Episode 11: Mirandas, Nikons, and Leicas

This week on the Camerosity Podcast, we were once again joined by previous guests Paul Rybolt and Mike Novak and first time caller, Hong Joon Lee who has been following on Facebook and purchased the Contax Sonnar 1.5 I recently sold.  Half way through the show however, we were joined by camera collector extraordinaire, Ira Cohen, whose massive collection of cameras I was able to visit earlier this year.  Ira has the largest collection of rare and unusual cameras I’ve ever seen and the level of knowledge he has about collecting is unmatched.

This was a fascinating episode that went in completely unpredictable directions with a lot of talk about Miranda and their history, why the Nikon F was so successful, what point is a Leica copy not longer a copy, and much, much more!

As always, if you are interested in participating in our next episode, be sure to keep an eye here for a new link which will be posted around noon Central Time Sunday, November 14th!

This Week’s Episode

  • Hong’s Sonnar 1.5 and Mike’s New Leotax
  • Amedeo Contax Lens Adapters / Don’t Buy Cheap Lens Adapters
  • Paul’s Orion Contax to Leica Adapter
  • Miranda’s Demise of the dx-3
  • What are the Good Mirandas? / Miranda Soligor Lenses Punch Above Their Weight
  • Miranda’s Risque Ads / Mike Gets in Touch with the Niece of the Lady from the Ads
  • How Miranda Got Started and Why They Failed
  • Mike Loves his Miranda A / Wirgin SLRs are Nice Too
  • Montanus / Wirgin TLRs
  • When Did SLRs Start to Take Over from Rangefinders?
  • Mike’s Contax I Will Never Be Serviced
  • Ira Cohen Calls In!
  • The Nikon F Officially Began the Era of the SLR
  • Was it that Obvious that the Nikon F Was Superior to All Other Cameras at the Time?
  • Camera Rigidity: Nikon vs Leica
  • Why Was Leitz Hesitant to Release an SLR?
  • When Is a Leica Copy No Longer a Leica Copy?
  • We got Michael Gossett to buy an AGFA Speedex
  • Anthony’s Zeiss folders CLAd by Jurgen at certo6.com
  • Ira’s Blue Chair / Hong Works by Central Camera
  • Ira’s Prototype Box Camera
  • Mike Gets a Book on Cameras by Douglas St. Denny from China

Show Notes

If you would like to offer feedback or contact me with questions or ideas for future episodes, please use the Comments section below.

The Official Camerosity Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/CamerosityPodcast

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

Paul Rybolt – https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris

Mike Novak – https://www.flickr.com/photos/greyscale3/

Hong Joon Lee – https://www.facebook.com/hongjoon.lee.33

Ira Cohen – Ira has no Internet Presence

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

Anthony Rue – https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

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4 Comments

  1. One small correction: The Asahiflex IIa wasn’t the first SLR with an instant-return mirror, that distinction belongs to the Gamma Duflex from Hungary. I am surprised that Ira did not clarify this, as I am sure that he displayed his on the blue chair.

  2. Miranda were sold in UK by Dixons who were the exclusive distributors. Dixons also had the rights to the name Miranda which was used on lenses, cheap cameras, flash, tripods etc.

    The name was disliked in UK as being too girly

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