Camera of the Month

PHSNE Board Secretary Larry Woods explains the challenges of mercury batteries in vintage cameras and explores modern replacement solutions.

Explore the Olympus 35 SP, a classic 1970s compact rangefinder celebrated for its sharp lens, spot metering, and timeless design.

Take a look at the rugged Topcon Super D, a cult-classic 35mm SLR once used by the U.S. military and prized by collectors.

An $81 antique find became a $27,000 sale when Paul Laidlaw discovered a rare 19th-century Chambre Automatique, the first sub-miniature camera

The Leica MDa, originally used for biomedical, industrial, and government applications, is a street photographer’s dream when paired with a wide angle lens.

Purma brand cameras were 127 roll film viewfinder cameras with innovative gravity-controlled shutters. Learn more about the different models.

In 1902, Konishi (now Konica) introduced the “Cherry Portable Camera,” the first Japanese-produced end-user-oriented camera. Later, in 1931, the company would release the first of its Sakura series.

Produced from 1954 to 1959, the Hasselblad Superwide is described as an extremely effective tool for industrial, architectural, and press photographers needing to produce top-quality images that do not look like ‘wide-angle’ pictures.

Learn more about the two of German camera-maker Eho-Altissa’s models: Eho Stereo Box the Eho Altiflex.

PHSNE member Ryck Lent tests the LomoGraflok 4×5 Instant Back, sharing his results and some tips for using it.

Manufactured by Zeiss Ikon of Germany from 1948 to 1953, the Ikonta 521/16 is a folding camera that produces twelve images, 6x6cm, on 120 roll film.

Introduced in 1980, the Minolta CLE featured aperture priority automation with an electronic shutter based on the Minolta XG-E/XG-7 circuit design. 

For a change of pace, the featured camera is not an antique film camera but a near-contemporary digital camera, a Fujifilm X-T2, donated to PHSNE. It will be auctioned on eBay as of March 1st, 2024. The eBay seller ID is phsneusa.

Manufactured by Daiichi Kogaku of Japan, the Zenobia C is a 6 x 4.5 folding camera. It has an uncommon rapid shutter copied from the German Compur.

Most commonly known as the Stirn Vest Pocket Camera, it can occasionally appear as Gray’s Vest Camera or under other names. Describing it as “a rigid, disc-like camera, to be…

In 1936, Agfa introduced the Agfa Karat 6.3, first in a long series of models. Reflecting the times, it was of an Art Deco design. It had a collapsible front…

In or about 1840, designer/manufacturer Charles Chevalier of Paris produced Le Photographe, a similar but smaller, collapsible camera modeled after the Daguerre camera. Daguerre’s was soon tagged “whole plate” and Chevalier’s,…

The year 1888 saw the introduction of the original Kodak camera. In the same year, Albert Darier was granted the first Swiss patent for photography, number 17, for a light-weight,…

PHSNE’s Camera of the Month section features a lot more than just one camera this month. In fact, there are over 90 cameras, lenses and photography accessories listed in the…

The Linhof Technika 70 “is an exceptional, beautifully-made, and very expensive combination of the rollfilm camera and the technical camera.” (Collecting and Using Classic Cameras, Ivor Matanle, 1986, p.10) “Designed…

Introduced in 1963, the Olympus Pen F* was a small, beautifully designed camera that achieved rapid market success. “The concept of a camera that could be carried and used as…

Combination cameras were manufactured in Boston by the Blair Tourograph & Dry Plate Company from 1882 to 1894 and “are traditional field designs offered with a unique [patented] accessory plate-holder…

The Canon EF (1973-1976) is a high-quality 35mm SLR which blended elements of Canon’s professional F-1 (1971-1981) system (FD breech-lock lens mount, all-metal body in black enamel) with many innovative…

Closely tied to the German photographic industry, Czech cameras were popular from 1885 to WW I, and production continued until competition from Japan and Germany in the 1960’s delivered a…

The Tenax name dates back to 1907. It appeared on folding plate cameras manufactured by the C. P. Goerz company in Berlin. It’s easy to be confused by the chronology…

The PHSNE warehouse team recently discovered an original 1959 Canonflex (https://global.canon/en/c-museum/product/film38.html) —minus its lens. While members are searching for a lens that would complete the camera, a substitute is in…

The Utility Manufacturing Co. of New York (1934-1941) manufactured a variety of cameras including folding cameras, box cameras, and its main camera line of Falcon cameras, a name associated with…