I like things to be small, light, and simple, and these preferences apply equally to nearly any product. My favorite car since the close of the Second World War is the original Golf GTI, and…
read moreEurope in 1945 was not a great place for manufacturing, yet it was there and in that moment in history during which a small, Dutch company successfully manufactured and sold some of the most beautiful…
read moreHow many times have we heard the tired cliché, “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.”? Often it’s uttered in reaction to some change with which the bereaved doesn’t agree. And just as often, businesses…
read moreIn 1976, Rollei released the SLX, a fully electronic medium format SLR to compete with Hasselblad’s famous machines. With a built-in light meter, automatic motor advance, and shutter-priority auto-exposure, it was in many ways a…
read moreA too-familiar plastic camera appeared in my friend’s hands after rummaging through his junk box. “I wasted too many rolls of film with this,” he said. “I figure you’ll be able to get something out…
read moreThe desire to jump into medium format photography is usually accompanied by visions of Hasselblads, Rolleiflexes, and the Contax 645. And that’s understandable – the first has pedigree, the second has cool factor, and the…
read moreAfter reviewing vintage cameras for a while, you tend to become distrustful of any camera or lens with a legendary reputation. All of us here at CP have stories of disappointment with well-regarded cameras. It’s not…
read more[Author’s note: Many thanks to Nick Marshall for lending this camera to us for review. Check out his instant/toy camera photography here] It’s 2017, and most people don’t think of photography as any kind of…
read moreAfter nearly three years of running this website, I’ve finally discerned the characteristics that make up my ideal camera. I like versatility and affordability, so interchangeable lens SLRs are my starting point. I really love…
read moreIt happens to the best of us. At some point in the photographic journey, every photo geek is going to run into a wall. Things get stale. You’ve been shooting the same subjects with the same…
read moreThere’s no better way to connect with the very essence of the medium than by shooting black-and-white film, and while the C-41 process B&W films are at times excellent, our curiosity will inevitably get the…
read moreThere’s no such thing as a “perfect” film. Let’s just get that out of the way. Every shooter has different tastes regarding tone, color, grain, etc., but if ever a film could manage to be…
read moreIn 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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