Bobby Horton

Thanks, Orsetto. Looking back on the blog, I realize that I never fully completed my write up on the Vivitar 35ES. I think my additional comments were going to be that I wasn't as impressed with it as I thought I would be but it was still a capable rangefinder. Yeah, the Ricoh 500G is one that I'll be returning to sooner than later. Super easy to use and superb results without a lot of hassle. I think I got the GAF for super cheap too because it was just the body. So I think it was probably $20-something shipped. Seems to work pretty good. Oh, another camera I picked up and will be using soon is the Braun Super Paxette.

Thank you, Rick. I will definitely keep contributing here. Especially when I dive into using my "new" cameras.

Hello--I enjoy this site a lot and have been able to contribute a little bit here and there. For the past 18 months, I worked on a blog project that I dubbed 18 Cameras/18 Months. You can view it here if you're interested: https://18cameras18months.blogspot.com/ My intent was to work with a single camera each month and post the results. Some months were harder than others. And I realize that a lot of my entries are light on specs but I figure they're available elsewhere on the internet and just wanted to give my overview of each camera. Hopefully, if someone is researching a particular camera, they might find my blog and examples of pictures taken with the camera they're interested in. Now that I've "completed" the blog, I have several favorites that I'm looking forward to revisiting. And--as you can probably guess--I have a few more cameras that I've added to my collection that I'm looking forward to working with. I picked up a Fujica Compact Deluxe, an Olympus 35 SP, a Mamiya Super Deluxe 1.5 (with a gummy shutter I still need to sort out), and a Canon Dial 35. I'll admit that I tested out a couple of these cameras on the sly but now I can do it out in the open. I hope some of you find this useful.

Then they must have sorted it out finally! When they replaced mine, they wouldn't swap it for the same film because they said they were still trying to figure out the source of the problem. As a side note, I'm currently finishing up my last roll of the bad stuff. We'll see how it turns out.

I had this problem a year ago and Kodak sent me another case of film. I wouldn't say they replaced it because they gave me a different film. Apparently, they were still trying to sort out the issue. You can see the Kodak 7 (upside down) on the bus windshield. And I've had the same luck with the TSA. They never ask about the ISO. I nicely ask if they can hand check my film canister and they've never missed a beat.

I took this picture with a very simple camera--the Agfa Isoflash Rapid C. The film is Kodak Tri-X from a bulk roll that expired in the late 70's. Monobath development that probably wasn't the correct temperature but I like the way this one turned out.

Taken with the Chinon 35 EE-II. I had to rehab the camera and solder the corroded battery cables. And--surprisingly--it worked after that!

I understand your dilemma. There are times when I research cameras on the computer all day long and cannot make up my mind. You will find a positive and negative comment on every single camera ever made! Sometimes I just have to step away from the computer and take a leap of faith based on instinct. (I recently ran into this same issue when trying to do a self-repair of a chip in my windshield. I finally decided that I read too much and just went to the auto parts store and settled on one that I thought I could figure out. In the end, this was the best decision.) So you should just pick one--any one--and START there. If you're like most of us, you will find yourself wanting to buy another camera within a couple of months. It happens. The good news is that you can get a few cameras and still be under your proposed budget. But I would start with just one and see if it scratches the itch.

I have a thing for compact rangefinders. And I can tell you that each one has a certain charm. When you say pocket size--are you talking about pants pocket size or coat pocket? Because the only compact rangefinder I own that truly fits in my pants pocket is the Olympus XA. But it is not shutter priority. It's one of my favorite camers and only cost me $4 (with the flash). But I know that's not the norm. Other compact rangefinders I own include the Ricoh 500G, the Vivitar 35ES, the Chinon 35 EE-II, and the Yashica 35CC. They're all good cameras but there are two that really standout to me--the Ricoh 500G and the Olympus XA. And, out of those two, the Ricoh 500G is more affordable and very capable of capturing sharp pics. I've been working on a blog where I use 18 cameras in 18 months and I've mentally been keeping notes on which cameras I can't wait to use again when I have the freedom of using any camera and any time. The Ricoh is up near the top of the list because it's compact and really delivers. I paid $20 for my example of this camera and all I had to do was change out the light seals because they're notorious for turning into a pile of goo after sitting around for years. Here's a sample pic from the Ricoh 500G. The film used was expired bulk Kodak Tri-X from the late 1970's. Processed in R5 Monobath Developer and scanned on an Epson V550. Good luck with your search!

Downtown Beaumont, TX. Taken with a Vivitar 35ES. The film is from an expired bulk roll of Kodak Tri-X dated 1978. Processed with R5 Monobath developer and scanned using the Epson V550.

Ha! Thank you--when I was typing my response I kept thinking "it looks exactly as it looked before my eyes on that day".

Bradley--thank you! I used a fresh roll of Kodak Ektar 100 for that shot. I don't do any tweaking to my photos. So I developed it using the Unicolor C41 developing kit chemicals and then scanned it with an Epson V550 scanner.

Taken with my Zeiss Ikon Ikoflex 1b.

I'm sure they are! But this is my Solinette--and it's not a folder.

Taken with my 1954 Agfa Solinette. It's the first manual camera I bought when I got back into analog photography.