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 place temporarily. Acknowledging its relatively brief run, Cameraquest’s Stephen Gandy noted: “Nice camera, but blown away by the Nikon F.” 

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 half-frame, sixteen exposure 3x4cm cameras utilizing 127 film. The Falcon F, c.1938, is a good quality camera, with a Bakelite

To appreciate the Universal Vitar, one must first know how it came to be. Universal Camera Corp., with headquarters in New York City, was founded in 1932 by Otto Githens and Jacob Shapiro. The company produced several cameras during the 1930’s and 1940’s starting out with less expensive plastic cameras and moving

Although the Mercury CC-1500 camera appears identical to the standard Mercury CC model (CC stands for Candid Camera), there is a significant difference between the two. What separates this model from the standard Mercury CC is its top shutter speed of 1/1500 second, unheard of at the time. Let’s see

As they sift through donated cameras, preparing for the next PHSNE Auction at Photographica 89 (April 23, 2022 at Newton North High School in Newtonville, MA), the warehouse crew occasionally finds a rare or unusual camera. In this case, one previously unknown to several of the collectors in the room:

From time-to-time, PHSNE’s warehouse crew comes across an unusual camera as they sift through donations and prepare for auctions. One recent find was a Minolta Maxxum 7000, destined for Photographica 89, PHSNE’s one-day dealer show, sale, and auction for everything photographic on April 23, 2022—so long as COVID-19 doesn’t interfere.

The Ur-Leica, generally referred to as the original Leica, should actually be called Ur-Leitz since the Leica name wasn’t in use until 1925. The word Ur has German roots; English and German dictionaries define Ur as primeval, primitive, original, earliest. It is considered to be “a mechanical masterpiece that is

Bright yellow was a popular color for waterproof electronics in the 1980s; the Sony Walkman is a prime example. Minolta followed suit with its bright yellow waterproof cameras, one “for each of the popular film formats, 110, 35, and APS,” for the 20-plus years the Weathermatic line was in production.