Jason Schneider - The Camera Collector

Compact Fast Lensed Rangefinder 35mm Cameras, part 2 Rrangefinder 35s pack maxi picture power into mini form factors! By Jason Schneider I wish there were a less ponderous term than “noninterchangeable lens” for describing cameras lacking lens switching capability, but “fixed lens” gives the wrong impression, so I guess we’re stuck with it. The acronym, NIL, doesn’t thrill me either, but I will use it for concision going forward. NIL rangefinder 35s have a noble history going back to the late ‘30s (though some were based on earlier roll film models) and several were offered with f/2 lenses. The species continued in the early postwar years, mostly with light revisions to prewar designs, but now fitted with coated lenses in MX sync...

Compact, Fast Lensed 35mm Cameras, Part 1 Pocket-sized scale-focusing 35s: Maxi performance in Mini packages! By Jason Schneider For some strange reason, sellers of vintage 35mm cameras often list scale-focusing models as “rangefinder cameras” which they assuredly are not. Although many would benefit by mounting a separate, uncoupled rangefinder in their accessory shoes (an inconvenient solution employed by many Leica I (Model A) shooters back in the day) scale focusing 35s are a separate species with a fascinating history of their own. Indeed, the best ones are superb, pocketable shooters even though few full-frame models are fitted with lenses faster than f/2.8. In the beginning, all 35mm still picture cameras were scale focusing...

12 Great Buys in Vintage Film Cameras: These superb user-collectibles offer real value for users and collectors. By Jason Schneider One of my great pasions is shooting pictures on black-and-white film with vintage cameras. Based on my 50+years of doing just that I’ve checked out the prices and formulated value per dollar estimates of some of the best vintage shooters currently posted by camera dealers and on the major online selling sites, and have come up with the list below. It don’t pretend that my list is exhaustive (I’m sure many of you could come up with alternative lists), but it has the advantages of being hearfelt and based on extensive hands-on experience. I hope you enjoy it and find it useful—please let me know. Original...

The Rambunctious Life & Times of Jason Schneider, Part 1 How an eccentric English major became the editor of 2 top photo mags. By Jason Schneider The car not driven to Woodstock. Maybelline, my '56 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, looked as good as this one, but I didn't trust her cooling system. Back in 1969 I made two fateful decisions that were destined to alter the course of my life. First, I wisely decided not to make the trek to the Woodstock Music Festival because my only vehicle was Maybelline, a great white 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville, and I wasn’t about to take the chance of getting stuck in an overheated land yacht on the NY State Thruway. Second, I decided to present my idea for a series of articles on camera collecting to my...

Camera Collecting, The Incurable Passion, Part 2: Tales of Regret Great vintage cameras I never bought, and others I foolishly sold. By Jason Schneider I’ve shelled out far too much cash collecting film cameras over the past 60 years or so to qualify as a cheapskate. However, I do have a distinct aversion to paying full price for anything, including vintage cameras, and I’ve been known to drive such a hard bargain that I’ve missed out on many photographic objects of my desire. To put that in perspective, it takes no talent to acquire a near mint chrome Nikon SP with 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor-S.C lens for the going price of around a grand, but if I could snag one for half that amount, I’d happily pull the trigger. Result: I’ve never managed to...

Camera Collecting, The Incurable Passion, Part 1 How to know if you’re a camera collector and what you can do about it. By Jason Schneider I took my first tentative steps down the primrose path of camera collecting way back in 1960 when I acquired my first Leica, a display model IIIg with 50mm f/2.8 collapsible Elmar lens in a red Leica snap top display case. The poor thing had been languishing at Village Photo Shop in Rockville Center, Long Island ever since the store first acquired it in 1957 and the kindly old German guy who owned the place took pity on me and let me buy if for 10% below the list price of $273.00. Since he was an authorized Leica dealer at the time, this was strictly verboten, but much appreciated. While I didn’t...

Vintage Cameras for Film Fanatics: Great Camera Picks and Buying Tips Aimed at Ardent Analog Addicts By Jason Schneider Shooting with a vintage film camera in 2024 can feel somewhat akin to cruising down Main Street in your 1934 Hupmobile Eight, especially if the mechanical marvel you’re toting looks nothing like a modern DSLR, mirrorless, or point-and-shoot camera. Sometimes people just stare quizzically at the ancient camera hanging around my neck, but a surprising number come right up and ask, “What kind of camera is that?” or, more succinctly and less politely, “What the hell is that?” It always gives me a perverse satisfaction to reply sweetly, “Oh, that’s a 1955 Rolleiflex MX EVS,” or “It’s a 1961 Bronica S and the body is made...

The Elemental Argus A of 1936-1941 The modest Art Deco cutie that put 35mm film on the map in the U.S.A. By Jason Schneider The humble Bakelite bodied Argus A was not, as some have claimed, the first American made 35mm still camera—it was preceded by the rare Missouri-made Smith of 1912, and the Simplex and Tourist Multiple, both introduced in 1914. However, this spartan Art Deco classic may well be the most important American 35mm camera because it was the first inexpensive U.S.-made 35 and was largely responsible for popularizing the 135 format (24 x 36mm) in the United States at a time when the country was still in the throes of the Great Depression. The Argus A: An attractive Art Deco bakelite body offset with well executed...

What’s the best U.S.-made interchangeable lens rangefinder 35? Depends on what “best,” means and whether it’s a “system” camera! By Jason Schneider When I first started musing over this conundrum, I thought I knew the answer, but it turns out that the “best camera” isn’t as easy to define as one might think. For a country that prides itself on its industrial might and world class technology the United States of America isn’t so hot when it comes to manufacturing high performance cameras. The Speed Graphic is a well-made workhorse, but it’s no Linhof. And Polaroid’s ingenuity and Kodak’s mass marketing genius aside, we’ve never produced a rangefinder 35 of the overall caliber as a Leica M3 or a Nikon SP. We love to pee all over the...

Hi Jason. I recently purchased an Aires 35 V rangefinder outfit with 3 Aires lenses and other OEM accessories, all in an Aires dedicated 35 V leather field case. Sadly, the Coral 4.5cm 1.5 lens had aperture issues with one blade off track. I decided to try and repair it, so I totally disassembled it and cleaned everything. Now, it is time to reassemble after taking several months with because of health issues and to address several emergency home repairs. I only took one picture of the lens partially apart; I know, I should have taken more. If I can get the aperture assembly back together correctly, I have got the rest. It is complex and my one picture does not show the blade orientation too well. Can you share any advice?

The incredible V-, VI-series Canon rangefinder 35s: How Canon crushed Leica with the coolest accessory viewfinder system ever! By Jason Schneider The great Leica vs. Nikon vs. Canon rangefinder battle of the ‘50s still reverberates with a lot of passion, along with a momentous amount of malarkey. Nobody disputes the fact that both Nikon and Canon emerged from the ashes of World War II fiercely determined to create high quality 35mm rangefinder cameras to challenge the Leica and Zeiss Contax on the world market. Favorable reviews by Life Magazine photographers gave Nikon cameras and Nikkor lenses an early boost, and Canon followed up with the landmark Canon IIB, sporting an ingenious 3-magnification range/viewfinder, which evolved into...

Movie Film to Digital Video Conversion: The quality level you need depends on your pocketbook and priorities! By Jason Schneider The last time I personally had a movie shot on film converted to video was 37 years ago when I sent the 45 minutes of Eastman 7292 16mm film of my daughter’s caesarian birth I shot with my Arriflex to NFL labs (of football fame, now defunct). They did a splendid job of converting my 16mm magnum opus and sent back my original film footage plus a VHS cassette that made it much easier to show my friends and relatives the blessed event in excruciating detail. Nowadays, there are myriad services that will convert practically any analog images, including prints, negs, slides, and movies in Regular 8mm, Super 8mm...

How Canon Reinvented Itself for Mirrorless: After a slow start Canon is now dominating the mirrorless market By Jason Schneider The Panasonic Lumix G1 of 2008, a Micro Four Thirds-format interchangeable lens camera, was the first of the breed dubbed "mirrorless." It seems amazing, but mirrorless cameras were not really a thing until that term was coined to describe the Panasonic Lumix G1, a Micro Four Thirds interchangeable lens camera that was introduced in 2008. Despite the sketchiness of naming this emerging category of compact, interchangeable lens cameras after a feature they do not possess, the term “mirrorless” stuck, and others like “MILC” (for mirrorless interchangeable lens camera) and “CSC” (for compact system camera)...

Coupled Rangefinder 35s and their Discontents: How to get the most out of everybody’s favorite vintage classics. By Jason Schneider I bought my first Leica in 1960—a “window display” Leica IIIg with collapsible 50mm f/2.8 Elmar lens at a whopping 10% off the list price—and I haven’t been the same since. Over the ensuing years I’ve acquired and shot with innumerable rangefinder 35s including Barnack and M Leicas, a splendid variety Canons, a few Nikons, and far too many Contaxes, both prewar and postwar. Despite my undying affection for the breed, rangefinder 35s have their peccadillos and it helps to have a clear grasp of their assets, liabilities, and operating characteristics if you expect to get the most out of them. Let’s start by...

Jason, can you share some memories of Julia ?

The Nikon F3H: The fastest analog Nikon In 1980 Nikon brought forth the Nikon MD-4 Motor in conjunction with the release of the new Nikon F3. It has an integrated battery pack and grip for 8 AA batteries or two MN-2 batteries, and with fresh batteries it can achieve 6 fps, ringing through a 36-exposure roll in just 6 sec. Finally, in 1996 Nikon finally rose to the challenge, offering a High Speed Motor Drive for the Nikon F3H variant which can achieve a top speed of 13.5 fps using a Nicad battery pack! The Nikon F3 High Speed (sporting an F3H logo) was the last of the High Speed Nikons. The F3H was not a regular production camera (only 300 units were planned), it was never officially exported, and was intended for credentialed...

BURNING FILM: The Nikon vs. Canon Motor Drive Wars, Part 1 By Jason Schneider Before and during World War II, Nikon (Nippon Kogaku) and Canon (Seiki Kogaku) were corporate affiliates, each working largely at the behest of the Japanese military,though Canon did offer a limited number of Hansa Canon rangefinder 35s fitted with Nikkor lenses (!) on the prewar Japanese retail market. In those days, Canon was primarily a maker of cameras and precision machinery, while Nikon turned out lenses and optical instruments including military binoculars, rangefinders, periscopes, etc. After the war, under the U.S. Occupation, Japanese companies were expressly forbidden from manufacturing military items, and the management atNikon and Canonrealized...

Leica Motor Drives: the good, the bad, and the cantankerous The first one was a mechanical masterpiece, the last one’s OK, but… By Jason Schneider The very first Leica motor drive was listed in the catalog as MOOLY, and since its whimsical 5-letter Leitz code name is pronounceable, that’s what folks have been calling it ever since. Announced in 1938 as an accessory motor drive for the Leica IIIa/IIIb it set the industry standard, and reigned supreme for nearly 20 years before electric motors took over as the primary drivers for camera motors in the film era. The much-admired MOOLY is encased in a smartly styled housing matching the Leica’s curvilinear contours, and it replaces the baseplate of all screw-mount Leicas above serial...

Leicas have always been expensive, but is Nikon far behind? Comparing old and current prices for both reveals amazing insights! By Jason Schneider If you haven’t shopped for a Leica lately and want to experience sticker shock, just cruise one of the major photo retailer’s websites and check out the current prices being asked for new Leica cameras and lenses. While nobody doubts that Leica turns out unique and exceptional cameras and superlative optics, are their prices now out of line with other top companies in the imaging space? Have they outpaced even rampant inflation? To put it all in perspective we’ve compared Leica and Nikon prices from the 1950s to the present and converted them all into 2023 dollars to reveal some surprising...

My Bodacious Bout with Bronicas: One man’s adventures in the mysterious Land of Zenza By Jason Schneider. It all started back in 1967 when my dear friend, the late great Dr. Richard DuBou, lusted after my “like new” Nikon FTn with 50mm f/1.4 Nikkor. Then a relatively impecunious medical student at Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn, NY, he didn’t have the cash on hand to acquire it, so he proposed a straight across trade. If I would relinquish my precious new Nikon he would give me the complete, virtually unused, 1960 Bronica DeLuxe outfit his father had passed down to him after losing interest in it. It was in a handsome original leather case and included the camera, 3 film backs, 3 lenses, 2 viewfinders, and assorted accessories...