Selecting and Using Classic Cameras: A User's Guide to Evaluating Features, Condition & Usability of Classic Cameras [Paperback]

Michael Levy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2001

Targeted more at photographers than at camera collectors, this guide concentrates on cameras made between 1920 and 1965. Older cameras can help a photographer master every aspect of manual photography and can be a valuable tool in every studio. The pros, cons, and problems that are common to each model are discussed. Listings provide a history of each style, discuss what each camera is best suited for, and provide tips on where particular models are most likely to be found. Guidelines for purchasing a classic camera are provided along with information on accessories, portability, convenience, and film availability.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mike Levy is a reporter and columnist for the Buffalo News. He lives in Buffalo, New York.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Amherst Media, Inc. (July 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1584280549
• ISBN-13: 978-1584280545
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,107,835 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Levy was an award-winning reporter who left his unique touch on hundreds of outdoor columns he penned for The Buffalo News. A gifted writer and an official newsroom character, Mr. Levy embraced the newspaper business as a way to meet and write about people. His weekly Outdoors column allowed him to not only report on his passion for hunting and fishing, but also chronicle the lives of the people who took him to their favorite fishing holes or deer stands.

Born in New York City, Michael Bela Levy was the son of immigrants who settled in Connecticut. He graduated from the University of Connecticut with majors in English and history in 1962, then worked for the Wall Street Journal and ultimately as a reporter and columnist for The Buffalo News.

Levy was a longtime supporter of conservation groups, helping to found several New York chapters of Pheasants Forever. He was honored by that group along with Trout Unlimited and the Shooters Committee on Political Education, and was named environmental journalist of the Outdoor Writers Association.

In the months before he died, Levy wrote this novel about Teddy Roosevelt, a man he studied with typical Levy zeal.

"May you enjoy the life you have and be grateful when you have to leave it," Levy advised. "It really is an amazing adventure while it is given to you." In March 2011, Michael Levy died of congestive heart failure.

-- Contributed by Robert J. McCarthy,
The Buffalo News

-- Photo contributed by Godfrey DiGiorgi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Selecting and Using Classic Cameras, November 26, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Selecting and Using Classic Cameras: A User's Guide to Evaluating Features, Condition & Usability of Classic Cameras (Paperback)

Not as authoritative as other books on this subject, and I found too many personal assumptions that I had to disagree with. When I saw an opening page with a picture of a non-coupled rangefinder Argus model C identified as a "Argus C3", I was a bit disappointed. Also, the quality of the photos and the composition themselves is sorely lacking in a book by a fellow who obviously considers himself somewhat of an accomplished photographer. B&W photos often muddy, and poorly focused. That said, however, overall a fairly informative and entertaining read for the beginning camera collector, despite some errors.