Top Fives

Five Reasons Vintage Zoom Lenses Aren’t Terrible
2000 1125 James Tocchio

Few things in the vintage camera world are as universally reviled as old zoom lenses. They carry a reputation for being bulky, useless in low light, and criminally soft, especially when compared to legacy prime…

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Five Best Affordable Rangefinder Cameras
2000 1125 Josh Solomon

Rangefinders. The mere mention of this type of camera inspires visions of the erstwhile street shooter; a clandestine spirit who is here and not here, never participating but always observing. We imagine these shooters gripping their German…

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5 Polaroid Cameras Worth Owning, Shooting, and Collecting
1280 853 James Tocchio

Polaroid cameras are a dime a dozen, and utterly fantastic. But some are more fantastic than others. While I love the ubiquitous 600-series machines for their ease of use and their ability to pull me right…

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5 Reasons to Shoot Film When Traveling
1280 720 James Tocchio

Got a trip coming up? Are you the kind of person who shoots both film and digital cameras? Then let me make a suggestion; the next time you’re traveling, leave the DSLR at home and only…

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Remember the ’90s – Camera Edition
1280 853 Josh Solomon

The decade that brought us Dunkaroos and the Macarena also brought with it a scourge in the form of plastic-fantastic, homogeneous camera design that manufacturers would milk for far too long. As such, many cameras…

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Five Books Every Photo Geek Should Own
1280 720 Josh Solomon

Documentarian and filmmaker Werner Herzog once said, “If you don’t read, you will never be a filmmaker.” The same is true for any aspiring creator, whether we’re making movies, music, or photographs. The knowledge gleaned…

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Five Tips for Building a Full Film Camera Kit for Under $100
1600 900 Josh Solomon

We’ve all been there; spent too long staring at a famous photograph shot on film, handled a friend or relative’s classic camera a little too covetously, or suddenly recalled a camera from childhood that we…

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Five Famous Photographers and the Cameras They Used
1280 720 Josh Solomon

It’s no secret that we love our gear here at Casual Photophile. A quick glance through the archives is enough to illustrate our undying love for classic cameras, but while our addiction to the tools…

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5 Best Medium Format Cameras for Beginners
1600 987 James Tocchio

It happens to the best of us. At some point in the photographic journey, every photo geek is going to run into a wall. Things get stale. You’ve been shooting the same subjects with the same…

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Five Best Cameras for Photography Students
1500 844 James Tocchio

There’s a certain question that I get asked virtually every single day. People need to know what camera they should buy for their upcoming high school or college photography class. It’s a great question, and one…

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10 Holiday Gifts for Photo Geeks
1280 720 James Tocchio

The holidays are here, and you’ve got a photographer on your shopping list. At the best of times, this can be a daunting task; camera enthusiasts are seriously picky about their gear. But this isn’t just any shopping…

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5 Best Point and Shoot Film Cameras – Part 2
1280 720 James Tocchio

A while back, we published a rather popular list of some of our favorite point-and-shoot film cameras. We made it pretty clear that our list was just a small sampling of the amazing machines out there. Even…

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5 Best Japanese 35mm Film SLR Cameras
1280 720 James Tocchio

The last time we compiled a “Top Five” list we were focused on the simple joy of point-and-shoot cameras. The automated nature of the five cameras we chose was perfect for those photo geeks interested in making…

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Five Great Point and Shoot Film Cameras Organized by Budget and Capability
2000 1125 James Tocchio

Here are five excellent point and shoot film cameras organized by price and capability. Find your best fit and have fun shooting!

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