REVIEWS Archives - Vintage-photo

December 27, 2022December 27, 2022

Leica’s rewarding R6

Just like in the M serie, Leica also has the magic ‘6’ number in the R series. Just like the M6, the R6 is legendary. Both are fully manual operated cameras with only a battery for the light meter. They are like brother and sister. The M6 is a rangefinder, the R6 a SLR. Also in terms of age, they are not far apart. My black R6 dates from 1989, the M6 from the nineties. Both cameras have their undeniable charm, but the R6 doesn’t share the iconic status of its M counterpart. That’s a shame because every Leica fan should own this combination. In this review I explain why.

November 6, 2022November 6, 2022

Minolta’s magical ‘7’: the SR-7

Minolta is the brand with a model number capable of marketing the very latest in camera technology. Just look at the appeal of a Minolta 7, in all series, this is the camera that sets the tone in the industry. Actually, this has remained true even after the takeover by Sony in 2006, because there too the 7 series is the big sales success. In 1962 the same was true of the then SR-7, the very first SLR camera with a CdS light meter.

October 17, 2022October 17, 2022

Leica IIIg. G for Gorgeous.

You can’t have enough Leicas, especially the classic Barnacks from the 1925-1960 period. All models will make your photography heart beat faster. They are gems to behold with very sophisticated fine mechanics, purely manual and visibly built with love for the craft and for a lifetime. Today the last in the series, in which all previous improvements led to the Leica IIIg, produced between 1957 and 1960.

October 1, 2022October 1, 2022

Far from ordinary: Agfa Flexilette

While the Russians build the Berlin Wall, Agfa introduces its newest Twin Lens Reflex, the Flexilette. A unique, desirable and much sought after camera because it was only produced for a few years.

August 7, 2022January 20, 2023

Eye catcher from Japan: the legendary Pentax 6×7

If you shoot medium format, sooner or later you won’t escape the legendary Pentax 6×7. It is a mandatory camera in any serious collection. But above all, you take great pictures with it at 6×7 size, which is about 4x larger than a 35mm negative or a full frame sensor. The Pentax is the Japanese flagship in medium format. Big, heavy, noisy and expensive. But it’s also love at first sight (Updated review with examples).

July 31, 2022December 5, 2022

The Lone Ranger: Asahi Pentax SV

Who remembers Pentax? The sympathetic camera brand for everyone, with affordable prices, good quality, but never achieving comparable status with Nikon, Canon or Minolta. The Japanese company turned just under 100 years old. Founded as Asahi Kogaku Goshi Kaisha in 1919 by and sold to Hoya and Ricoh in 2011 with in between a very long history of (especially) SLR cameras. In this review we look at a more unknown classic, a 1964 S(V).

June 10, 2022June 12, 2022

Voigtländer Bessa-L: the resurrection of film

In 1999, Japan’s Cosina decided to re-market the film camera or better re-brand the purchased Voigtländer name. In a time of emerging digital cameras a risky strategy. Yet in a short time Cosina managed to attract a loyal fan base and for seven years (!) one classic film camera after another appeared. It all started with the success of the simple Bessa-L.

March 31, 2022March 31, 2022

Voigtlanders victorious Vitessa

At first glance, a strange camera. A long protruding plunger and a barn door. That’s the first thing to notice, so not Voigtlander. But it’s not until you understand the reasons that you notice the craftsmanship and sense of design with which this 35mm rangefinder camera was made.

February 21, 2022February 21, 2022

Upper class vintage: Leica M (240)

It’s certainly not the best camera, as far as such a thing exists. But it is one of the very best and, in 2022, still one that can compete with the very greatest. The now “classic” Leica M, type 240, the first full-frame rangefinder with CMOS sensor. An addictive camera, very expensive, but an irresistible must have.

January 23, 2022January 23, 2022

Beauty & the beast: Koni Rapid Omega 100

Very occasionally you come across a camera that won’t let you go. From whichever way you look at the Japanese Koni(ca) Rapid Omega, it intrigues and invites you to work and play with it and enjoy its extremely solid and cleverness design. You’ll have however to exercise your arm muscles, because the medium format beast weighs nearly 2 kg.