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Category Archives: Vintage cameras
Found Film in a 100-year-old Camera I got for Christmas
So my parents gave me this old camera for Christmas – a large, worn leatherbound aluminum case with shiny nickel fittings, that concealed intricate, shiny brass knobs, dials and gauges, along with a set of pristine red bellows. As my mom … Continue reading
Testing the Aires 35 V
I found this rangefinder at an estate sale in Virginia. It’s a heavy, solid camera and it came with a second lens, and despite never having heard of its manufacturer, I decided to add it to my collection. Being from … Continue reading
Posted in Vintage cameras
Tagged 35, Aires, antique, basilica, black and white, camera, national arboretum, Photography, Tokyo, V, vintage
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Testing the Mansfield Skylark
Funny story about how I ended up with this one. When you bid on high-priced items on eBay, it can be useful to decide the most you intend to pay, and then submit that bid just before bidding closes. There … Continue reading
Testing the 1964 Minolta Minoltina S
There’s not a lot of information on the ‘net about it, but the Minolta Minoltina-S, marketed upon its release in 1964 as the world’s smallest rangefinder with a built-in light meter is a solid little camera with a fast (f/1.8) … Continue reading
Found Film: Safari!
This latest roll of found film is a 35mm roll of (I think) slide film. I say “I think” because I actually developed this some time ago and have been carrying the digital versions only. They were pretty dark and … Continue reading
Testing the Minolta SR-T-101
Awhile back, I posted about the Petri 7S, one of two cameras my mother-in-law had passed along to me. This post is on the other camera, a Minolta SR-T-101. This Minolta is an SLR that first appeared on the market … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India, Vintage cameras
Tagged black and white, Chennai, India, Minolta, SLR, SR-T 101, SRT-101, vintage
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Found Film: Kodak Hawkeye Instamatic II
I ordered one of these for a few bucks on eBay because it combined two things I like: old cameras and found film – i.e. an undeveloped 126 cartridge was still inside the camera, according to the seller. The Hawkeye … Continue reading
Posted in Vintage cameras
Tagged 126, camera, cartridge, found film, hawkeye instamatic II, Kodak, lomo, plastic
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Found Film: My Very First Camera
What was your first camera? Mine wasn’t the one pictured above, but it was close: A Kodak Instamatic X-15 like the one pictured below. This camera was manufactured between 1970 and 1976. I got mine toward the end of that … Continue reading
Posted in Found Film, Vintage cameras
Tagged baptist, Chennai, church, expired, found film, India, Instamatic, Kodak, merrimack, vintage
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Vintage Camera Test: Brownie Reflex Synchro Model
The Brownie Reflex Synchro Model was made between 1941 and 1952 in the US, and until 1960 in the UK, and closely followed the (non-synchro) Brownie Reflex. It was called a “Reflex” because, like most SLR (single lens reflex) cameras … Continue reading
Posted in Found Film, Vintage cameras
Tagged black and white, brownie, India, Photography, reflex, street, synchro, TLR, twin lens reflex, vintage
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Found Film: Photos that tell your fortune!
I’m often surprised by what I discover on a roll of “found film” – but this roll was especially unusual: these photos included a fortune on each one! All mundane photos, shots taken of almost random places on the streets … Continue reading
Posted in Found Film
Tagged fortune, fortune camera, found film, gimmick, novelty, urban outfitters
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Found Film: Portland, Maine
I occasionally acquire rolls of film on eBay or inside old cameras that haven’t been developed, and were never seen by the photographers. You never know – sometimes they’re old, sometimes they’re not. This roll is not. At first, I … Continue reading
Found Film: The Happiest Place on Earth
It has been some time since the last time I wrote a “normal” found film post – i.e., one which hadn’t yet been developed. In fact, since October, I have been sharing a box of already-developed found film shot by … Continue reading
Confessions of an EBay Junkie
This is what sixty bucks worth of junk looks like: OK, so I admit, I have a problem. I like to go on eBay and type “vintage camera” into the search bar and see what comes up. And I sort … Continue reading
Raymond Albert’s Photos: Postscript
Since October 2014, I have been scanning, restoring and sharing rolls of film that were found in an estate sale and subsequently put up on eBay for sale. Unlike the “found film” I usually develop after it has been neglected … Continue reading
Posted in Found Film
Tagged black and white, estate sale, found film, obituary, Raymond Albert
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Petri 7S Test
Half a year ago, my mother-in-law asked me if I could use an old Petri 7S and a Minolta SRT101 they had laying around and after some quick research online I responded “most definitely!” The Minolta will be the subject … Continue reading
Posted in Life in India, Vintage cameras
Tagged Kolam contest, Mahabalipuram, mylapore, Petri 7s, Tirukalukundram, vintage camera
2 Comments
The Androscoggin Flood of 1953
The Androscoggin River roars past the Rumford Dam in Maine during the March 1953 flood. Compare the river to this photo of the same dam taken recently. Since October, I have been sharing a collection of photos rescued from the estate … Continue reading
Posted in Found Film
Tagged 1953, Androscoggin, Bob's Esso Service Center, flood, Maine, Mexico, Raymond Albert, rumford
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Raymond Albert’s Photos: One Last Wedding
For months, I have been sharing photos believed to have been taken by Raymond Albert in the late 1940s through the late-1950s. In total, the collection consists of about 23 rolls. This post highlights roll number 22, probably from around 1958 … Continue reading
Posted in Found Film
Tagged Maine, Raymond Albert, rumford, St. John's Church, wedding
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Found Film: Grandpa Albert’s House on the Coast
For months, I have been sharing photos believed to have been taken by Raymond Albert in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s. In total, the collection consists of about 23 rolls. This post highlights roll number 21. I’m guessing the current … Continue reading
Posted in Found Film
Tagged Etoile de la Mer II, family reunion, found film, Maine, Plymouth Belvedere, Raymond Albert, rumford
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Guest Post: Darkroom Blues: A Blast from the Past (Part II)
This is part 2 of an article shared by a photographer friend here in Chennai which was originally written for the Photographic Society of Madras, a local photographic society founded in 1857. The first part of the article is published … Continue reading
Posted in film processing, Vintage cameras
Tagged analog, chemistry, darkroom, enlarger, film, Photography, print, processing
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Guest Post: Darkroom Blues – a Blast from the Past (part 1)
A friend of mine here in Chennai shared an article with me the other day, which he had written for the Photographic Society of Madras, a local photographic society founded in 1857. It reminded me not only how far we have … Continue reading
Posted in film processing, Vintage cameras
Tagged analog, Brownie 620, chemistry, darkroom, developing, enlarger, film, Photography, processing, vintage
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Found Film: Lakes and Rivers
For the last few months, I have been sharing photos believed to have been taken by Raymond Albert in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s. In total, the collection consists of about 23 rolls. This post highlights the 19th and 20th roll … Continue reading
Camera Test: Olympus PEN EE.S
A few days ago, I blogged about another vintage camera that I characterized as somewhat unique in that there were virtually no settings or adjustments you could make on the camera. I thought it might be one of the earliest … Continue reading
Found Film: The Alberts visit Quebec
For the last few months, I have been sharing photos believed to have been taken by Raymond Albert in the late 1940s thru the mid-1950s. This latest post features photos from a trip the family took to Quebec, circa 1955. On this trip, … Continue reading
Camera Test: Agfa Ansco No. 1A Ready-Set Special
This is a camera I bought, not knowing anything at all about it, simply because I thought it looked cool. It turns out that this particular model is not all that well-known, but the overall Ready-set series is. The Ready-Set … Continue reading
Posted in Vintage cameras
Tagged 116 film, 1A, Agfa, ansco, Photography, ready-set, readyset, special, vintage camera
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