Germany 1935 – Compact – 34 mm – Very Rare. Produced from 1932, Zeiss Ikon’s Contax was designed to be the brand’s challenger to Leitz Leica. Aware of the Leica’s growing success, Zeiss Ikon decided to produce a competitor designed to be superior in every way using the same perforated 35 mm film. The name … Read moreZeiss Ikon
Contax “Chrome Face” – 82/99
Few 100s produced
Germany 1940 – Compact – 35 mm – Very rare. The Praktiflex, launched by Kamera-Werkstatten (a.k.a. KW), made its debut at the 1939 Leipzig Fair and would generate excitement almost immediately. Demand for the new Praktiflex was so great, that the company had to quickly relocate into a former candy factory in Niedersedlitz in the … Read moreKamera Werkstatten
Praktiflex – 80/99
Italy 1954 – Compact – 35 mm – Rare. The Rectaflex is a 35mm SLR camera developed in Italy by the eponymous company. It was presented for the first time at the Milan fair in april 1948. It was the world’s first SLR equipped with a solid Pentaprism that allowed a vertically corrected view. The … Read moreRectaflex
Rectaflex – 79/99
Germany 1960 – Compact – 35 mm – Rare. The Contarex is an incredible machine. Commercialized in 1960 by Zeiss Ikon, it is probably one of the most identifiable cameras ever. It is popularly known as the Bullseye (or the Cyclops) for its oversized light captor above the objective. Some consider the design to be … Read moreZeiss Ikon
Contarex “Bullseye” – 78/99
Legendary design
Japan 1958 – Compact – 35 mm – Very rare. The Honor S1 (or Honor 35) is a Japanese Leica III copy, made from 1956 to 1959 by Zuiho Kōgaku. It seems that it was first developed by Daiichi Kōgaku as the Ichicon-35 though no original document has yet been found to confirm this. The … Read moreZuiho
Honor S1 – 77/99
United States 1975 – Instant – SX-70 – Infrequent. If there is one device that marks the entry of Polaroid in everybody’s life, it is the SX-70. Launched in 1975 it was a revolution both inside Polaroid and for the entire photographic industry. Polaroid research and development budgets for this project were enormous. The production … Read morePolaroid
SX 70 – 76/99
The instant revolution
United States 1950 – Reflex TLR – 35 mm – Rare. The Model C, produced by Bolsey starting 1950, is one of the quirkiest and most eccentric cameras ever made. It’s a very compact, “Atomic Age” styled Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) camera was designed by Yakob Bogopolsky, also famous for having later founded Bolex (the cinema … Read moreBolsey
Model C – 75/99
Italy 1954 – Compact – 35 mm – Very rare. Starting in 1949, Domenico Chinaglia of Belluno in north-west Italy started producing the Kristall Cameras, Italian copies of the Leica II. Chinaglia was an incredible character and produced cameras in various locations. He collaborated with several other entrepreneurs of the times ultimately giving birth to … Read moreDomenico Chinaglia
Kristall R – 74/99
USSR 1958 – Compact – 35 mm – infrequent. The Gomz Leningrad is a 35mm Soviet rangefinder camera produced between 1956-68. It was designed for reportage, sports and technical photography and allowed burst shooting using a spring mechanism. It takes about 20 pictures after one full actuation of the spring and can achieve up to … Read moreGomz
Leningrad 2A – 73/99
Germany 1934 – Folding – 120 film – Very Rare. The Perfekta TLR (twin lens reflex) was produced by Welta in Germany from 1934 to 1940. It was the successor of the Superfekta and remains one of the most fascinating cameras ever built. Welta wanted to create a 6×6 TLR camera that would fold and … Read moreWelta
Perfekta – 72/99
Foldable camera
You must be logged in to post a comment.