Japan 1956 – Reflex TLR – 127 film – Infrequent. While not incredibly rare, the Ricohmatic 44 serves as a captivating example of an ambitious yet largely unsuccessful attempt to enhance the user’s photographic experience. Ricoh’s engineers dedicated their efforts to crafting an appealing design, highlighted by a stylish semi-transparent flip cover (though it unfortunately … Read moreRicoh
Ricohmatic 44
Germany 1950 – Compact – 35 mm – Infrequent. The Akarette is a 35mm viewfinder camera with interchangeable lenses, made by Apparate & Kamerabau (AkA, after 1957 akw ) in Germany. The Akarette was first developed just after WWII by brothers Eugene and Max Armbruster and featured an interchangeable lens mount as well as a … Read moreAka
Akarette 2
Japan 1972 – Compact – 35 mm – Infrequent. The Olympus OM-1 was presented in 1972 and was then called the Olympus M-1. Since Leica’s flagship rangefinder cameras are known as the M Series, Leica complained about the name of the M-1, forcing Olympus to rename it OM. Nikon had made the 35 mm … Read moreOlympus
OM 1
Italy 1947 – Compact – 35 mm – Rare. Ferrania, was formerly known as SIPE and had been manufacturing dynamite since 1882. In 1917 they started producing celluloid and in 1947 the first european color film. In 1947, they signed an agreement with the renowned optics manufacturer, Officine Galileo, to produce the Condor, their first … Read moreFerrania
Condor 1
Japan 1952 – Compact – 35 mm – Rare. The Tanack are Japanese Leica copies, made from late 1952 by Tanaka Kōgaku The Tanack IV-S, whose design is very close to that of the Leica III, is the most popular of the series which had started with the Tanack 35. The main difference to the … Read moreTanaka
Tanack IV-S – 95/99
Germany 1952 – Compact – 35 mm – Rare. The Edixa Reflex was produced by Wirgin in 1952 and was West Germany’s most popular series of SLR’s with focal plane shutter. The Edixa Reflex was the early brainchild of a then unknown technical mechanic named Heinz Waaske that later created one of the most successful … Read moreWirgin
Edixa Reflex – 91/99
Germany 1957 – Compact – 35 mm – Very rare. The Leica III G (often said to stand for “Gorgeous”) was introduced by Leica in 1956. It was the last of the screw mount Leicas as designed by Oscar Barnack. Barnack did not actually design the III G as he passed away in 1935 after … Read moreLeica
Leica IIIG – 83/99
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
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
Germany 1958 – Compact – 35 mm – Rare. In 1958 Leica introduced the M2 as a budget alternative to the M3. To reduce the price range, some features of the M3 were removed but none that would impact the ability to make quality photographs or to make the experience feel cheap. Typically the self-timer was … Read moreLeica
Leica M2
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