Episode 102: Eggnog Manatees and Opportunistic GAS

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.

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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/