The Original Canon EF

July 5, 2024July 5, 2024Chris and Carol Leave a comment

A 35mm SLR from Canon in the mid 1970s. It’s a close cousin to the more famous Canon F-1.

If you can find a nice working EF it’s a keeper in any Canon collection. Thanks for stopping by, Chris

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Comments are always welcomed, as I’ve learned quite a bit from reader feedback. As always, thanks for stopping by, and while you’re at it, feel free to visit my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (CC Design Studios hosted by Etsy). – Chris Whelan

Please respect that all content, including photos and text, is this blog’s property and its owner, Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic, Yashica Sailor Boy, Yashica Chris, Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris. Copyright © 2015-2024 Chasing Classic Cameras with Chris (Yashica Pentamatic Fanatic), Chris Whelan. All rights reserved.

Leotax Merite – 1958

July 1, 2024July 1, 2024Chris and Carol Leave a comment

My Leotax TV2 Merite is frequently misidentified as “Merit.”

It’s shown here with a Nikkor HC f2 5cm lens.

This is a very late 1958 to early 1959 model.

My set includes the original box, case, strap, and instruction booklet.

The Merite is one of the larger Leica-like cameras made in the 1950s, larger than the Leica IIIg and the Nicca 3-S. More pictures to follow.

What’s your favorite Leo?

Thanks for stopping by, Chris

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Asahi Pentax H2 – 1959

June 16, 2024June 16, 2024Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Hands down, it’s my favorite pre-1960s SLR. It just looks classic. A photo essay follows.

Fine lines on a classic that’s stood the test of time.

The H2 and the S2 were the same cameras released in different markets.

The heart of this camera is the classic Auto-Takumar f2 55mm gem.

There aren’t many ads out there with early Asahi Pentax content. I’m not sure if this is for the H2.

Thanks for stopping by, Chris

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Happy SUNday! – Fujifilm Fun!

April 21, 2024April 21, 2024Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Fujifilm Nexia 4200 ix Z MRC APS film camera from 2001. It’s still new with its original Japanese market box. It features a super-sharp Fujinon 23-90mm 4x zoom lens. APS film is still available, as is processing through online film labs. These little cameras were competent in the pre-digital age and could produce stunning images.
This one is available in my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com
Thanks, Chris

I’ve collected quite a few of these Fujifilm cameras over the years, and they’ve been fun cameras to use when shooting. This one is unused and is available for purchase in my camera shop.

As the box indicates, the Fujinon lens has the 35mm film equivalent of a 28-112.5mm lens.

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Contax Crazy

April 15, 2024April 15, 2024Chris and Carol Leave a comment

It’s fun to collect, but now it’s time to disperse.

More to come soon. Thanks for stopping by, Chris

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Contax RX – 1994

April 15, 2024April 15, 2024Chris and Carol 2 Comments

Before the dawn of the digital age, camera manufacturers produced some of their most technologically advanced 35mm SLR film cameras to date. Sophisticated autofocus systems, auto exposure, eye-control, and zone-assist focusing to name just a few features. The Canon EOS-1N (1994), the Nikon F4 (1988) which was Nikons first professional camera with autofocus, the F5 (1996), and the Contax RX (1994), AX (1996) which had a basic autofocus system and later, the N1 (2000) a true autofocus camera with a new line of Zeiss lenses.

My Contax RX set. The lens was initially sold separately.

The RX’s ‘highlight’ was the Digital Focus Indicator (DFI) function—not quite autofocus, but close.

It’s a handsome SLR with a timeless, classic look that, in my opinion, modern Fujifilm mirrorless cameras emulate.

The list price of JPY 160,000 was about USD 1,600 in 1994.

Contax RX brochure. Shoots at up to 3 frames per second.

Canon EOS-1N RS (a film eater with autofocus). It’s capable of shooting 10 frames per second! Uses Canon EF lenses.

Nikon F5 1996. It’s capable of shooting 8 frames per second.

The Contax RX. The data back only indicates the year up to 2019. Thirty years on, it’s stuck in the 1990s. The data is printed between the frames on the film, not in the image.

More soon. Thanks for stopping by, Chris

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Happy SUNday! – Contax Bliss

April 7, 2024April 8, 2024Chris and Carol 4 Comments

The Contax 50th Anniversary Edition 137 MD Quartz 35mm SLR film camera.

The ’50 Years’ model had a unique leatherette and a gold Contax ‘button’ on the flash sync terminal.

I don’t usually chase anniversary models, but this one struck me as pure in the early 1980s.

Contax celebrated fifty years, 1932-1982.

One of two standard lenses is shown here.

Contax numbered their cameras, consequently. As far as I am aware, no date code is hidden in the serial numbers.

It’s a simple manual focus aperture priority camera first released in 1980. Notice the location of the tripod socket. The entire baseplate is removable to be able to install the four AA batteries needed to power the meter and motor drive.

I believe the red sticker indicates that the color of the body is ‘fin’ or ‘wine.’ The Google Translate app isn’t apparent.

There aren’t many of these models still available, but they are well worth being chased.

This particular camera was sold in Japan, and unfortunately, I don’t have the original paperwork or Japanese instruction booklet. I’d love to find the correct strap, too. The proper case is a bit of a mystery, but I believe it should have been C-004, according to my friend Graham in the UK. By the way, the period correct flash units made for the 137 MD is the Contax TLA20 and TLA30 Auto Flash units for true TTL flash metering. There is also a 137 Data Back and a 137 Grip Adapter. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit my camera shop (hosted by Etsy) at http://www.ccstudio2380.com – Chris

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Nikon Accessories Brochure – 1986

March 20, 2024March 20, 2024Chris and Carol Leave a comment

The brochure features some of the more hard-to-find (now) cases.

Lens Hoods – they’re always a difficult item to match with their proper lens.

I have many Nikon brochures in my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (hosted by Etsy). I ship nearly Worldwide. Thanks for stopping by, Chris

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Happy SUNday! – a sharp Panasonic Lumix from 2008

March 17, 2024March 17, 2024Chris and Carol 2 Comments

Here is another super nice digital camera from Panasonic – the Lumix DMC-FZ28.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28. A 10-megapixel bridge camera with an 18x optical zoom lens from Leica.

It is fun to use a digicam with a sharp CCD sensor for film-like images.

The Leica lens has a zoom range of 27 to 486mm (35mm equivalent).

Complete image stabilization in addition to the 18x zoom.

This fantastic camera is available in my camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com.

Thanks for stopping by, Chris

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Happy SUNday! – the joy of using a digicam

March 10, 2024March 10, 2024Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Regular readers know I love using (on occasion) simple ‘low’ resolution digicams. It’s fun to remember how special these early digital cameras were and to revisit the images they produced.

My Canon PowerShot A530 is a perfect example of the type of camera we used in the early 2000s. With 5 megapixels and a CCD sensor, it’s quite capable of producing film-like pictures that stand up against today’s high-resolution cousins.