British – John's Cameras. A collection of interesting and old cameras.

Kershaw Eight-20 King Penguin.

This is a folding medium format camera of a style that that was state of the art through the first half of the 20th century. When this camera was made in the early 1950s, the design was rather passé. By the end of the 1950s, folding cameras had disappeared from mainstream photography. The camera measuresContinue reading “Kershaw Eight-20 King Penguin.”

VP Twin

A neat Bakelite camera from 1930s Britain.

Puma Special

This is an innovative English camera – I nearly said British but it is clearly labelled ‘Made in England’. It has several features I have never seen before on another camera and do not expect to see again. The camera is called a Purma – there is no indication as to who made it. McKeown’sContinue reading “Puma Special”

Welcome Exposure Guide

The is a sturdy, paper-based guide to exposing film correctly. The guide was published on 30 November 1945 and purchased by an unknown photographer on 29 July 1946. At this time, calculating exposure was made difficult as there was no standard way of measuring film speed. This guide makes no mention of either ASA orContinue reading “Welcome Exposure Guide”

Ilford Manual of Photography

The Ilford manual of Photography was the bible for analogue photographers for many years. Here is a review of the book.

Ensign Selfix 420

English medium format folding camera from Houghton-Butcher.

Butcher’s Watch Pocket Carbine

This is my oldest camera to date. Dating any old camera is problematical. There is a body serial number – C35133 – in the standard Ica (and then Zeiss Ikon) sequence. The trouble is that all Ica and Zeiss Ikon records were lost in the bombing of Dresden in WWII. A lot of work hasContinue reading “Butcher’s Watch Pocket Carbine”

Agilux Agima

This well designed 35 mm camera was made in Britain in the mid to late 1950s. I would like to say that it is an example of superb British design but it is, in fact, a close copy of a German Paxette camera from Carl Braun in Nurnberg. lens: Anastigmat focal length: 45 mm apertures:Continue reading “Agilux Agima”

Agilux Agifold

AGI, who made this camera, are an aeronautical instrument maker – still in business – rather than a camera maker and it shows. During WWII, AGI made military instruments and that pedigree is followed in this camera. It is large and heavy and has no small controls so easy to use with cold hands, withContinue reading “Agilux Agifold”

Photographic Almanac

First, an apology. This is supposed to be an Old Camera blog, not a book blog but this book is about photography and dates from the same time as many of my cameras. In fact, since I originally wrote this article, I have purchased more of these Almanacs. I now have editions from 1922, 1936,Continue reading “Photographic Almanac”