This is an Exakta RTL 1000, a 35mm SLR camera made by VEB Pentacon Dresden between the years 1969 to 1973. Despite the Exakta name and sharing the original Exakta mount, this camera bears very little resemblance to earlier Exaktas, in fact, it was built alongside the Praktica L-series also…
This review is part of the Cameras of the Dead series which features dead cameras that I’ve wanted to review that either didn’t work, or was otherwise unable to shoot. This review was originally part of a three camera review published on October 29, 2021 in the 10th edition of…
This review is part of the Cameras of the Dead series which features dead cameras that I’ve wanted to review that either didn’t work, or was otherwise unable to shoot. This review was originally part of a three camera review published on October 29, 2021 in the 10th edition of…
Another year, another Year in Review post! Skipping past the obvious summaries of the past 12 months, 2021 was a pretty good year for Mike Eckman dot Com. As was the case every year, traffic increased from the year prior, but this year, traffic really increased, but more on that…
This is a Topcon R, a 35mm single lens reflex camera made by Tokyo Kogaku in Tokyo, Japan between the years 1957 and 1960. The Topcon R was Tokyo Kogaku’s first 35mm SLR and like their later RE series, used the Exakta bayonet mount and had interchangeable viewfinders. The Topcon…
I don’t normally deal in reviews of new products as I generally leave that up to one of the many other excellent bloggers out there, but for this, my review of the new DOOMO Meter S, I decided to give it a shot. Although Sunny 16 and my simplified Outdoor…
This is a Hasselblad 500 C, a medium format SLR produced by Hasselblad in Gothenburg, Sweden between 1957 and 1970. With the 500 C, Hasselblad switched to a between the lens leaf shutter in place of the unreliable focal plane shutters of earlier models. Along with new lenses, the camera…
This is the Foto-Flex, a twin lens box camera made by the Hadds Mfg. Co. for the Foto-Flex Corporation of Chicago, Illinois starting in 1947. The Foto-Flex was an inexpensive camera made of plastic and stamped metal and makes twelve 4cm x 4cm images on 127 format roll film. It…
This is a Wirgin Gewirette, a compact camera produced by Wirgin in Wiesbaden, Germany starting in 1932. The Gewirette was one of the company’s earlier models and shot 3cm x 4cm images on 127 roll film. Although lacking an interchangeable lens mount, the Gewirette was fitted with a large number…
This is an Exakta Twin TL, a 35mm single lens reflex camera built in Japan by Cosina for Ihagee Kamerawerk AG, also known as Ihagee West, starting in 1970. The Exakta Twin TL was a last ditch effort by the West German version of Ihagee to launch a new series…
This is a Fujica V2, a 35mm rangefinder camera built by Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd in Japan starting in 1965. The Fujica V2 was a pretty advanced camera for it’s day featuring shutter priority automatic exposure via a coupled CdS meter, a sharp 6-element Fujinon lens, and a full…
This is a Stereo Bob XV, a stereoscopic folding camera made by H. Ernemann Werke AG in Dresden, Germany starting in 1913. The Stereo Bob XV was part of Ernemann’s long running Bob family of cameras that were produced from about 1902 until the company’s merger with Zeiss-Ikon in 1926. …
