brian Coe, and Douglas Collins's Books
• Kodak's Major Developments in New Apparatus / Kodak Prototypes of the 1930s / Kodak's Crazy System TLR
• Kodak Super 35 and Kodak Technar Prototypes are in the Eastman Collection
• Anthony Was Heavily Inspired by The Art of Fixing the Shadow
• Paul Barden Can Repair Your Kodak Retinas (Excluding the Retina Reflexes)
• Always RTFM Before Shooting a Retina / Also Always Check the Exposure Counter

Links

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 or Instagram page, or email us at camerosity.podcast@gmail.com.

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

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

George Eastman Museum - https://www.eastman.org/

Todd Gustavson - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkDCZrTKQaI

Paul Barden's Retina Repair - https://kodakretina.exposure.co/the-story-of-the-kodak-retina-camera and https://www.flickr.com/photos/paulbarden/

Episode 8: Making Kodak Film with Robert Shanebrook

Episode 25: Steve Sasson and the First Digital Camera

Keppler's Vault 42: George Eastman

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

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris and https://www.etsy.com/shop/Camerasandpictures

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/ and https://www.facebook.com/VoltaGNV/

Episode 50: Return of the Classic Lenses Podcast

In this the 50th episode of the Camerosity Podcast, the gang and I look back at the past two years of open source film photography nonsense.  A podcast created late one night on a whim has turned into one of the most popular of its kind.

This is a screenshot from the recording of the very first Cocaine and Waffles Podcast recorded on May 12, 2021.

Coming out of podcast retirement (somewhat) is original host, and former creator of the Classic Lenses Podcast, Johnny Sisson.  Dusting off his headset and microphone, Johnny updates us on what happened to his former co-hosts and reflects on what his favorite episodes were.  One of which involves Mr. Bob Rotoloni who conveniently joins us on this episode along with returning guests Rob Jamieson and podcast host himself, Andre Domingues.

On a show featuring both Bob and Johnny, we are treated to a great deal more stories about Nikon and Polaroid, along with discussion about a strange product that brought both brands together.  It wouldn't be a Camerosity Podcast episode without the discussion foraying into other topics such as the Bronica S2 and adapting Bronica lenses, Hasselblads, Diptychs, and Andre's very favorable review of the half frame Kodak H35 which we touched upon in the last episode.

In the spirit of an anniversary episode that reflects back on our origins, be sure to stay through the closing music for a look back into the very first moments of this show...Episode 0!

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  We would love to hear from more listeners, especially those who are new to shooting film or collecting cameras.  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 new to shooting and are interested in having an episode dedicated to people new to the hobby, 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, 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 inviting back Todd Gustavson from the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York to share with us stories about Eastman Kodak, the company's history, some of the best Kodak models to look out for, more about the museum, and lots more.  If you've only ever thought of Kodak as a film company who also made cameras...well, you'd be right...but they're so much more than that.  Be sure to look out for our next show announcement.  Episode 51 will be recorded on Monday, June 12th.  We hope to see you there!

This Week's Episode

• Johnny Reminisces About His Favorite Classic Lenses Podcast Episodes
• What Happened to the CLP? / Perry Ge Has Gone Radio Silent
• Mike's Favorite Camerosity Episodes / Instagram is Our Visual Aide / We Will Never Release the Zoom Video
• Paul's First Impressions of the Podcast When He First Came On / The Four Hosts Talk Every Day
• How Bob Rotoloni Got Started Collecting Nikon /  Bob's First Two Books and First Trip to Japan in 1987
• Japanese Collectors are Reluctant of Western Collectors / Differences Between German and Japanese Companies
• Three Historians for Nikon, Canon, and Leica Were All Americans (Robert, Peter Dechert, and Jim Lager)
• Bob Had to Pay Japanese Students to Translate Old Japanese Articles to Learn More About Nikon
• Joe Ehrenreich Was a Typhoon / Canon Never Had a Joe Ehrenreich
• Nikon's 25th Anniversary Nikon F2A / Was There Ever a Nikon Historical Society Commemorative Camera?
• Nikon Rangefinder Serial Numbers / What is the significance of 609 and 906 Serial Numbers?
• How Long Have Johnny and Robert Been Going to Central Camera
• Johnny Has a Back Log of 4 Years Worth of Film to Develop / Johnny Still Shoots Polaroid Pack Film
• Johnny's Parents Both Worked at Polaroid so He Grew Up with Polaroid
• Johnny Tries to Shoot Half Used Packs of Polaroid Film When He Finds it / Polaroid 107 Film
• Polaroid Created a Lot of Waste / Dr. Edwin Land Was the Steve Jobs of His Era
• Polaroid Was a Lifestyle Brand, Similar to Apple Today
• Which Polaroid Films Last Longer Than Others? / Polaroid Snot
• Polaroid Backs for Nikon SLRs / Asanuma Backs Came with Nikkor-EL Enlarging Lens Inside
• Johnny's Dad Used to Take Photo Finish Pictures at the Indy 500 / He Also Took Photos at Fermi Lab
• Polaroid Revolutionized Photography in Ways Many People Today Don't Realize / It Was a Game Changer
• Polaroid 20x24 / Polaroid Macro 5 Close-Up Camera
• Rob Asks Bob About Nikon's Military Role During World War II / Yamato Battleship Rangefinder and Periscopes
• Japan Didn't Have RADAR, They Relied on Nippon Kogaku's Superior Optics to See at Night
• Nippon Kogaku Almost Disappeared After the War / Revere Was the Company's First Customer and Bought Tons of 8mm Cine Lenses
•  "Nikon and the Sponsorship of Japan's Optical Industry by the Imperial Japanese Navy" by Dr. Jeffrey Alexander / "Nikon in America 1947 - 1952" by Wes Loder
• Andre Shows Off His Nikon Zfc / Nikon is Catering to the Retro Aesthetic and There's Nothing Wrong with That! / There is a Zfc Collector's Group
• Adapting Bronica Nikkor Lenses / Bronica S2 / Why Did Nikon Make Lenses for Bronica?
• Rob's Hasselblad 500CM with 100mm f/3.5 / Andrew Shoots Kodak Ektachrome in Lomography Sprocket Rocket
• Theo is Shooting More 4x5 and His Super Ikonta 6x9 / Anthony's Half-Frame GAS / Olympus Pen D2
• Anthony Still Loves His Fuji G617 / Mike Loves Photographing His Fingertips Using Panoramic Cameras
• Rob is a Huge Fan of Diptychs when Shooting Half Frame
• Andre Heaps Praise on the Kodak H35 Half Frame Camera / Johnny's Tips For Shooting 72 Frames in a Half Frame Camera
• Paul is Knee Deep in Hasselblads Lately / Mike is Shooting a Certo Dollina III and a Fujica ST801
• Johnny Seeks Opinions on the Graflex XL Superwide / The Lens Mount Is Brittle
• Next Episode We Talk About Kodak with Todd Gustavson from the George Eastman House
• Cocaine and Waffles: Episode 0

Links

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 or Instagram page, or email us at camerosity.podcast@gmail.com.

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

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

Camerosity Twitter - https://twitter.com/CamerosityPod

Nikon and the Sponsorship of Japan's Optical Industry - https://mikeeckman.com/2019/01/nikon-and-the-sponsorship-of-japans-optical-industry-by-the-imperial-japanese-navy-1917-1945/

Classic Lenses Podcast Episode 51 - http://www.classiclensespodcast.com/e/51-the-mike-bob-show/

Johnny Sisson - https://www.flickr.com/photos/sissonphotography/ and https://centralcamera.com/

Andre Domingues - https://www.instagram.com/andre.on.film and https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/3mf4p-5fc4e/Negative-Positives-Film-Photography-Podcast

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

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris and https://www.etsy.com/shop/Camerasandpictures

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/ and https://www.facebook.com/VoltaGNV/

Camerosity can also be heard on the following services:

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@camerositypodcast

Google - https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkLnBvZGJlYW4uY29tL2NhbWVyb3NpdHkvZmVlZC54bWw

Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/camerosity/id1583252688

Amazon Music - https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9d316c9e-5461-4fa5-9e04-24fd27fffc3f/camerosity

Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/camerosity-1985806

Episode 49: The 35mm Half-Frame Gold Rush

In the history of the 20th century photo industry, there have been countless cameras made by countless companies from countless countries.  Of all those cameras, one subset of film photography seems to appeal to a larger number than most, the 35mm half-frame camera.  Originally the only size for still photography on 35mm film, single frame fell out of favor after World War II, but saw a huge resurgence in the 1960s with half-frame models being released by nearly every company who made cameras.

In this, the 49th episode of the Camerosity Podcast, Anthony, Theo, Paul, and Mike welcome first time and returning callers, Ray Nason, Brian Howard, Phil C., Keir Frei, Maxwell Whitaker, Richard Diver, Roger Coats, and Sean Mahan to share with us their favorite half-frame models.

Mike can't help himself and gives a brief (for him) history of half-frame and why it was originally called 'single frame', we ponder what exactly qualifies as half-frame, should 4.5cm x 6cm medium format or 24mm x 24mm square format cameras count?

A huge amount of time is spent on the Olympus Pen series and a huge number of 35mm half-frame models by Ricoh, Konica, Yashica, Ansco, Minolta, Pentacon, Canon, Taron, Petri, and others.

As is the case with many episodes, we get off topic a bit and venture into square frame 35mm with the likes of the Berning Robot, Zeiss-Ikon Tenax, and Bolta Photavit cameras.  Of course we come back, only to get off topic again talking about Rapid and Karat film cassettes.  We start on a slippery slope of what Gen Z looks for in photography today and briefly touch upon why anyone would want to shoot the new Kodak H35 and similar cameras.

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  We would love to hear from more listeners, especially those who are new to shooting film or collecting cameras.  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 new to shooting and are interested in having an episode dedicated to people new to the hobby, 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, 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.

It is hard to believe, but the next episode of the Camerosity Podcast will be our 50th!  Way back in 2021, there was this crazy idea to create a Podcast in the style of an AM/FM Radio Talk Show in which listeners could call in during a live recording and ask questions or talk about whatever they wanted.  The first two episodes of this show were done with little more than an hour's notice and between those two episodes, spawned 47 more episodes, eventually making us not only the number one open source film photography podcast, but one of the fastest growing podcasts of any format.

We are trying to put something special together for our 50th episode, but haven't yet settled on the details, or even when we will record yet.  I can tell you it will definitely be in early June, but when I know, you'll know.  Hope to see you then!

This Week's Episode

• Anthony reminisces about cheap AGAT 18s / A brief history lesson on the origins of half-frame all the way back to Thomas Edison
• Anthony takes us back even further to the Lumière brothers and the Cinématographe
• Olympus 18 / Pen revived the half-frame market in Japan in the 1960s / Half-frame is technically Single Frame
• Medium format cameras, like 6x9 vs 6.45 are not considered half-frame
• The Univex Mercury camera has a rotary shutter and very sharp lenses / Olympus Pen F also has a rotary shutter
• Cynthia A. Repinski wrote a good book, The Univex Story / Mercury II
• Theo brings in the Ansco Memo, which uses cartridges you can make yourself
• Maxwell shoots his AGAT 18K a lot with enlarged prints / Canon Demi / AGFA Memo
• Berning Robot and Zeiss-Ikon Tenax II are square format, are they considered half-frame?
• Theo considers is 35mm full frame is half-frame compared to XPan format / Bolta Photavit
• Half-frame was hated by photo finishers and tended to have a whole year pictures on one roll / Ilford created a double length film
• Theo shows the AGFA Optima Parat / Mike has the AGFA Parat I
• Understanding all the Olympus Pen models / Olympus Pen F / Pen FT / Pen FV
• Double wind on a half-frame camera is strange / The Pen FT has a bespoke metering number system / EV Couplings are terrible
• The Olympus Pen EE and EE-S /  Pen D series with faster f/1.9 and 1.7 lenses
• Olympus Pen-W is well sought out, Olympus Pen-S is a great small mechanical half-frame
• Ricoh Auto-Half / Ricoh Drive / Italian Ducati / Konica IIIM
• Other Half Frame Cameras by Nikon, Pentax, and Polaroid
• The Pentacon Penti is a fashion accessory camera
• Kodak Single Use camera can give you a Rapid Cassette replacement
• Why was half-frame so popular in Japan? / Photography for Everyone is a good book on the rise of photography popularity in Japan
• How Japan became a powerhouse in photography industry
• The Yashica Samurai / Yashica Rapide / Yashica Sequelle / Taron Chic / Canon Dial 35 /  Ricoh Caddy
• Sean’s AGAT 18 with a Nikkor 8mm lens attached
• Adapted lenses for the Pen F / Mike Loves the BeLOMO Chaika 3
• Keir does not have a half-frame, but may soon! / The Fed Mikron is a copy of the Konica EYE
• Mamiya made a half frame with the Myrapid
• Half-Frame cameras which have two different taking lenses / Canon Multi-Tele / Fuji TW-3 / Konica Recorder
• The Lomo LC-A Wide can switch between formats
• The Kodak H35 and it’s clone / Why do Gen Z like half-frame?
• Can you modify a camera to be half-frame?
• Original Olympus Pen made by third party and was very popular
• The podcast descended in chaos with a debate on what half-frame means

Links

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 or Instagram page, or email us at camerosity.podcast@gmail.com.

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

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

Camerosity Twitter - https://twitter.com/CamerosityPod

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

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris and https://www.etsy.com/shop/Camerasandpictures

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/ and https://www.facebook.com/VoltaGNV/

Episode 48: No One Wants to Talk About Konica

In this, the 48th episode of the world's most popular podcast, Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike shift their attention to one of the oldest camera makers in the world and one that had produced some of the most innovative, interesting, and high quality cameras ever made...except no one wanted to talk about them!

Okay, that's not exactly accurate as three people did show up.  Returning callers Raymond Nason, Mark Faulkner, and Brian Howard answered the call and came to chat with us about their favorite Konica cameras.

Kicking off the discussion was Mike who gave a short history of Japan's oldest camera maker with early models such as the Cherry Hand Camera and the Rokuoh-Sha Pearlette.  We quickly moved onto the sexy Pearl folding cameras and the early Konica 35mm rangefinders.  Ray brought with the very rare Konica F, the company's first attempt at a 35mm SLR, and then we bounced around between the Koni-Omega Rapid models, the Auto-Reflex series, we spent some time chatting about the Konica Eye half-frame camera, and eventually some of the company's more memorable point and shoots.

In addition to 96 minutes worth of Konica love, Theo, Mike, and Brian learned all about the American craze for elaborate senior photos, Mike explained the difference between automatic parallax and automatic field correction, Paul shares with us his least favorite 1990s premium camera, Mike complained (again) about the Konica AiBorg, his least favorite camera ever made, we explore a huge range of strange cameras designed by F.A. Porsche, and Ray gives an update on the 4th and final Yarovsky camera auction, which we discussed previously in Episode 44.

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  We would love to hear from more listeners, especially those who are new to shooting film or collecting cameras.  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 new to shooting and are interested in having an episode dedicated to people new to the hobby, 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, 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've decided to go half...half-frame that is.  If you ever thought that 24mm x 36mm images are too large, and found that 18mm x 24mm was the ideal size for your negatives, Episode 49 is the one for you!  Join us as we will no doubt cover many wonderful half-frame shooters like the Olympus Pen F, Canon Dial 35, the Yashica Samurai, and the Konica Auto-Reflex....wait, we talked about that already!  Be sure to look out for our next show announcement.  Episode 49 will be recorded on Monday, May 15th.  We hope to see you there!

This Week's Episode

• Paul is Headed to Another Auction and Isn't Going to Buy Anything...SUUUURRREEE!!!!
• A Short Early History of Konica / Rokuoh-Sha Pearlette / Contessa-Nettel Picolette / Zeiss-Ikon Cocarette
• Konica Got Into 35mm With a Bunch of Scale Focus and Rangefinder Models / Konica I
• Konishiroku Snappy is a 17.5 mm "Hit Style" Camera / Konica Konilette Shoots Non-Perforated 35mm Film
• Anthony Tells A Story About Karl Havens Dropping His Konishiroku Pearl II / Theo Loves the Pearl II
• Mark Shares his 1938 Semi Pearl, the Predecessor to the Pearl / Semi is Japanese for 4.5x6
• Konishiroku Pearl IV (SEXY ALERT!)
• Konica II and Konica III / Variants of the Konica III, the IIIA, and IIIM / Konica's First Half-Frame 35mm Camera
• Konica's First SLR was the Konica F from 1960 / Wards am551 (Konica Auto S2) / Konica FS
• Auto Parallax and Auto Field Correction in a Rangefinder
• Koni-Omega Rapid Cameras / The Konica F Has a Moving Film Pressure Plate
• The Koni-Omegas Were Horrible for Frame Spacing / The Koni-Omega TLRs Were Even Stranger
• What the Heck is Senior Photography? / Studios That Specialize in Nothing But Senior Photography
• Anthony's Favorite Konica is the Auto-Reflex / Shooting Full and Half Frame On the Same Roll is Super Cool / Dedicated Half Frame Lenses for the Auto-Reflex
• The Konica Eye is a Nice Half-Frame Camera with an Interesting Logo
• Konica Autoreflex T-Series Have TTL Metering and Shutter Priority AE / Autoreflex T3 Was the Last Good Body
• Konica's First SLR Lens Mount was the F-Mount, the Konica AR-mount came out in 1966 / Konica FT-1 Wasn't Very Good
• Konica C35 AF Was the First Point and Shoot with AF / Paul Had One of the First Konica Hexar AF Cameras in the US
• When Konica and Minolta Merged, Who Bought Who? / The Merger Was the Only Reason Both Companies Survived
• Mike's Number One Least Favorite Camera He's Ever Shot is the Konica AiBorg
• Samsung ECX-1 / Rollei QZ35W and T /  Olympus O-Product / Minolta Prod 20s / Olympus Écru
• Paul's Least Favorite Premium 90s Camera Was the Nikon 35Ti
• Konica Hexanon Lenses Are Great / Konica 40mm f/1.8 Lens / Mike Loves 40mm Lenses
• Konica's Colored Point and Shoots / Konica Tomato and Pop Series / Konica Recorder
• Konica Even Made APS Cameras / Konica Revio CL with Selfie Mirror
• Konica Genba Kantoku Rugged Cameras / Fuji HD Job Site Cameras
• Ray Bought Cameras from the 4th Yarovsky Auction We Talked About in Episode 44 / More of the Same

Links

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 or Instagram page, or email us at camerosity.podcast@gmail.com.

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

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

Camerosity Twitter - https://twitter.com/CamerosityPod

Theo's Review of the Pearl II - https://photothinking.com/2022-02-23-konica-pearl-ii-the-queen-of-gems/

Mark Faulkner - https://thegashaus.com/

Mike Eckman - https://mikeeckman.com/

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

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris and https://www.etsy.com/shop/Camerasandpictures

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/ and https://www.facebook.com/VoltaGNV/

Episode 47: The Camera Strap Episode

Of all the accessories available for cameras, perhaps camera straps are the thing that people have the strongest feelings about.  A camera strap is something that most cameras come with, whether it's one with the company's logo on it, or a leather one attached to an ever ready case, straps are almost as synonymous with photography as cameras are.

Yet, I don't think in the history of photography podcasts, anyone dared devote an episode one...that is until now.  If there was any doubt that this is the nerdiest film photography podcast ever, wait until you hear our camera strap episode!

To be fair, we don't spend the entire time talking about straps, we also discuss the cameras that have them attached.  To have a camera with a strap already attached suggests it is ready at a moment's notice to go out and shoot.  And if you have a camera at the ready, it must be one you like quite a bit, so for a good portion of this episode, the hosts talk about our favorite cameras which always have a strap attached, ready to go.

Joining Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike are returning callers Alex Dietrich, Bill Smith, Bob St. Cyr, Mark Faulkner, Miles Libak, and Patrick Casey and first time caller, all the way from Ireland, Brian Mac Domhnaill.

Along with our favorite cameras and favorite straps, we talk about cheap vs expensive lens adapters, Mike brings up a new camera he's testing with a 15mm f/8 lens, Alex Dietrich shares his black painted Nicca III L and much, much more!

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  We would love to hear from more listeners, especially those who are new to shooting film or collecting cameras.  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 new to shooting and are interested in having an episode dedicated to people new to the hobby, 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, 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 devoting an entire episode to Konica, makers of such fine cameras as the half frame/full frame Konica Auto-Reflex, the Koni Rapid Omega, and the thumb film advance Konica III rangefinder.  Be sure to look out for our next show announcement.  Episode 48 will be recorded on Monday, May 1st.  We hope to see you there!

This Week's Episode

• Paul has two picks for cameras he always has at the ready / Fuji GS645 and Plaubel 69W Proshift
• Patrick's go-to cameras are the Leica M4 and the Minox 35 GL
• Theo's "zoo" camera is the Nikon L35AF, a reliable point-and-shoot to keep loaded and ready to go
• Brian surprises everyone with the Chinon Auto 3001 / Chinon Bellami
• Mike sees your Pentax MX and raises you the Pentax LX
• Miles surprises us with his choice of the Leica MA kitted out with a vintage 1930s Summar lens / L39 to M-mount and M42-K-mount adapters
• Theo's more committed choice for a go-to camera / Leica M2 with a Hyperion strap
• OK, Boomer: Mike and Paul wax poetic about hippie straps / branded straps from the 1980s
• Alex goes strap shopping in Hong Kong
• The original Minox chain is also a measuring tool for macro photography
• Anthony raves about his Contax ST with the always-attached red Hyperion strap
• Bob goes large format for his choice of a Gibellini GP810Ti, a stunning field camera with a big leather strap for a handle
• Beware the metal rope straps...
• Mark's current go-to camera is the Bessa R2A with the Skopar 35mm lens
• A digression about the Secure Strap with braided stainless steel straps that help prevent cut-and-run theft
• Mike blows up the discussion with the Zeiss Hologon, a 15mm fixed lens viewfinder camera that costs as much as some used cars
• Bob talks about the demands of finding a strap to tame the Mamiya C330, a beast of a TLR
• Alex almost one-ups Mike's Hologon with a custom paint Nicca III L / Strong Opinions about repainting cameras
• The problems with tripod socket wrist straps
• The weirdness and beauty of the Ansco Anscomark M and its removable strap lugs
• The Mamiya 7 and the odd cameras that have both strap lugs on one edge / LOMO Voskhod / Agat 18K
• Digital Episode errata and corrections / Wait, what? Nobody brought up the Nikon FM2 or FM3?!

Show Notes

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 or Instagram page, or email us at camerosity.podcast@gmail.com.

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

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

Camerosity Twitter - https://twitter.com/CamerosityPod

Bill Smith - https://funwithcameras.blogspot.com/

Alex Dietrich - https://www.instagram.com/awdietrich/

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

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris and https://www.etsy.com/shop/Camerasandpictures

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/ and https://www.facebook.com/VoltaGNV/

Episode 46: Vintage Digital

It has taken us 46 episodes of seemingly non stop film camera discussion to finally devote an entire episode to the cameras that in the late 1990s and early 2000s, many photographers thought were a fad.  That's right folks, Camerosity has gone digital!  Before anyone protests and demands their Camerosity Season Pass™ membership be refunded, enough time has passed since those early film-less cameras that the early digital cameras are now vintage themselves.

In episode 46 of the Camerosity Podcast, the guys and I go all digital.  With us are callers Andrew Smith, Atabak Taghizadeh, Brian Howard, Greg McCreash, Mark Faulkner, Michael Gossett, Phil Clark, and Stephen Grasso.

Anthony and Brian start things off with one of the earliest true digital cameras, the Apple QuickTake.  This 0.3 megapixel monster was first released in 1994 and came in two distinct designs, one created by Kodak and the other by Fuji.  Moving onto the Sony Mavica and it's 3.5" floppy disc storage, the rest of the gang has some familiarity of these cameras, and Anthony reminisces about his large collection of floppies.

We continue to traverse the late 90s and early 2000s, going around the room recalling our first digital cameras that really made us realize that cameras which write in 1s and 0s were here to stay.  Mike discusses the differences between CCD and CMOS sensors, we dabble into digital IR photography and a couple Sony models which make disabling the visible light filter extremely simple.  Mark prefers a more difficult way though, by opening up his Panasonic Lumixes and permanently removing the filter.

We cover digital mirrorless, and which mounts we all love adapting film lenses to, why some people didn't like EVFs compared to optical viewfinders, Mike heaps praise on the Nikon Z5, and we dabble into some of the more strange digital camera designs like the Pixii and Lytro.

This was a loaded episode with a ton of information, so whether or not you're interested in older digital cameras, or are interested to know what a (Zoom) room full of a dozen collectors shoot when we don't feel like dealing with analog emulsion, you definitely do not want to miss this episode!

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  We would love to hear from more listeners, especially those who are new to shooting film or collecting cameras.  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 new to shooting and are interested in having an episode dedicated to people new to the hobby, 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, 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 plan on going back to the analog realm, but now that the digital Pandora's Box has been opened, will we forever be changed?  The theme of our next episode is "cameras with a strap" meaning those which are permanently in shooting configuration, ready to fire off some exposures at a moment's notice.  What are your favorite cameras of all time, and which are the ones that someone will have to pry from your cold dead fingers, on the day you reach your expiration date!  Be sure to look out for our next show announcement.  Episode 47 will be recorded on Monday, April 17th.  We hope to see you there!

This Week's Episode

• All hosts shoot digital, arguments on better medium are silly
• Anthony’s intro into digital, the Apple QuickTake / Brian’s Apple QuickTake 150, 100 and 200
• Anthony has lots of floppies / Mark and Theo both have Sony Mavica Cameras
• People don’t wipe card on old digicams, even birthing and wedding photos
• Mike shoots the Nikon E2Ns with a car lighter power cord
• Batteries are hard to find for pro grade equipment / Also hard to find for Leica D-Lux 2
• Greg has a Sony MVC-5000 with an AC to DC adapter
• Theo shoots a Minolta RD-175 / Press Compact Flash Cards from the middle to avoid bent pins
• Difficult to get images from early digital cameras onto computers now / Early DSLRs had no latitude
• Innovation in form of Nikon Coolpix 995 / Early CCD vs CMOS sensors
• Sony DSC-505 was Anthony’s first significant digital
• Canon Powershot S2 was Mike’s first significant digital / Canon Powershot S45 and Nikon D300 were Theo’s first significant digitals
• Nikon D3 was Paul’s first significant digital
• APS-C is based on the named after the APS format / People love to adapt Pen-F lenses to Micro 4/3
• Micro 4/3 was a ground breaking innovation / Pentax Q has insane 5.5x crop factor
• Some mirrorless cameras are hard to find with lenses / DSLRs vs Mirrorless
• Fuji has a super loyal customer base / The Panasonic Lumix LX3 is a great pocket camera
• Adjusting to electronic viewfinders / Mike has a Nikon Z for vintage lenses and stacks a Sony to Nikon adapter
• Pixii Camera as a Leica competitor
• Sony has had a huge head start on the others / Sony manufactured sensors for most of the brands
• Infrared Red conversions on digital cameras / Using a magnet on a Sony CyberShot DSC-F828 to shoot IR / Military buys lots of IR cameras
• Pentax K1 and K10 / Sigma Merrill and Quattro / Stephen loves his Leica Q2 Monochrome
• Is the “film look” really a thing?
• Epson RD1 / Leica M8 was Leica’s first digital rangefinder camera
• Digital bridge cameras - Theo’s prediction of next big thing / The Digicam craze
• Mike gets excited because he can USB charge his Z5 / AI Integrated Photography might be the future
• Ricoh GRIII / Mike’s ultimate hybrid camera / Lytro Cameras

Show Notes

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 or Instagram page, or email us at camerosity.podcast@gmail.com.

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

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

Camerosity Twitter - https://twitter.com/CamerosityPod

Andrew Smith – https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClXrAlbnU3gvdRrJ5gAR4mw

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

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris and https://www.etsy.com/shop/Camerasandpictures

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/ and https://www.facebook.com/VoltaGNV/