Catalog of Classic Cameras

Page updated
23-May-2010

Catalog of Classic Cameras New! WidePhotoViewer for iPhone/iPod/iPad

I need some old Popular Photography magazines... please scroll down for the list.

My site is limited to cameras I actually have, so it's not an encyclopedia. It's a virtual museum for most people, but a real one for me.

What distinguishes my site from others on the internet is that I've included lots of contemporaneous ads and reviews. Most of that comes from my gowing collection of old photography magazines and catalogs.

I try always to get the first model of a series. The first Contarex, the first Retina Reflex, the first Polaroid, the Asahi Pentax Original, and so on. All but a half-dozen or so were bought on eBay in 2009.

All of the pages have at least high-resolution photos and text, too, if I've gotten around to writing it. I'm adding to this site (and buying more cameras!) all the time, so check back often. To track changes automatically, subscribe to the RSS feed from my blog.

Shown below are thumbnail pictures of my collection so far (click a picture to go to the camera's page). A B next to a picture means there's a scan of a brochure; an R means there's a review or article from an old magazine. There will be more brochures and reviews over time as I go though more magazines. (I've bought a couple of hundred on eBay over the last few months.)

Ansco No. 4 Model C - 1905

Early folding pocket camera

Kodak Vest Pocket Model B - 1925

First camera to summit Mt. Everest?

Argus A - 1936

First affordable, popular 35mm camera in US; Established 35mm as a serious US amateur's format

Ihagee Kiné Exakta - 1936

First 35mm SLR

Kodak Retina - 1937

First camera to take 35mm film cassettes

Argus C3 - 1939

Most popular Argus; ugliest camera ever

Kodak 35 RF - 1940

First 35mm Kodak made in US

Leica IIIc - 1946

Leica thread-mount rangefinder

Kodak Medalist II - 1946

Huge, heavy, serious 620 camera

Konica (I) - 1948

Konica's first 35mm camera

Polaroid Model 95 - 1948

First instant-picture camera

Zeiss Ikon Contax S - 1949

First SLR with pentaprism; First with 42mm screw mount

Nikon S - 1950

First Nikon camera imported into US

Zeiss Ikon Contax IIa - 1950

Post-war Zeiss Ikon (West) rangefinder

Canon III - 1951

Canon Leica-copy rangefinder

Ihagee Exa - 1951

First low-priced sibling SLR

Ihagee Exakta Varex VX - 1951

Early Exakta with removable pentaprism finder

Praktica FX - 1952

Early Praktica SLR

Zeiss Ikon Contaflex - 1953

First SLR from Zeiss Ikon (West); First leaf-shutter 35mm SLR

Ansco Anscoflex - 1954

Twins-lens-reflex box camera designed by Raymond Loewy

Asahi Asahiflex IIb/Tower 23 - 1954

First widely-available SLR with instant-return mirror

Leica M3 - 1954

First Leica with M mount and combined view/rangefinder

Asahi Pentax Original - 1957

First modern SLR; First Japanese SLR with pentaprism and instant-return mirror

Kodak Retina Reflex - 1957

Kodak's first SLR

Zeiss Ikon Contarex - 1958

B
R

First Zeiss Ikon (West) focal-plane-shutter SLR; First focal-plane-shutter SLR with coupled exposure meter

Canon Canonflex - 1959

Canon's first SLR

Nikon F - 1959

B
R

First perfected mechanical 35mm SLR; Many other firsts, too

Olympus Pen - 1959

First Japanese half-frame camera; Made half-frame popular

Praktica IV - 1959

Praktica with integral pentaprism and rapid winder

Minolta SR-1 - 1961

Minolta's ~~first~~ second SLR; One of first perfected mnimalist SLRs

Minolta SR-7 - 1962

First SLR with built-in CdS meter

Miranda DR - 1962

Early Miranda SLR

Nikon Nikkorex 35-2 - 1962

Early consumer Nikon SLR

Nikon Nikkorex F - 1962

First camera to use Copal Square shutter; First consumer F-mount Nikon

Taron Marquis - 1962

First camera with built-in CdS meter; First to couple power switch to film advance lever

Canon Dial 35 - 1963

Half-frame camera with auto-winder

Kodak Instamatic 100 - 1963

First Instamatic camera

Konica FP - 1963

My first SLR

Nikon Nikkorex Zoom 35 - 1963

First 35mm SLR with fixed zoom

Olympus Pen F - 1963

First half-frame SLR

Topcon RE Super - 1963

First SLR with TTL metering

Leicaflex - 1964

B
R

First Leica SLR

Asahi Pentax Spotmatic - 1964

First Pentax with through-the-lens metering

Topcon Auto 100 - 1964

First SLR with automatic through-the-lens metering

Konica Auto-Reflex - 1965

First focal-plane-shutter SLR with automatic exposure; First SLR with full/half-frame switch

Nikon Nikkormat FT - 1965

Nikon SLR for the masses

Canon FT QL - 1966

Early Canon TTL SLR

Canon Pellix QL - 1966

First SLR with semi-transparent fixed mirror

Rollei 35 - 1966

Smallest mechanical full-frame 35mm

Kodak Instamatic Reflex - 1968

Kodak Instamatic SLR

Pentacon Praktica LLC - 1969

First camera with electronic aperture communication

Traid Fotron III - 196?

Fully-automated, push-button camera with built-in flash

Canon F-1 - 1971

First Canon system camera

Olympus FTL - 1971

Olympus's first SLR

Olympus OM-1 - 1972

First small full-frame 35mm SLR

Olympus OM-2 - 1975

B
R

First SLR with off-the-film metering

Canon AE-1 - 1976

First camera controlled with a microprocessor

Asahi Pentax ME - 1976

Smallest full-frame 35mm SLR; First auto-exposure-only SLR

Konica C35 AF - 1977

First autofocus camera

Polaroid SX-70 Sonar One Step - 1978

First autofocus SLR

Nikon EM - 1979

Nikon's smallest 35mm SLR

Olympus OM-10 - 1979

First consumer OM

Olympus XA2 - 1980

Ultra-compact Olympus clamshell camera

Asahi Pentax ME-F - 1981

First mass-produced autofocus 35mm SLR

Canon AL-1 - 1982

Canon's first focus-assist SLR

Minolta Maxxum 7000 - 1985

First 35mm SLR with in-body autofocus; First SLR with all-automatic film handling

Magazines Needed

Much of my material comes from old magazines, especially Popular Photography, which I read over-and-over during the 1960s. My own magazines are long gone, but I've been acquiring replacements on eBay, with great success. My collection is about 50% complete for the late 1930s and 1940s, nearly 100% for the 1950s, and pretty good for the 1960s, although not 100%. Here's what I need for the 1960s and 1970s (I don't care too much about 1980 and beyond):

1962: need June, Dec
(1963 is complete)
1964: need April, Sept, Oct
1965: need Jan
(1966 is complete)
1967: need April, May, Nov
(1968 is complete)
1969: need Dec
1970: need Jan - May, July, Nov - Dec
1971: need Jan - Sept, Nov - Dec
1972: need March, June, July - Oct
1973: need April, Aug - Dec
1974: need Feb - April, Dec
1975: need Jan, April, June, July, Dec
1976: need Feb - April, June - Dec
1977: need Jan - June, Sept, Nov, Dec
1978: need Jan - May, July - Aug, Nov
1979: need Jan, March, June - Dec

If you have magazines to donate (I'll pay postage) or to sell, please contact me (link at left).