Articles

Olympus OM-1 Prism

Olympus OM-1 Prism Foam Removal

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

Canon FTb Review

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

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

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 […]
Tamron Adaptall

Adaptall – Canon FD Dilemma

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 […]

Minolta MD 50mm f1.7 / f2.0- Lens…

MelOct 17, 202118 min read
Minolta MD 50mm f1.7 Lens Repair
A step by step guide to repairing the underated  Minolta 50mm f1.7   This Minolta MD Lens Repair Guide can also be used for many other short focal length MD series lenses such as the 50mm f2 (which is identical in construction) and the 28mm, 35mm and 45mm MD types.  Most short focal length Rokkors […]

Minolta MC ROKKOR 58mm f1.4 – Lens…

MelOct 17, 202117 min read
Lens Repair Minolta Rokkor 55mm f1.4
This Minolta MC Lens Repair guide can also be used for many other short focal length MC series lenses such as the 55mm f1.7. Most short focal length Rokkors share a very similar construction and while there may be minor differences the essentials will be almost identical. For our guide on Minolta MD 50mm f1.7 […]

Last Place Hero – The Chinon CE-5

MelSep 26, 20218 min read
Camino
Mostly plastic, mainly good was how the Chinon CE-5 camera was described by a review at the time.  Here’s my take on it 40 years after it launched. More forgotten then even the Nikon F-301(which I happen to love)  the Chinon CE-5 is definitely a last place hero though in fact in its day one […]

A life in a lens

MelAug 22, 202110 min read
Life in a lens
A stroll through my cameras I started serious photography back in the halcyon days of 1972.  Back then, serious cameras cost serious money – my first pro SLR was the Olympus OM-1.  To give younger readers an idea of just how expensive this stuff was, my OM-1 cost almost as much as my first car! […]