Monthly Archives: April 2025

a better view

Posted on April 30, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. In a recent post, I looked at the Visoflex  ‘chimney’ for the mirror box fitted between a Leica and its bellows. Even before the Visoflex series went to market, Leitz made mirror boxes like the PLOOT which came with … Continue reading →

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not up in smoke

Posted on April 29, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. Leitz came up with a mirror box housing that converted its famous Leica rangefinder to an SLR for close-ups and telephoto shots. The first version (Visoflex I) came with the 5x vertical magnifier (LVFOO). A 45 degree 4x magnifier … Continue reading →

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one ringy dingy …

Posted on April 28, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. Who can forget comedian Lily Tomlin and her hilarious send up of the telephone company? Leitz often separated the lens assembly from the focussing mount. To use the lens on the bellows, a ring would connect the lens (or … Continue reading →

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ye gads, a tryclopes

Posted on April 27, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. Greek mythology had the Cyclopes – a gang of scary giants with one eye in the middle of the forehead! Issue 23-3 uses a photo of an unusual “three-eye” turret device mounted on a Leica camera as its cover … Continue reading →

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gold in those hills …

Posted on April 26, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. in issue 23-2, Bob Lansdale writes an auction topic titled, “Waddington’s Marks 100th Anniversary of the Klondike”. Many of us think about the romance of the Klondike gold rush in the Yukon territory in the late 1800s. Bob was … Continue reading →

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camerama is coming! camerama is coming!

Posted on April 25, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. My friend and fellow PHSC member, Gary Perry, sent me an email recently to say his latest personal fair – CAMERAMA – will be on June 8th as noted below.  For information, email Gary at cameramashow@gmail.com – the text … Continue reading →

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the accidental collector

Posted on April 24, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. I bought my first 35mm camera – a Minolta Super A around the late 1950s. I was amazed at the clarity of the f/2 Rokkor lens. About a year later I moved on to an SLR Exakta. It had … Continue reading →

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on your mark,

Posted on April 23, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. You may have wondered about so called Canadian cameras. They seem to cluster around two points: cheap and inexpensive cameras (mostly box cameras), and high end models (Leica cameras and lenses once from Midland). Some years ago, member John … Continue reading →

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a slight touch-up is in order …

Posted on April 22, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. Early to mid last century professionals used larger glass plates or cut film to create photographs. Most prints were contact prints making ‘dodge’ and ‘burn’ to adjust exposure and contrast impractical. Instead, professionals would have staff use a retouching … Continue reading →

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easing tension

Posted on April 21, 2025 by Robert

Toronto. In a recent post I discussed techniques used on post washed prints to remove any excess water and treat the surface. The effect of ignoring post washing processes on film – especially 35mm or smaller – is even more … Continue reading →

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