Contributions of the group Camera Junkie (Gear Acquisition Syndrome)

Kodak Instamatic 104

nobody@ipernity.com (HaarFager) — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 04:40:44 +0000

One of my Instamatic cameras photographed on black velvet.

Camera: Minolta SRT-101
Lens: Minolta MD Rokkor-X 50mm F/1.2 lens
Film: Fuji Film Neopan 100 Acros 35mm black and white
Aperture: f/16
Shutter Speed: "B" (bulb) 30 secs.
Date: April 5th, 2014, 12.19 a.m.
Location: Norris City, Illinois, U.S.A.

Developing chemicals at 68 degrees:
Developer: Ilford ID-11 - 10 minutes
Stop Bath: Ilford Ilfostop - 1 minute
Rinse: Water - 1 minute
Fixer: Ilford Hypam - 7 minutes
Rinse: Water - 5 minutes

Minolta SRT101 Acros 33hf

Zenit DF-300x

nobody@ipernity.com (HaarFager) — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 06:05:25 +0000

HaarFager has posted:

This is one of the latest cameras I found for my collection. I got it for only a little over $7 because it didn't work. I took it apart and found out it was suffering from the "bad capacitor" issue. I soldered in a new one and now it works like a charm!

Contax AX - the Largest 35mm Camera

nobody@ipernity.com (Howard Somerville) — Mon, 14 Apr 2025 09:43:42 +0000

Howard Somerville has posted:

The most oddball 35mm SLR ever, the Contax AX, introduced in 1996, made headlines at the time with its unique ability to autofocus with manual-focus lenses. The AX used the Contax/Yashica lens mount (it is fitted here with a Yashica 50mm f1.9 lens), but the autofocus worked equally well with any make or type of lens that, where necessary via an adapter, could be fitted to it.

This was achieved by moving the film plane (together with the film chamber, mirror, focusing screen, prism - the lot), varying the distance from lens to film. When closed, the camera back did not move; the film was kept in contact with the gate by a complex, scissor-type pressure plate with the necessary 10mm of movement. With lenses of all but very long focal lengths it provided true macro-capability, even with the lenses set to infinity. Setting them to their minimum manual focusing distance allowed even closer focusing.

This “Automatic Back Focusing” mechanism accounted for the unusually deep camera body needed to house it.

It is shown, below, for size comparison, with two other full-frame 35mm cameras - the Olympus OM1 and (non-reflex) Minox 35EL.

It was, however, an evolutionary dead-end, because focusing was slower and less reliable than that provided by less-complex SLRs with autofocus lenses, and the AX was axed in 1999, superseded by the Contax N1.

Kodak Instamatic 104 Outfit

nobody@ipernity.com (HaarFager) — Tue, 12 Nov 2024 07:18:57 +0000

HaarFager has posted:

This is what a brand new Kodak Instamatic 104 must have cost - $12.66. At least it did at Kmart. This was the last frame on this roll of film, so I just finished developing it tonight.

Camera: Minolta X-7A No. 4
Lens: Minolta MD Zoom 28-70mm, f/3.5 (shot @ 70mm and 1:4 macro)
Film: Kodak Gold 200 (expired on 8/22)
Shooting Program: Manual
Aperture: f/16
Shutter Speed: “B” (bulb) 4 seconds
Date: November 11th, 2024, 8.13 p.m.
Location: Norris City, Illinois, U.S.A.

Developing Chemicals: Unicolor C-41
Water pre-soak: 1 minute at 102 degrees
Developer: 3 ½ minutes at 102 degrees
Water rinse: 2 minutes (to keep chemicals clean)
Blix: 6 ½ minutes at 102 degrees
Water rinse: 2 minutes at approx. 100 degrees
Stabilizer: 1 minute at room temperature
Water rinse: 2 minutes
Kodak Photo-Flo 200: 1 minute

Minolta X-7A-4 Gold 200 Fall Tree 2024 37ef

Minolta X-7A No. 4

nobody@ipernity.com (HaarFager) — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 06:13:44 +0000

HaarFager has posted:

I've always loved Minolta cameras and got my first one brand new back in 1978. This Minolta X-7A is the all-black bodied Minolta X-370 here for the North American market. Somehow, I've ended up with four of these X-7As in my collection without really meaning to.

Minolta Autopak 600-X

nobody@ipernity.com (HaarFager) — Thu, 15 Aug 2024 03:11:25 +0000

HaarFager has posted:

This is a Minolta version of the popular "Instamatic" 126 type of camera from years past. Of course, since it's a Minolta, it's better than any Instamatic Kodak or any other company ever made.

It's got real glass lenses, automatic exposure and you can even adjust the focus. Can your Kodak Instamatic X-15 do that? Mine sure can't.

Jazz Jelly 207

nobody@ipernity.com (HaarFager) — Wed, 31 Jul 2024 03:40:53 +0000

HaarFager has posted:

These Jazz 207 "Jelly" cameras are fun - the front of them is clear! I had been wanting one for a while to add to my Jazz 206/207 camera collection and finally picked one up last September 2023.

They take pretty quirky pictures - but in a good way.

Konica Autoreflex TC

nobody@ipernity.com (HaarFager) — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 19:42:43 +0000

HaarFager has posted:

I've had this Konica Autoreflex TC 35mm SLR almost 20 years now. When I first picked it up, it fired a couple times, then jammed up and wouldn't work anymore. I fixed it recently and finally got a good shot of the camera with a lens on it that I bought separately.

Back in the 1970s, I was my high school's yearbook photographer for a couple years and they had a camera just like this one. That's why I bought this one, because I remembered all the fun I had using the school's Konica camera.

Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash Camera No. 9

nobody@ipernity.com (HaarFager) — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 19:31:09 +0000

HaarFager has posted:

A friend of mine knew I collected cameras and found this one and gave it to me. I now have nine of these Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash cameras.

Contax N1

nobody@ipernity.com (Howard Somerville) — Tue, 16 Jul 2024 11:19:52 +0000

Howard Somerville has posted:

The one thing that only an SLR camera loaded with black-and-white film allows, which digital cameras do not, is the use of coloured filters, especially red or orange which penetrate atmospheric haze and dramatise skies in a unique way, and allow the photographer, in the viewfinder, to see the world "through rose-tinted spectacles", or in this case orange, which beautifies sunlit scenes.

Nostalgic for the blink and click of a moving mirror and a focussing screen, the Contax (dating from around 2000) has been brought out of retirement. The N1 was far less-known than its range-topping rivals from Nikon and Canon for which a vastly larger range of lenses and accessories were available, but had unique features like an auto-manual focussing system and a class-leading kit lens, the Vario-Sonnar 24-85mm, in which lens performance was not compromised in order to to save weight or size - the front element is simply huge, taking 82mm filters.

Minolta X-370 No. 3

nobody@ipernity.com (HaarFager) — Thu, 11 Apr 2024 08:49:52 +0000

HaarFager has posted:

Another nifty Minolta SLR I picked up earlier this year. I've already used it and it works fine.

Hit

nobody@ipernity.com (HaarFager) — Thu, 08 Jun 2023 03:50:02 +0000

HaarFager has posted:

I got a new camera, new to me anyway, on Monday. It's a Hit camera, made in Japan, and it's only about two inches wide. But it does work and I've already used it.

It was made around 1950 and was the original brand. Afterwards, many, many companies made knock-off versions.

Polaroid Pronto

nobody@ipernity.com (HaarFager) — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 02:38:20 +0000

HaarFager has posted:

My old Polaroid Pronto, which doesn't seem to work anymore.

Canon Sure Shot TeleMax No. 2

nobody@ipernity.com (HaarFager) — Wed, 16 Nov 2022 22:09:27 +0000

HaarFager has posted:

This is a real easy camera to hold and shoot with. I've had it for four or five years, but finally got it back from when I loaned it to a friend to use and now have gotten a photograph of it. I'm currently running a roll of film through it.

Cobra Crystal No. 2 Purple

nobody@ipernity.com (HaarFager) — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 02:05:30 +0000

HaarFager has posted:

These Cobra Crystal cameras are attempts at copying the Jazz 207 Jelly cameras.

Cobra Crystal No. 3 Blue

nobody@ipernity.com (HaarFager) — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 02:05:34 +0000

HaarFager has posted:

These Cobra Crystal cameras are attempts at copying the Jazz 207 Jelly cameras.

Cyprea Two-Way Camera

nobody@ipernity.com (HaarFager) — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 02:05:42 +0000

HaarFager has posted:

Another Jazz 206 clone in my collection.

Jazz 206 No. 3

nobody@ipernity.com (HaarFager) — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 02:05:46 +0000

HaarFager has posted:

My third Jazz 206, this one is black like the first one.

Sakar My First Camera Deluxe

nobody@ipernity.com (HaarFager) — Thu, 30 Sep 2021 02:05:51 +0000

HaarFager has posted:

This camera seems to be an attempted copy of the Jazz 207 jelly cameras.

Unknown Camera

nobody@ipernity.com (HaarFager) — Tue, 01 Nov 2022 07:15:33 +0000

HaarFager has posted:

This is a screen capture from an episode of "Mannix" I watched just the other night. Joe is holding a camera, but you can't tell what kind it is because the names have been taped over.

Gee, I wonder what kind of camera it is?