Welcome to my little, but growing camera collection. I have been slowing gathering cameras since 2003, buying, selling, and trading them whenever I see a good deal. I inadvertently started to collect vintage cameras because I wanted a low-cost way to try different types and form factors beyond the 35mm SLR. The first vintage camera I purchased was a Canonet QL17 GIII, which I bought because I wanted to try a rangefinder. This was followed by a Ciroflex TLR since I wanted to give medium format a shot. Once I bought these two vintage cameras, it just made sense to keep buying more, so here I am today with several bookcases full of cameras. I collect them because I enjoy both using vintage cameras and learning about the history of the photo industry. I collect TLRs, SLRs, rangefinders, box cameras and more, with no particular focus. My main criteria is that the cameras are in working condition and use film that is still available, which means primarily 35mm and 120 (and respooled 620) . I haven't tried large-format cameras yet but would like to in the future, and perhaps even dabble in plate cameras someday. At the moment Rolleis, Leicas and the such are out of my price range, so most of my cameras are towards the lower end of the price scale.

The oldest working camera I have is a Vest Pocket Kodak which was produced from 1915-1926. I used to have a few older cameras but they were not in good working condition or used discontinued film so I passed most of them on. I have cameras from every decade of the 20th century.

A few of my books, including the 1200+ page McKeown's Price Guide to classic and antique cameras (which I refer to as my "shopping list"). Most basic information on the cameras on this site comes from McKeown's, the manuals or just by examining them for maker's marks or patent dates. If I pull information from other sources I try to cite them in the profiles.

I've tried most of the common films over the years such as Kodak Tri-X or Ilford HP5+, but have settled on a few as my "go-to" choices. I mainly use Fuji Neopan Acros and Neopan 400 for black and white. When Freestylephoto was selling rebranded Neopan under the Legacy-Pro label I stocked up my freezer and have been working my way though the stash for a few years. With the death of Neopan 400 in 120 size I've moved on to TMax 400 for my high speed medium format film.

Edit: Neopan 400 is now dead in 35mm. I still have about a year's worth in the freezer, but will have to move on. I will miss it.

For my 127 format cameras I use Rollie Retro 80s since it is one of the few films available in that size.

For color I primarily use Kodak Porta and Ektar in both 35mm and 120 size.

I develop black and white film at home and while I usually use a lab for color, I have tried home C-41 developing as well.

I use Ilford DD-X for fast film and Rodinal for slower films. Both developers have a very long shelf-life even in half-empty containers and are great performers. I've tried quite a few other developers as well, but these are the two I've settled on for my purposes.

I use Legacy-pro eco-pro fixer, it's low odor and seems to last longer than other fixers I've tried.

I finish up with Edwal LFN wetting agent.

Drying 120 film from Tower Reflex III

Part of the fun of using old cameras is the uncertainty of whether or not I'm going to get decent results when I pull the developed film out of the tank. This time it came out, other times it doesn't. If it's a problem with the camera I can sometimes fix it, other times I'm out of luck.

I used to have a full darkroom setup, but now I just develop and scan the film. Most of the pictures on this website were scanned using an Epson V500, which does a great job with medium format film and decent work with 35mm.

After scanning I process the images in Adobe Lightroom. When I first started posting images to this site, I initially tried to post unedited "straight scans", the theory being that this would best showcase the abilities of the particular camera and lens without using digital manipulation. Then I realized that if I was still printing in a traditional darkroom, I would manipulate contrast, dodge and burn, crop or manipulate the image to get the best results anyway. So now I do digitally edit the images, although I do leave certain aspects such as lens distortion as shot.

While I was happy with the Epson's scan quality of 35mm film, I saw this 2002 Minolta Scan Dual III on Craigslist for $25 and snapped it up. The 35mm scans from the Minolta are much sharper than the scans the Epson could produce. Since the original decade old software doesn't run on modern operating systems, I use Vuescan which produces excellent results.

Thanks for visiting!

I don't mind answering visitor's questions about particular cameras, just send me an email and I'll try to help. I do receive emails from visitors wishing to sell their cameras, however I usually prefer to purchase cameras in person so I can evaluate their condition.

I also have an interest in developing old, mystery film. If anyone would like for me to attempt to recover images from old rolls of film, shoot me an email.