Camerosity

For Episode 105, it finally happened!  As eluded to on a great number of previous episodes and on our official Facebook page and Discord server, the Camerosity Podcast finally dedicated an entire show to large format cameras!  And not just any large format cameras, as a special guest for this show, we welcomed John Minnicks, creator of the Aero-Liberator, a home built custom version of a Graflex SLR using aerial Kodak lenses!

Joining the gang and John for this episode were a huge number of other guests, several of which own or have shot their own Aero-Liberators.  In alphabetical order by first name, we were joined by some guy named Erie, João Gomes, Howard Sandler, Lloyd Greene, Mark Cornelison, Mark Widhalm, Mat Marrash (from FPP), Parker Pfister, Pat Casey, Ron Gee, and Will Pinkham.

In addition to hearing John Minnicks origin story, he shares many stories about people who he has sold cameras to and what has been done with them, including taking portraits of Barack Obama at his inauguration and at impeachment hearings in front of Congress.

Mat Marrash from the Film Photography Project joins us and gives us his insight into large format and how well it does from the retail perspective.  We were also graced with the presence of Parker Pfister who shares his tales of developing film using his own urine!  This is the first ever mention of "pee" in a Camerosity episode!

We eventually do get into a little bit of GAS, including some pickups by Mark Cornelison from the Chicago Camera show including the Camerosity favorites like the Voigtländer Perkeo and the KMZ Zorki 4.

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show.  We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

For our next episode, we are going "across the pond" to a European time zone friendly time which will allow for more of our European listeners to join us. We'll keep the topic wide open to encourage as many people as possible to join us.  If you are in Europe or other "European time zone friendly" areas of the world, we will record Episode 106 on Monday, March 16th at 2pm Central Daylight Time, 3pm Eastern Daylight Time, 7pm Greenwich Mean Time (London), 8pm Central European Time (Berlin), and 6am Tuesday the 17th Australian Eastern Daylight Time (Sydney).  For more time zones, please consult the World Time Buddy calculator and plug in your time.  Make sure you set your calendars and look out for the show announcement at the usual locations and be prepared to join us!

In This Episode

What is Large Format?

John Minnicks, Creator of the Aero-Liberator 4x5 SLR Cameras with Kodak Aero-Ektar Lenses

Going from a standard Graflex Super D to a custom camera with swings and tilts for a unique lens

Three Owners of Aero-Liberators Ron Gee, Mark Cornelison, and Parker Pfister

Common Problems with Aero-Ektars / Bringing People Together

Photographing Barack Obama with Only 4 Sheets of Film

David Burnett and his Aero-Liberator in front of Congress

Timtypes / Giving João Gomes some tips on adapting Leitz Hektor projector lenses and Tessar barrel lenses to his Graflex

Getting into 4x5 Press Cameras / Crown Graphic and Speed Graphic / Omega and Sinar Monorails

Wista, Tachihara, and Linhof Field Cameras

Lloyd Greene is shooting a Sinar monorail, Howard Sandler recommends the Graphic as a companion to a Crown Graphic, and how he shares his Fujinon lenses between them

Parker shoots 8x10 paper and develops it with help from pee

Paul Rybolt misses Cibachrome, Mat Marash from Film Photography Project recommends RA4 reversal

X-ray film and trying to prevent scratches

Monobath single-shot processing kit as an introduction to developing and a great way to test a camera

Sourcing large format films / How to shoot paper instead of negatives and tame the contrast / Light sources for enlargers

Erie is a large format nerd and commercial photographer

Many different methods for developing and scanning

Mark’s trials and tribulations with wet plate collodion

Exposure, Computers, and the Kodak Master Photoguide

Will Pinkham asks about large format lenses / Schneider, Rodenstock, Kodak, Wollensak, Ilex, Fujinon, Nikkor, even Turner Reich can suit what you’re shooting

How do you manage focus when shooting portraits on large format?

A bit of GAS: Kodak Retina Reflex III / Nikon Nikonos

Mark Widhalm got a Voigtländer Perkeo, which Anthony and Ron love / Howard got an Adox Golf

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, Stephen, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

Order Your Very Own Camerosity Podcast T-Shirt! - https://www.zazzle.com/z/tbykl0hg

John Minnicks - https://johnminnicks.com/

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

We are back with Episode 104 of the Camerosity Podcast.  Unlike the last few shows where we didn't come prepared with a topic to discuss, this time we took a suggestion from our Discord server listeners and attempted to tackle all the new lenses that keep appearing from Chinese companies,  With ever faster maximum apertures and wider lenses selling for insanely cheap prices, are these lenses any good, and why suddenly is the market flooded with them?

Joining Anthony, Paul, Stephen, and Mike are callers Andy Howarth, Brendon Wilson, Fernando Villava, Mark "Cletus" Widhalm, Martin Olsen, Norris Liu, Pat Casey, Robert Rotoloni, and Will Pinkham.  We start off the show with a quick announcement that Fernando has started a Spanish language version of the Camerosity Podcast called "Camerosity in Spanish".  They've already recorded two episodes, and if you speak Spanish, it is worth checking out what him and his guests are talking about!

For this show, we briefly start off our lens episode talking about Retina Reflexes, but thankfully we don't stay distracted long as we move into the wonderful world of modern Chinese lenses.  We attempt to cover different brands of lenses and what kinds of options there are out there and which ones we've personally had experience with.

Stephen and Norris have a wealth of technical knowledge and historical perspective for how the Chinese manufacturing industry works, and we get into a bit of why you're seeing so many options these days.  While many of the new ultra-fast lenses are extremely affordable, they are built to be disposable and likely won't last nearly as long as the classic lenses many of us collect.  Paul shares with us one (non-Chinese) brand that he doesn't like and Stephen tells us what "onion ring bokeh" is.

Eventually we do move off from Chinese lenses to talk about extremely wide angle fisheye lenses and Stephen tells us about a clever use of his Olympus Air A01 and we briefly mention strange cameras like the Nikon KeyMission 360 Double Fisheye lens.

With Bob Rotoloni on, Paul asks about a Nikon M he is interested in buying and we get into a discussion about the Nikon M and different variants of that particular camera.  We keep meandering topics before finally ending up Mike's first purchase on the Japanese auction site, buyee.jp.

Come See Mike at the Chicago Camera Show: I will be heading up to the Sheraton Suites Chicago Elk Grove hotel for a camera show on Sunday, February 22nd.  At this show will be several callers from this episode, Bob Rotoloni, Norris Liu, Mark Widhalm, and past Camerosity guests like Vlad Kern and possibly others.  Mike won't have a table at this one, but I'll be walking around chatting with people so if you're near the area and want to stop by, come see us!

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show.  We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

We don't have a topic for our next show, but we at least know it will be Episode 105 and we will record it on Monday, February 23rd at 7pm Central Standard Time and 8pm Eastern Standard Time.  Make sure you set your calendars and look out for the show announcement at the usual locations and be prepared to join us!

In This Episode

The Spanish version of Camerosity Hosted by Fernando Villava / Cletus and His Broken Retina Reflex IV

Repairing Retina Reflexes / The Risk of Testing an Unserviced Camera / Leaf Shutter SLRs Are Very Complicated

Modern Lenses Have Combinations of Focal Lengths and Speed Unheard of in the Classic Era

How We Got to Today / Cheap Chinese Lenses Started with Low Quality C-Mount Lenses

The Legalities of Making Third Party Lenses / Why is Nikon Going After Viltrox?

Who Are the Most Respected of the Current Third Party Lens Makers? / Different Priorities for Film vs Digital

Some Third Party Lenses Require You to Calibrate Your Lens to Your Own Camera

What is the Difference between 7Artisans and TTArtisans? / DJ Optical

Voigtänder Cosina Lenses Are Less Expensive Alternatives to Genuine German Lenses

Some Chinese Lenses Feel Nicer Than They Really Are / Excessive Lubricants

The Chinese Make a Lot of Their Own Glass / Mike Has No Idea How Glass is Made

Leica No Longer Makes Their Own Glass but they Polish It / Onion Ring Bokeh

Are There Any Companies to Stay Away From / Paul Doesn't Like MS-Optics Lenses

Differences Between Western and Chinese Manufacturing Philosophies

Chinese Manufacturers Typically Didn't Offer After Sale Support or Warranties

China's Manufacturing Today is Far More Advanced Than Anywhere Else in the World

Norris Goes to CES and Admires Hair Dryers / 40% of Exhibitors at CES are Chinese

For Vintage Camera Users You Don't Always Want a Technically Perfect Lens

Stephen's Olympus Air A01 and a 220 Degree Circular Fisheye Lens

Nikon KeyMission 360 Double Fisheye Cameras / Go Pro / Ricoh Theta Camera

Brandon Jumped into the Nikon Zf Using Chinese Lenses / Nikon Z-Mount Adapters

Fernando Adapted Leica R Lenses to Leica M and the Results are Great

Leica SLRs and Alpas are Almost Always Sold Without Lenses on eBay

Come See Mike, Bob, Norris, Vlad, and Cletus at the Chicago Camera Show on February 22nd

Paul Wants to Buy a Nikon M / The Three Different Types of Nikon M Rangefinders

Mike Made His First Ever Purchase on Buyee of 5 Cameras

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, Stephen, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

Order Your Very Own Camerosity Podcast T-Shirt! - https://www.zazzle.com/z/tbykl0hg

Chicago Camera Show on Sunday February 22 - https://www.facebook.com/events/sheraton-suites-chicago-elk-grove/chicago-camera-show/774123451683491/

Camerosity in Spanish - https://camerosity.es/

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

In what turned out to be one of the more unhinged episodes of the Camerosity Podcast, for Episode 103 the gang didn't get the show announcement out until the day of the recording, but that resulted in a near record number of participants, and without a dedicated topic to discuss, we ran the gamut of topics from Theo's recent acquisition of a local lab's Fuji Frontier Scanner, to a very lively discussion about radioactive lenses and why you should not grind up lens glass and snort it.

Joining Anthony, Paul, Stephen, Theo, and Mike on this episode were A.J. Gentile, Dan Cuny, Doug Doyle, Fernando Villava, Greg McCreash, Ira Cohen, Jeremy Scott, Mario Piper, Norris Liu, Pat Casey, Ron Gee, Vlad Kern, Will Pinkham, plus a few others who didn't say anything.

The show starts off with Theo telling the tale of how a Frontier scanner is coming to him and that turned into a very lively discussion about all scanning options from using professional scanners, flatbed scanners, and then eventually to digitizing with a digital camera.

Returning guest Dan Cuny shares some vintage digital cameras he's been working on reviews for including the 0.3 megapixel Canon PowerShot 350 and the floppy disc Sony Mavica!  Continuing on the vintage digital discussion was the revelation that three of the five Camerosity hosts all have the 1990s Minolta RD-175 DSLR!

Vlad Kern from ussrphoto.com comes on and shares his recent pickup of a spy camera from a shot down Russian drone found in Ukraine which he recently acquired.  Vlad's crazy spy camera looks straight out of a science fiction movie and the hosts wonder how he managed to get that past European and American customs!

Of course, we get into a bit of GAS including a follow up to Episode 102 where Ron Gee had ordered an Aero-Liberator camera from John Minnicks, Ron came back to talk about receiving the camera and his initial impressions of it.  Other cameras discussed are the Tele and Wide Rolleiflexes, a rare Foth TLR, the 16mm KMZ Narciss SLR, a very strange and rare American camera called the Millfred Cand-O-Matic and I give an update on some leather I purchased for a Leica IIIa that needed to be recovered.

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show.  We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

For our next show, Theo will be vacationing in Japan, so he won't be joining us, and there still isn't a topic yet, but Episode 104 will be recorded on Monday, February 2nd at 7pm Central Standard Time and 8pm Eastern Standard Time.  Make sure you set your calendars and look out for the show announcement at the usual locations and be prepared to join us!

In This Episode

Theo’s big piece of GAS… where will it fit? / Fujifilm Frontier SP-2000

Doug Doyle is excited for the Knokke film scanner

Mario Piper gets advice on dealing with spots and dust on negatives

Kodak Photo-Flo and Edwal LFN Wetting Agents / Ilford Antistaticum Anti-Static Cloth / PEC-12 Photographic Emulsion Cleaner / ADOX Film Cleaner

Add Humidity to your Darkroom to Reduce Dust

Epson Flatbed Scanners / Nikon Coolscan Scanners / Camera Scanning with Negative Lab Pro / Romanian Lobster People

A good reason to not worry about scanning resolution

Dan Cuny is reviewing vintage digital cameras like the Canon PowerShot 350, the Sony Mavica, and the Nikon Coolpix 100

The hosts have way too many Minolta RD-175 DSLRs

Scanning Kodak Disc Film and Sawyer's View-Master weddings

Vlad Kern Discusses Soviet Film Formats / Russian Drone Cameras

Fernando’s KMZ Narciss / Homebrew Photosnipers

Ron Gee’s Aero-Liberator / Everyone shares their big Radioactive Aero Ektars

Vlad has an aerial camera that’s just missing the MiG-21 fighter jet

Jeremy Scott tests his Canon FD concave 35mm f/2 with a Geiger counter / De-Yellowing Radioactive Lenses

Foth-Flex and Foth Derby / Tele Rolleiflex / Soligor and Sears 55m f/2.8 macro Lenses / MIOJ Nikkor 13.5cm f/4 version

Norris Liu shows off a Millfred Cand-O-Matic made by a Hollywood movie producer

Mike reskinned a Barnack Leica with Leather from cameraleather.com

Jeremy brings us back around to the start with his bellows film scanning setup

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, Stephen, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

Order Your Very Own Camerosity Podcast T-Shirt! - https://www.zazzle.com/z/tbykl0hg

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

The end of the year has come.  As is the case every year, 2025 was filled with some ups and downs.  For the Camerosity Podcast, we reached the 100 episode milestone, saw a huge influx of Miranda cameras re-enter the used camera market, and a whole lotta pictures of manatees.

For Episode 102, the gang got together with some holiday themed alcoholic beverages and discussed what last minute bouts of GAS we had, and other bits of nonsense we were up to.  Joining Anthony, Paul, Stephen and Mike were returning callers A.J. Gentile, Leon Blankenhorn, Pat Casey, Will Pinkham, William Ponder, and first time callers Joao Gomes and Ron Gee.

In this episode we start right off with recent pickups, Paul is enamored with his Hasselblad digital back which he has almost permanently mounted to his 907x, calling it the best digital camera he's ever shot.  A recent pickup of a Hassy 65mm f/2.8 lens further cemented it for him.  Pat Casey talks about his love for 3x4 Graflexes and first time caller Ron Gee is excited for his new Aero Liberator camera he ordered from John Minnicks.

We discuss the shift of German cameras being made in countries other than Germany, why West German companies made so many leaf shutters and seemed to be reluctant to adopt focal plane shutters, and Mike (poorly) attempts to explain the confusing history of the Voigtländer Bessaflex, Zeiss-Ikon Icarex and SL706, Voigtländer VSL series and Rollei SL35 series SLRs.

Mike shares his two most recent pickups, the first is the brand new and recently released LOMO MC-A which is an impressive premium point and shoot camera and he feels is the best example we've seen so far of what a brand new premium 35mm camera should be.  His other pickup is a rather ordinary Vivitar XC-3 with the unordinary XC-A accessory which kinda sorta adds Aperture Priority Automatic Exposure to a camera which wasn't built with it.

Anthony talks about a $25 Nikonos III he recently picked up and used to take some of the best photos he's ever taken of manatees in the spring by his house.  He also shares with us his oddest camera, the Kirka Electronik Auto Hobby Emergency Car Camera Kit.

And right before we were about to sign off, Ron Gee drops not one but two of the largest 6x17 and 6x24 3D printed cameras any of us have seen.  With names like Sasquatch and Kracken, these large beasts are not to be taken lightly!

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show.  We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

We don't yet have a topic for our first episode of the new year, but whatever it is, Episode 103 will be recorded on Monday, January 12th, 2026 at 7pm Central Standard Time and 8pm Eastern Standard Time.  Make sure you set your calendars and look out for the show announcement at the usual locations and be prepared to join us!

In This Episode

Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches / Ron and Joao are Both First Time Callers Long Time Paul Customers

Zeiss-Ikon Contax S / Everyone Needs a Praktica

Different Types of GAS / Hasselblad 907 w/ Digital Back

Pat Casey's 3x4 Graflex Infatuation / Ron Gee is Getting an Aero Liberator from John Minnicks

Kodak Aero Ektar Lenses / Gowlandflex TLR

Ifbaflex M102 / Voigtländer VSL1 / Zeiss-Ikon SL706

The Shift of German Cameras Being Made in Countries Other than Germany

Why Did Zeiss-Ikon and Other West German Camera Makers Make So Many Cameras with Leaf Shutters?

The Technical Limitations of Leaf Shutter SLRs Compared to Focal Plane Shutter SLRs

Kirka Electronik Auto Hobby Emergency Car Camera Kit

Anthony's $25 Nikonos III Find / Anthony Rue: Manatee Belly Scratcher

Sea & Sea Cameras Lenses and Housings / Canon Aqua Snappy / Stay Away from the Nikonos IV

Olympus G.Zuiko 42mm f/1.2 C-Mount Lens

Check out the Camerosity Discord Server, It Is Way Better than Facebook

Olympus Accura View 90 Point and Shoot

Mike's Thoughts on the LOMO MC-A Premium Point and Shoot

Comparing the LOMO to other New Premium Film Cameras like the Rollei 35 AF and Pentax 17

The Camerosity Podcast Still Likes the Chuzhao Three Months In

Vivitar XC-3 w/ XC-A AE Module / Will Picks Up a Zorki 4

What Kind of Camera Would You Like to See Come to Market?

Epson RD-1 / Zeiss-Ikon ZM Rangefinders

We Need to Do a Lomography Show / LOMO Spinner

William Asks for an Update on the Zeiss-Ikon Contaflex TLR Review

Sasquatch 617 3D Printed Camera / Kracken 624 3D Printed Camera

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, Stephen, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

Order Your Very Own Camerosity Podcast T-Shirt! - https://www.zazzle.com/z/tbykl0hg

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/

When it came time to decide what to follow up our 100th episode, the guys made a comment that we should interview a prominent podcaster and blogger in the vintage camera realm.  With a long list of guests already, we thought hard about who we've missed, who is one person who has helped grow GAS as much as any one single person can?  Anthony spoke up and said, "Hey, it should be Mike"!  While I had my doubts about how interesting a whole episode about me could be, I thought that I do like to tell stories, why why not?!

Joining Anthony, Paul, Stephen, Theo, and Mike this, our 101st episode are returning callers A.J. Gentile, David Palumbo, Fernando Villava, Ira Cohen, Mark Faulkner, Pat Casey, Rob Lattimer, William Ponder, and Will Pinkham.

Over the course of the episode, I field a variety of questions from how I got started, what is my while whale camera, what cameras never clicked for me, what was an example of a camera that I felt overwhelmed trying to shoot.  Paul gets me to revisit my 2023 trip to Los Angeles when I went through the collection of Kurt Ingham and what it was like going through such a large collection.  

We get into camera accessories, especially how difficult it is to adapt Kilfitt lenses and that the "Rear Window" Kilfitt lens was never made specifically with an Exakta mount, we talk about what is a good first camera is, and we get into how I am resisting the urge to collect carbon filament light bulbs and Nixie Tubes.

Amazingly, we make it through the nearly 2 hour run time without repeating too much of what's been covered before, and while doing so managed to cover a whole lot of GAS!

As always, the topics we discuss on the Camerosity Podcast are influenced by you!  Please don’t feel like you have to be an expert on a specific type of camera, or have the level of knowledge on par with other people on the show.  We LOVE people who are into shooting or collecting cameras, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, so please don’t consider your knowledge level to be a prerequisite for joining!

The guys and I rarely know where each episode is going to go until it happens, so if you’d like to join us on a future episode, be sure to look out for our show announcements on our Camerosity Podcast Facebook page, the Camerosity Discord server, and right here on mikeeckman.com. We usually record every other Monday and announcements, along with the Zoom link are typically shared 2-3 days in advance.

We will be back shortly with our next episode, which is going to be two days before Christmas.  We'll call this one our "holiday eggnog episode" where we recap the year and open up the call in lines for whatever you all want to talk about.  Episode 102 will be recorded on Tuesday, December 23rd at 7pm Central Standard Time and 8pm Eastern Standard Time.  Make sure you set your calendars and look out for the show announcement at the usual locations and be prepared to join us!

In This Episode

Mike’s T-shirt Sorting Techniques / It was Anthony’s Idea to Interrogate Mike

How did Mike get started? One night on eBay… He shares the cameras he used, and the ones that started his collection

The origins of MikeEckman.com

It all started with a Nikon EL2, then a Kodak No.1 Autographic Special, Model A

An avalanche begins: Argus C3, FED-2, Konica Auto S2

The Meeting of the Bloggers / White Whales Just Keep Coming

‘What the hell is this?” The Hasselblad XPan

Mike Damaged a Pentacon Six TL That Was Loaned to Him

Flying to LA: Kurt Ingham’s Collection

Mike’s Camera room (Cave? Bunker? Subterranean lair?)

Cameras that didn’t click for Mike / Konica AiBORG / Leia R8

Continuation/knock-off/replica cameras… Kiev vs FED and Zorki, Minolta Auto Press vs Plaubel Makina, Contax vs Nikon Rangefinders

Hidden histories Clarus MS-35, Vokar II, thousands of 6x6 TLRs, and the King Regula

Fernando Villava asks Mike about His Favorite Film / Anthony shares his bulk film lucky find

William Ponder wants to know if finding accessories leads to discovering cameras

The Kilfitt Konundrum that Mike created for Paul / Mark Faulkner’s Rear Window Lens / Paul’s NASA Lens

Will Pinkham wants to know what rarities are on Mike’s Wish List

Rob Latimer wants to know Mike’s Favorite Cameras

Vinyl Records, Carbon Filament Bulbs, and Nixie Tubes / Theo wants to know Mike’s other interests

Cameras that can start a collection, and a good first rangefinder for the SLR shooter

Is Mike a foodie? A coffee connoisseur? A traveler?

The importance of keeping photography knowledge alive

Could there be a Camerosity spin-off some day?

Links

The Camerosity Podcast is now on Discord! Join Anthony, Paul, Theo, Stephen, and Mike on our very own Discord Server. Share your GAS and photography with other listeners in the Lounge or in our dedicated forums. If you have questions for myself or the other guys, we have an “Ask the Hosts” section as well where you can get your question answered on a future show! Check it out! https://discord.gg/PZVN2VBJvm.

If you would like to offer feedback or contact us with questions or ideas for future episodes, please contact us in the Comments Section below, our Camerosity Facebook Group, Instagram page, or Discord server.

Order Your Very Own Camerosity Podcast T-Shirt! - https://www.zazzle.com/z/tbykl0hg

The Official Camerosity Facebook Group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/camerositypodcast

Camerosity Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/camerosity_podcast/

Theo Panagopoulos - https://www.photothinking.com/

Paul Rybolt - https://www.ebay.com/usr/paulkris - https://thisoldcamera.net/

Anthony Rue - https://www.instagram.com/kino_pravda/