Camerosity

When you collect vintage film cameras, if they don't work, just send it out for a CLA and some technician will take it apart, clean it up, lube what needs lubing, calibrate the shutter and it is ready to go, good as new!  How boring!  If the simplicity of CLAing a film camera is not enough of a challenge for you, perhaps you should consider collecting vintage digital cameras.  Incompatible memory cards, legacy file systems, unsupported USB cables, and batteries which no longer hold a charge are all the rage! Although the era of digital cameras barely exceeds three decades, the earliest days of digital saw a tremendous amount of innovation and strange designs because camera makers were still trying to figure out what and how a digital camera should look and work like. In this episode, the Camerosity crew (minus Anthony) go over this early innovative era of digital camera design and pick out some of the coolest cameras of the era.  Many of these cameras have early sensors which do not stand up to the quality of modern designs, but that's not why we collect them, Joining Paul, Theo, and Mike are returning callers AJ Gentile, Larry Effler, Mark Faulkner, Miles Libak, Pat Casey, Stephen Strangways, and Will Pinkham and we cover a great deal of history regarding the earliest and most important digital cameras like the Kodak DCS-100, Nikon E2Ns, and Minolta RD-175.  We declare two cameras from the late 1990s to be historically significant moments in camera design, on par with that of the Leica and Nikon F. Stephen Strangways shares with us his wide depth of knowledge about camera sensors.  We discuss the differences between CCD and CMOS sensors, why companies made the switch between the two, motivations of Live View, and why DSLRs eventually gave way to digital mirrorless cameras. We discuss the limitations of early CCD sensors, what are hot mirror filters, why we think Nikon missed the mark on mirrorless, plus we cover a great deal of cool digital cameras, some of which have features cameras today don't have, like the Sony Cybershot DSC-F828, Olympus E-100 RS, Panasonic GF1, and the Ricoh G900. In addition, Mike shares his large collection of 17 Pentax Q-series cameras, plus a very strange "camera coffin", a wooden Nikon rangefinder camera that has the guts of a Sony alpha mirrorless inside. As it is officially the holiday season and each of our schedules has gotten increasingly complicated, we do not yet know when the next show will be, or what we will discuss.  Rest assured, that once we know, you'll know.  Be sure to follow us on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, our new BlueSky page, and right here on mikeeckman.com. In This Episode What Exactly is 'Vintage Digital'? / Differences Between Still Video and Digital Cameras Kodak Had the Most to Lose with Digital But Pioneered it Anyway Apple Quicktake 100 / The Kodak DCS-100 Was Used in the Gulf War Did Kodak's Involvement in APS Impact Their Role in Developing Digital Cameras? Early CCD Sensors Were Extremely Difficult to Make, Resulting in Smaller Sensors The Sony Digital Mavica Was the Beginning of the End for Polaroid The Digital Mavica Was Also the Introduction of Digital to Many People Floppy Discs Gave Way to PCMCIA Cards and Eventually Flash Cards So Many Different Formats, MemoryStick, SmartMedia 3v and 5v, Compact Flash, etc Minolta RD-175 DSLR / Early Digitals Didn't Write JPGs / Converting Extinct Formats Sony Cybershot DSC-F828 / Sony's Night Shot Feature and How it Worked / Digital IR Photography Early Digital Cameras Had Weak IR Filtration, Throwing a Color Cast on Images / Hot Mirror Filters Why Did Digital Cameras Switch from CCD to CMOS Sensors? / Live View and Video Recording Problems with Sony Sensors / Canon and Fuji FinePix Pro SLRs / Leica M9 Sensor Problems Early Live View Sensors Would Overheat / Externally Cooling Camera Sensors What Drives the Popularity of CCD Sensors Today? Larry and Paul Love the Canon G-Series / Canon Color Science / Olympus E-100 RS Sigma Foveon Sensors / Foveon Merrills and Quattro Cameras The Nikon D1 Was the Watershed Moment for DSLRs / Nikon E2Ns Canon Did Well with the Digital Rebel and 18-55mm Kit Lens Kodak DCS Pro SLR/14 Was the First Full Frame DSLR In a Nikon Body and Mount Polaroid Polachrome Instant Slide Films The Switch from DSLR to Mirrorless / Panasonic GF1 / Sony SLT Cameras Nikon One and Pentax Q-Series Mirrorless Cameras / Nikon Missed the Mark On Mirrorless "No one will ever shoot the Superbowl with a smartphone"...or Will They? Digital Mirrorless Cameras Generally Have Poorer Battery Life Compared to DSLRs Most Camera Makers Never Made a Profit off Making Digital Cameras In February 1986 Herbert Keppler Made Several Predictions About Electronic Cameras Leica M11 / Pentax W90 / Canon Digital Rebel / Epson R-D1 / Pentax 645 Digital / Ricoh G900 Kurt's Strange Nikon Rangefinder Wooden Sony Digital Camera / Hasselblad Lunar and Stellar Digicams Links The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm. The Camerosity Podcast is now on BlueSky @camerosity.bsky.social.  This modern, and clean replacement for Twitter is a nice alternative to cluttered social networks out there.  Follow us there for show announcements and other content. If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server. The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/ Keppler's Vault 86: Electronic Still Photography - https://mikeeckman.com/2021/03/kepplers-vault-86-electronic-still-photography/ Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/ Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/ Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

At the end of Episode 80, we promised an entire show dedicated to Zeiss-Ikon.  Unfortunately, things got in the way of us being able to dedicate the necessary time to prepare to cover such a complex and important company, so we decided to pivot and do another GAS episode. Anthony and Theo were only able to make brief appearances, but joining Paul and Mike on this show was a well rounded cast of callers including AJ Gentile, Antony Hands, Fernando from Germany, Rafael E, Wannes Scheipers, Will Pinkham, and first time callers, Andrew Curley, Charles Lawson, and Jem! A large number of Zeiss-Ikon cameras were discussed including the Contax rangefinders, Contarex, folding Nettars, Contina, Contaflex, and the square format Tenax and Taxonas.  AJ shares his thoughts on his recent pickups of a Aires 35-V and Rolleiflex SL35, Wannes picks up an interesting book about the Kodak Vest Pocket, and Charles shares a story of how he gets his Kiev cameras repaired by a Ukrainian war hero. Mike talks about a very rare camera he was able to "borrow" from Used Photo Pro in Indianapolis, along with some recommendations on the most innovative and best user American rangefinders and medium format cameras, and a very well done book about the career of Heinz Waaske.  We also cover a very strange 1980s Fisher-Price video camera that records video onto standard audio cassettes, the I'm Back Digital Camera back, why auto focus lens adapters all suck, and Antony shares his love for the JollyLook foldable instant camera and pinhole camera. This was a wide ranging episode with a huge number of different cameras and topics covered, so rather than continue to promote it here, I recommend you hit the play button below, or on whatever your favorite podcast player is and enjoy! As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you! Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show. We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining! The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance. For Episode 82 we are going back to digital....waaay back and going to attempt to cover some early digital cameras.  While everyone knows that digicams are seeing a resurgence of interest, what were some of the earlier models that are worth checking out!  Are there any undiscovered gems out there?  Even I don't know the answer to that one!  We will record Episode 82 on Monday, November 25th at 7pm Central Standard Time and 8pm Eastern Standard Time. In This Episode Mike Fell for GAS After the 80s Episode / Pentax ME-F with AF 35-70 f/2.8 Lens Mike Convinces Roberts Camera to Loan him a Detrola 400 / The Tamarkin Auction Was Last Saturday What Were the Best American Cameras Ever Made? / Bell & Howell Foton / Kodak Ektra / Kodak Signet Series Kodak 35 / Military Kodaks / All of the Signets are Good Except the Kodak Signet 80 Bridge Cameras / Ricoh Mirai / Olympus IS-Series / Canon Photura Wayne Picks Up a Book About the Kodak Vest Pocket Cameras in World War I Kameras für Millionen - Heinz Waaske, Konstrukteur / Will Gets a Ricoh 500 and Ricoh-Matic / Zorki 10 and 11 Fisher-Price PXL2000 Video Camera / Recording Videos of Punk Rock Shows on Cassette Tapes Zeiss-Ikon Contarex Bullseye / Zeiss-Ikon Taxona / Tenax Cameras / Contarex Lenses Rafael's Favorite Camera is the Zeiss-Ikon Contina / Contaflex and Magazine Film Backs Hasselblad XPan and SWCs / Converting Hassy 500 Backs to Shoot 35mm / Horseman 3D Folding Zeiss Nettars and Ikontas / Zeiss Made Great Triplets Paul Bought a Graflex XLSW From Tom Zoss / Steve Grimes Modified Cameras Is the Zeiss-Ikon Contax IIIa a Good User Camera? / Adapting Contax Lenses Charles Gets His Kiev and Contaxes Repaired by a Ukrainian War Hero AJ Shot Mike's Gifted Kodak Tourist and Picked up a Rolleiflex SL35 and an Aires 35-V Aires Made Lots of Good Cameras / Aires III-C Sending Cameras to Canada May Get Rejected if You say its a Camera on the Customs Form Kowa SW Wide Angle Camera / Kepler Telescope Viewfinders Why Did Nikon and Others Have Different Names for the Same Cameras? Minolta Dynax 7s Are Great, But.... / 3D Printing Replacement Camera Parts Jollylook Instant Camera / Jollylook Pinhole Camera Another Underappreciated American Camera is the Argus Argoflex Forty Canon P and IVS Rangefinders / Horseman Convertible / Viewfinder Photography I'm Back Digital Adapter for Film Cameras / Other Film to Digital Adapters Contax Rangefinder Adapters to Nikon Z Mount / Autofocus Adapters Suck Links The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm. If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server. The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/ Used Photo Pro (Robert's Camera) - https://usedphotopro.com/ JollyLook - https://jollylook.com/ Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/ Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/ Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

Everyone get out your Aqua Net hair spray and G.I. Joe lunchboxes because it is time to hop in the Hot Tub Time Machine and go back to the 80s!  In this, the 80th episode of the Camerosity Podcast, we revisit the decade where Michael Jackson and Madonna reigned supreme, taking a look at everyone's favorite cameras from that decade.  The Nikon F3, Minolta Maxxum 7000, Olympus XA2, the Minox 35 series, Contax RTS II, and many, many more. Joining Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on this show are returning callers AJ Gentile, Mark Faulkner, Miles Libak, Mina Saleeb, Pat Casey, Patrick Rapps, Will Pinkham, and first time caller Christopher Wells. Each person shares stories of the cameras they used during the 1980s, but Patrick Rapps didn't get the message about the 20th century and went back all the way to 1889 with his beautiful and fully functioning Kodak No.2 String Set.  This camera was the follow-up to the original 1888 Kodak and shares many of the same design features, including that camera's distinct round film gate! We get into a little bit of history of early point and shoot cameras and how their autofocus systems work and why so many of these early cameras consistently have such high image quality.  We discuss the history and merits of Kodak's Disc film cameras and two features of those cameras that influenced cameras that would come later.  We revisit the era of electronic still video cameras like the Canon Xap Shop and the original Sony Mavica.  We talk about focusing auto focus cameras and reflect back on how focus screens work from the Rick Oleson episode.  Theo shares with us a strange 3 lens 110 film camera, and finally, we answer a question asked in the Camerosity Facebook page about a recommendation of a compact SLR for a 10 year old. As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you! Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show. We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining! The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.   Our next episode will be Episode 81 and we are planning on tackling the complex and wonderful world of Zeiss-Ikon.  Since the recording of Episode 80 however, some scheduling conflicts have come up which may require us to pivot this show and postpone it.  We won't know until we get closer to the show date, so if Episode 81 comes and it is not about Zeiss, we didn't forget, we just had to change at the last minute.  As of right now however, it is still on.  We will record Episode 81 on Monday, November 11th at 7pm Central Standard Time and 8pm Eastern Standard Time. In This Episode Mike Forgets How Long Ago the 1980s Was / The Leica M6 Was Popular with Hobbyists Minolta Maxxum 7000 and Nikon N2020 Were Popular for the Every Man Nikon 4004 and 5005s Were Dogs, but the 6006 and 8008/8008s Were Very Nice Pininfarina Designed Nikon SLRs in the 80s and Created the Red Stripe Anthony's Go To 80s Nikon is the Nikon FM2 / FM2 Motor Drives Converting Non-Ai Lenses to Ai / Theo Loves the Nikon FA Paul Loves the Nikon F3 / HP Finders / Nikon F3P / Nikon FM3a Nikon L35AF "Pikaichi" / Nikon OneTouch AF3 / Pikaichi 46mm Lens Filters Olympus XA Series / Minox 35 Series / Agat 18K / Mamiya U Early Point and Shoots Had Superior Image Quality Due to Single Focal Length Lenses Canon MC / Plaubel 67W and 670 Fuji Brought Back the Folding Camera with the GS645 / GS645W / GA645 Patrick Rapps and His Kodak No.2 String Set from 1889 / The Original 1888 Kodak Don Goldberg Still Services the Minox 35 Series / Chinon Bellami / Canon Snappy S Canon Aqua Snappy and Minolta Weathermatic Underwater Cameras / Ricoh 500 ME / Yashica T-Series Mike and Mina Both Love the Contax RTS II / Contax RTS III / Repairing Contax SLRs Autofocus SLRs Were Not Meant to Be Manually Focused / A Nod Back to the Rick Oleson Episode Manual Focus SLRs with Focus Confirmation / Canon AL-1 / Minolta X-600 / Pentax ME-F Cameras Supporting External Autofocus Lenses / Canon T80 / Revue AC3 w/ Revuenon AF Lens /  Nikon F3AF Olympus and Konica Both Gave up on Interchangeable Lens SLRs in the 1980s / Konica Tomato and Konica Recorder Trivia: Name a Rangefinder Camera with Leica Thread Mount You Could Still Buy New in the 1980s Kodak Disc Film / T-Grain Film / Scanning Disc Film Mike Forgets What Decade He's In And Talks about APS Film Tasco Binoculars Camera / Canon Xap-Shot and Still Video Cameras / Sony Mavicas / Bronica GS-1 Mark Picked Up a Pentax 17 / Film for Classics 620 Spools / Theo Gets a Rollei 35AF Listener Question: What Small Form Factor SLR Would You Recommend for a 10 Year Old? Links The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm. If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server. The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/ Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/ Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/ Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

On this episode of the Camerosity Podcast, the guys took a suggestion off the top of the Camerosity Suggestion Box™ and dedicated this episode to medium format SLRs.  That's right, finally, an entire episode dedicated to Bronica, Mamiya, Rolleiflex, Kiev, and Norita SLRs (but not that H-brand). Joining Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on this show are returning callers A.J. Gentile, Brian Zeman, Miles Libak, Will Pinkham, and first time callers Andrew Wells, Fernando from Germany, Henry Blanton, Robert Wawrzinek, and Tom Zoss. The show gets off to a quick start with the Bronica system, one that Mike has limited experience with, but the listeners make quick work out of recommending an accessory that Mike immediately decided he needed.  Our love for this Japanese SLR starts with the early S-series, moves into the GS, and finally ETRS series, but one is a clear favorite. Another well received SLR is the Kowa Six which Mike has been tirelessly shooting in the weeks prior to this show, ready to share his thoughts.  Anthony and Andrew both share their strong desires to own a Rolleiflex SL66, and Fernando shares his love for Soviet and East German medium format SLRs. A huge number of "less common" cameras like the KW Reflex Box, VEB WEFO Master Reflex, Fujita Six, Folmer-Graflex National Graflex, and both the horizontal and vertical versions of the Ihagee Exakta 66 get their mentions.  We point out the 6x6 SLR with the fastest medium format lens ever made, who is best to repair Mamiya SLRs, and ponder the age old question, "Why didn't anyone ever make a 6x9 SLR?" We get a little off topic, discussing John Minnick's Aero-Liberator SLRs used by Graham Burnett, Graflex's "Stove Top" SLRs, and Tom Zoss's custom Graflex XL with a very wide Rodenstock lens on it.  Plus, as an added bonus, we cover the only 16mm SLR in any of our collections, the KMZ Narciss SLR! As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you! Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show. We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining! The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance. Our next episode will be Episode 80 and we're taking the opportunity to dedicated this episode to cameras of the 80s (you get to pick the century).  The 1980s saw a huge advancement in auto focus SLRs, the use of lightweight plastics, and the beginning of the "bridge camera" era.  If you're fans of gems like the Nikon FM2, Minolta X-700, Leica M6, or the Yashica Samurai, this is the episode for you!  We will record Episode 80 on Monday, October 28th at 7pm Central Daylight Time and 8pm Eastern Daylight Time. In This Episode Mike Owns Two Bronica SLRs / Bronica S2 / Bronica GS-1 Kiev-60 SLR w/ Screw Lens Mount Adapter / ARAX Repaired and Upgraded Cameras Order Matters on the Kiev Cameras / Repairing Kiev SLRs / Kievs with Pentacon Six Mount Paul Declares the Bronica and Kowas to Be Value Leaders / Early Bronica S-Series Bronica S2 Has a Removable Helicoid Which Adds Flexibility / Adapting Other Lenses to Bronicas Mike's Early Review of the Kowa Six /  Kowa 66 Fujita 66 / Kalimar Six / Kodak Duo Six-20 John Minnick and Graham Burnett's Aero-Liberator SLR / Stove Top Graflex SLRs Mike is Working on a Review for the Folmer-Graflex National Graflex KW Reflex-Box is a Box Camera That's Also an SLR Brian GASses Mike into Buying a Winder Grip for the Bronica GS-1 Anthony's Favorite Medium Format SLR is the Rolleiflex SL66 / The Scheimpflug Effect Ihagee Exakta 66 Horizontal and Vertical Cameras Kochmann Reflex-Korelle / Master Reflex Norita 66 and Pentacon Six / The Noritar 80mm f/2 Lens is Faster than Most Medium Format SLR Lenses Repairing the Rolleiflex SL66 / Watching Watch Repair Videos on YouTube / Chris Sherlock's Camera Repair Videos Bill Rogers is a Great Resource for Mamiya SLR Repair / Mirror Stop on the Mamiya 645s How Many People Shoot Both Medium Format Rangefinders and SLRs? Nobody Made a 6x9 SLR / The Fuji 690 Rangefinder Series is as Close as You'll Get Two Huge Cameras are the Gowland Flex and Fuji GX680 What is the Difference Between the Mamiya RB67 and RZ67? KW Pilot 6 / Chinese Great Wall DF Series Tom Zoss's Custom Graflex XL with Rodenstock Wide Angle Lens Mike Likes Vignetting / Bill Rogers for Mamiya Repair / Who is Repairing Retinas Now The Only 16mm SLR We Know About / KMZ Narciss Links The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm. If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server. The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/ Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/ Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/ Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/