Merry Christmas!

December 25, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Carol and I would like to wish y’all a very Merry Christmas and the best wishes for a Peaceful and Safe New Year! Thank you for all of your support for our little blog. – C&C

Friday Fotos! – Nikon D800 set

December 24, 2021December 24, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

My wonderful Nikon D800 DSLR will be listed shortly in my online camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com

At 36.3 megapixels, this full-frame camera is hard to beat. I’ve paired it with a super sharp AF Nikkor 24mm f2.8 D lens which is one of my favorite combinations to shoot with in the tight quarters of the historic district of downtown Fernandina Beach, Florida.

Nikon D800 “superset” with AF Nikkor 24mm f2.8 D Lens and MB-D12 Battery Grip.

Low shutter count on this powerful “beast” of a camera.

I’ll be listing this set very soon in my shop at a very attractive price. Stay tuned and thanks for stopping by! – Chris

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.

Testing my Nikon AF Nikkor 300mm f4 ED lens

December 23, 2021December 23, 2021Chris and Carol 1 Comment

This Nikkor lens is a bit of a throwback to another age (1987) when Nikon was still making rugged metal lens bodies (I’ll post pics of it soon). I tested it on my Nikon D800 just yesterday afternoon for the first time. It was pretty late in the day so the sunlight was getting a bit warmish.

What amazes me most about the image above is the detail at the top of this tall pine. My guess is that the tree is about eighty feet tall and is a couple of suburban yards away from my shooting location. The Nikon D800 is a full-frame DSLR with 36.3 megapixels. Both shots were handheld (no image stabilization).

Pictured with the built-in hood extended. It accepts 82mm lens caps and screw-in filters.

Thanks for stopping by. More test pics soon. – Chris

wordless wednesday

December 22, 2021December 22, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful and safe day! – Chris

Ihagee Exakta Varex – rare European model, 1950

December 21, 2021December 21, 2021Chris and Carol 4 Comments

As the title states, this is a rather rare (very hard to find at least) European model of this popular camera. In the United States, this model was simply marked “V.” on the body and it was sometimes referred to as the Varex V.

35mm single-lens reflex film camera with interchangeable lenses.

The camera’s place in history is it was the first or at the very least, one of the first 35mm single-lens reflex cameras made beginning in the late 1930s in pre-war Germany and picking up again after the war in what would become East Germany (Dresden).

Here it is viewed from behind with the waist-level pop-up viewfinder opened. The small rectangular opening is an eye-level “sports finder”.

Pictured here with the prism removed. Ihagee also made an eye-level pentaprism that could be swapped out.

With the lens removed the Exakta bayonet mount is visible. The lever locked the lens flange securely to the body.

With the back film door removed. This particular camera uses yarn as a light seal. The serial is located inside just above the shutter curtain.

A few words about the serial number. As best as I’ve been able to tell, the serial numbers range from around 667000 to 692000 for this Varex. I’ve seen other estimates of somewhere between 670000 to 684000. If a reader has more definitive information I’d love to see it.

Heat stamped on the bottom plate is “Made in Germany”.

My nearly complete set with some hard-to-find accessories.

The lens. It’s a well-respected lens by Meyer Gorlitz – Primoplan Red V f/1.9 58mm. It has an impressive 14 aperture blades and is claimed to be constructed with 5 elements in 4 groups. Collectors today still chase after nice examples of the lens, especially in the M42 mount. As seen pictured above, I have an aluminum lens hood (shade) made by Cenei in its original leather case, an Ihagee Dresden 42mm slip-on blue filter in its original box, a Heliopan yellow slip-on filter in its original plastic case, and finally a 42mm push-on plastic lens cap (unmarked but made in Germany).

I’ve come to the decision that my collections of cameras have grown a bit beyond my original intent so this gorgeous set is available for purchase in my online camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com where additional images can be found and a more complete description of its features. It can be purchased directly through Etsy and it ships nearly worldwide!

Thanks for sticking around to the end of this post and as always, have a fantastic day and evening! – Chris

Preview image – Exakta Varex

December 20, 2021December 20, 2021Chris and Carol 3 Comments

Hi and thanks for stopping by! Here’s a preview of a rather rare camera that will be available in my online camera shop at http://www.ccstudio2380.com (hosted by Etsy). Hopefully, it will be fully listed by mid-day on Tuesday. I’ll post additional pictures here too. – Chris

Happy SUNday!

December 19, 2021December 19, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Camera – Canon EOS 7D

Thanks for stopping by and have a beautiful day! – Chris

single shot Saturday

December 18, 2021December 18, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

Camera – Canon EOS 7D with Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM Macro Zoom Lens

Leitz Parvo 250 Projector

December 18, 2021December 18, 2021Chris and Carol Leave a comment

I’ve recently acquired this Leitz slide projector from a local client of mine. Made in Germany about 1949 it was purchased by her father who was a US Army officer stationed in Germany shortly after the war. As best as I’ve been able to discover, it was made for only one year before a newer model was released. The newer model was known as the Prado 250.