Zipper City Cameras

Polaroid Spectra AF

2011-04-19T11:28:00.005-04:00

1981

Lens - 'Quintic' 125mm f/10

I believe this is the first of the Spectra line of cameras. It has more controls than some of the later models.

Kodak Vest Pocket Model B

2011-04-08T10:54:00.001-04:00

1925-1934

Lens - Kodak Periscopic f/1-4

A folding bed camera that uses 127 film. The whole front of the camera comes off so the roll film can be loaded. It also may be the first camera to reach the Summit of Mount Everest - but it remains lost with the climbers.

Kodak Six-20 Brownie 'E'

2011-03-08T12:34:00.000-05:00

1947

Lens - Meniscus f/11 100mm

A 620 roll film box camera. These were made for ten years, my model being the first generation. The later cameras had horizontal stripes.

Polaroid 600 Series

2011-02-23T12:05:00.000-05:00

1980s-1990s
Lens - various
I'll break these down individually eventually - for now check out the Camerapedia Page.

Vivitar 220/SL

2011-02-23T11:57:00.001-05:00

1976

Lens - Vivitar 55mm f/2.8

I haven't been able to find out too much information about this camera yet - I will post more when I find it. The camera appears to be a knock off of the Minolta SRT-101.

Polaroid Spectra 2

2011-02-23T11:50:00.002-05:00

1980s

Lens - 'Quintic' 125mm f/10

Polaroid introduced the Spectra line of cameras in the the early 1980s. I haven't been able to find the exact date for the 'Spectra 2'. Spectra film is different from 600 film because it has a different image format than 600 film - a rectangular 9.2 x 7.3cm - but is the same in all other aspects. The lenses on Spectra's are said to be better than those on the 600's.

Argus Seventy-Five

2010-12-13T16:11:00.002-05:00

1949-1958

Lens - 75mm f/13

A pseudo-TLR, fixed focus camera that took 620 film. These types of cameras were produced when Rolleiflex Cameras were popular and were pretty much made to mimic the style(unfortunately though not the function).

Kodak Vigilant Six-20

2010-12-06T11:00:00.001-05:00

1939-1949

Lens - Anastigmat 105mm f/6.3

A medium format camera that used 620 film. They came with several different shutters and lenses - this one is a middle-of-the-road model with a 1/100 Diomatic shutter.

Polaroid Time Zero SX-70 AutoFocus

2010-12-03T12:29:00.001-05:00

1981

Lens -

A later version of the famous SX-70 it is an instant, auto-focus(sonar!) SLR. Also called the 'OneStep Sonar' it was at one point the best selling camera in the country - due to its cheap price. Mine is marked 'Model 2 Special Edition' - I haven't been able to a ascertain what sets it apart form the non-Special Edition
(other than the blue instead of red shutter release).

Minolta X-570

2010-12-03T12:14:00.000-05:00

1983

Lens - Chinar 80-205mm f/4.5

Released two years after the popular and state-of-the-art X-700 it was billed as a cheaper alternative. Although it never sold as many units as the X-700 many photographers now consider it to be a superior camera.

Minolta SRT 100

2010-12-03T12:07:00.001-05:00

1971

Lens - Rokkor 50mm f/2.0

Minolta released this camera to replace the SR-1 as a cheaper alternative to the wildly popular SRT-101. It had a slower shutter(1/500 instead 1/1000), no mirror lock-up, a less informative viewfinder, and no self-timer.

Argus C3 Matchmatic

2010-12-02T20:43:00.001-05:00

1958-1966

Lens - Cintar 50mm f/3.5

Almost identical to the Argus C3 except for the markings and leatherette color. It also came with a non-coupled selenium meter(which unfortunately mine no longer has). This camera has become more collectible since it was used in the Harry Potter films.

Argus C3

2010-12-02T20:35:00.003-05:00

1930-1966

Lens - Cintar 50mm f/3.5

This camera is commonly credited with popularizing 35mm film due to its being the biggest selling 35mm camera for 3 decades. Because of its shape it has the nickname "the brick". It has a viewfinder as well as a coupled rangefinder and it accepts interchangeable lenses. My model is from the early 60's.

Balda Bunde Baldinette

2010-12-02T18:28:00.003-05:00

1951

Lens - Westar 50mm f/3.5

A small folding camera that had no rangefinder and a very dim viewfinder. It was built in West Germany by Balda Bunde - the Balda company split after the war(the East Germany Balda was nationalized). Mine seems to have a less common lens(most having Schneiders).

Kodak Junior Six-16

2010-12-02T18:08:00.001-05:00

1935

Lens - Kodak Anastigmat f/11

Folding art-deco styled camera that takes 616 roll film. There are three versions of the camera: a US made, UK made, and a German made. My model is the American version - you can tell by the octagonal shaped front. Though I haven't run film through it(616 is no longer made) the shutter seems to still function properly.

Minolta XG1

2010-04-13T10:56:00.002-04:00

1978
Lens - 45mm f/2.8 Rokkor

The XG1 was a less expensive version of the XG7 which in turn were the cheaper alternative to the XD line of Minoltas. More oriented for the consumer market the cameras were made to be shot in aperture priority mode. They were the most compact and light-weight Minoltas to date.

This was also the first SLR I ever used - it was passed on to me by my parents.

Konica FT-1 Motor

2010-02-15T13:27:00.002-05:00

1983-1987

lens - Hexanon 50mm f/1.8

The Konica FT-1 was an upgraded version of the earlier FS-1 - many of the internal electronics were improved to make the camera more rugged. The most notable feature of this camera is its built in motor drive which can be switched between continuous shooting or single frame. The camera takes three AAA batteries and does not function without them. This was the last SLR that Konica manufactured itself(later models were outsourced).

Agfa Ansco PD 16

2010-02-10T21:46:00.002-05:00

1934

lens- Plenax f/11

Its a bellows-style folding cameras. It took the now discontinued 616 roll film. I've read online that people convert other film to fit these cameras.

Minolta X-700

2010-01-26T22:21:00.004-05:00

1981

35mm f/2.8 Rokkor Lens

This was the "European Camera of the Year" when it was released and it was sold new from Minolta until the late 90's. It had many features and is the first SLR that can be set to "program mode" which selects the shutter and the aperture automatically.

This was the last high end manual focus Minolta and the most popular since the SRT line. Even though the camera had many features and accessories some of the internal components were a step back from earlier Minoltas.

Nikon F3

2010-01-07T16:14:00.013-05:00

1980-00

lens - 300mm f/4.5 Nikkor

The F3 was Nikon's 3rd professional camera and considered by some the best manual focus 35mm camera ever. It actually outlasted the F4 and was sold into the F5 era. There is a dearth of information around the net on this popular camera.

The one I acquired came with a Nikon SB-16 flash, Action Finder DA-2, MD-4 Motor Drive, and the above mentioned 300mm Nikkor lens.

Minolta X-370

2010-01-07T16:02:00.003-05:00

1984-90

Lens - 45mm f/2 Rokkor

A MD mount 35mm SLR also known as the X-300. This was a stripped down version of the Minolta X-570.

Kodak Automatic 35

2010-01-06T15:36:00.006-05:00

1959

lens - 44mm f/2.8 Ektanar

This is a fixed-focus viewfinder camera and focusing is by scale or estimate. It is an automatic exposure camera based largely on the Signet 50(see camera below). Like most Ektanar lenses of the time this one is slightly radioactive!

Click thumbnails to view camera with Accura viewfinder and Telesar Series V telephoto lens.

Kodak Signet 50

2010-01-06T15:25:00.002-05:00

1957

lens - Kodak Ektanar 44mm f/2.8

This camera is consider easy to use and is supposed to take quite good photos. The shutter will not fire without film being in the camera(so if you come across one and the shutter doesn't fire it isn't necessarily broke).

Kodak Retinette 1A

2010-01-06T15:14:00.003-05:00

1961-63

Lens - Schneider-Kreuznach Reomar 1:2.8/45mm

There are various models with this name made between 1959-66, this one is a type 042. It was made in Germany by Kodak AG and has no internal light meter.

Kodak Retina Reflex S

2010-01-05T16:01:00.005-05:00

1959

lens - Schneider Xenar 50m f/2.8 lens

An SLR camera with interchangeable produced by Kodak AG Stuttgart in West Germany. Its complex and interesting camera and quite heavy in your hand. Camerapdia.org has a fascinating article about the Retina Reflex Series (including my 'S') that is really informative.

Agfa Silette F

2010-01-04T11:59:00.002-05:00

1962

lens - Agnar f/2.8 45mm

Agfa, a German camera company, made various Silette models for thirty years. This was the first with a built-in, hinged flash reflector. The "F" in the name indicates a flash lamp base on the top of the camera. There are only four shutter speeds.

Konica C35 EFP

2009-12-22T23:31:00.001-05:00

1978

lens - 38mm f/4

This fixed focus camera has a single speed shutter which is 1/125.

Canon AF35M II(New Sure Shot)

2009-12-18T00:20:00.002-05:00

1983

lens - 35mm f/2.8

It was also marketed as the New Sure Shoot(US) and AutoBoy 2(Japan). It was a replacement 1979's very popular Sure Shot/AF 35M.

Sears M35

2009-12-16T22:36:00.003-05:00

1983

lens - 38mm f/2.8

This auto focus point and shoot is a rebadged Ricoh AF-303.

Nikon L35 AF

2009-12-16T16:03:00.003-05:00

1983

lens - 35mm f/2.8

Nikon's first auto focus point and shoot camera. This is a very well regarded camera and is a close copy of Canon's AF35M.

I bought it cheaply from the thrift store with the box and manual.

Kodak Pony 135

2009-12-15T16:03:00.002-05:00

1950-54

lens - Kodak Anaston 51mm f/4.5-22

There is a really good Camerapedia.org article about Kodak Ponies here.

Minolta Super A

2009-12-15T15:43:00.006-05:00

1957

5cm(50mm) Chiyoko Super Rokkor Lens

This is a 35mm rangefinder with interchangeable lenses. One of my best finds - I've seen it for over 200 bucks on E-Bay - I paid $30 at the thrift.

An accessory selenium meter fits into the flash shoe and couples with the shutter wheel on the top of the camera. This provides metered-manual exposure control(the first Japanese camera to have this feature). You dial in the film speed into the meter and then select the f-stop on the lens. Then, on the meter, you match the needle to the same f-stop and the correct shutter speed is "automatically" selected.

Minolta 110 Zoom

2009-12-14T21:40:00.004-05:00

1976 submini SLR using the 110 film format

25-50mm zoom lens f/4.5-16.0

This was the first SLR designed to use the 110 film format and is among the stranger looking cameras I have ever seen.

Canon Canonet 28

2009-12-14T21:32:00.004-05:00

1971-76

lens - 40mm f/2.8

"The original Canon Canonet 28 viewfinder camera was launched in 1968. The later Canonet 28 35mm rangefinder camera is a cheaper consumer version of the famous Canonet QL17." - from Camerapedia.org.

Minolta Hi-Matic AF2

2009-12-14T13:26:00.003-05:00

1980 Point and Shoot

38mm f/2.8 fixed focus lens

pop-up flash

Judging by the number of hits/comments this photo receives on my flickr page it must have been an extremely popular camera.

Minolta SRT 101

2009-12-12T20:00:00.004-05:00

Mine is an early 70's model.

Lens - 55mm f/1.7 Rokkor

They were first made in 1966 and the third generation versions were made until 1975. It was one of the first cameras to have full aperture TTL metering - correct exposure is achieved by matching a needle in the viewfinder to a circle moving with the exposure settings. The battery only operates the light meter - even without a battery all functions still work(besides the meter).

Minolta Hi-Matic F

2009-12-12T19:49:00.002-05:00

1972 35mm rangefinder

38mm f/2.7 Rokkor Lens

Canon Canonet

2009-12-11T16:05:00.004-05:00

1961 35mm Rangefinder

45mm f/1.9 lens

This was Canon's first entry into the mid-priced market. Before this camera Canon had been considered primarily a pro-photography company.

Olympus OM-10

2009-12-11T16:00:00.005-05:00

1979 35mm SLR

with 50mm f/1.8 lens

You can also see the manual adapter for shutter speed in the top right of the camera.

Canon Eos Rebel XT

2009-12-11T13:57:00.009-05:00

2005 Eos Digital Rebel XT

lens 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

It is an 8MP camera with a DIGIC II Image Processor. Mine is the black model(it also came in silver)

This was my first digital camera which I bought in May of '06.

The camera is primarily plastic and extremely light and compact for a dslr. It is also considered very easy to use.