Edmonton Photographic Historical Society

The Polaroid J33 was the camera that replaced the earlier “80” series of twin-roll cameras in 1961. These electric-eye cameras were made until 1963. They used ASA 3000 Black and White film that made 5.4 x 7.3 cm (2⅛   by 2⅞ inch) prints. The prints had to be coated with a clear solution after they were peeled out of the camera. We will return to the film—particularly in respect to the advantages when using flash—soon.      For now we should comment on the surprising drum shaped rotary shutter this camera used. This “shutter” provided speeds from 15th to 1000 sec. Unlike almost every other camera, the J33 hasn’t taken the photograph when you hear the shutter “click”. The click is the release of the drum and sometime after that the exposure is made. This is stressed in the printed instructions—so must have been a quite a problem training new owners how to operate the camera.      The camera’s lens is simple and operates at a fairly small aperture as a m...

     I was searching through a thrift store for anything photographic. It has been harder and harder to find anything and I had almost given up. Then I spotted a bag that looked a lot like something that could hold a tripod. It turned out to be a Velbon Sherpa 435 . At first glance it had a very wobbly head assembly as well as a broken handle. The two-part handle had very sticky plastic handles. Of course the quick release plate was missing, but we will leave that for a moment.         On the plus side the multiple levels—one two way, one straight—were still fluid filled. The black finish was stunning. All the leg locks worked. While in the store—before purchase—I managed to unscrew the furthest out handle and screw it into the head tilt assembly. This turns out to be the problem. With both handles installed the tripod will not fit in the bag. So clever Velbon had designed the existing tilt-handle with a socket to store the other handle!  ...

This Minolta 110 Zoom SLR came to me with a bunch of other cameras. Apparently I took images of it and made a folder to contain the images and a story, and then somehow I failed to ever write the story. I didn’t discover how senile I had become until just recently. So now I am going to write a story to fit the images.      Kodak introduced 110 film cartridges in 1972.       The Minolta 110 Zoom was the first of two 110 Zoom Single-Lens-Reflex cameras Minolta made. It was the first SLR 110 camera in 1976, replaced by the Mark 2 version—that looked a lot more like a miniature 35mm SLR—in 1979. At the time the first version’s unusual wide flat design was judged slightly odd (although to be fair almost all the 110 cameras until the Pentax Auto 110 three years later were wide), so sales weren’t overwhelming. Despite that they are far from uncommon.      The 25-50mm f/4.5 zoom lens went from normal to 2X telephoto. It had 10 elements in 10 g...

     This is a " Tele Conversion Lens  1.5X ", originally developed for the legions of video camera people who just needed a little more zoom reach.  It is a lens that screws into 58 mm threads.       It came with two adapter rings.  One is 52 mm to 58 mm and the other is 49 mm to  58 mm.      It so happens the Canon zoom lens for Rebel cameras has a 58 mm front thread.      Thinking the original lens extenders—that fit between the lens and the camera— came in 1.4x, 2x and 3x strengths, it seemed worth trying the 1.5 accessory lens screwed onto the Canon 18-55 mm lens on a Canon Rebel T5.       You get the advantage the conversion 1.5x has no light loss, when all the lens extenders cost 1 to 3 stops. The extender light loss gives you both a dimmer view and less light getting to the sensor.        Keep in mind the entire 18-55 mm zoom weighs 193 g, while the 1.5x l...

As a collector of all things photographic you sometimes find objects coming your way from being focused all the time on collecting. On an unrelated point, I walk everyday to try to keep diabetes and old age at bay. If you connect the two points, you end up with this story.      I have a tripod I collected that is missing all its leg tips. I have been half-heartedly looking at leg tips anytime I have been in a hardware store. I haven’t had much luck, as the tripod bottom leg sections are 13 mm (¼ inch) in diameter. They don’t make to many chair or table leg tips that small.      I treat every walk as a possible opportunity to find things. Items I have found vary all over the map. I have collected bolts, nuts, wheel studs, mud flaps and exhaust pipe tips to the point I worry about car and trucks being on the verge of falling apart. I have collected pencils near the high school, pop cans by the side of the road, and multiple baseballs out by the three baseball...