This section contains well over 100 still cameras from A to Z (Agfa to Zeiss Ikon) using 35mm film but not having single lens reflex viewing and focusing. There are four primary ways these cameras focus. First, some are fixed focus. There is no focus adjustment. The lenses are usually small aperture and will provide a clear depth of field from perhaps five feet to infinity. Second, some have zone focusing. The lens focuses, but the user has to estimate the distance. Often there are two, three or four distance zones often represented by icons to help the user. The third way is rangefinder focusing which provides precise focusing. Rangefinder cameras have at least two windows which produce two images. There is usually a yellow square or diamond seen in the viewfinder with two overlapping images. You rotate the focusing ring until the two images merge together. For further information see The Living Image and Olympus 35mm Rangefinder Cameras. Rangefinder focusing became common in the 1950s and remained popular until being largely replaced by the fourth focusing method, autofocus which begin with the Konica C35 AF in November 1977. With autofocus, you just point at the subject and the camera focuses automatically. See Wikipedia - Autofocus for more information. With all of these cameras the photographer views the image through a viewfinder which is not connected to the lens. The view through this viewfinder or window can hence be slightly different from the image that hits the film.

The cameras are arranged alphabetically by manufacturer and then generally by date for each manufacturer.

Ansco - Agfa

A follow up entilted Agfa Optima: Pop Photography 1959 Articles to the original photo.net discussion above has links to two November 1959 Popular Photography articles. The first What's New article describes the lens as a 39mm Apotar f3.9. The shutter is a Compur with continuously variable speeds from 1/30 to 1/250 second. The article describes the exposure system. "[A]s the photoelectric cell constantly monitors scene brightness, it feeds current to a mechanical system which alters the position of a cam. When the lever on the left side of the camera body . . . is depressed before each shot, it releases tension on a feller arm, thus allowing spring-loaded aperture and shutter-speed controls to move until halted by the cam, thus setting correct exposure and placing a green dot in view-finder to signify sufficient light." The shutter speed stays at 1/250 until the aperture goes to its maximum at f3.9. The shutter speeds then begin to go slower until they get to 1/30 second. It is therefore really the first programmed exposure mode camera! The other article, Electric Eye indicates the lever stops the lens down to the correct aperture.

Curiously, the Optima I and other models below do not have a separate lever you hold down while pushing the shutter. Rather, they have an identical looking button on the opposite side of the lens that serves as the shutter release. This shutter release does go down quite some distance compared to most shutter releases. I'm guessing that the lever action and shutter release were combined into one button on the Optima I and later models. The What's New article lists the price of the original Optima as $79.95 which is nearly equal to $600 in 2009 dollars. The original Optima has zone focusing consisting of only three zones shown by icons with two people, three people and a mountain. According to Agfa Optima - Wikipedia Commons the focusing icons use Wilhelm Busch's famous Max und Moritz cartoon heroes. As noted in the photo.net discussions above, 1959 was a landmark year for cameras with such notable cameras as the Nikon F, Canon Canoflex and the Minolta SR-2 single lens reflex cameras also coming out in that year.

My Agfa Optima was purchased on 10-25-09 for $15 plus $9.05 shipping on eBay from Pacific Rim Camera. They describe it as being in EX+ condition with the shutter working on bulb, but the meter not working. That's the disadvantage to a totally automatic system. When the Selenium meter is out, you are really out of luck. Selenium meters also tend to stop working over time. I bought it while doing the description for Agfa Optima I which I got about a month earlier. I thought I should have the very first model of the very first truly automatic exposure camera!

Argus

The Match-Matic Outfit, including light meter, case and flash, was $59.97 at page 5 of the 1963 Montgomery Ward Camera Catalog. That's about $580 in December 2022 dollars. There was also an accessory Soligor 135mm f4.5 lens that coupled to the rangefinder for $29.94, or about $290 in December 2022 dollars. It included a viewfinder mask. This Mike Eckman video shows how to change lenses on a C3. It's a slow process. David Hancock also has a 27 minute video "Introduction to the Argus C3 Matchmatic."

I have two Matchmatic cameras. Both are in good cosmetic condition. The shutters work in both although I don't know if the speeds are accurate. One camera has a loose aperture ring so you can't select the aperture. That one has a very clear viewfinder, but a foggy rangefinder. The other has a dirty viewfinder and a somewhat foggy rangefinder. The rangefinder works in both. One comes with the case. Neither has the meter. I think I got both of them in a lot of many cameras over a decade ago.

Balda

Bolsey

Canon

The Canon L-3 is related to the Canon VT, L-1 and L-2 models. The Canon VT, introduced in August 1958, was the first Canon rangefinder with a film door to load the film. Earlier models loaded the film from the bottom. The VT also had a lever type film advance at the bottom of the camera instead the film advance knob of earlier Canon rangefinders. (Canon VT - Canon Camera Museum.) In March 1957 Canon introduced the Canon L-2 which "was a VT with a film advance lever on the camera top. The fastest shutter speed was 1/500 sec. and the self-timer was not built-in. Only FP-sync was provided for flash." (Canon L2 -Canon Camera Museum.) In May 1957 Canon introduced the Canon L-1 which was largely the same as the L-2 except it had "FP-, M-F, and X-sync" for flash and had a top shutter speed of 1/1000 second. (See Canon Camera Museum - Canon L-1.) Finally, in November 1957 the L-3 was introduced which "was an L2 without any flash synchronization." (Canon Camera Museum - Canon L3.) These changes from prior Canon rangefinder models paralleled the changes by Leica from their traditional Leica IIIG model to the new Leica M-3 which had a more modern design including a back loading film door and a top mounted film advance lever. (See Canon Camera Museum - Canon VT. See also Page 13 of the Montgomery Ward New 1957 Camera Shop describing the Leica M-3 and Leica IIIG.) The Canon VT and the L series retained the traditional Leica 39mm screw lens mount, however, while the Leica M-3 introduced a new bayonet mount. (See generally Flynn Graphics - Canon L-1.) Many VT and L series styling elements are also reflected in the Canon SLR cameras from 1959 through the 1970s. (By the 1980s the SLR cameras used less metal, had more curves, and used more plastic.)

I couldn't find the exact U.S. Dollar price for a Canon L-3 in 1957. A 1957 magazine ad on eBay showed the price of a Canon L-1 with 50mm f2.8 lens as $259. That's equal to about $2,840 in November 2023 dollars! With a 35mm f1.8 instead the price was $350 and with a 50mm f1.2 lens the price was $440 or $4,825 in November 2023 dollars. The L-3 would, of course, be less. The Canon Camera Museum lists the price of an L-1 body as 48,000 Yen and the price of an L-3 body as 32,000 yen. The L-3 therefore perhaps sold for about 1/3 less than the L-1.

I purchased my Canon L-3 from an ad on Craigslist on December 23, 2023 for $40 in the Rancho Bernardo area of San Diego. The ad had been up for several weeks with multiple price reductions, the latest from $60 to $40. The description stated the high shutter speeds worked, the low shutter speeds did not, and the rangefinder was highly inaccurate and dirty. The cosmetic condition was generally good. It did not come with a lens.

The manual is available at flynngraphics. Matt Osborne has a video overview.

Canter

Chinon

DeJur

Fuji

Graflex

The Ciro 35 appeared in the Fall 1952 - Spring 1953 Sears Camera Catalog at page 19. "Now manufactured by famous Graflex Company, makers of professional cameras for newsmen and studios." There were two versions. One sold for $44.15 with an Alphax shutter with speeds from 1/25 to 1/150 and a 50mm f4.5 lens. The other, which sold for $49.05, was the same as my camera with an f3.5 lens and shutter speeds from 1/10 to 1/200 second. $49.05 is equivalent to about $550 adjusted for inflation as of December 2022. The flash unit was $6.30 and the leather eveready case was $6.50. My camera came with both of these. According to Ciro 35 - Camera-Wiki the camera with the f4.5 lens was version R and the camera with the f3.5 lens was version S. There was also a version T with a f2.8 lens. According to a 1951 magazine ad for sale on eBay, the T version with the f2.8 lens was $98.50, almost twice the price of the S version! (See also The Incomparable Graflex - also notes that the T version had a Rapax shutter.) The Ciro 35 was the least expensive 35mm rangefinder camera in the Sears catalog. For example, the Argus C-4 was $99.50, the Argus C-3 was $69.50, and the Kodak Signet 35 was $92.50. (1953 Sears Camera Catalog p. 18 and p. 19.) The only 35mm camera of any type in the catalog less expensive than the Ciro 35 was the Kodak Pony 135 viewfinder camera for $35.75 at p. 19. While I have not taken pictures with it, looking at the specifications the Ciro 35 seems like a pretty good deal. (See A few shots with my Graflex Ciro 35; Ciro 35 Photos - Rangefinder Forum.) The other take-away, however, was that 35mm cameras at the time were expensive. There were many medium format box cameras and folding cameras that were much less expensive than the 35mm cameras in the catalog. (Pages 6 and 7 of the 1952-53 Sears Camera Catalog give a good description of camera types and photography basics including a good discussion of what "f" numbers mean. See also Photography and Math.)

I think I purchased my Ciro 35 on Saturday November 1 or Sunday November 2 at a garage sale or estate sale. I know the date because in writing this entry, I discovered I took the original photos of the camera on November 2, 2008. It then took me over 14 years to actually write up the entry in February 2023! I have more time now since I'm retired. The camera came with the original box, case, flash, some literature, and a handwritten note. The undated note says "Bob . . . got this used camera for me. I bought it from him. He was an expert in everything he did. It was one of the best made at that time. Bill drove and I took most of the pictures. Much of the magnificent beauty is no more except in our minds. God bless you Bob. It was a wonderful birthday gift - a big deal in those days for us. It is still good." While in actuality it was not necessarily one of the best made at that time, it is apparent that the camera was important to this owner and brought pleasure and good memories. Even in 2023 the camera "is still good." Cosmetically, it is in good condition although the chrome around the lens assembly is flaking off. The aperture works. The shutter works although the slower speeds seem too slow. The lens is clear. The viewfinder is clear. The rangefinder is bright and works. There was a handwritten price tag with the camera. On one side it says Camera, Case, Flash $35. On the other side someone wrote $55 new. I think the $35 is probably what Bob bought the camera for. With the case and flash, the new price of $55 was probably accurate.

Hanimex

Ikelite

Kodak

German Made Retina

I purchased mine on October 24, 2009 at an estate sale in the Fletcher Hills area of El Cajon, CA. The camera belonged to a physician who lived in a modest Fletcher Hills area house. The camera was under a pile of other things and sold for $5. I also purchased wooden slide cases that appear to be hand made and showing excellent workmanship. There were hundreds of mainly Kodachrome slides in the cases from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. The majority were from the early 1950s and I suspect were taken with this camera. The Kodachrome slides are in excellent condition with the colors remaining true and vibrant. In contrast, the few Ektachrome slides have turned larely monochrome. The slides are mainly of scenic, natural places in the Western United States including Death Valley, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, Crater Lake, Painted Desert, Anza Borrego and Colorado. The photographic quality is quite good, although it appears the photographer was limited to his single 50mm lens. Most of the photos could have been taken today. The few with cars or people, appear quite dated. My camera is in very good cosmetic condition. There is a slight amount of green oxidation on the metal trim in front. Optically it looks excellent with perhaps a slight amount of dust inside the lens. The lens is clear with no evidence of mold. The viewfinder is bright. The rangefinder works well. It seems to focus accurately, although the focus is very stiff. Unfortunately, the shutter will not fire. I'm aware the Retina IIa will not fire when the film counter gets to zero. I believe I have set things correctly and that it should fire. I may take it somewhere to see how much it would cost to get it fixed. It is a gorgeous camera, and once repaired, will capable of taking gorgeous photos of the beauty of nature today just as it did well over 50 years ago. Several sites discuss the Kodak Retina IIa including: Shutterbug.net, www.photoethnography.com, camerapedia.org, Classic Cameras, The Camera Collector (pictured with a rotary phone and an Olympia typewriter), Chris' Camera Pages (repair), butkus.org (owner's manual), photo.net, Dante Stella Retina II, IIa, IIc page.

I purchased another Retina IIa for $65 (advertised for $80) in El Cajon, CA on October 27, 2009 from an ad on Craigslist. Like the one above it is in excellent cosmetic condition. Further, the focus is smooth and the shutter works! Pretty rare to come across two Retina IIa cameras in great cosmetic condition three days apart in the same city! I bought it since I think a Retina IIa is a nice vintage user camera and paying $65 for a working one is probably cheaper than getting the one above fixed. This one belonged to the seller's uncle who had passed away.

Kodak Cameras Made in the United States

Like the Signet 50 above exposure values are used on the top of the shutter and aperture rings, although unlike the Signet 50 the two are not coupled. The actual shutter speeds and apertures are on the bottom of the rings. There is no exposure meter. You could instead use a handheld light meter, sunny-16 rule, or recommendations included with the film. Additionally, a set of eight 1 inch x 1.75 inch exposure value (EV) cards were included for eight different Kodak film types. A card fit into the holder on the back of the camera. The entire set of cards also fit into a holder that fits into the inner top of the leather camera case. Similar to the recommendations included with Kodak film, these cards had recommendations for bright sun with sand or snow, bright sun, hazy sun, cloudy bright and open shade. Instead of a shutter speed and different aperture values, however, these cards give recommended exposure values for the different conditions. For a given exposure value, you can use any shutter value and aperture value that add up the recommended EV. For example, the recommended EV using Plus-X Film (ASA 80) for "hazy sun" was 14. I could use a shutter number of 7 and aperture number of 7 for a total of 14. If you look at the bottom of the shutter and aperture rings, that's 1/125 second f11. I could instead use a shutter number of 5 and an aperture of 9, again adding up 14. If you look at the bottom of the shutter and aperture rings, that's 1/30 second f22. Both lead to the same exposure although the two settings will have different effects on depth of field and motion. The reverse side of each card had exposure information for flash photos.

I vaguely recall getting my camera at a La Mesa/San Carlos garage sale many years ago. My camera is in very good cosmetic and working condition. The shutter works and sounds approximately right. The shutter does not automatically cock when you advance the film. Rather, you have to push the cocking lever on the lens assembly down. To fire the shutter without film you have slide the reset lever on the top of the back to the right. The apertures work. My camera came with a leather "Kodak Pony II and IV Field Case" in very good condition. While I have not tested the camera with film, my initial verdict is the Pony is a good economy camera with a variety of shutter speeds and apertures and with zone focusing. It allows photos under a variety of lighting conditions and at reasonably close distances compared to a fixed focus, one shutter speed, one aperture box camera. Economy is relative, however, since the $40 list price is equal to about $420 in December 2022 dollars. It would have been an excellent camera for a teen to learn photography back in the late 1950s. Mike Eckman has a nice article on the camera including suggestions on disassembly. Camera Collecting also has excellent information on the Pony product line and detailed shutter cleaning instructions. Photo.net has a discussion about the lens. The Film Photography Project also has excellent information about the Pony cameras.

Intrigued, I partially disassembled the camera to explore further. Warning! A camera electronic flash has a large capacitor which creates a high voltage/electrocution hazard even in a small camera. The charge can be maintained for a long time even if the batteries are removed. Indeed, there is a label inside the camera stating "HIGH VOLT DANGER." Don't disassemble a camera with a flash unless you have experience with electronics and know what you are doing. The lens unscrews. With the lens unscrewed, you can slide the "ISO" lever and see the three apertures. The different apertures are formed from a simple plate with three different holes in it. It is similar to Waterhouse stops used in the early history of photography. (See Wikipedia - Waterhouse Stop.) Most cameras form the aperture with an iris diaphragm. Digging deeper, and having decided to sacrifice the camera, you can see the simple mechanical shutter. (Longer video of shutter.) The lens itself is about a 1/4 inch deep. I assume it has more than one element. I don't know if it is glass or plastic. The electronics in the camera are entirely for the electronic flash. Otherwise, the camera is mechanical. There was a large chunk of metal underneath the capacitor which I'm guessing is a heat sink. Film is advanced by a thumbwheel on the back of the camera. The rewind lever is on top. To open the back, you lift up on the rewind lever knob.

Like the S350 above, the Kodak K400 is part of the Kodak VR35 series of cameras introduced in 1986 after a 17-year gap by Kodak in making 35mm cameras. (Camerapedia - Kodak VR35.) Kodak had abandoned 35mm cameras like the Retina, Pony and Signet series in favor of the 126 (introduced 1963) and 110 (1972) Instamatic series and the Kodak Disc (1982) cameras. (Kodak, of course, continued to sell a lot of 35mm film.) Kodak also introduced the Advanced Photo System (APS) format in 1996. That's four film formats smaller than 35mm film introduced in 33 years. Different film formats may have been a way to hook people on new cameras and film. By the 1980s compact 35mm point and shoot cameras from other manufacturers were common, often with autofocus and auto film loading, advance and rewind. With these cameras selling well Kodak got back into the 35mm camera market. Unlike the prior Kodak 35mm cameras made in Germany or the United States my camera was made in Thailand. "Manufacturing sites included [t]he United States (some VR35 K12 units), Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand and Taiwan." (Camerapedia - Kodak VR35.)

Perhaps the prime advantage of the Instamatic, Disc and APS formats was easy cartridge film loading. Other manufacturers simplified loading of 35mm film. For example, as early as the 1960s Canon had its "'quick load' system, a spring-hinged device inside the rear door to make film loading easy and simple." (ImagingPixel discussing the Canon FTb.) With automatic film loading and advance in many cameras by the 1980s you just laid the film leader down past a certain point, closed the camera back and the film advanced to the first frame. With the Kodak K400, however, you still have to carefully thread the film leader into the film take-up spool and manually wind to the first frame. It's not hard once you learn, but its why many people avoided 35mm cameras.

Kodak Classics and Brownie-Camera.com under "original price" list the K300, K400 and/or K500 as "premium." Kodak Classics describes what "premium" means. "Some of the cameras are described as 'premium'. These are cameras that were not normal retail items, but used for promotional purposes, often by third-party companies, to encourage customers to take advantage of their goods or services. Inevitably, they are usually of fairly basic specification." There are a few K400 cameras with the original boxes on eBay. They all are in plain looking boxes some with K400 printed in big blue letters. There is no mention of Kodak on the boxes. Curiously, I saw one with a printed price tag of $59.95. Maybe someone had been trying to resell them.

It is interesting to note that in 1987, the same year Kodak introduced the K400, Kodak also introduced a new line of 35mm disposable cameras, some with electronic flash, preloaded with film. Fujifilm had introduced similar cameras a year earlier. (Wikipedia - Disposable Camera.) These cameras were really quite similar to the K400 except the K400 had three apertures and perhaps a better lens. You didn't need to load or rewind the disposable cameras, however. You simply sent the entire camera in for processing and got your photos and negatives back. The cameras were recycled with new film and sold again. The original Kodak box camera introduced in 1888 had a similar marketing model. The camera came preloaded with a roll of film with 100 exposures. When you were done taking the pictures, you sent the camera back to Kodak and Kodak mailed the photos back to you. In many ways not a lot changed in 99 years! While primarily a film and chemical company, Kodak made an incredible number of cameras over the years. Kodak Classics lists about 150 Kodak 35mm cameras alone. Cheap cameras, disposable cameras, promotional cameras and frequent minor changes to models and names of cameras for marketing purposes, may also be symptomatic of our disposable society, a problem that has existed for some time. (See, generally, Vance Packard, The Waste Makers (1960).)

I don't recall where I got my camera. It was many years ago. The flash did not work even with new batteries. The camera film advance worked and the shutter fired. I have not bothered to try and reassemble it.

Konica

Leica

Japanese manufacturers like Nikon and Canon had similar 35mm rangefinder models patterned after the Leica. These Japanese cameras are also highly respected and collectable. Russian manufacturers also made similar models which were functional, although generally less highly regarded. As indicated below, besides other manufacturers producing similar cameras, there are also counterfeit cameras. These are cameras with the Leica name, but which are not made by Leica or true Leica cameras. For example, some counterfeit cameras are Russian models modified to include the Leica name.

Leica cameras were very pricey when new. They remain very collectible and pricey today. Common models typically go for hundreds, rarer models can approach and exceed a thousand, and the rarest can go for thousands. They are usually not in my league, but I saw the one below on Craigslist and decided to get it. I figured the Camera Museum had reached the point that it should have one Leica. Don't expect many more, however. Donations are, of course, accepted!

Genuine. There are many fake Leica cameras so I have compared it extensively with photos of other Leica IIIc cameras on the Internet. (See How to Identify a Fake Leica, Fake Russian Leicas - Cameraquest.) It appears to be genuine. Mine looks identical to several other IIIc samples on the Internet from around the same time including Leica IIIc manual at www.cameramanuals.org, flickr.com - Leica IIIc (from the same year according to the serial no. in the photo), Camerapedia - Leica IIIc, 35mm-compact.com - Leica IIIc (in French), and La collection d'appareils photo anciens par Sylvain Halgand (in French), eBay Listing ( ten very detailed photos all of which are like my camera). The "Optishes Naheinstellgerat Nooky/Nookyhesum" accessory viewfinder, including box, also looks identical to those at Leica Assessories and Photo Bucket. Similarly, the Leitz Shade for Summicron, Barn Door Type, looks identical to that at Pacific Rim Camera. It sells used for $45 at Pacific Rim Camera. The "Leica 35-135 Imarect/VIOOH accessory viewfinder" at Photoethnography also looks like mine. Finally, the seller is the son of the original owner who indicates he bought it new in Germany in the early 1950s. It has therefore only had one owner.

Value. While my camera and accessories appear to be geniune, the IIIc also appears to be one of the more common Leicas. In my year of production alone, 25,000 were produced according to the table at cameraquest.com. This makes them relatively inexpensive on eBay. For example, when I purchased it there was a buy it now for $348 for a body in very good condition, $299 for a body in good condition, and $188 for a body in fair condition. One very similar to mine with the Summitar 5cm 1:2 lens and a case was sold the same day I bought mine for $250 plus $8 shipping. Another one in good condition with Leitz Elmar 5cm 3,5 Lens went for $349.99. A body only in okay condition went for only $124.72. Another with a normal lens like mine went for $224.72 plus $18 shipping. Mine was originally advertised as IIIg which is much more rare and goes for hundreds more. Mine appears to be for a decent price, however, given the extra lens and accessories.

Lenses. The normal lens the camera generally came with was the 50mm f3.5 Leitz Elmar (1931-1959) made for almost thirty years (1931-1959) which cameraquest calls "the lens that initially made Leica famous." Mine instead comes with the upgraded Ernst Leitz Wetzlar "Summitar" 5cm (50mm) f2 (1:2) No. 738934 lens with Leica lens cap. Cameraquest states: "50/2 Leitz Summitar (1939-1955) Much improved sharpness over the Summar, chrome collapsible lenses only, post war lenses coated. Watch out for fogging and cleaning scratches." The extra lens is a 13.5cm (135mm) Ernst Leitz Wetzlar Hektor f4.5 (1:4.5) No. 715358. It comes with a metal hood. One sold recently on eBay with the finder for $89.65 plus $10.35 shipping. There was no comment on its condition, however. Cameraquest.com states: "135/4.5 Leitz Hektor (1933-1960): Leica's best LTM 135. Uncoated Black pre-war or Coated post-war chrome. Lens head removable for Visoflex reflex housing. Watch out for fogging and cleaning scratches." Mine is mostly black with distance ring being chrome. It appears to have a coated lens, however. When I look at the glass, for example, there is a definite blue/purple tint to the reflection of my ceiling light on the lens glass. Was mine pre-war? In discussing another lens, the 50/2 Leitz Summar (1933-1940), cameraquest indicates while all left the factory uncoated, some were sent back to the factory after the war for coating.

Price When New. I don't have information on the price of a IIIc when new. The 1956 Montgomery Ward Photographic Catalog, p. 5 gives the price of a IIIf (and IIf) with Summicron 50mm f2.0 lens as $336. $336 in 1956 is equal to $2,664.44 in 2009 dollars! The "Imarect" 35-135mm finder was $39 or $309.27 in 2009 dollars. A 90mm Elmar f4 lens was $90. The Leica IIIf body only was $177. The body with the 50mm f3.5 Elmar lens was $237. By 1956 Leica had was also selling the bayonet lens mount Leica M# which as $447 with a Summicron f2 lens. The IIIf was followed by the IIIg in 1957 which was the last model of the Leica screw mount cameras.

Condition. Cosmetically the camera has some areas of brassing and small pitting. Covering is very good. Glass in lenses looks good with some dust in the 135mm lens. Shutter fires and shutter speeds vary appropriately. Aperture works. Viewfinder and rangefinder reasonably clean. Rangefinder works but is very faint. Accessories in good condition. As I look at it in the enlarged photo above, I can tell I also need to take a Q-tip to it to clean many of the nooks and crannies.

Operation.
This is a brief summary of how to operate the camera. Before actually using a Leica, review carefully the owner's manual which is available at www.cameramanuals.org.
Film Loading. Set reversing lever to A (advance). There is not door as on most 35mm cameras. Rather, there is a baseplate on bottom of camera. Remove basepate by unlocking on bottom. Remove take-up spool. Insert film into take-up spool. Pull out film from cassette until two sprocket holes show on trimmed edge. Insert take-up spool and cassette into camera with pointed ends towards baseplate. Put baseplate back on. Advance film and trip shutter release twice. Make sure film counter set to zero.
Taking a photo. Lens is collapsable. Pull out and turn to left until it stops. Turn film advance knob in direction of arrow until it stops. Set shutter speed. Speeds from 1/30 to 1/1000 second on top dial. To set, left up slightly and turn to allign desired setting with arrow on accessory shoe. To set speeds from 1 second to 1/30 second, turn top dial to 1/30. Set front dial to desired speed. For 1/30 second, both dials should be at 1/30. Adjust aperture ring on front part of lens to desired setting. Twin eyepiece on back, top, left of camera. Compose picture using right viewfinder window. Focus using left rangefinder window. Focus ring and lever are towards back of lens. Turn until the images in the rangefinder window merge together. Press shutter release.
Unloading film. Turn reversing lever to R. Pull up rewind knob and turn in the direction of arrow until fully rewound.

Mamiya

Minolta

The only discrepancy is the frame size. Model A had a frame size of 24mm x 32mm instead of what later became the standard frame size of 24mm x 36mm. The only Leica mount Minolta with a 24mm x 36mm frame size was the last one - the Model II B. That model was clearly labeled II B on the front, however. Curiously, however, when I measure the film gate on my camera, it is 24mm x 36mm. I'm wondering if mine might have been modified or have a replacement film gate.

My camera has been obviously worked on. It appears to be largely complete with several exceptions. It is missing a piece that screws on at the base of the shutter release. The hinge pin on the camera back is missing. The screws on the bottom plate are missing. The screws that hold in the film gate (for lack of a better phrase) are missing and the entire film gate area can be lifted out. There is piece of tape over the pressure plate. A small piece of the covering is removed on the bottom front near the self timer, revealing a threaded hole. The depth of field guide ring on the lens is loose. Finally, The base of the lens has three sections carved out. That obviously took someone some time, although I have no idea what the purpose is. The lens aperture works. The focus is frozen. It is serial no. 8087. The camera will wind and the shutter release clicks. The shutter controls will not move, however, and the shutter is not working at all. I can't fully test the rangefinder since the focus is frozen, but it does show the typical rangefinder double image. All of this sounds pretty bad, but actually it looks pretty good and many of the things like missing screws might be remedied fairly easily.

The camera with a leather every-ready case in decent condition was purchased at an estate/garage sale in the San Carlos area of San Diego (Spruce Lake Street) on 1-17-09 for $5. (I also purchased an Argus C3 in great condition for $15, an old movie projector for $15, an old picture viewer for $15, a box of old camera "stuff" for $15 and a slide rule for $2.) I consider the Minolta 35A a very cool camera being the first Minolta 35mm camera model and a Leica clone - my first. I also have the first Minolta 35mm single lens reflex camera, the Minolta SR2, released in 1958 the same year the last Minolta Leica copy rangefinder, the Model II B, was released. The SR2 marked the change in direction from rangefinders to single lens reflex cameras. I purchased the SR-2 also at a neighborhood (San Carlos - Budlong Lake) garage sale about a year prior to the Minolta 35 rangefinder.

I would welcome any comments about my Minolta 35. In particular, I'm interested confirmation that it is the original Model A, why the film gate seems to be 24mm x 36mm, what the modifications to the base of the lens might have been for, ideas as to its rarity and value, and any thoughts as to whether it would be worth getting repaired, and if so recommendations for a repair person.

Nikon

Nikonos

The Calypso through Nikonos III were all of a similar design. There are three parts: the camera mechanism, the housing or outer shell, and the lens. The camera mechanism had the focal plane shutter, the film advance, the pressure plate, the film spool and the rewind. All of this was inserted into the housing or outer shell. The lens is then inserted in front. To load the film you have to take the lens off (see lenses below) and then pry the camera mechanism out of the shell using the little levers that also hold the camera strap. This is extremely clever. When I first saw an early Nikonos at a garage sale I had no idea how to open it. As a result, unfortunately I did not buy it! The shutter speeds on all of these models are B, 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250 and 1/500. The film advance and shutter release are one lever. When not advanced, the lever sticks out toward the front of the camera. You press it in to wind and cock it. The lever is then flush with the body. You press it again to release the shutter and the lever pops out again to the open position. Very ingenious! The Nikonos II added a retractable rewind crank, a hinged pressure plate (on the Nikonos I you slid the film under the plate), and added the II logo. The Nikonos I did not have a "I" logo, but with the introduction of the Nikonos II, the Nikonos I name stuck. The Nikonos III added a sprocket for film wind-up, improved viewfinder brightness, and changed the the film counter to the top of the camera (on the Nikonos I and II it was on the bottom observed through a glass window in the bottom of the housing). To accomplish these changes the Nikonos III shell became somewhat bigger and boxier. Some other minor changes were made also. All of the Nikonos cameras through the Nikonos III were entirely mechanical. There was no internal exposure meter. Nikon did sell an external, underwater meter. My Nikonos I was purchased for $30 from an ad on Craigslist in Valley Center, CA around August 2011. It is in good working condition and decent cosmetic condition. It came with the original Nikonos case in fair condition.

Lenses. What remained consistent from the Nikonos I through V were the simple, yet innovative lenses. To take off a lens, pull out slightly and turn clockwise a quarter turn. Remarkably simple. You have to take off the lens in the Nikonos I through III in order to load the film. The lenses always remained entirely mechanical. There are no electronic connections between the lens and the camera. You have to focus by measuring or estimation. (Obviously, most of the time you will use estimation.) The top of the lens has the distance with a silver background. The bottom of the lens has the aperture with a black background. On my newer lenses the black (left while facing the lens) knob sets the aperture and the silver (right while facing the lens) knob sets the distance. (The lenses can be mounted rotated 180 degrees in which case the left-right directions above would need to be reversed. Also, the lens on my Nikonos I has the color of the knobs reversed.) The newer lenses actually have curved lines going from the knob to the setting to make things clear. What is wonderful about the lenses is the very clear depth of field scale. On the distance scale there are two red marks. Looking at the lens with the distance scale on top, the left red mark shows the distance of the closest things that will be in focus. The right red mark shows the distance of the furthest things that will be in focus. At the smallest aperture (largest f number) these two marks will be furthest apart indicating the greatest depth of field. At the largest aperture (smallest f number), the two marks will be closest indicating the shallowest depth of field. As a practical matter, you zone focus underwater. Let's say you want to use f8 with the 28mm f3.5 lens. You move the aperture knob until the arrow is f8 in the aperture scale. If I set the focus to about 4 feet, the depth of field scale shows that everything from about 3 feet to 7 feet will be in reasonable focus. If I am taking a photo of a fish, I wait until it looks like the fish is with 3 to 7 feet of the camera and press the shutter button. If I am taking a picture of coral, I swim about 3 to 7 feet in front of the coral and press the shutter button. The smaller the aperture (larger f number), the more leeway I have. Of course, I also need a sufficiently fast shutter speed to stop the action. I can of course modify the settings under water, but its hard to do that too much with gloves on, a mask that may be fogging up, and air and depth gauges that need to be monitored.

Lenses Offered. The standard lens that generally came with the Nikonos cameras was a 35mm f2.5. It was designed for use underwater or on land. There was also an 80mm lens also designed for use underwater or on land. There were also a 28mm f3.5 lens, a 20mm lens an a 15mm lens. All of these lenses were specifically designed only for underwater use and corrected to avoid any distortions under water. They have the designation UW-Nikkor. Additionally, there is a distinct preference for wide angle lenses underwater. Even in clear water there is significant particulate matter. Also, the water itself absorbs light. You generally want to be as close as possible to the subject to decrease the amount of water between you and your subject. A 28mm lens is better than a 35mm lens usually. The 15mm and 20mm lenses are highly prized but expensive. Finally, there was another 28mm lens for above water use only. It was only water resistant and could not be submerged. The viewfinder of the Nikonos is designed to give the field of view for the 35mm lens. The viewfinder is also large so that you can hold it up to 40cm away from your mask underwater. There are optical viewfinders available that mount to the accessory shoe on top of the camera for the 15mm, 20mm and 28mm lenses. There is also a plastic frame finder available for the 28mm and 35mm lenses. Other manufacturers such as Sea & Sea also made lenses and finders for the Nikonos.

Flash. The Nikonos instruction manual indicates that deeper than 16 feet a flash should usually be used. Not only does the water absorb light requiring more exposure, it absorbs some colors of the spectum faster than others starting with red. Therefore, as you go deeper, the colors tend to be bluer. As you add flash, the other colors reflected from your subject once again show up. There are three basic flash metering systems for film cameras. In all three the shutter speed usually remains the same. With the Nikonos IV-A and V, the fastest shutter speed for flash is 1/90 second. For the earlier Nikonos cameras the fastest shutter speed for flash was 1/60 second. The first method is manual flash. A flash unit has a guide number. To determine the proper exposure, you divide the guide number by the distance from the flash to the subject. This gives you the aperture number to set. Often, the flash unit will have a table or circular dial indicating the correct aperture depending on the flash to subject distance so you don't have to do the math. The second method is automatic flash. With most automatic flashes, you can set the flash to one of two or three aperture settings. You then select that aperture on the camera. Automatic flashes have a sensor on the flash. You fire the shutter. The flash goes off. The light bounces off the subject and returns to the camera as well as the sensor on the flash. The sensor calculates the flash output to produce the correct exposure. You do not need to know the distance. I had a manual flash with my first camera and remember how happy I was when I got an automatic flash. The third method is through the lens (TTL) - off the film flash (OTF) metering which came out in the 1980s. It is similar to an automatic flash, except the camera and not the flash has the sensor. The light bounces off the subject, enters the lens and hits the film. Some of the light is reflected from the film onto a sensor in the camera. The camera's computer calculates the amount of light based on the data from the sensor. A fourth method is used with digital cameras. The camera can't measure the light reflected from the sensor since, unlike film, the sensor does not reflect enough light. A brief flash is therefore set off before the actual flash used to illuminate the scene. The reflected light from this initial flash is measured by the light meter in the camera and the camera appropriately adjusts the output of the final flash. All of this can only happen because light travels really fast and the microprocessors used today in flashes and cameras are really sophisticated. While third parties also made underwater strobes, Nikon offered the Nikonos 101 automatic strobe for the Nikonos IV-A. The sensor was attached to the flash but was mounted on top of the camera. The Nikonos 103 and 105 strobes were designed for the Nikonos V camera. They were through the lens (TTL) - off the film plane (OTF) flashes. The 105 replaced the 103 because the 103 could malfunction. Nikon had a trade in program. I have a 103 flash. Unfortunately, since neither is being made today, I assume I am out of luck in getting it replaced.

Other Nikon Non-SLR Cameras

Olympus

I have another Olympus 35-S (f1.8) just like this except it has a self-timer in front. It is in very good cosmetic condition with an everyready case also in very good condition. It has some issues. First, the rangefinder is not working. I can barely ever see a double image and changing the focus does not change anything in the viewfinder. There is a crack in the middle rangefinder window in front which may be causing a problem. The aperture works well. The shutter works, but likely could use some cleaning. At first, it was closing rapidly at 1 second. After using the shutter many times it is much better. The speeds still sound off, however. Finally, the self-timer does not appear to work. It will count down, but not trigger the shutter. As I write this in December 2022, I don't recall where I got this camera.

I purchased a second working XA2 for $5 at an estate sale in the Mt. Helix area of San Diego on 6-28-08. The cosmetic condition is good except for a large spot on the camera back below the rewind knob with no paint. The spot looks to be caused by resting one's thumb there while taking a photo and an indication of a well used, although well cared for, camera. It comes with an A11 flash in good cosmetic and working condition. The flash, which takes a 1.5 volt AA battery, turns on using a switch on the camera just below the ASA setting under the lens.

Pax

Pentax

In the December 1996 Popular Photography Magazine at page 231, Tri-State Camera was selling the IQZoom 160 for $299.95 after applying a $30 rebate. That's about $570 in February 2023 dollars. While the IQZoom is a sophisticated point and shoot camera, for not much more you could get a 35mm single lens reflex camera. For example on page 232 of the same magazine you could buy a Pentax PZ-70 with 35 to 80mm kit lens for $349.95 after rebate. While a shorter zoom range, it could fit a huge variety of Pentax lenses. It could be set in program mode and operate as a point and shoot camera just like the IQZoom, but also had aperture preferred, shutter preferred and manual exposure modes allowing for much more control by the photographer. After I wrote this, I came across a full article on the Pentax IQZoom 160 in the September 1996 Popular Photography Magazine starting at page 26. Their conclusion at page 186 was exactly the same as mine although stated a bit more eloquently.

"Typical Pentax IQZoom operation - straightforward, with excellent handing, plus a smattering of features for the experimenter - and a wide zoom ratio for dramatic scene variation. The slowness of the lens at tele, and limitations on close focusing, are our only real quibbles. But we still have some hesitancy recommending this camera when Pentax itself has another model, costing a little bit more, that offers superb finder accuracy, excellent viewing, failsafe confirmation of focus, extreme closeup capability, a far faster lens, better metering, and the ability to be equipped with even longer lenses. It's called the PZ-70. Oh, yes, it just happens to be an SLR."

Petri

Ricoh

I don't recall where I got my camera. The shutter fires. I don't think the meter is working. In automatic mode it seems to always fire at the widest aperture. In manual mode the aperture does not appear to be working properly. Often the opening appears to be off to the side. The seals are deteriorated and need to be replaced. The lever to open the back is broken off. You can still open it with a pen or some other pointed object, however. The camera has a dent in one corner.

The December 1993 Popular Photography Magazine at page 52 in a chart entitled "Top Autofocus Point-and-Shoot Compared" with almost 50 cameras lists the Ricoh Shotmaster Tru-Zoom with a suggested retail price of $329. That's about $685 in April 2023 dollars. At page 117 of the same magazine, however, Bi-Rite sells the "Shotmaster True Zoom" for only $164.40, or $342 in April 2023 dollars.

I apparently purchased my camera from a garage or estate sale on Saturday May 19, 2007 since I have a photo of it from that date. It has taken another sixteen years to do the write-up on the camera! My camera is in excellent, near new, cosmetic condition. The only flaw I see is that it is missing one of two tiny screws that hold down the film guide/roller on the inside of the film door. I haven't actually tried the camera since I don't have a battery handy. I'm guessing it works fine, however.

Overall, it seems pretty typical of point and shoot 35mm cameras in the 1990s. That's not a bad thing for people who didn't want to fuss with cameras. By the 1990s virtually every function in mid-range 35mm point and shoot cameras had become automated. Personally, I find the Ricoh 500G above from twenty years earlier to be a more flexible camera with greater control. Frank Lehnen in a review on 35mmc.com didn't like Ricoh Shotmaster Tru-Zoom Date finding it noisy, bulky, with a poor layout of buttons, and with no way to tell what it is focusing on. Anthony Pearson found the picture quality to be "really not at all bad." There is a four minute video on how to operate the camera at 8storeytree.

Samsung

Voigtlander

Yashica

Zeiss Ikon