Category Archives: history

gone fichin’

Posted on April 7, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. We usually think of photography as synonymous with pictures. But it also had a very practical side as a means of record keeping – even before digital technology and EXIF el al file data. In the 1960s, when I … Continue reading →

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celluloid memories

Posted on April 6, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. The October, 1942 issue of Popular Mechanics magazine has a small article on a little plastic 35mm transparency or film strip viewer. I have a wooden transparency viewer of similar vintage that also uses a frosted screen to spread … Continue reading →

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something to think about

Posted on April 3, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. We are all movie/video/TV fans at heart. But consider this – movies  preceded the minicams of the day (and the smartphones of today). We often think of great movies, but seldom of the equipment used to make them. While … Continue reading →

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hi-yo kinamo

Posted on April 2, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. In April, 1923 this ad appeared in the American Cinematographer. ICA in Germany announced its 35mm (standard film) Kinamo camera – the smallest movie camera of the time. The Kinamo was designed for both professionals and (advanced) amateurs, hence … Continue reading →

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lucky seven

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. We occasionally see a SEPT camera offered at one of our events. The ad at left is from the January 1923 edition of the American Cinematographer. While the little Sept is described as a ‘movie camera’ in this ad, … Continue reading →

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for the birds …

Posted on March 31, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Some ideas work; some don’t. In 1942, the third Reich experimented with pigeon photographers according to this article in the September, 1942 issue of Popular Mechanics . Cameras were attached to pigeons and set for automatic operation over a … Continue reading →

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at the push of a button …

Posted on March 30, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. An article in the April, 1942 issue of Popular Mechanics touts that, “Pictures can be taken at the rate of one each second with an electric studio-type camera”.  A casual read suggests that the camera predates Edward Land by a few years, … Continue reading →

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the thrill of movies

Posted on March 29, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Kodak got into movie cameras and projectors in the 1920s to sell its amateur movie films. This ad from the December, 1937 edition of International Photographer shows a sampling of Kodak’s line-up of both 8 and 16mm cameras. Kodak … Continue reading →

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camera is cheap and a film for free

Posted on March 28, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. The Univex Corp set out to capture the low end photographic market in the States. The war in Europe caused a hiccup in their film supply. Univex used a custom style core on its “00” roll film with the … Continue reading →

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in the briny deep

Posted on March 27, 2022 by Robert

Toronto.  The BBC News for March 26, 2022 has a story titled. “SS Central America: Haunting photos recovered [in] the ‘ship of gold’ wreck on ocean floor”. The photographs that that survived the watery grave were all cased images with … Continue reading →

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