The Psychedelic Pentina

Pentacon Pentina review

Imagine a time of a camera industry in a socialist country under immense pressure to perform in a highly competitive and innovative worldwide market. And at the same time surrounded by poverty, hassled by unimaginative and reckless politicians. The 1950s and 1960s were ultimately the most dramatic times for the East German camera industry which, from its knowledge gained from the West German legacy, initially looked promising, but finally degenerated into a loss-making competition due to the unreasonable and unachievable demands of the East German system. The VEB Pentina symbolizes the immense complexity and is the embodiment of the proverb: blind pride comes before the fall.

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Objective of the Meyer Görlitz Orestegor

Meyer Görlitz Orestegor 200mm

There is no huge market for 200mm prime lenses. We see the 200 mm more often as the closing end of a zoom lens, which distance is very popular for portraiture and product photography as well as nature and wildlife imagery. But as a standalone lens, you probably don’t put it that quickly in your camera bag. Too bad, because the world looks interesting from that focal length and it is easy to test with, e.g., the review of this fantastic vintage Orestegor from Meyer Görlitz.

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Leica’s rewarding R6

Leica R6 review

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.

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Minolta’s magical ‘7’: the SR-7

Minolta 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.

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Leica IIIg. G for Gorgeous.

Leica IIIg

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.

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Eye catcher from Japan: the legendary Pentax 6×7

Asahi Pentax 6x7 MLU

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).

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The Lone Ranger: Asahi Pentax SV

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).

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Voigtländer Bessa-L: the resurrection of film

Voigtländer Bessa-L

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.

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