Tag Archives: LIFE

coat-tail advertising

Posted on July 30, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. Modern day advertisers “sponsor” athletes, movies etc. and join them in advertisements. Well known athletes at the top of their game promote sporting gear implying that using gear by that company will enhance your chances of winning too. Mid … Continue reading →

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a flashy ad over 60 years ago

Posted on July 26, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. Once the media (glass plates, film) became fast enough for instantaneous outdoor photos, people began creating a means to make indoor photos. In most cases the lack of a bright light was the limiting factor and various means to … Continue reading →

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automation and home movies

Posted on July 25, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. If you were to believe the marketeers who wrote this ad found on page 24 of the October 8, 1956 issue of LIFE magazine, the 200EE camera is so simple a child could take perfect movies. Yeah! Right! This … Continue reading →

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a litter of letters for lens test

Posted on July 19, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. In the late 1960s I was in Montreal and devised a means to test lens resolution and shutter accuracy. It was during the shutter test that I realized my Exakta had a serious problem. It turned out a brass … Continue reading →

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duck! …bang …finito!

Posted on July 17, 2019 by Robert

Toronto.  Years ago,  Dr Edgerton of MIT revolutionized the art of photography by using high speed flash to record mundane events in a fraction of a split second.  In the late 1950s, I bought a used Ultrablitz Reporter IIL. The … Continue reading →

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a colourful view

Posted on June 7, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. In the 1950s, the best colour shots were colour slides. Realistic colours, very high resolution, and visible to a whole room full of people. Of course everyone had to sit in the dark as each slide was projected on … Continue reading →

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they’re coming, they’re coming

Posted on May 25, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. Not the Russians like the old movie title, but the Japanese camera makers. Until after the Korean War in the early 1950s, the Japanese industry made little inroads in the west. This changed when Americans discovered the Nikon F … Continue reading →

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in Vitessa we trust

Posted on May 22, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. On the eve of being absorbed by the mighty Zeiss organization, Voigtlander marketed a number of cameras featuring their lenses plus some unique operating features. The series called Vitessa from the 1950s was one such series. The earlier versions … Continue reading →

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Dr R G Wilson – a celebration of life

Posted on May 20, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. As mentioned earlier this month, the life of PHSC member and past president Dr Robert Wilson will be celebrated at the Morley Bedford Funeral Home on Eglinton Ave.,  just two stop lights west of Yonge Street. An obituary appeared … Continue reading →

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pictures on the spot

Posted on April 27, 2019 by Robert

Toronto. In the last half of the last century, photography had a number of goals for improvement for amateurs. Three come to mind: Faster media, so pictures could be taken indoors or at night; colour at lower cost; and faster … Continue reading →

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