Category Archives: history

boys will be boys

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. Most of us have heard of the rivalry between Leica (Leitz, Wetzlar) and Contax (Zeiss, Jena) last century. On page 455 of the October 1935 issue of American Cinematographer,  Leitz, New York placed this ad to extol the virtues … Continue reading →

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the good, the bad, and the ugly – again

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. The last time I used this title. it was for a Leica accessory . This time it is camera design at and after the mid 1930s and the minicam revolution. Good camera design encompasses many considerations. Ergonomically designed, utilitarian, light, … Continue reading →

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riding the rails

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Robert

Toronto. View or Field cameras and Kodak folders, etc used a rail or two rails in parallel to move the lens, lens board (and shutter, if part of the lens) away from or closer to the sensitive media to capture … Continue reading →

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how to introduce a new revolutionary product

Posted on December 31, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Leitz, a few years earlier, taught photographers the virtues of an enlarged small negative to introduce their novel little camera with small negatives. Traditionally, much larger cameras were used. The camera size determined the size of the final print … Continue reading →

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De Cry of a desert victory

Posted on December 30, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. When America joined in against the Axis in WW2, the Hollywood studios and British studios made movies to support government involvement (and keep some actors at home).  The scene at left is a still promoting the movie “Desert Victory” … Continue reading →

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copy cats

Posted on December 29, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. I wonder who came up with the “small negative, big print” idea? I always thought it was Leitz as part of the minicam revolution and demonstrating that a negative can be tiny and still be enlarged for a great … Continue reading →

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keeping an eye out for Hirohito and Adolf

Posted on December 28, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. When I was a little kid, WW2 was still active. I remember one little toy made of wooden pieces. When the strings were pulled, Tojo (Japanese PM in WW2) and Hitler took swings at each other. While America considered … Continue reading →

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zoom before zoom

Posted on December 27, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. Today, when we speak of ZOOM, we usually mean the app used to video conference by computer and internet. In this time of COVID-19, live meetings in person have been replaced by computer conferencing using special apps like ZOOM … Continue reading →

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boxing it up

Posted on December 26, 2021 by Robert

Toronto. The first half of the last century, most families used the humble box camera, and my grandmother was no different. The photographer in her small family, she recorded family members, friends, and neighbours over the years, the majority snapped … Continue reading →

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Merry Christmas 2021

Posted on December 25, 2021 by Robert

As the nasty COVID-19 rears its head one more time with the Omicron variation, I wish all viewers a safe holiday. This photo was taken by me over a half century ago with an Exakta VXIIa an hour north of … Continue reading →

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