Usually when I review an SLR I tend to caveat my reviews by pointing out optical performance depends on the Lens glass and don’t focus on that side of things. But with this Ukrainian beast it really is all about the glass in the form of the Helios-81N ( гелиос-81н )50mm 1:2 lens.
But let’s not ignore the camera and we’ll begin there.
The eagle eyed amongst you will have remember as well as the Halina Super-Mini I recently reviewed, I’d also picked up the flash version. But this offers exposure control as well as the built in flash. And Hey it actually is a museum piece !
Been a busy few weeks both photography and in life. I’ve realised the regular update is becoming a a bit irregular and given it’s almost 2 months since I last did one so say farewell to the analogue week and step inside from the rain to the warmth of the Analogue Arms and grab a pint or coffee from the bar as I give you a run down of what I’ve been up to and some other news that’s worth follow
Car boots are often is bit hit and miss for the cheap camera hunter. I’ve scored some great wee finds over the years from my £3 XA, a K1000 for a £5 that I sold on to my mint £2 Espio 120SW. But at times you find nothing but the odd instamatic and true tat. The bank holiday weekend on in Dumfries however flung up a grubby mju zoom 105(aka ∞ Stylus Zoom 105) for two quid that literally worked for one roll and then died.
“Hello Q. Got any special gear for this mission for me? “. Q looked and sighed. “After you crashing the Aston and losing the laser beam Rolex in the midst of the current austerity squeeze not so much. What happened to the rocket Launching Nikon by the way ?”
“Boom and bust Q”
“But anyway” said Q handing him a Halina Super-Mini.
Once there was a legendary Japanese Camera maker famed for its detailed very compact cameras. But in 1988 they went very large with a camera with a passing resemblance to a star cruiser.
That camera was the Olympus AZ-300 Superzoom (aka Infinity Zoom 300 (US) and IZM-300). It would become one of the cameras that defined the term bridge.
Regular readers will know I have a love for those cheap ‘n cheerful Lo-Fi cameras that other reviewers wouldn’t touch with a barge-pole. But even for me there are some pretty inexcusable garbage that tries to pass themselves off as being a camera. Here’s my top 10 plus some views of others in what cameras you really want to avoid.
We have some surprises as we go from Halina to Leica in this list. But do you agree and what would you add ?
You’ve got to give Voigtländer the credit for some very gorgeous cameras. But then again as the longest serving camera make in the world that’s not a surprise. But how does this mid 70’s simple 110 camera that I got for a quid match up to the expectations ?
As the Poundland Challenge 2019 has proved again you can actually buy a lot for a quid. So why don’t we take 2 AF compacts for a walk that cost around a quid and see what you get for your buck.
“The nice thing about the Halina 35x is you’re not likely to get mugged for it and if you do you can use it as a deadly weapon.” The poor Hong Kong made 35x is the butt of many a joke and scorn in the camera world.
But this 1959 “Empire Made” viewfinder did sell rather well and has cult following amongst some. So is it really all that bad?