The Agfa Flexilette is an uncommon 35mm twin lens reflex camera introduced by Agfa in 1960 and only produced for about a year. Since the vast majority of twin lens reflex cameras are medium format like the Rolleicord, the Flexiletteâalong with its successor: the Optima Reflexâjoins other oddballs like the Bolsey Model C as one of the only 35mm twin lens reflex cameras ever made.
The GOMZ-LOMO Voskhod is an unconventional 35mm viewfinder camera introduced in 1964 by GOMZ shortly before it reorganized and became the Leningrad Optical-Mechanical Union, better known as LOMO. The Russian term âVoskhodâ means âascentâ or âsunrise,â an appropriate moniker since most cameras produced in the Soviet Union at the time were inelegant, utilitarian, and designed for large-scale mass production. With a relatively small production run of just a little over 59,000 units, the Voskhod is far from the average Soviet camera.
The Toyoca 35-S (also sold as the Strato 35) is a 35mm viewfinder camera introduced by Toyohashi Y.K. Tougodo in 1957 under the brand name Toyoca, a contraction of âToyohashiâ (where the company was based) and the English word âCamera.â The name âTougodo,â on the other hand, was in honor of one of Japanâs most famous naval heroes, Admiral Togo Heihachiro who was born in the same city as one of the companyâs founders.
The Ansco Memo is an unusual 35mm half-frame box camera introduced in 1927 by Ansco. The âMemoâ name has been used by Ansco and Agfa Ansco on several different 35mm models (for example the Memo II Automatic) over the years which can sometimes lead to confusion. To combat this, collectors will usually differentiate these models by including the year of introduction to avoid confusion. This particular modelâwhich was the very first camera to bear the nameâcan also be referred to as the âAnsco Memo (1927 Type).â
The Kiev-19 is a 35mm SLR produced by the Arsenal Factory, one of the oldest and most famous industrial factories in the former Soviet Union as well as modern day Ukraine. After developing their own lens system and producing several SLR models like the Kiev-10 Automat, Arsenal decided to drop it in favor of the Nikon F-mount when they produced the Kiev-17, the direct predecessor of the 19.
The Spartus 35 is the direct successor to the original Spartus 35F. After Herold bought out Spartus in 1951, it decided to update the 35 (which was modeled after the Argus A), creating the design you see above which was probably based loosely on the Kodak Pony.
The Yashica Rapide (also sold as the âRapidâ) is a vertically oriented 35mm half-frame camera introduced by Yashica in 1961. The launch of the unusually styled Rapide completed Yashicaâs entrance into all segments of that eraâs consumer camera market with the exception of medium format SLRs. The only other camera that I know of that looks like the Rapide is the Taron Chic. However, since they were both introduced in 1961, itâs unclear as to who copied who or if there was indeed any intentional copying at all.
The Welta Penti is a stylish compact 35mm half-frame camera introduced by VEB Welta Kamera-Werke in the Dresden suburb of Freital, East Germany for use with Agfaâs Karat film cartridge. Sometimes referred to as the Penti 0, this particular camera is the first of several Penti models made by Welta andâafter Welta merged with other manufacturers like Zeiss Ikon and Altissa to form itâPentacon. Like the vast majority of camera manufacturers based in Dresden, Welta became a state-run company after World War II as Germany split apart.
The Ricoh Singlex TLS is an MMM (metal, mechanical, manual) single lens reflex camera introduced by Ricoh in 1967. In addition to selling this camera under the Ricoh name, it was also rebranded for sale in France as the Interflex 7L5 and in the United States as the Sears TLS and the K-Mart Focal TLX at their respective discount department stores.
The Ansco Karomat (also known as the Agfa Karat 36 and Agfa Karomat 36) is a 35mm rangefinder camera built by Agfa and introduced in 1951 by Ansco. Although based on Agfaâs original Karat which was designed to use the precursor to Agfaâs proprietary 35mm Rapid Film cartridge, the Karomat actually uses todayâs standard Kodak 35mm cassette.
The Yashica Auto Focus Motor (also known as the Yashica 5-Star Auto Focus Motor) is a compact viewfinder camera with autofocus introduced by Yashica in 1981. Yashica underwent many changes during the Auto Focus Motorâs three year production life including being bought out by Kyocera and the beginning of Yashicaâs departure from the consumer SLR market to focus on budget point and shoot cameras.
The LOMO Smena Symbol is a simple 35mm viewfinder camera introduced by LOMO in 1970. The Symbol belongs to the long-lived Smena (Russian for ârelayâ or âyoung generationâ) line of cameras that were manufactured by three different Soviet factories (MMZ, GOMZ, and lastly, LOMO) from 1939 until the mid 1990s, effectively outlasting the Soviet Union itself. Smenas like the Symbol, 8M, and the 2 are mostly made of plastic and were purposely designed to be inexpensive.
The Canon FT QL is a manual, mechanical single lens reflex camera introduced by Canon in 1966 and is also the first Canon camera to feature TTL (through the lens) metering. The FT QL belongs to the family of SLRs that were designed around Canonâs short-lived FL breech-lock lens mount which lasted from 1964 until the the FD Mount was introduced in 1970. The FT is very similar to its two older brothers: the FX and the FP with the only real difference being the FXâs lack of TTL metering and the FPâs complete lack of integrated light meter. Also included in this family is the unusual Canon Pellix, the first of only a handful of cameras in history to use a fixed translucent pellicle mirror until the concept was resurrected by Sony in 2010 with its Alpha SLT series. The âQLâ designation introduced by the Canon FT QL stands for âQuick Loadâ which denotes the inclusion of a spring-loaded hinge that assists in the loading of 35mm film. This quick loading system can also be found on other Canon models such as the Canonet QL17 G-III.
The Argus A is a simple viewfinder camera introduced by Argus in 1936 that played a significant role in popularizing the use of 35mm film in the United States. Although it was already gaining traction in the United States thanks to Kodak and their Retina series of cameras, it took the Argus Aâs relative affordability at $12.50 (about $220 in todayâs money) to truly bring 35mm film to the masses, sparking a dramatic change in the landscape of consumer photography in America as well as the rest of the world.
The Kodak Motormatic 35F is an automatic viewfinder camera introduced in 1962. The Automatic/Motormatic series cameras were the very first automatic exposure 35mm cameras to be made by Kodak and also the very last of their 35mm cameras to be produced in the United States. As their names might suggest, Motormatic cameras are motor-driven while the Automatic range have a manual film advance. Motormatics also have more shutter speeds.
The Rollei XF 35 was released in 1974 by Rollei-Werke Franke & Heidecke as the latest addition to the Rollei 35 series which, at the time, were the worldâs smallest full-frame 35mm cameras. Compact full-frame cameras like the Rollei 35 series and the Olympus XA pretty much single-handedly destroyed the half-frame 35mm market as they proved that a full-frame camera could be made just as small without compromising image quality.
The Univex Mercury CC is a half-frame viewfinder camera introduced by the Universal Camera Corporation of New York shortly before the beginning of World War II. Founded by individuals with no experience whatsoever in the photography business, Universal created cameras that were innovative but still simple enough to efficiently mass produce. Because they were only usable with proprietary film cartridges, Universal sold their cameras at very low prices, causing the brand to become synonymous in the United States with quirkiness and affordability.
The Ansco Memo II Automatic is a 35mm half-frame camera introduced in 1967 by Ansco. The Memo II Automatic and the Ansco Memo Automatic from 1963 are actually the same exact camera, just re-released to reflect the name change from Ansco to General Aniline & Film (GAF). In turn, both cameras are rebadged versions of the Ricoh Auto Half and were manufactured by Ricoh for sale by Ansco. The Memo Automatic from 1963 is not to be confused with the original Ansco Memo, a 35mm half-frame box camera from 1927.
The Canon Sure Shot WP-1 (also sold as the Sure Shot A-1 in North America, the Autoboy D5 in Japan, and the Prima AS-1 in Europe) is a fully automatic waterproof 35mm compact meant to compete with the likes of the Nikon L35 AWAF, Minolta Weathermatic, and Konica Mermaid. At the time of its release, the WP-1 was the lightest and smallest underwater camera in the world.
The Petri Racer is a fixed-lens rangefinder introduced by Petri Camera Company, Inc. (formerly known as Kuribayashi Shashin Kogyo K.K.) in 1966. Similar to other Petri cameras like the 2.8 Color Super, the Racer features the signature âGREEN-O-MATICâ viewfinder which visually sets it apart from other Japanese fixed-lens rangefinders.
The Bolsey Model C is a 35mm twin lens reflex camera based on the Bolsey Model B. While the Bolsey Corp. of America produced still cameras, its founder, Ukrainian-born Yakob Bogopolsky (who later changed his name to Jacques Bolsey) is also famous for having founded the cinema camera manufacturer Bolex while living in Switzerland. Once he moved to the United States at the beginning of World War II, Mr. Bolsey produced a series of conventional and aerial cameras for the federal government.
The Kiev-4A is one of several professional grade 35mm âKievâ rangefinders produced by the Arsenal Factory, one of the oldest and most famous industrial factories in the former Soviet Union and modern day Ukraine. After the defeat of Germany in World War II, most of the surviving equipment and schematics from the Zeiss factory were removed from Dresden and taken to the newly reestablished Arsenal Factory in Kiev. Although primarily a military factory, Arsenal also produced civilian products including copies of cameras made by other manufacturers such as Zeiss Ikon, Hasselblad, and Nikon.
The Nishika 3-D N8000 is a lenticular stereo camera produced by Nishika Optical Systems based in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson, Nevada. The N8000 is heavily based on the tongue twisted Nimstec Nimslo which was developed and produced in the 1980s by Nimstec until it went bankrupt and was bought out by Nishika. Nishika itself went belly up in the 1990s when it was investigated by the United States Federal Trade Commission for using a telemarketing scam to unload cameras on a gullible American public.
The FED-5B is an interchangeable lens rangefinder introduced in 1977 by FED, a state-run optical manufacturer named after Felix E. Dzerzhinsky, the founder of the Soviet secret police. The FED-5B and its siblings (including the FED-2) were all manufactured in what is now the Ukrainian city of Kharkov in an orphanage turned labor commune.
The Konica FC-1 is the motorless sibling to the FS-1, the very first 35mm SLR to feature a built-in motor drive. The FC-1 belongs to Konicaâs second attempt at an SLR system which was based around the AR lens mount and continued until the company ceased production of SLRs entirely in 1987.
