We're back with Episode 93 of the Camerosity Podcast!  This time, we've altered our recording time to better suit those of our listeners across the pond who are normally sleeping when we record at our usual time.  For this 'European time zone friendly' episode, we welcome special guest, collector, and author John Wade who has written or contributed to more than 30 books, including a couple which I have relied on for several of my camera reviews.

In addition to John, we were joined by callers Brian MacDomhnaill from Ireland, Fernando Villava from Germany, Guy from Germany, Leon Blankenhorn from Germany, and domestic callers Miles Libak and Andrew Madsen.

And of course we had our regular hosts, Anthony Rue, Stephen Strangways, and our time zone friendly recording time also allowed Paul Rybolt to join us who has been vacationing in Ireland for the past month.  As this episode was recorded at 4am in Sydney, we gave Theo the day off.

With John's expertise, we spent a lot of time talking about Britain's only 35mm SLR, the Wrayflex.  As the author of the only specialized book on the Wrayflex and the company who made it, John has a fascinating level of knowledge on this attractive and quirky camera. 

In addition to Wray, we spent a lot of time talking about clockwork cameras, you know, those cameras that have a spring tensioned wind up film advance mechanism.  We discussed a wide variety of models from the very first wind up camera, the Japy Le Pascal, Ansco No.1A Automatic Ansco, and later cameras like the Debrie Sept, Bell & Howell Foton, Canon Dial, Ansco Auto Half, GOMZ Leningrad, and others.

We briefly talk about the British Leica copy, the Reid and Sigrist Reid camera and the American equivalent the Premiere Instrument Kardon, among other popular British cameras.

In addition to John's contributions, Paul shares with us another 617 camera he's got his eye on, Brian tells a tale about lenses he thinks he needs and never uses, Mike shares an uncommon German camera he recently GASsed over, Guy brags about all his working Rollei A110s, the brightness of the Olympus Pen F's viewfinder, and we go around the room asking which cameras each of us have the most duplicates of.

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show.  We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

For our next episode, we are going back to our regular recording time and will be welcoming Meredith and Corey Reinker from Roberts Camera/Used Photo Pro in Indianapolis, Indiana to share with us their stories selling vintage cameras on eBay and in a well established retail environment.  We may welcome some callers from other camera stores too, but you'll just have to join us to see who calls in!  We will record Episode 94 on Monday, June 16th at 7pm Central Daylight Time and 8pm Eastern Daylight Time.

In This Episode

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

Order Your Very Own Camerosity Podcast T-Shirt! - https://www.zazzle.com/z/tbykl0hg

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

John Wade's The Wrayflex Story - https://www.johnwade.org/the-wrayflex-story

John's Youtube Videos for Amateur Photography - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM3_2GF5hWAA2Bt0qqVYNPR6yclCxEV_j&si=8FkUfnSBA3ys_eUc

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

In Episode 92 of the Camerosity Podcast, we needed to promote every caller to "host status" to tackle the topic of the Italian camera industry.  While a huge number of cameras were made in Germany, Japan, the United States and the Soviet Union, many were made in other countries like Italy, France, England, and Czechoslovakia yet far less is talked about these countries.

We attempt to do some justice to cameras from this boot shaped peninsula, spreading some (very expensive) GAS for models like the Rectaflex, Ducati Sogno, and Gamma II.  In an episode where everyone was a host, Mike, Theo, AJ Gentile, Miles Libak, Robert Rotoloni and Will Pinkham share our thoughts on a variety of models.

Mike's best reference is an out of print book called Made in Italy: Apparecchi Fotografici Italiani by Marco Antonetto and Mario Malavolti.  This 1983 book is the best reference any of us have found covering the Italian camera industry.  Featuring images and short descriptions for over 150 Italian cameras, this book, plus our assessment of a few models we're familiar with, prove that the Italian camera industry is far deeper than many realize.

In addition to a whole lot of Italian GAS, we go over the many different film sizes and formats used by Bencini cameras, Robert spends some time with his favorite Italian subminiature camera, the Gami 16, Mike struggles to explain how the metering system on the Durst Automatica works, he spends a great deal of time professing his love for the Ducati Sogno, and shares with us the wild operation of the very interesting Industria Scientifica Ottica Super Duplex 120, a strange stereo camera that shoots 24mm x 24mm stereo pairs on 120 format roll film.

In addition to talking about Italian cameras, we get side tracked and talk about the new upcoming Yashica FX-D digital camera and Mike shares his thoughts on these "so-called" hybrid film and digital cameras and where he thinks the film industry will be in 50 years.  Will Pinkham asks about new 3D printed cameras like the Superflex and the Alfie Tych.

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show.  We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

For our next episode, we are recording at a special time to allow for our European and South African listeners to join us.  We don't have a specific topic selected for this show as these "Euro Time Zone Friendly" episodes generally are open to anything, so if you've always wanted to join us, but couldn't because we recorded in the middle of the night, this is your chance to call in!  We will record Episode 93 on Tuesday, June 3rd at 1pm Central Daylight Time, 2pm Eastern Daylight Time, 7pm British Summer Time, 8pm Central European Summer Time, and at 4am Wednesday, June 4th Australian Eastern Standard Time.  

In This Episode

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

Order Your Very Own Camerosity Podcast T-Shirt! - https://www.zazzle.com/z/tbykl0hg

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

Like the saying goes, "better late than never", the Camerosity Podcast is back with Episode 91, which is dedicated to cameras of the 90s.  Which 90s you prefer, 1890s or 1990s, all 90s cameras are welcome!

Joining Anthony, Paul, Theo, Stephen, and Mike are returning callers, AJ Gentile, Ira Cohen, Miles Libak, Nick Marshall, Robert Rotoloni, and Will Pinkham and we cover a wide range of 1990s cameras and technologies.  Paul starts off with some stories about mini labs and how single use cameras became a big thing.  We dive into bridge cameras, including the Olympus IS-2 which Mike gave rave remarks to.

We discuss a large number of point and shoot cameras including premium models by Nikon and Konica, and ponder why the Olympus Stylus Epic is so popular today.  We talk about some dead end technologies from the 90s such as Minolta's ill fated Creative Expansion and Canon's obscure barcode scanner for the EOS 10S.

Not all technologies from the 1990s were failures though as the 1990s was the first decade of digital cameras.  Models like the floppy disc Sony Mavica and Nikon D1 were great cameras with a historical significance which helped prove that digital photography had arrived.

We round out the discussion with why Theo loves the Mamiya 7 so much and how it compares to the Mamiya 6, Robert shares some info on the development of the Nikon S3 2000 edition, and we have a thorough discussion on Kyocera's Contax SLRs.

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show.  We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

For our next episode, we decided to explore the Italian camera industry as its not often discussed in camera collector circles.  While Germany, Japan, the Soviet Union, and the United States were well known as makers of fine cameras, a great number of really cool cameras were made in Italy such as the Rectaflex, Ducati Sogno, Gamma II, and other models by Bencini, Durst, and Ferrania.  Join us if you're a fan of cameras from this "boot shaped" country, and see if we can manage to fill an entire episode without getting distracted!  We will record Episode 92 on Monday, May 19th at 7pm Central Daylight Time and 8pm Eastern Daylight Time.

In This Episode

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Keppler's Vault 101: Advanced Photo System - https://mikeeckman.com/2022/03/kepplers-vault-101-advanced-photo-system/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

As sometimes happens in the wonderful world of social media content creation, "the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray" we had plans to record Episode 90 back in March, but a variety of unfortunate and unrelated happenstances occurred which resulted in a short hiatus for recording.  We had planned on making Episode 90 a show all about Cameras of the 90s, but we had also wanted Episode 91 to be recorded with two special guests, so we were forced to do things out of order.

Thankfully, the obstacles which caused our six week break didn't interfere with us sitting down with Jeff Greenstein and Gabe Sachs from the I Dream of Cameras podcast.  For those of you who are familiar with their show, you'll know that Jeff has a fondness for Alpa cameras, so this unofficially doubles as our first and probably only Alpa episode.

After some short introductions, we refer back to a fun comparison between the two podcasts written by listener John Kelly and both hosts give our reactions to some of his funny answers.  We cover a variety of cameras that we all love and shoot, along with Jeff's deep dive into why he loves the Alpa 11si so much.

Gabe shares a story of how he's had to rebuild his camera collection from scratch after losing it when his home burned down in the Palisades wild fires that ravaged Los Angeles earlier this year.  We ponder why the Hasselblad XPan can't get repaired anymore and what other cameras are on the verge of being unrepairable.  Mike shares three very different Alpas in his collection and shares what he likes and doesn't like about all three, Anthony shares his thoughts on a new (to him) Fuji camera he recently bought, and Paul talks about his plans for traveling to Ireland later this spring.

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show.  We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

As promised two episodes ago, we still want to do a Cameras of the 90s episode, but this time it will have to be Episode 91.  Finally, Theo will get a chance to talk about his beloved Mamiya 7, but in addition to that there were many other terrific cameras from that decade like the Nikon N90s and the premium 28Ti and 35Ti point and shoots, the Contax AX, and the Olympus µ[mju:]-II.  In addition to terrific film cameras, the 1990s was the first decade with a large number of digital cameras like the Minolta RD-175 and Nikon D1.  We will record Episode 91 on Monday, May 5th at 7pm Central Daylight Time and 8pm Eastern Daylight Time.

In This Episode

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Jeff Greenstein and Gabe Sachs - I Dream of Cameras - https://www.idreamofcameras.com/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

A topic that we've lightly touched upon in previous episode, but never dared devote an entire episode to is the taboo subject of repairing your own cameras.  There are those who firmly believe all repairs should be left to the capable hands of professionals, but there are others who have no problem with opening their own cameras and trying it out themselves.

If you're in the latter group and are interested to hear some tips and tricks from those of us who have been brave/foolish enough to try it, Episode 89 is all about repairing your own cameras.  Joining Paul, Stephen, Theo, and Mike are returning callers A.J. Gentile, Alyssa Micha, Andrew Reynolds, Christopher Wells, John Michael Mendizza, Keir Frei, Larry Effler, Pat Casey, Rafael Espinoza, Ray Nason, Wayne Scheipers, and Will Pinkham who all share their own experiences.

We cover a wide range of topics, starting with what you can and cannot repair on a Kodak Medalist and whether you can still send your Leicas to the factory in Wetzlar to get repaired.  Hear who we think makes a good set of JIS screwdrivers, lens spanners, and Mike recommends a rubber grippy tool.  We share our recommendations for cleaning cameras, getting sticky residue off film doors, replacing mirror bumpers and foam light seals, how not to clean a reflex mirror, what works on lenses and what not to use.  We even cover the taboo topic of washing your camera in the dishwasher!

Although there is very little GAS in this episode, we do get into a few model specific camera repairs.  Alyssa Micha shares with us her beautiful 1903 Kodak camera which had moldy bellows and what she needed to do to replace them.  We talk about how to and how not to fix the infamous Canon Squeal of the Canon AE-1 and A-1 cameras, along with how to deal with the sticky backs of the Nikon N80 and N90, Mike talks about a product he used to mold a custom hand grip for his Minolta 650si.

We talk about various cleaners, when and when not to use lighter fluid, acetone, glass cleaner, and for the love of God, please never use WD-40 on any camera!  Although this whole episode is about home repairs and cleaning, we end the show talking about how best to take care of your camera to minimize its chances of never needing to be repaired, how to deal with humidity, and whether or not to store your cameras in their original leather cases.

Meet Anthony, Paul, and Mike: If you are in the vicinity of Cincinnati, Ohio on Saturday, March 22nd, come to the Ohio Camera Swap at the Hilton Garden Inn Cincinnati/West Chester and say hi to us.  Who knows, maybe even some other Camerosity Podcast regulars will show up as well.  While you’re there, maybe you can buy something from us!

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show.  We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

Our next episode will be number 90, and like we've done for episodes 70 and 80, we will be devoting the show to cameras of that decade.  For Episode 90, we will discuss cameras of the 1990s (or 1890s for that matter)!  Finally, Theo will get a chance to talk about his beloved Mamiya 7, but in addition to that there were many other terrific cameras from that decade like the Nikon N90s and the premium 28Ti and 35Ti point and shoots, the Contax AX, and the Olympus µ[mju:]-II.  In addition to terrific film cameras, the 1990s was the first decade with a large number of digital cameras like the Minolta RD-175 and Nikon D1.  We will record Episode 90 on Monday, March 24th at 7pm Central Daylight Time and 8pm Eastern Daylight Time.

(Note that Daylight Savings Time started in North America on Sunday, March 9th, so be sure to check your local time if you plan on joining the show!)

In This Episode

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

Way back in Episode 27, the Camerosity gang went on a three hour tour to a tropical paradise and asked everyone what would be their idea of three "desert island" cameras that they would want to be stranded with if they couldn't have anything else.  That discussion proved to be a fun one and something we had wanted to revisit again.  It would take us all the way to Episode 88 when we would finally put out the call for another Desert Island episode.

Joining Anthony, Paul, Mike and our new regular host Stephen Strangways, are returning callers A.J. Gentile, Andrew and Christopher Wells, Ira Cohen, Will Pinkham, and first time caller Robin Stone.

Starting with this episode, we are welcoming Stephen as one of the regular hosts to the show.  His presence and knowledge on many previous episodes has impressed us, and after considering regular scheduling conflicts with the four regular hosts, we thought it was time to add a fifth person.  Although Theo has missed the last two episodes, he is still very much apart of the show and will return soon.  With a fifth host, in the event one of the "original four" have a scheduling issue, we can continue without hesitation.

On this episode, we go through a tremendous amount of GAS, covering many unexpected models including multiple Horseman cameras, a Fuji G617, Argus Brick, Nikon F2, Leica CL, Zeiss-Ikon Tenax II, and many, many others.

In addition to commercially available cameras, both Andrew and Christopher Wells share with us their own home made 3D printed large format creations.  Custom cameras built to use any combination of lenses, shutters, and film backs in a million different combinations are truly one of the more fascinating aspects of this hobby.  And if 3D printing your own camera isn't cool enough, Andrew took it a step further and even made his own bellows!

In addition to tropical island GAS, we answer the question of why the Nikon F mount is backwards of almost every other interchangeable lens system and the Wells brothers give us a quick update of the state of current Polaroid Originals instant film.

Meet Anthony, Paul, and Mike: If you are in the vicinity of Cincinnati, Ohio on Saturday, March 22nd, come to the Ohio Camera Swap at the Hilton Garden Inn Cincinnati/West Chester and say hi to us.  Who knows, maybe even some other Camerosity Podcast regulars will show up as well.  While you’re there, maybe you can buy something from us!

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show.  We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

For our next episode, we will be discussing camera failures and home repairs.  What are some of the most common problems vintage cameras face and what can you do to get them back up and working?  While the Camerosity Podcast fully recommends professional CLAs to keep vintage cameras going as long as possible, we understand that a full service on every vintage camera is impractical, so sometimes you have to take matters in your own hands.  If you aren't afraid to go inside a camera and possibly make it worse, the next episode may be for you!  We will record Episode 89 on Monday, March 10th at 7pm Central Daylight Time and 8pm Eastern Daylight Time.

(Note that Daylight Savings Time starts in North America on Sunday, March 9th, so be sure to check your local time if you plan on joining the show!)

In This Episode

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

The Camerosity Podcast is now on BlueSky @camerosity.bsky.social.  This modern, and clean replacement for Twitter is a nice alternative to cluttered social networks out there.  Follow us there for show announcements and other content.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

In yet another request from our listeners for topics you wanted to hear, for Episode 88, you can include me as someone whose been interested in hearing an episode about the Kodak Retina and other German Kodaks.

For many years, whenever I needed to write something about the Retina, the person I always reached out to was Dr. David Jentz.  David is not only the founder of the Historical Society for Retina Cameras, but also has published multiple written works about the Retina and its history. 

In addition to his knowledge about the Retina, David frequently collaborates with historian Klaus Schicht who has studied the man who created the Retina, Dr. August Nagel.  Although Klaus does not appear on the show, David was able to quote some information regarding topics we discussed on this show.

If one Kodak historian was not enough, we also invited Todd Gustavson from the George Eastman Museum to be on the show to fill in the blanks for any other Kodak related questions which came up.

This was a closed episode, so we did not have any callers, and both Paul and Theo weren't able to make it, but what we lacked in callers, we more than made up for in fascinating Kodak, Nagel, and Retina history.

Listen to Episode 87 to get a background on who Dr. August Nagel was, how he became a doctor, brief histories of his time working for Contessa Nettel, Zeiss-Ikon, and Nagel Kamerwerke prior to joining Kodak.  Did you know that before Kodak AG made cameras, they made film in Germany?

We discuss other German Kodaks such as the Recomar, Pupille, Kodak Duo Six-20, and the mysterious Kodak Regent.  We get into the differences between the use of "Nr." and "Type" when referring to prewar and postwar cameras, and finally solve the mystery of Paul's Retinette Angenieux lens.

In addition to camera history, we also take a deep dive into Kodak's introduction to making 35mm film.  While Kodak's type 135 daylight loading cassette was their most notable contribution to 35mm film in the 1930s, did you know they made 35mm film for the Leica and Contax before that?  David shares with us information about Kodaks original 35mm film, along with some detailed patent information about the Retina, and much more!

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show.  We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

For our next episode, we are getting on a boat and heading on a "Three Hour Tour" for our second Desert Island episode.  If you were stranded on a desert island with only three cameras, which three would they be?  Will a high spec but fragile electronic camera make the cut, or will people choose less technically impressive models built to withstand a lot more abuse?  Let us know what you’d choose!  We will record Episode 88 on Monday, February 24th at 7pm Central Standard Time and 8pm Eastern Standard Time.

In This Episode

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

The Camerosity Podcast is now on BlueSky @camerosity.bsky.social.  This modern, and clean replacement for Twitter is a nice alternative to cluttered social networks out there.  Follow us there for show announcements and other content.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

David Jentz - https://www.blurb.com/user/hsrc028N

The Historical Society for Retina Cameras - https://www.hsrcretina.org/

HSRC Publications - https://www.hsrcretina.org/hsrc-publications

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

We return with yet another exciting episode of the Camerosity Podcast.  For Episode 86, we dip into the listener mailbag and select a topic you all have told us you wanted to hear about, adapting vintage lenses.  Taking an old film camera lens and mounting it to a modern digital camera isn't exactly anything new, as adapting lenses from one mount to another camera has been done since the early 20th century.

But what about the crazy number of lenses that weren't meant to be adapted?  How about uncommon Angenieux lenses from French Kodak Retinettes, photocopier lenses, or astronomy telescopes?  If it has glass and it focuses light, it can be adapted, and that's what got us going on this episode.

Joining Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike are returning callers, AJ Gentile, Miles Libak, Nick Marshall, Pat Casey, Patrick Rapps, Ray Nason, Stephen Strangeway, Will Pinkham, and first time callers Alyssa Micha, David Jentz, and Rollin Banderob.

On this episode, we talk about a huge number of lenses we mount to various digital and film cameras, but Alyssa starts us off with an ambitious project of adapting 35mm lenses to a Crown Graphic Graflex press camera, Stephen gives us some education on flange distance, why the Nikon Z mirrorless camera is ideally suited for adapting lenses, and Theo gives us his thoughts on how well a Mamiya press lens performs on micro 4/3rds.

We discuss whether it is wise to spend extra money on premium adapters vs the cheap Chinese ones you can find on eBay, David Jentz talks about adapting DKL mount lenses and the struggles to find a good DKL adapter, and why you need to be concerned with image circle size when picking lenses from differing formats.

Miles Libak shares with us a purchase he just made of a Contarex lens mount converted Canon F-1, and Paul talks about the best adapters to use for adapting Nikon rangefinder lenses to modern digital cameras.

This episode proved that a relatively simple topic of adapting lenses included a deep wormhole into a huge amount of combinations of lenses including Paul's tip on how to remove a stuck Leica M to LTM adapter.

For those of you who can't get enough of the Camerosity Podcast and would like the chance to meet 3/4 of the hosts, Anthony, Paul, and Mike will be at the Cincinnati Camera show in West Chester, Ohio on Saturday, March 22nd!  If you have nothing going on that day and can make it to the Cincinnati area, come and join us!

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you! Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show.  We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

For our next episode, we are are taking another suggestion from you all and dedicating a whole show to the Kodak Retina and other cameras made by Kodak AG, the German arm of Kodak in Stuttgart, Germany.  We will be welcoming author and Kodak Retina expert David Jentz, along with Kodak historian from the Eastman Kodak Museum, Todd Gustavson to talk with us.  This will be a closed episode, so we won't be taking any callers for this one, but rest assured, the Camerosity gang has a long list of great questions to ask our esteemed guests.  Episode 87 will be recorded soon and should be available by the end of February.

In This Episode

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

The Camerosity Podcast is now on BlueSky @camerosity.bsky.social.  This modern, and clean replacement for Twitter is a nice alternative to cluttered social networks out there.  Follow us there for show announcements and other content.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

David Jentz - https://www.blurb.com/user/hsrc028N

Amedeo Lens Adapters - https://www.ebay.com/usr/amedeo.m

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

The Camerosity Podcast returns with Episode 85 where we wander back into the wonderful world of high end camera auctions.  For this episode, we went all the way to Vienna, Austria and invited Jo Geier from Mint and Rare Cameras and the Wetzlar Camera Auctions.  In addition to Jo, we also welcomed back Dan Tamarkin from Tamarkin Camera and Auctions.

Joining Anthony, Paul, Theo, Mike, and our two special guests are returning callers Brian McDomnhaill, Dan Cuny, Fernando Villava, Gheerwijn Clicque, Ira Cohen, Wes Loder, Miles Libak, Tom Zoss, and Wayne Scheipers,

As you might expect when you have two of the world's most respected camera auctioneers on the same episode, we talk about a lot of super rare and collectible cameras.  Everything from the original Ur-Leica to rare cameras like the Carl Zeiss Jena Contax, the Australian Snider 35 rangefinder, and Luxus Leicas.  In addition to some pretty deep GAS, some love is given to several more affordable cameras like the Canon P, Tower/Nicca rangefinders, and the Nikon F4.

In addition to GAS, several great questions were raised including whether or not the definition of 'rare' has changed over the years, whether or not finding collectible cameras is getting harder to find, and why there aren't more younger people collecting cameras.

Jo tells us his origin story to how he started both companies and shares with us what his 'white whale' camera would be, Dan and Jo show appreciation for each other and talk about how they have collaborated in the past, including a very special Leica which Dan found at a Pennsylvania garage sale.  We revisit the need to get old cameras repaired sooner than later and how quickly experts in certain cameras are disappearing, tips and tricks for new collectors, and Jo proposes a $10 "ugly" camera challenge for anyone going to a camera show.

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you! Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show.  We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

For our next episode, we are are going to the suggestion box and covering a topic that you all have told us you wanted to learn more about, adapting lenses.  There are many people in this hobby who love cameras, but love the lenses more.  While an old Kodak Ektra might be pretty to sit on the shelf, it is more practical to adapt that lens to a modern digital camera and see what kinds of results you can get from it.  Episode 86 will be dedicated to the hobby of using old lenses on modern digital cameras.  We will record Episode 86 at our regular time on Monday, February 10th at 7pm Central Standard Time and 8pm Eastern Standard Time.  If you live in a different time zone and would like to participate, be sure to check your favorite time zone calculator to find out the exact time in your region.

In This Episode

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

The Camerosity Podcast is now on BlueSky @camerosity.bsky.social.  This modern, and clean replacement for Twitter is a nice alternative to cluttered social networks out there.  Follow us there for show announcements and other content.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

Jo Geier - https://www.jogeier.com/ and https://www.wetzlarcameraauctions.com/

Dan Tamarkin - https://www.tamarkin.com/ and https://www.tamarkinauctions.com/

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

We are back with the first new episode of 2025!  The Camerosity crew hopes you had a good start to the new year.  Unfortunately, the episode we had planned to have Jeff and Gabe from the I Dream of Cameras podcast had to be postponed due to the wildfires in Los Angeles.  Instead, we went to the Camerosity mailbox (aka Facebook) and did an episode about square format cameras.  We had intended to cover all cameras that shoot square format, but found so much to talk about with 35mm and 127, we didn't have much time for 120 6x6 cameras, so we can save that for a future show!

Whenever you talk about square format 35mm, one of the more popular ones for collectors is the Zeiss-Ikon Tenax II, and whenever you mention the Tenax II, the Wes Loder's "Spidey Sense" starts tingling, so we were happy to welcome back Michael Wescott Loder for the first time since Episode 74!

Joining Wes, Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on this episode were A.J. Gentile, Ira Cohen, Miles Libak, Mina Saleeb, Robert Coates, and Will Pinkham where they all shared their favorite square format cameras.

We attempt to start off the list of square format cameras in alphabetical order with the Altix and quickly move into the Berning Robot and Bilora Radix, but our plan quickly goes off the rails as we jump around the alphabet with cameras like the Akarette (which isn't even square format), Metz Mecaflex, Yashica 44, and the Purma Special.  We also cover the popularity of square format Rapid film cameras from Japan like the Minolta 24 Rapid, Canon Dial Rapid, and Fujica Rapid S2.

One of the more sought after square format cameras is the Mamiya Sketch, a camera that Mike has previously reviewed, but Theo desperately wants to acquire to round out his Mamiya collection.

Mike shares his tips on rolling your own 127 film using bulk 46mm film, and Will asks for recommendations on affordable entries into square format 35mm.  Although the group is initially stumped, Mike comes up with an off the wall solution that is quite affordable!

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you! Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show.  We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

For our next episode, we are excited to revisit a topic that we love to talk about, Camera Auctions, specifically high dollar auctions.  Our special guest for the next episode will be Jo Geier from Wetzlar Camera Auctions.  In addition to Jo, we will be welcoming back Dan Tamarkin from Tamarkin Auctions in Chicago.  In order to accommodate Jo's time zone, this will be a "European Friendly Time Zone" episode.  We will record Episode 85 on Monday, January 27th at 1pm Central Standard Time, 2pm Eastern Standard Time, 7pm Greenwich Mean Time, and 8pm Central European Time.  For Theo, and those of you in Australia, this will be very early in the morning on Tuesday the 28th.  Please check your favorite time zone calculator to find out the exact time in your region if you'd like to participate.

In This Episode

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

The Camerosity Podcast is now on BlueSky @camerosity.bsky.social.  This modern, and clean replacement for Twitter is a nice alternative to cluttered social networks out there.  Follow us there for show announcements and other content.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/