Category Archives: activities

gramma, what big …

Toronto. … teeth you have, said little red riding hood.  As the old fairy tale was told by the Brothers Grimm who updated a less happy ending to a French tale of caution to young ladies. Our 2026 events are … Continue reading

Posted in activities | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on gramma, what big …

spare eyes

Toronto. Industrial cameras which need to be ready 24/7 are backed by stores of spare parts. Lenses included. We have all seen lenses with various dents and bends all too apparent – signs they were accidentally dropped on or off … Continue reading

Posted in activities | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on spare eyes

weird cameras

Toronto. In the 1870s dry plates began to get traction and the day of the hand-held camera began.  And briefly some cameras used clever disguises and were called detective cameras. Over the years many odd looking cameras were developed with … Continue reading

Posted in activities | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on weird cameras

black and white

Toronto. Around the time we entered the 20th century, much of camera manufacture changed from wood to metal. Cameras were all black or black with chrome or nickel trim (perhaps gloomy by intent to suit the wars and depression of … Continue reading

Posted in activities | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on black and white

Feerless Fosdick

Toronto. For most of the 1800s, after photography was announced in 1839, street photographers were easy to spot: big wooden camera; sturdy tripod; and big focussing cloth. Two events changed this: Dick Maddox and his much faster dry plate process … Continue reading

Posted in activities | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Feerless Fosdick

the big transition to digital

Toronto. It all began shortly after WW2 when three Bell Labs scientists created the first commercial transistor.  Little did we know digital technology would revolutionize photography just over a half century later. The early transistors were relatively low frequency. Design … Continue reading

Posted in activities | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on the big transition to digital

leading up to the minicam revolution

  Toronto. It began in the late 1800s when Kodak perfected roll film. Edison in his experiments with movies split the 70mm wide Kodak film in two to make two 35mm rolls. Because of slippage, Edison added sprockets on his … Continue reading

Posted in activities | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on leading up to the minicam revolution

rare replicate

Toronto. Some of the early cameras are so rare that replicates are made. Case in point is the brass Voigtlander Daguerreotype camera that featured the famous Petzval lens. We saw this one in person at the Ryerson (now TMU) library … Continue reading

Posted in activities | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on rare replicate

Executive meeting #69 by ZOOM, June 3, 2026

Posted on May 29, 2026 by Robert PHSC President Clint Hryhorijiw Toronto. Another relatively quiet month. The 69th executive meeting by ZOOM, was held on Wednesday evening, June 3rd. As he usually does, our treasurer, John Morden, sent out his … Continue reading

Posted in activities | Tagged | Comments Off on Executive meeting #69 by ZOOM, June 3, 2026

first …

Toronto. … of millions and millions of improved designs and variations. Almost all smartphones have a camera module these days. In the phone, the camera computer works its magic so almost all photos are technically perfect. One has to be … Continue reading

Posted in activities | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on first …