Jason Schneider - The Camera Collector

Vintage Classic Cameras: The Unvarnished Truth About Original & Old Standard Rolleis Vintage Classic Cameras: The Unvarnished Truth The Rolleiflex Saga, Part 1: The Rolleiflex Original and Old Standard. These classics established the form factor for the roll-film twin lens reflex and the latter are still awesome picture takers. By Jason Schneider Contrary to popular belief the original Rolleiflex of 1929 was not the world’s first twin lens reflex camera, commonly known as a TLR. In fact, the concept of placing a second viewing lens and waist-level reflex finder directly above the picture-taking lens and moving both lenses back and forth on a common lens board to focus dates back to at least the 1870s and possibly earlier. The...

The Camera: It’s Much More Than Just A Tool The photographer-camera interface has a profound effect on the images seen by the viewer By Jason Schneider The magic of photography is that it can transform the physical and emotional act of selective observation into a visual artifact that transcends the moment of its creation and places it in the context of eternity. Miraculously, a photograph can convey the consciousness of the photographer across time and space, producing a corresponding visceral and emotional response in anyone who takes the time to fully engage with the image. And perhaps even more astounding, the entire process can be accomplished by controlling just two irreducible variables—space (what’s in the frame) and time...

How To Buy Cameras On eBay: 10 Great Tips Sage advice from an inveterate eBay addict By Jason Schneider I’ve been an eBay member since 1998 and I began buying cameras on eBay well before that. The lure of the world’s top online auction site can certainly be addictive—but you can occasionally snag great deals. Indeed, many leading retail establishments including Adorama, B&H, KEH, CameraQuest, Roberts Camera, National Camera Exchange, etc., etc. all sell photographic equipment on eBay. And if you’re not the bidding type, eBay offers Buy It Now and/or Make Offer options. There are elaborate safeguards on eBay to prevent you from non-delivery or receiving items not as described, and bad actors receiving lots of negative feedback can be...

Vintage Classic Cameras: The Unvarnished Truth About 2-1/4 x 2-1/4 Twin Lens Reflexes. Part 2 4 Semi-Exotic TLRs from Japan, China, England, and the good ol’ U.S.A. By Jason Schneider Ansco Automatic Reflex ll Ansco Automatic Reflex: The best made and most advanced 2-1/4x 2-1-/4 twin-lens reflex camera ever manufactured in the U.S., the Ansco Automatic Reflex, delivered to dealers in 1947, went all out to capture the TLR market from the Europeans. Unfortunately, it didn’t, and it was so costly to manufacture that Ansco decided to skimp on one key technical spec, the lens, which is a decent triplet (3 elements in 3 groups) but not up to the standard of the rest of the camera. It’s a substantial machine (2 pounds, 12 ounces), that’s...

Vintage Classic Cameras: The Unvarnished Truth About 2-1/4 x 2-1/4 Twin Lens Reflexes. Part 1 6 Cool Non-Interchangeable-Lens TLRs That Aren’t Made By Rollei or Mamiya By Jason Schneider A twin lens reflex (TLR) is a camera that uses one lens for viewing and focusing the image and a second separate lens to take the picture. Both lenses are the same focal length, both are carefully calibrated so their focus points match, and both move in and out simultaneously (typically on a common lens board) as you focus the camera. The word “reflex” refers to the mirror placed at a 45° angle behind the viewing lens. It reflects the viewing image upward onto a focusing screen that’s perpendicular to the lens axis, so the waist-level or chest-level...

Vintage Classic Cameras: The Unvarnished Truth Zeiss Contax rangefinder 35s: Pre-WWII Contaxes are charming, extraordinarily complex, difficult to work on, and expensive to fix. If you’re a user, go for the postwar Contax IIa or IIIa. By Jason Schneider The Contax Contax l introduced in 1932, with collapsible 50mm f/3.5 Zeiss Jena Tessar lens In designing the Contax I of 1932 Zeiss-Ikon’s ambitious goal was to produce the best interchangeable-lens rangefinder 35 in the world, one that surpassed its chief competitor, the 1932 Leica II, model D (the first Leica with a built-in coupled rangefinder) in both features and performance. In purely technical terms the Contax I was a rousing success, outclassing even the new Leica III...

Homage to the Immortal Leica M3 July 22, 2020 Homage To The Immortal Leica M3: Predecessors and Progeny of the Most Influential Rangefinder 35mm Camera ever Aug 9, 2019 By Jason Schneider In the pantheon of 35mm Leica cameras over the past century the Leica M3 of 1954 stands supreme. Only the prototype Ur Leica of 1914, the first production Leica (model A) of 1925, and the Leica II (model D) the first screw-mount Leica with built-in coupled rangefinder, marked comparable turning points in Leica history. The Leica M3 is a masterpiece of integrated design that took the rangefinder Leica to an unprecedented new level of sophistication and performance and propelled the photographic industry forward as other leading camera companies...

I compiled this comprehensive magnum opus 20 years ago in 2000, so some of the entries, especially the digital models, may be out of date. However, it's still a fascinating, informative fun piece that I've posted by popular demand on my new website, jasonschneiderthecameracollector.com. I welcome your comments, suggestions, impassioned arguments, etc. It's far too long to post here, but here's a link for your convenience: https://jasonschneiderthecameracollector.com/f/100-greatest-cameras-of-all-time BTW, if this doesn't display as a live link, please copy it and paste it into your bowser.

check out his just re-published list from 2018 Does Noteworthy always translate to Greatest? Why not the Epson RD1 instead of the trouble prone Leica M9? Why not the Konica Hexar RF as the first of the NON Leica M mounts? Why not my favorite Canon SLRs - the T90 and RT? The Pentax K1000? Really? Does best selling = Greatness? Why not the Hasselblad V? as the usual suspect greatest cameras duke it out among their fans ... Stephen

What are the best rangefinder lenses (Leica, Canon,Voigtlander, Nikon, Zeiss etc.) for capturing images with the vintage look? Some are well known classics ;others are great buys you might not have thought of. I welcome your nominations and I'll be happy to share my own. Just ask the professor-:)

Bokeh is a Japanese word that refers to the subjective visual impression of the out of focus areas of an image. Just because bokeh isn't objectively measurable doesn't mean it's BS, but there's certainly been a lot of BS written about it. What imaging characteristics contribute to beautiful bokeh? What kind of lenses that are most likely to be "bokeh monsters?"? Which vintage and contemporary lenses should bokeh fanatics go for? Just ask me and I'll give you my arrogant but educated opinions-:)

Creative Photography at a Time of Social Distancing As the world contracts in a protective crouch, you can expand it by picking up your camera! By Jason Schneider With large sections of the economy curtailed, millions of people sheltering in place, keeping a safe 6-foot distance from other humans, and wearing protective masks in public, it’s hard to imagine that now is a great time for creative photography—but it is! Taking the creative approach entails exploring new subject categories, redefining your objectives, and embracing fresh perspectives, all of which can expand your creative vision enormously. By focusing on the possibilities rather than the restrictions you can elevate your entire creative process and become a better...

It may have been the Petri FTE or Petri FT-EE, rather than the Konica Auto-Reflex. I don't consider the Contaflex Super B issued in 1963 to qualify because the lenses were not fully interchangeable. Can anyone provide more details and specific dates of market introduction of the first auto-exposure 35mm SLR w/interchangeable lenses ?

Amelia, age 7, is the granddaughter if my next door neighbor. She's a great portrait subject not only because she's attractive and just slightly exotic, but mainly because she has that indescribable quality known as "presence." I hope I have managed to convey some small portion of her identity and essence in my impromptu portraits of her. The subject is everything--I am only the photographer. Good shooting to all in these tough times, and stay creative--it's the best antidote to fear and depression. Love & Peace, Jason

Diane Arbus (1923-1971) was a great American photographer who created stark, uniquely compelling, unforgettable portraits of marginalized groups in society including transgender people, giants, dwarves, nudists and circus performers. Although sometimes accused of exploiting her subjects, her images reveal a profound kinship with them, and highlight the importance of telling the stories of all people, particularly those who are shunned and neglected. Arbus had a history of deep depression and committed suicide at the age of 48. She sometimes used a twin-lens Rolleiflex Automat MX and a 35mm Nikon F, but her favorite camera was a Mamiya C220, an interchangeable lens TLR introduced in 1968.

If I might get the conversation started here ... Jason, I wonder if you might be willing to discuss two very specific cameras, both which appear in my non-collection :) and with which I'm sure you're very familiar. The first is probably my only true "collectable" camera, a Kodak Vest Pocket Model B, which was very recently given to me by a FOAF. It appears to be in good condition, but obviously well-used by its original owner(s). The bellows appears to still be light tight. I've googled it, and it appears to date from 1925-1934. It uses 127 film, which, of course, is increasingly difficult to find. My specific questions are ... What's it worth? As a corollary, how rare is it? Would you consider it to be a true collectable? Do you...

Hi Everybody, I'm just getting started here so please let me know what's on your mind so I can get a handle on posting replies and content. As you may know I'm an expert on analog photography with vintage cameras, but 60% of what I shoot is digital using some of the latest gear, and I've written countless reviews and test reports on current cameras and lenses so (almost) anything goes. My goal is to make this informative and fun. Cheers, Jason Schneider

I am happy to say Jason Schneider aka The Camera Collector at Modern Photography and the former editor of Popular Photography is coming aboard RFF to share his knowledge and boundless enthusiasm for everything Photography and Cameras! Welcome Jason! Stephen