Japanese Cameras and Lenses

Canon FD 28mm F/2.8 – Lens Review
1609 905 James Tocchio

For a lens to be remarkable it doesn’t always have to be exceptionally gorgeous, have the highest specification, or cost as much as a small, used car. Sometimes the best lenses are modestly specced and…

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Canon A-1 Camera Review – Canon’s Greatest Gadget
2446 1369 James Tocchio

Were CP the kind of website to give our reviews catchy taglines, the Canon A-1’s review might pose a problem. I could title it The Forgotten Canon, or The Middle Child, and these would be…

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Exploded Views – Minolta MC Rokkor 50mm F/2
1439 808 James Tocchio

Here’s another installment in our Exploded Views feature. Last time we featured the Canon AE-1, and this week we’re showcasing something that’s admittedly simpler, less jaw-dropping, and easier on our bleeding fingertips. It’s Minolta’s MC…

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Exploded Views – Canon AE-1
1280 731 James Tocchio

Casual Photophile was born from an appreciation that cameras are amazing, tiny machines. What better way to illustrate the intricacy and wonder of these little devices than to tear them apart and splay their innards across a…

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Olympus OM2 (OM2n) – Camera Review
2400 1350 James Tocchio

The Olympus OM system has a long history of both exceptional and under appreciated machines. While the OM1 was received by professional photogs, the press, and industry insiders as a marvel of miniaturization, design, and…

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5 Great Film Cameras Under $100
1280 719 James Tocchio

These days, film cameras are a dime a dozen, and while they may not be as alluring as the newest mirror-less marvel from Sony, they’re definitely worth owning. Not convinced? Then consider that just a…

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Minolta Autocord – Medium Format Camera Review
2052 1367 James Tocchio

In the early days of mass-produced cameras, when a photographer talked about “the best” he invariably talked about Germany. This reflected a truth; Japanese cameras of the 1930s and ‘40s were in large part inferior…

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Minolta SR-T 202 – Camera Review
1280 720 James Tocchio

Beginning in 1959 with the Nikon F, Japanese camera makers would spend the next few decades perfecting the SLR camera. As rangefinders and larger format cameras gave way to this new wave of machines, more…

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Petri F1.9 Color Corrected Super – A Clockwork Rangefinder at a Point-and-Shoot Price
1280 853 James Tocchio

Ask ten photo-geeks to make a list of their favorite rangefinders and you’ll likely find ten pretty varied lists. We can assume that most will place the Germans at the top, the Japanese at the bottom, and there may be…

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Canon AE-1 – Camera Review
2448 1632 James Tocchio

Canon and Nikon; today, these two brands are synonymous with professional photography, both make fantastic machines, and even the uninterested public considers them equals. But it wasn’t always this way. In the early days of…

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Minolta’s X-7A Might be the Perfect Beginner’s SLR – Camera Review
2038 1359 James Tocchio

It’s easy to become a numbers-junkie. Whether it’s cameras, cars, watches, or tech toys, it seems that someone’s always shouting about the superiority of one machine over another based on intangible and often unappreciable figures.…

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Minolta XE-7 SLR – Camera Review
1289 1357 James Tocchio

I admire risk-takers in any industry because I feel that visionaries are the ones who urge everyone forward to a better future. The camera industry is no different. When I began shooting photos in college, a professor urged…

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