Jason Schneider - The Camera Collector

The Exakta: The Red Hot SLR of the Cold War, Part 1 How a “Communist” camera became a best seller in 1950s America By Jason Schneider For the last 20 years or so “Red,” as in “Red States” has been associated with the Republican party and conservative ideas, but back in the ‘50s everyone knew that the “Reds” were the Commies, probably because the flag of the USSR was totally red (denoting revolution) with a discreet gold hammer and sickle surmounted by 5-pointed gold star in the upper left-hand corner. During the Cold War, which started in 1947 and didn’t really end until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, most Americans believed that “the Reds” were our mortal enemies and that our overarching mission was to defeat communism...

Hello, I would like to pick up one of the Camera Collecting By Jason Schneider books, one wherein he describes the Voigtlander Vito B series and the late model Z-I Contessas. Can someone recommend me the correct volume? Thank you. Basil

The Landmark 50mm f/1.5 Voigtländer Nokton of 1951: The fastest lens for the Voigtländer Prominent is an enduring classic By Jason Schneider In 1950 the venerable German lens and camera maker Voigtländer of Braunschweig launched the Prominent, a beautifully made interchangeable lens rangefinder 35 with a large diameter Synchro-Compur 1-1/500 sec plus B leaf shutter located behind the 3-lobed bayonet mount instead of the focal-plane shutters typically used in its competitors. Designed as a high-grade, lower cost alternative to the Leica and Contax, it featured MX sync via a standard PC socket, a built-in self-timer, and the original model had a detachable accessory shoe. Although it was never a roaring success in the marketplace and...

Voigtlander M-Mount Lenses: Tradition Meets Innovation Classical optical formulas enhanced with cutting-edge technology By Jason Schneider The current Voigtlander lens line, designed and manufactured by Cosina in Japan, is acclaimed for its engaging combination of solid construction, a meticulously finished vintage form factor, high imaging performance, smooth natural rendition, and beautiful bokeh. The fact that these lenses are offered at substantially lower prices than their “elite brand” competitors has made them a popular choice among discerning Leica M shooters, whether they favor digital, analog, or both. How did the Voigtlander optical design team manage to achieve such an impressive set of performance parameters? Basically...

Here, for your delectation, are photos of some fascinating cameras that I mentioned in passing but couldn't squeeze into Camera Collector Interview No. 2 plus a few of the cameras on my ardent acquisition wish list. I hope you enjoy it, and welcome your comments. Crown Graphic 4x5 of c.1960 with 135mm f/4.7 Schneider Xenar lens Voigtlander Bergheil 6 x 9cm handheld and ground-glass-focusing field camera of the '30s with uncoated 10.5cm f/3.5 Heliar lens Canon 7S "Z" was the final production run in the series. Never announced as a separate model it had larger diameter rewind crank and upgraded viewfinder optics. Semflex Studio of 1952: A great portrait TLR, it had a 150mm f/5.4 Berthiot medium tele taking lens and preceded the...

Interview of Jason Schneider, The Camera Collector, Part 2 The bearded camera maven comments on his motley camera collection Questions by Stephen Gandy Q: Can you provide a list of the cameras in your personal collection? A: That’s a pretty tall order since I have approximately 200 cameras arrayed on the metal shelves in my 10 x 12 foot “camera room” and about 25 more in my small office. They’re not catalogued, and I didn’t actually count them all, but that’s a pretty good estimate. I guess that qualifies me as a serious collector, but I assure you I’m a piker compared to the really serious camera collectors I know, whose collections number in the thousands. Rather than bore you with a complete inventory of my cameras, I’ll do the...

Interview of Jason Schneider, The Camera Collector, Part 1 The grizzled guru holds forth on imaging, equipment, and his life story Questions by Stephen Gandy Q: What was your first camera, and do you still have it? Ansco Panda plastic box camera c.1950 A: It was a circa 1950 Ansco Panda my Aunt Estelle bought me for my 8th birthday, a reasonably attractive but fairly wretched fixed focus plastic box camera with a top-mounted reflex viewfinder. It took twelve 2-1/4 x 2-1/4-inch images per roll of 620 film, and though I was delighted with it at first, I grew to hate it because of its poor picture-taking performance, though admittedly this was partly attributable to my own ineptitude. I don’t remember whatever happened to it, but I...

10 Top New M-Mount Lenses Not Made by Leica Outstanding 3rd party optics for the greatest rangefinder cameras ever By Jason Schneider Some of the world’s leading optical companies not named Leitz or Leica have been offering lenses for 35mm Leica rangefinder cameras ever since the 1930s, when E. Leitz Wetzlar brought forth its first interchangeable lens screw-mount models, the Leica II (Model D) and Leica III (Model F). In Germany, Zeiss, Meyer, and Schneider produced pre-war uncoated lenses in Leica screw mount (LTM), the last mentioned often co-branded as Leitz Xenons. After WW II everybody, including Schacht, Steinheil, Nikon, Canon and countless others got into the act, offering compatible coated screw mount lenses for Leicas...

10 Great Lenses for Olympus Pen F-Series Half Frame 35mm SLRs: A selection of outstanding Zuiko prime lenses from standard to unique By Jason Schneider The brilliant Pen-F-series of half-frame SLRs designed by the legendary Yoshihisa Maitani and produced from 1963-1972 were complemented by an extensive line of high-performance F-bayonet-mount Zuiko lenses that were acclaimed in their day and were largely responsible for the system’s enduring success. Indeed, vintage Pen F, FT, and Fv lenses are still held in high esteem and used today, both by retro film shooters using these cameras, and also by legions of contemporary shooters who adapt them for use on APS-C- and MFT-format digital cameras. Selecting “10 Great Lenses” from a line...

I am communicating with a person who successfully makes 3D printed 126 cassettes and is now thinking of 110 cassettes. Needless to say, it would be wonderful if we could easily reload our 110 cameras with the film of our choice using a film splitter or bulk 16mm sprocketless film. The biggest problem is that many or most 110 cameras need sprocket holes to cock the shutter. I know my Pentax auto 110 doesn't need the holes but is there a list or do you know similar 110 cameras that could work with plain film? If there are a large enough number of camera models, it would be worth the trouble to set up and make the cartridges.

10 Exceptional Zuiko Lenses in Olympus OM Mount Optimum optics for savvy Olympus 35mm SLR shooters By Jason Schneider When Yoshihisa Maitani, the world-renowned chief camera designer at Olympus, was creating his landmark Olympus OM-1 in the early ‘70s, he thought of it not merely as the world’s first ultra-compact full frame 35mm SLR, but as the cornerstone of a comprehensive pro-caliber system of photography that could go up against the likes of Nikon and Canon. As a true visionary who was, at the same time, a practical hands-on engineer, Maitani realized that the success of his ingenious world-class system hinged on creating a full line of high-performance Olympus OM lenses for what would eventually become the Olympus OM system of...

I wonder if this might be the correct forum to help identify this miniature camera? It belongs to a friend who's had it for years but knows nothing about it. Smaller than a roll of 35mm- he claims that it is still operational.

Vintage Classic Cameras, The Unvarnished Truth. Olympus OM-2 Series Their audacious new light measuring system transformed in-camera metering systems forever. By Jason Schneider The Olympus OM-2 was introduced in 1975 to complement the very successful Olympus OM-1, expanding the possibilities of what the company foresaw as their evolving OM ultracompact system of 35mm SLR photography. Like its predecessor it was largely the brainchild of the acclaimed Yoshihisa Maitani, longtime chief camera designer at Olympus. Identical in size and shape and only a tad heavier than the minuscule Olympus OM-1, which remained in the line, the OM-2 added aperture priority autoexposure, and a more advanced auto-flash system to the mix to appeal to...

I've read Jason Schneider's articles on camera collecting since I was 12, when I bought a brand-new Minolta Hi-Matic 9. I still have two boxes of Pop and Modern Photo mags, saved for his articles. If Jason wrote about walking into a camera shop and named off Noktons, Elmars, Sonnars, Summars, Summitars, and Summarits- I took note. Some, like the "moderately lousy Xenon 50/1.5 of the 1930s" (Jason Schneider, July 1973), I wanted to understand why some lenses were good, others bad. Some- Like the Summarit, Jason labeled as good performers, but the general reputation was poor. I started taking them apart to find out why, and even start applying some fixes. And now, just some eye-candy for the true gearheads. I've shot with all of these...

Solving the Mercury Battery Dilemma A handy guide to non-toxic workarounds for vintage cameras & meters By Jason Schneider Beginning in the early 1960s, battery powered CdS, and later, SBC cells, were steadily replacing bulkier, less sensitive selenium cells in the metering systems built into cameras and handheld exposure meters. Compared to their selenium cell-based counterparts, these new battery powered meters and metering systems worked at far lower light levels, had narrower acceptance angles, making it easier to get accurate readings from shooting position, didn’t require a delicate micro-ammeter, and could be integrated more compactly into camera bodies without the telltale honeycomb grid. However, unlike selenium cells that...

Vintage Classic Cameras, The Unvarnished Truth Olympus OM SLRS, Part 1: The M-1, OM-1, OM-1MD, and OM-1n By Jason Schneider Back in 1967 Olympus decided to create a full frame (24 x 36mm format) 35mm SLR to complement its very successful Pen F system of half-frame (18 x 24mm format) SLRs that had debuted in 1963. Many within the company suggested that the easiest and least costly path was offering a rebranded product made by another manufacturer. However, the renowned chief camera designer of Olympus, Maitani Yoshihisa (last name first per Japanese custom), fought hard to convince them that the best strategy was to design and build a truly unique product in house. Finally, after a yearlong struggle, he carried the day. His concept: a...

Vintage Classic Cameras: The Unvarnished Truth The Olympus Pen, Part 3, Pen F, FT & FV half frame SLRs By Jason Schneider Maitani Yoshihisa, acclaimed Olympus camera designer, holding Pen F in 2005. The original Olympus Pen F The world’s first interchangeable-lens half frame 35mm SLR (18 x 24mm format) the Pen F was launched by Olympus in 1963 to complement the highly successful scale-focusing Pen line. Designed by Maitani Yoshihisa, the renowned engineer who had already created the Olympus Pen pocket sized point-and shoots and would go on to develop the landmark Olympus OM-1 and XA, the original Pen F is a masterpiece of ingenuity and compactness that incorporates a host of innovative features. These include a compact rotary focal...

Vintage Classic Cameras: The Unvarnished Truth The Olympus Pen, Part 2, Other scale-focusing models By Jason Schneider Even after Olympus launched the landmark Pen F half frame interchangeable lens SLR (the original model emblazoned with the “Gothic F“ logo) in 1963, they continued to develop their popular compact scale-focusing line, eventually adding such popular features as autoexposure and even built-in motor drive with auto rewind. The following selection is limited to those Pens likely to appeal to serious shooters and user-collectors and omits the simpler EE models aimed primarily at casual shooters. But bear in mind that all Olympus Pens are well-made, durable cameras that can deliver outstanding image quality. Olympus Pen...

Vintage Classic Cameras: The Unvarnished Truth The Olympus Pen Saga, Part 1 The great success of the Olympus Pen series of compact half-frame (18 x 24mm format) 35mm cameras ignited the half-frame camera craze of the 1960s that saw dozens of competitive models from makers including Canon, Yashica, Minolta, Petri, Fuji, Agfa, etc. It all began with the humble Olympus Pen of 1959, and ended more than 20 years later in the early ‘80s. The original Olympus Pen was designed by Maitani Yoshihisa (last name first per Japanese tradition), one of the truly great camera designers of the 20th century and the principal designer of the landmark Olympus OM-1 full-frame 35mm SLR in 1972. The Original Olympus Pen launched in 1959 started the hall...

Vintage Classic Cameras: The Unvarnished Truth The Rolleiflex Saga, Part 2: The Landmark Rolleiflex Automat of 1937 and the price-point Rolleiflex New Standard, which was anything but standard. By Jason Schneider The Rolleiflex Automat of 1937 In 1937 Franke & Heidecke unveiled the magnificent Rolleiflex Automat, the camera that established the form factor and feature set for all subsequent twin lens Rolleiflexes. One of the most exquisitely integrated optical-mechanical creations of all-time, the landmark Rolleiflex Automat was named for its signature feature, an ingenious automatic first frame positioning and frame counting system that monitors the length of the paper backed roll film as it passes between twin internal friction...