We have a little bit of Saturday Night Fever here at the Classic Camera Revival and we just cannot get enough of those disco-era cameras from the 1970s. Turn up the Beegee’s, and get on your best bell bottoms, ’cause gimmie, gimmie, gimmie a cam before midnight!
Camera’s featured on Today’s Show
Minolta XE-7 – Back in the 1970s, Leica and Minolta joined forces and produced several ‘cousin’ cameras, the first being the Minolta CLE/Leica CL. But the second camera to come out of the Alliance was the Minolta XE-7, cousins with the Leica R3. And while at forty-yards the two may look alike, when it comes to operations, according to Alex, the XE-7 is one of the smoothest SLRs from Minolta he’s ever used.
Camera Specs
Make: Minolta
Model: XE-7 Alternately: XE
Type: Single Lens Reflex
Format: 135 (35mm), 36x24mm
Lens: Interchangeable, Minolta MD-Mount
Year Manufactured: 1974
Minolta XD-11 – Like the XE-7, the XD11 is another from the Leica/Minolta Alliance, cousins to the R4, Bill’s XD11 brings in full AE, Shutter and Aperture Priority modes and full manual operation. Bill’s was recently repaired and has been a constant companion over the course of the summer and certainly a worthy camera of the Minolta line.
Camera Specs
Make: Minolta
Model: XD-11 Alternately: XD, XD-7
Type: Single Lens Reflex
Format: 135 (35mm), 36x24mm
Lens: Interchangeable, Minolta MD-Mount
Year Manufactured: 1976
Minox 35 EL – When it comes to size the Minox 35 EL has every other camera beat, at least for the smallest, this tiny clamshell design is easily the smallest full-frame 35mm camera out there, but it’s not to best, it takes a weird battery and has shutter issues.
Camera Specs
Make: Minox
Model: 35 EL
Type: Point-And-Shoot
Format: 135 (35mm), 36x24mm
Lens: Fixed, Color-Minotar f=35mm 1:2.8
Year Manufactured: 1974
Olympus SP 35 – The 1960s and 1970s brought about a rage for fixed lens rangefinders, these are great street photography cameras, and the Olympus 35 SP is one of the best. While it carries a cult following it never got the same attention as Canon and Yashica offerings. But that 42mm G.Zuiko glass is sharp as anything and a switchable Center-Weight or Spot-Metering options makes this an amazing camera.
Camera Specs
Make: Olympus
Model: 35 SP
Type: Rangefinder
Format: 135 (35mm), 36x24mm
Lens: Fixed, Olympus G.Zuiko 1:1.7 f=42mm
Year Manufactured: 1969-1976
What’s in a Bag?
If there’s one thing that’s important to any photographer beside the camera, lens, and the media it’s your camera bag. And around the table, we have a huge selection of carryalls, from the recently introduced PeekDesign to the stylings of Billingham and even the beat-up backpacks that have been used for years now from ClikElite.
Looking for a good spot to get your gear and material fix check out Burlington Camera (Burlington, ON), Downtown Camera (Toronto, ON), Film Plus (Toronto, ON), Belle Arte Camera (Hamilton, ON), Pond’s FotoSource (Guleph, ON), Foto Art Camera (Owen Sound, ON). Out West there’s The Camera Store (Calgary, AB) and Beau Photo Supply (Vancouver, BC). Additionally you can order online at Argentix (Quebec), buyfilm.ca (Ontario), the Film Photography Project or Freestyle Photographic.
Also you can connect with us through email: classiccamerarevivial[at]gmail[dot]com or by Facebook, we’re at Classic Camera Revival or even Twitter @ccamerarevival