Germany 1933 – Subminiature – 16 mm – Rare. The Minifex was a groundbreaking subminiature camera introduced in 1932 by the German company Fotofex, founded by Fritz Kaftanski. At the time, it was considered the smallest camera in the world, using 16mm non-perforated film to capture 36 exposures in a 13x18mm format. Weighing only 185 … Read more53 Fotofex
Mini-fex
Smallest of its time
USSR 1984 – Compact – 35 mm – Common. The Kiev rangefinders were produced for over 51 years by the Arsenal factory in Kiev (Ukraine, USSR) and carry an incredible history. At the end of World War II, the victorious Red Army captured and “relocated” the still-standing Dresden Zeiss factories to Ukraine to start a … Read moreKiev Arsenal
Kiev 4 A
Germany 1954 – Compact – 35 mm – Rare. The camera industry of the 20th century articulates itself around a certain number of super iconic cameras, many of them produced by Leica. The Leica M3, is definitely a major cornerstone in that regards. Introduced in 1954, the Leica M3 sets a new standard for rangefinders … Read more52 Leica
leica M3
Super iconic
Japan 1952 – Compact – 35 mm – Rare. The Minolta-35 was launched in the spring of 1947. At the time, Minolta had to recover from the war with only three factories left. Photographic film was rare, reserved primarily for medical radiography. The 120 format being prohibited by the authorities, camera manufacturers turned to the … Read more51 Minolta
Minolta 35 F
Italy 1950 – Compact – 35 mm – Rare. Ducati was founded in Bologna (Italy) in 1926 by the three brothers Adriano, Bruno and Marcello Ducati. Even though today the company is principally known for its (exceptional) motorcycles, Ducati started its activity with the production of electrical condensers. Later, they diversified in the fields of … Read more50 Ducati
Simplex
Before the motorcycles
United States 1895 – Box Camera – Custom film – Rare. The Kombi camera was produced at the end of the 1800s by Alfred C. Kemper from Chicago. It was meant to be mass produced and an advertisement of the times mentions that more than 50 000 were produced in a single year. The … Read more49 Kemper
The Kombi
Early mass production
Italy 1952 – Compact – 127 film – Rare. Some designs are just Italian. Period. And sometimes design makes everything. Bencini, established in Milan in the late 1930’s was one of the flag bearers of the Italian camera market in the middle of last century. Most of the Bencini cameras were variations of a traditional … Read more48 Bencini
Comet III
Japan 1950 – Reflex TLR – Bolta film – Rare. The Tanzer was produced in the early 50s in Japan by the Nomura optical company. Not much is known about the Nomura company, which apparently only produced this camera in two versions (with and without flash synchronisation) and did not leave a notable mark. The … Read more47 Nomura
Tanzer “smile”
Japan 1978 – Subminiature – 110 film – Infrequent. Launched in 1978, the Pentax Auto 110 was a very exciting camera, causing quite a stir among photography fans. It was indeed a (super cute) miniature version of a 35 mm interchangeable lens reflex. Pentax engineers were the first to release a 110 reflex, equipping it with … Read more46 Pentax
Auto 110
Japan 1948 – Lighter – Lighter fluid – Rare. The K.K.W. Camera Lighter is very well known to camera collectors as it is often the first non-camera item to join their collection. The K.K.W. Lighter is a beautiful example of Japanese craftsmanship. It was first manufactured in 1948 in Occupied Japan as a wick lighter … Read moreK.K.W.
Camera Lighter
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