I’m not accustomed to legendary elite high end compacts. But sometimes the precursor to them fall my way such as this early Yashica T* series. Whilst it still has a cache it’s a fraction of the cost of the later models. This means it can be bought for the price of a couple of non discounted domino’s Pizzas
But was it a slice of heaven or destined to leave a bad taste in my mouth.
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.
When Cosina launched the the CX-1 & CX-2, little did they know they would become more famous as the cameras that inspired the Lomo LC-A. But that spark was not limited to the (in)famous Russian copy. Several other makes produced similar designs and here’s Hanimex’s take.
We’ve trod this ground before with the Halina 35 Micro (aka the Hong Kong Lomo) which was disappointing due to lack of focus, exposure control and any over-riding of an overly sensitive auto flash. The Hanimex instantly won me over as it resolves all 3of those. But is it any good and is it a lomo rival ?
One of my targets in my Poundland Challenge of getting cameras for a quid or less was to get a SLR body. I knew this was still likely and I’d come close with a Mamiya camera with a non interchangeable lens (some sneaked in at last minute with a £1.20 bid. I’d also passed on a Nikon F55 (already own) and a Praktica BM series body that went for 99p. Still I was bit surprised when the MZ-5 (ZX-5 in US), a 1996 Pentax prosumer AF SLR arrived for just 99p.
This was a chance finding on eBay earlier this year and on paper what’s not to like. Also known as the RZ-3000, the Shotmaster 130Z, or the Q-130Z, this is a Ricoh compact but in zoom format. it’s as cheap as chips and feature laden including Passive AF. But did it live up to the promise of being a bargain for those of us who can’t afford a GR1 ? Sadly on the 2 rolls I shot, it’s a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde number. And that’s not just down to the optics.
In both film and digital land there’s some bargains to be had in the second hand market. This blog like many has focused on the bargains to be had in the analogue world but few discuss older digital cameras in the same way (a notable exception being our sometimes guest writer Dan James over at his 35hunter blog). But can you make a real comparison ?
I’ll honestly avoid being too political about Brexit here. But as I type this the UK is still in the process of negotiating its departure from the European Union . Whether this leads to a prosperous future, disaster or somewhere in between remains to be seen. But is this oddly apt camera from Konica, a Negotiation Disaster or Brexit busting Deal. Continue reading Mini Brexit ? – Konica EU-mini Review→
The Olympus Trip 35 is one of the most revered compacts ever made. Sadly Olympus had a bad habit of producing some decidedly basic & sometime awful cameras trading on its name. However not all are that bad But has this plastic trip the potential to be Olympus’s Lomo ? Continue reading The Olympus Lomo ? – The Olympus Trip 500 Review→
Shooting Film on the cheap on the Border in Credit Crunch Britain