Think your mighty compact focuses seamless ?
Well think again ! Even high end models focus in a series of zones called focusing steps, Not that most manufacturers let you know. But in 1991, Olympus were only too keen to tell us with the μ[mju:] (aka mju-1 or Stylus) a camera that changed the face of the AF compact market. Continue reading Step Class – The compact AF camera’s hidden secret (or How the mju won the compact war)
Want a step up from a zoom compact but don’t want to commit to a SLR ? Well the Olympus IS-1000 might be for you. Costing hundreds at launch this 1990 bridge camera now can be bought for a tenner or less. But how does it compare to other compacts and modern cameras ?
If you read my 430EX review, you’ll know I’m reasonably impressed with Minolta’s take on point and shoot 110 cameras although there are some faults. Here’s its bigger twin lensed brother the 1979 460T. How did it fare ? Continue reading Double Trouble ? – Minolta Pocket Autopak 460T Review
The premise was simple – offload erm.. generously give away 3 identical cameras I’d manage to get from some joblots. That camera was the dust gathering charity shop plastic everything regular the Halina Panorama. We’ve already heard how Hamish of 35mmc fame and Lucy Wainwright whom is much more at home with the plastic fantastic got on. But our third camera went to Dan James from 35Hunter. Continue reading Three Takes on the Halina Panorama – (3) Dan brings it home and some conclusions
The premise was simple – send the same camera to 3 different shooters. Not being quite able to afford 3 Leica III, 3 bargain bucket cameras headed off. My Halina Panorama challenge got off to an interesting start for our first of 3 shooters Hamish Gill, a mix of the good but mainly the bad. I wasn’t too surprised he didn’t end up being a fan. But how would the Pano fare in the hands of someone more use to the light plastastic? Continue reading Three Takes on the Halina Panorama – (2) Lucy’s Trip
In the last year or 2, I’ve shot a lot of 110 cameras. They have tended though to fall into 3 camps – modern toy shooters with plastic lenses for the lomo crowd, simple 70’s cameras with that classic minox 110 shape or the bonkers high end SLR & rangefinders. The 430E & 430Ex sit in that middle group but with some high end features that raise them above the average. Continue reading One Hand in My Pocket – Minolta Pocket Autopak 430Ex review
Although Vivitar in terms of plastic cameras are best known for the legendary VUWS, they produced several at the turn of the century, some of which have also got a cult following like the PN2011 (commonly seen in Reader’s Digest PN919 guise). But does this live up to its more famous sibling ?
Continue reading Behind the Mask – Reader’s Digest PN919/Vivitar PN2011 Review
Given my recent trouble with mju’s you might have thought I’d stay clear of Olympus compacts for a bit but then this budget number landed in a job lot and you know it’s not that bad. Continue reading We’re not in Kansas – Olympus OZ-10 Review
The Konica Pop was a 35mm camera made from 1982 to 1984 in this form, with changes coming in 1985 and 1988 to optics and flash. It was well selling, it’s compactness and color variations helped it stand out in that era when most manufacturers had smaller automatic 35mm’s in their lineup. Continue reading Konica Pop Review – Guest Review by Al Mullen
This simple fixed focus flash number was actually made by Haking and is based on the Halina Flash 350. But is this rebrand a contender in the toy cam class or just reheated left overs ? I took one for a stroll at dawn one morning to find out. Continue reading Rehash Trash or Class ? – Hanimex 35SE Review
