Articles

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

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 Prism Replacement

Mel Mar 27, 2022 7 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

Mel Dec 8, 2021 32 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

Mel Nov 21, 2021 11 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…

Mel Nov 7, 2021 10 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 […]

Minolta MD 50mm f1.7 / f2.0- Lens…

Mel Oct 17, 2021 18 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…

Mel Oct 17, 2021 17 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 […]