13 October, 2025
Fujica AZ-1 Review – A Swansong for M42?
Fujica didn’t make a lot of interchangeable mount 35mm SLRs, but they did make some interesting ones. From 1970, with the introduction of the ST701, they produced a series of mo...
Bob Janes's Posts
10 October, 2025
Minox 35 EL review – The Original Minox 35
Forty-one years ago, I borrowed this very Minox 35 EL from my father for a trip to Zaragossa. When I came back and had the film developed, I was quite blown away by the quality ...
26 September, 2025
Super-Frankarette LRII – a German Rangefinder camera from 1959
They don’t make cameras like the Super-Frankarette any more. Franka-Kamerawerk (Franka being a German region and nothing to do with Franke & Heidecke) was based in Beyreuth,...
16 September, 2025
A third of a roll with a Pentax Spotmatic F and Kentmere Pan 200
Pentax Spotmatic F / Kentmere Pan 200 / Fomadon R09 Camera and lenses: The Spotmatic F is a true classic. When I reviewed the camera here, I didn’t fit the lovely little 2...
3 September, 2025
‘One Third Keepers’ with a Minolta 9000 and Kentmere Pan 200
The idea of ‘One third keepers’ came out of online chats I took part in about 15-20 years ago. We discussed hit rates of chosen to unchosen shots and whether digita...
1 September, 2025
Fuji STX-2 and the X-mount bayonet cul-de-sac
Fuji Photo Film started up in the 1930s producing film and photographic material. They grew to be Japan’s largest film producer. Along the way, they made a series of cameras, ai...
The idea of ‘One third keepers’ came out of online chats I took part in about 15-20 years ago. We discussed hit rates of chosen to unchosen shots and whether digita...
25 August, 2025
Minolta XG9 review
There was a point in the late 70s when Minolta did something mildly uncharacteristic. They had always produced interesting cameras with cutting-edge features, but occasionally t...