This is a review of the Minolta 9000, the first professional autofocus camera. Back in the 60s and 70s the pro camera market was dominated by Nikon with their ‘bullet-proo...
24 July, 2023
Minolta X-300 Review – The Last Manual Focus SLR
In clearing out my late father’s stuff, I came across quite a few cameras. Dad was an instrument maker and specialized in optics. He used to buy up cameras out of ‘bargain bins’...
17 July, 2023
Canon EOS 3 Review – The Good, The Bad, The Heavy
As with many young New Zealanders, my view on the world beyond our pacific isolation was formed on the images and articles presented in moth-balled National Geographic magazines...
13 July, 2023
Pentax LX – Shooting My Wife’s Camera
The camera had been lying around in a cupboard for a long long time so, since it wasn’t being used, I sold it. “You gave me that camera as an engagement present!!!” said my wife...
Konica produced Sakura film (later simply rebranded to ‘Konica’). They were the second-largest film producer in Japan after Fujifilm. As well as their own films, they produced f...
I stood at the cash register in my favorite camera store, waiting to pay for film. At my feet, in front of the counter was a carboard box containing several old cameras in vario...
22 May, 2023
Exakta VX Review – Through The Past, Brightly
I love playing with old lenses (and interesting color films, too) for their character. Creativity is a form of play, and the Exakta VX is a fun toy for exploring these things (...
28 April, 2023
Konica TC and T4 SLRs – The Last of the Steam Powered Trains
Back in the 1970s competition in the SLR camera market was fierce. Most companies needed to innovate regularly to maintain their profile and market share. Konica had been buildi...