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Contarex a legendairy camera system. Made by Zeiss Ikon .

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At the time Contarex camera’s where a legend They where the most progressive and remarkable cameras available. No other camera was so well built and bulky , the finish was perfect.It was the biggest , heaviest and most lavish camera kind ever bult. The camera was built-up from 1100 parts and weighted 740 grams. There range of well built lenses and accessories is large. But due to there costs not for everyone. Zeiss Ikon made some beautiful lenses and even now adays many of the are in super condition. They made in 15 years about 55.000 camera’s and 120.000 lenses ranging from  15mm to 100mm and also 2 zoom lenses. In there range they made some Macro/micro  Luminar lenses that are also perfect lenses. So a outstanding range for collectors of quality German camera’s.

Kodak Retina, the poor mans Leica.

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Kodak Retina folding series camera’s.

Eastman Kodak entered the 35mm camera market during the slow recovery from the depression, and the Retina cameras were especially designed to attract costumers who couldn’t afford the Leica and Contax cameras. Eastman had purchases the Nagel Camera Werk in 1932 to provide good quality cameras at the more reasonable prices allowed by Dr August Nagel at the helm of the Stuttgart facility, now called Kodak AG. The responsibility of designing a low cost quality camera for Kodak’s 35mm debut was given to Dr Nagel, who had proven track record long before he sold his factory to Eastman Kodak. The Retina line included a variety of folding and non-folding 35mm cameras, including a single lens reflex series. The Retina camera’s where noted for their compact size and high-quality and good priced products compared to their competitors like Zeiss or Leica.

All of the Kodak Retina camera’s from 1930 to the late 1950’s were folding camera’s with a short self-erecting bellows, lens board, and folding metal door cover. During the production time from about 30 years there were a lot of accessories made for the different models. From lenses to stereo attachment and close-focusing items, including filters and shades.

We have a lot of these items in stock from which many with makers box.

Rolleiflex TLR the camera of the world.

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The Square idea that changed photographic History Without any doubt was the introduction in 1929, of the first Rolleiflex Twin Lens Reflex ( TLR ), a sensation: an as ingenious as simple principle that quickly made the Rolleiflex THE must have professional camera all over the world. Producing high quality 6×6 cm square negatives in a compact very easy to operate camera, with the best lens available. There was no photographer who would not master one, no apprentice who would not wish to own one. For the professional, the Rolleiflex was like a gift from heaven, it meant a radical change in his/her creative work. Being able to work fast with a large size negative, light weight and superior quality made the choice as simple as important. There was no newspaper, no magazine, no photographic book that would not have some Rolleiflex photos in their publications. For decades, Rolleiflex cameras would have a decisive effect on photographic history. Many world-famous images originated from that small piece of fine mechanical art made bij the factory from Franke and Heidecke in Braunschweig, Germany. It was the beginning of a technical evolution that would be imitated by many other manufacturers around the Globe with sometimes successful but often poor copies of the bench-mark Rolleiflex. Franke & Heidecke are proof of being the master in that field , with the nowadays massive switch-over to digital. Very few companies in the world can boost such a long record with one basic design which has been improved on a regular basis yet still so closely resembles the original invention.

The Leica R system.

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Leitz made 2 systems in there history that makes it worth collecting and using analogue camera´s.

The famous M system and R system. I am a fan of the R system, that started with the SL series.

Leitz produced more than a dozen different camera´s and around 50 lenses.

These where all of high quality even that e few where produced in Canada , Portugal and Japan.

It is always easy to state which models where the best, and that’s a matter of taste , Leitz started there production of the R3 the successor  of the SL2  in Portugal . A lot of costumers were unsure, thinking quality products should came from Germany. It is a fact that a R3 made in Portugal is still working to this day and age. So production elsewhere is not always a bad thing.

Leica Portugal has been manufacturing quality products for over 50 years,

and are still doing so today .Which shows that  Leica AG are happy with the

Portuguese standards used for Leica .

I was always amazed by the brightness of the viewfinder, this in combination with their well built lenses is a joy to use even today. The prices of the Leitz products where exceptionally high due to there well built design and performance. To built these lenses now would be very very expensive. Not only the camera´s and lenses are of a high standard, also the accessories they developed for this system. As a closure of the R system they designed the R8-R9 series which are a very well designed camera and of an extraordinary design.

We have a good selection of these products in stock which are cleaned tested and when necessary all seals replaced.

Please enjoy the selection.

Minox the best subminiatures from Germany

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Minox was a manufacturer of known especially for its Subminiature cameras with a film size of 8x11mm. The original product of this maker was the subminiature camera conceived in 1922 and called the Minox Riga. The first Riga’s where made at of stainless steel and are quite rare to find. They where produced by Valst Electronica (VEF) in Riga. After world war II the camera was redesigned and production resumed in Germany in 1948 . Walther Zapp originally envisioned the Minox to be a camera for everyone requiring only a little photographic knowledge .But in part deu to its high manufacturing cost the Minox became more well known as a must-have luxury item. From the start the Minox also gained wide notoriety as a spy camera. Minox branched out in 35mm and 110 film format cameras in 1974 to 1976. Minox continues to operate today, producing or branding optical and photographic equipment .

Hasselblad.

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Hasselblad accessoiries.
Hasselblas is a brand of fine camera makers regarded as one of the best in the world. In their range of products, they produced a lot of special accessories to make using there cameras a lot easier. Some small items got lost trough the years and getting rarer to find. We have looked in our draws and found some. From cables, grips and special masks for use in finders and film openings. Have a rummage in the section and perhaps there is something that you are looking for a long time. In most case the postal costs are included.

New stock of filters.

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The winter is coming and the changing of the weather also makes a lot of different colors kicking inn at a normal day.
Some give very nice results and some may spoil your pictures. With the latest improvements in digital photoshop programs you can add or take away these influence’s, but this can also be done with the “old fashion filters. You can also protect the front lens elements with these divides. We have added a selection to the site as we have added a selection of Hasselblad accessories.

Catadioptric lenses in photography. (Mirror lenses)

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Mirror lenses are used from the early seventies in camera systems. The lens is more compact then the normal tele lens because the use of the Cassegrain design. This design makes use of mirrors to fold the optical path of the light and reduces the physical length of the lens. By using a convex secondary mirror which multiplies the focal length many times (up to 4 to 5 times). This creates lenses with focal lengths from 250mm to up to 2000mm that are much shorter and compact than their long focus counterparts. Moreover, Chromatic aberration, a major problem with long refractive lenses and off-axis aberration a big problem with reflective telescopes is almost eliminated by the catadioptric system, making it very suitable for 24x36mmphotography.

Several companies made catadioptric lenses: Nikon under the name Reflex Nikkors for the F system, Canon Offered a 500mm F8 and a 1000mm F11 lens for the FD system, Minolta offered a compact 250mm , a 500mm and a 500mm AF lens. Samyang, Vivitar , Yashica and Makinon also made several lenses. The shortest lens was made by Minolta a 250mm F5.6 lens, and Makinon made a 300mm F5.6 lens. The most common focal length is 500mm F8. But Nikon made a 500mm F5 lens. Also, a 500 to 800mm Zoom lens was made by Starblitz.

So many are out there to be found and be used again also on the newer digital cameras.

Shooting digitally gives mirror lenses a new lease of life. One of the characteristics that these lenses have is that they eat contrast. Once in Photoshop/Lightroom etc it is so easy to give contrast a boost.

Olympus Pen F system, the half frame camera from the 1960.

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The Olympus Pen F system.

 

Olympus launched the Pen F system with the double stroke Pen F in 1962. This was one of the first half frame system cameras with a good range of lenses and accessories. What made the camera special was the shutter mechanism which was made from metal and rotated in the body to make an exposure. The prism was also very compact and flat, so the outside looked a little like the rangefinder cameras. Olympus made 3 models, The Gothic F (first model) then the Pen FT with a build in light meter which worked with exposure values that came on the lenses in that period. The last model was the FV, this camera came without a light meter but had a better viewfinder image. A number of Leica collectors also collect the Pen F system. A unique neat compact design.

There was a variety of lenses made from 20mm to 800mm. In between a few outstanding examples like the 42mm F1.2 and the 60mm F1.5 lenses. Word looking for are black bodies of the Pen FT and FV, these are rare to find in excellent condition, this due to the fact that the black paint is very soft and vulnerable.

We have recently added a few items from the Pen F system to our stock.

There are some publications on the system made by J. Foster.

More to come !!!.

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Please watch out for the new items, at the moment we are selling a nice selection of Leica Screw Mount items from different makers. These are from a collector whom is clearing off its collection. Some items are very hard to find and toke a long period to find.