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Mount the lens

Nikon 50mm Repair Guide f1.8 AiS

A step by step Nikon 50mm Repair Guide f1.8 AiS with notes on managing the Series E version of the lens. Copyright 2022 High5Cameras, Free to use, copy and distribute so long as no charge is made for use, distribution or access and authorship and web address is freely acknowledged. The Nikon 50mm f1.8 AiS […]
Minolta XD Series

The Last of Us – Minolta XD Series – XD, XD7 and XD11

Minolta XD Series On the 1st September 1914, a small grey bird fell from its perch at Cincinatti Zoo…… The mid 1970s saw a rash of camera developments.  While these produced amazing technological marvels the headlong rush to ever more sophistication while keeping the price down meant compromises. The first casualty of any price war […]
Pentax MX 35mm SLR

Pentax MX – The sense of an ending

Endings are strange things. It’s often hard to see where the ending of anything is until years after the event.  Rome wasn’t built in a day they say but it didn’t fall in a day either.  It’s only on reflection, after the passage of time, that you can put a pin in a calendar and […]
Minolta X-700 Capacitor Replacement

Minolta X-700 Capacitor Replacement

A step by step guide to Minolta X-700 capacitor replacement in the popular 35mm SLR Camera. Copyright 2023 High5Cameras, Free to use, copy and distribute so long as no charge is made for use, distribution or access and authorship and web address is freely acknowledged. The Minolta X-700 is one of the most popular cameras […]
Minolta X-500 X-300 X-700

The ‘X’ Factor  – Minolta X Series X-700, X-500 and X-300

Before we discuss the Minolta X Series (X-700, X-500 and X-300 etc), let’s step back in time. Back in the mid 1970s and early 1980s the 35mm SLR camera market was in turmoil. The big boys were busy forcing the smaller companies out and there was a rush of developments as each manufacturer tried to […]

The ‘X’ Factor  – Minolta X Series…

Mel Feb 25, 2023 24 min read
Minolta X-500 X-300 X-700
Before we discuss the Minolta X Series (X-700, X-500 and X-300 etc), let’s step back in time. Back in the mid 1970s and early 1980s the 35mm SLR camera market was in turmoil. The big boys were busy forcing the smaller companies out and there was a rush of developments as each manufacturer tried to […]

Nikon E Series Repair Guide

Mel Feb 4, 2023 15 min read
Nikon Series E 50mm f1.7
A step by step Nikon E Series Repair Guide to the first version of the Nikon Series E 50mm f1.8 lens. Copyright 2022 High5Cameras, Free to use, copy and distribute so long as no charge is made for use, distribution or access and authorship and web address is freely acknowledged. The Series E 50mm f1.8 […]

Testament – Agfa Silette

Mel Jan 3, 2023 5 min read
Agfa Silitte
As a New Year comes in I get mellow and like to reflect on the years gone by, and hopefully the ones to come. On my mind today is a question and a reflection. When is a camera more than a camera? What is any camera REALLY worth? Sometimes, and this may happen only once […]

What is Lens Fungus: – The Reason…

Mel Dec 11, 2022 17 min read
How to manage fungus
What is Lens Fungus: – 2,400 Million years ago fungus developed.  Long before most life on the planet and it’s been going ever since. These days if you’re an avid photographer with a penchant for classic lenses you’re most likely to discover it in a lens and will want to remove lens fungus quickly. So, […]

Toy Story – Konica Pop Review

Mel Sep 19, 2022 7 min read
Konica Pop
Konica Pop Review: Dating from 1982 the Konica Pop is a classic budget point and shoot.  This one comes from 1985 or later as its shows the ‘Hexanon’ lens marking. The lens is stated as being a 36mm f4 and is of course fix focused. The specification for the shutter was 125th but I timed […]

The Revenant – Minolta XG-1 Restoration

Mel Sep 18, 2022 13 min read
Minolta XG-1 Restoration
The Minolta XG-1 was the second in the XG series launched in 1977 as a budget camera to complement the top of the line XD series. Unlike its predecessor the SRT series, the XG series was all electronic. By the time the XG series came to market the SRT series was looking tired but would […]