Sadly last week my Boots Pacemaker 35 died. This basic camera is actually a re branded Franka 125 made by the long gone West Germany company in the 1960’s. But was it retro fun or rightly dated ?
Continue reading A fond farewell ? : Boots Pacemaker 35 / Franka 125 Review
This absolute corker from Japan IMHO is one of the best point and shooter ever to be based on a rangefinder. Its crisp, accurate lens and exposure deliver like no other rangefinder based P&S.
This little plastic corker was one of the best selling classic soviet Cameras of all time. But why does a plasticky unmetered camera with 1950’s mechanics still deserve a loyal following. The answer is its simplicity and its killer lens. Continue reading Smena 8m Review : Good clean plastic Fun
The Yashica ME1 is often overlooked due to Yashica’s heritage of classic rangefinders but this little plastic P&S is suprisingly enjoyable abet with some quirks. Continue reading Yashica ME1 Review : The Boys from Brazil (and Japan)
This 50’s rarity is arguable one of the first metered 35mm point and shooters (P&S) on the market and whilst basic and bulky had much in the ways of the compact P&S like the Olympus Trip 35 that followed it a decade plus later. And you know something, it still works and takes pretty good shots. Continue reading The Fujica 35 Automagic Review : Futuristic 50’s Automagic
The Halina 35-600 is one of Haking’s most stylish compact camera from the 70’s. But is this zone focus, auto-exposure Olympus Trip 35 clone any good ?
The Lomo LC-A is usually a bit of a marmite* camera. But stick in some B&W and it becomes a different beast and actually does pretty well.
Continue reading Film Noir with the LC-A : How the Lomo learned to love B&W
This 120 roll film camera is a bit of an oddity for Haking a company with a TLR (Halina A1) and a smattering of pseudo TLRs (e.g. the Halina Viceroy. But it perhaps serves as model for how Haking cameras were to become in the 35mm age and the styling is more like a 35mm than 120 film camera of the era.
And for a basic 120 film P&S, it is pretty good. Continue reading Halina 6-4 Review: Point and shoot 120 class with Pilkington Glass
The Halina 1000 is wee bit of an oddity. Launched in the 70’s it was the little sis of the Halina 2000 & Halina 3000. Unlike those scale focus, multiple settings cameras, the Halina 1000 was pretty much all plastic fixed focus fun with minimal settings. Pretty basic by the standards of the day but now presents sharper alternative to the Diana Mini in the Toy Camera class. Continue reading Halina 1000 Review – 70’s plastic fun to take on the Diana Mini
This gorgeously bonkers 35mm compact hails from 1980’s Soviet union but looks like a mix of 60’s & 70’s with its bling gold styling and Olympus Trip-esque selenium meter array. A relative rarity in the west it does make for quite an interesting & useful choice for a point and shooter. Continue reading FED 50 Review: The shape of things that might have been
