Articles

Konica Pop

Toy Story – Konica Pop Review

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 […]
Minolta XG-1 Restoration

The Revenant – 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 […]
Film Camera Buyers Guide

Film Camera Buyers Guide

If you have read the previous articles about buying cameras on eBay then this quick film camera buyers guide will give you the essentials for the most common cameras for sale. This film camera buyers guide is not fully comprehensive, doesn’t cover every 35mm SLR ever made but is based on hard-won experience of cameras […]
So you want to buy a camera on ebay

So You Want to Buy a Camera on eBay?

If you don’t want to be on the receiving end of a camera that looks like the one above then read on and learn how to buy a camera on eBay. A quick look on google will find you hundreds of similar articles. However, on close review, they all describe how to best shop on […]
Junk cameras from eBay

eBay Ate My Camera – eBay is so bad for cameras

If you are reading this, it’s maybe because like me you started looking for good quality, fully working cameras and finally got tired of being part of the eBay lottery. In this article, I’ll relate personal eBay buying and selling experiences as well as purchasing from online dealers and hope that readers will get some […]

Olympus OM-1 Prism Foam Removal

MelMay 7, 20229 min read
Olympus OM-1 Prism
The Olympus OM-1 like some other cameras from the golden age of Japanese film cameras were fitted with foam around the prism.  The foam was there to protect the prism but paradoxically in the long run the foam has done more damage to old cameras than just about anything else.  Cameras susceptible to this include […]

Canon FTb Review

MelMar 27, 202212 min read
Canon FTb
Noticeable by it’s Absence Of all the cameras being hyped by today’s uber-trendy wunderkinds on the web like the Canon AE-1, the Minolta X-700 and the Pentax K1000, the FTb is noticeable by its absence. But, it is the forgotten wonder from the days when stuff was built to last. Manufactured from metal hammered out […]

Canon FTb Prism Replacement

MelMar 27, 20227 min read
Canon FTb Prism Replacement
This guide will show you how to check for decaying foam in the Canon FTb prism and how to manage its replacement. For a full Canon FTb Service guide check out our full downloadable CLA Manual If you’re considering buying a Canon FTb why not check out our dedicated review The Canon FTb is prone […]

Guide to Replacing Light Seals

MelDec 8, 202132 min read
Guide to Replacing Light Seals
Really? You’re going to do light seals as a subject? Sheesh! This gets asked every week on camera forums. Yep! It does and rather than repeat myself, I wrote this guide to replacing light seals to help beginners out. This saves my fingers and the resulting RSI after typing the same answer out a few […]

Adaptall – Canon FD Dilemma

MelNov 21, 202111 min read
Tamron Adaptall
Tamron Adaptall Issues for Canon FD Mount Back in the used to be Tamron saw a market opportunity.  As the camera wars of the 1970s heated up keen photographers often had a dilemma.  The true cost of photography is seldom the camera body – more usually it’s the cost of the lenses.  A keen amateur […]

Whose got the Power? – A Guide…

MelNov 7, 202110 min read
High5Cameras Battery Power
A film camera batteries dilemma…. For lovers of old cameras, one of the biggest headaches is finding batteries for powering the electronics. Many classic 35mm SLRs were designed to use the very long lasting Mercury type batteries.  Mercury type batteries had some very attractive properties for camera manufacturers needing a stable power supply for sensitive […]