Articles

Nikon FtN Finder

Nikon FTn Finder – Servicing & Foam Removal

The Nikon FTn finder in common with a lot of cameras from the golden age of film cameras contains a fair amount of foam. Like the Olympus OM-1, the Canon FTb and many others the foam around the prism slowly degrades. When it does the foam turns into a toxic goop that will de-silver the […]
What lies beneath - Camera Crime

Film Camera Service – A True Crime Story of What Lies Beneath

Film Camera Service – There exists within the classic film camera fraternity something of a mythology about Japanese cameras being ultra-reliable. They will ‘oohh’ and ‘aahh’ about how their 40-50 year old camera still works. The truth is they are often unaware that, while these things were made to a quality that no manufacturer outside […]
Being There ….Part 2 – Picture That

Being There ….Part 2 – Picture That

In Being There Part 1 I bewailed the trend of gear collectors and people who buy classic cameras to take pictures of their cat and their back garden. Now it’s time to get on and talk about the photographer as the documenter.  Photography has many angles to it but one of the most interesting is the […]
Nikon F Review

Nikon F Review – Full Metal Jacket

Nikon F Review – Perhaps the most iconic camera of all time is the Nikon F. Still a desirable camera for both photographers and collectors after 65 years. Used by pretty much every press packer in its day, photographers in the Vietnam war, and the US space program. Instantly recognisable in any movie and the […]
Learn camera repair

Learn Camera Repair – How hard is it?

Learn Camera Repair – Although film is making something of a come back, one of the areas that is a huge potential stumbling block is the fact that most professional technicians are now either retired or close to retiring. In the UK over the last few years a whole bevy of some of the most […]

Film Camera Service – A True Crime…

MelMar 2, 202514 min read
What lies beneath - Camera Crime
Film Camera Service – There exists within the classic film camera fraternity something of a mythology about Japanese cameras being ultra-reliable. They will ‘oohh’ and ‘aahh’ about how their 40-50 year old camera still works. The truth is they are often unaware that, while these things were made to a quality that no manufacturer outside […]

Being There ….Part 2 – Picture That

MelJan 12, 20258 min read
Being There ….Part 2 – Picture That
In Being There Part 1 I bewailed the trend of gear collectors and people who buy classic cameras to take pictures of their cat and their back garden. Now it’s time to get on and talk about the photographer as the documenter.  Photography has many angles to it but one of the most interesting is the […]

Nikon F Review – Full Metal Jacket

MelSep 21, 202419 min read
Nikon F Review
Nikon F Review – Perhaps the most iconic camera of all time is the Nikon F. Still a desirable camera for both photographers and collectors after 65 years. Used by pretty much every press packer in its day, photographers in the Vietnam war, and the US space program. Instantly recognisable in any movie and the […]

Learn Camera Repair – How hard is…

MelAug 3, 202423 min read
Learn camera repair
Learn Camera Repair – Although film is making something of a come back, one of the areas that is a huge potential stumbling block is the fact that most professional technicians are now either retired or close to retiring. In the UK over the last few years a whole bevy of some of the most […]

Minolta MC-X Rokkor PF 50mm f1.7 Lens…

MelJun 1, 202416 min read
Minolta Rokkor MC-X 50mm f1.7 PF
A step by step repair and servicing guide for Minolta Rokkor PF 50mm f1.7 MC-X Series lens. The MC-X Rokkor PF is actually part of a series of lenses loosely known as the MC-X series. These were a kind of halfway house between the earlier MC Series and what would be the last Manual Focus […]

How to clean a focus screen…

MelApr 4, 202412 min read
Olympus OM-1
How to clean a focus screen: – One of those things that comes up endlessly on forums for classic cameras is ‘How do I clean a focus screen?’ to save my fingers and to try and antidote a lot of bad advice out there I am creating a handy article that I can now link […]