Collecting and Using Classic Slrs

When I first read Ivor Matanle a few years ago I had never heard of this Englishman who writes so beautifully about cameras and lenses.This book covers single lens cameras in several formats,rather than just 35mm. He has used the equipment he describes, and writes as well as a fine novelist. He gives the history of SLR's and tells about the rise of Asian cameras as Europe abandons innovation in design. But he plays no favorites.All cameras are treated fairly.This is a book you will marvel at, if you are a user or a collector. Read it once; refer to it often. But above all, enjoy it and marvel at how well he writes. With nearly 400 fine photos of equipment and pictures taken with these cameras, the book is a smorgasbord of information.If I lost this book, I would drive 500 miles to replace it!

Matanle's "Collecting and Using Classic SLRs" is amust own for every SLR camera collector. His camera close ups, as wellas specs, prove he knows his material. He provides abundant information on cameras A to Z. His shots of cameras are crystal clear; however, photos from his personal collection are somewhat hazy and appear out of place. Book is still worth the money...

Ivor Matanle is obviously crazy about cameras. He does not, however, allow his enthusiasm to reign his pen. There is a great deal of information about all the makes of cameras which he includes, from general history of a particular type, to its availability and reliability at the time of writing.There tends to be an emphasis on european cameras, but what do you expect? The real Japanese invasion in the SLR market did not take place until the later model Pentax (S1a and Spotmatic) and Nikon F series hit the shelves, an event which takes place comapratively recently in the history of the SLR camera.It is too bad that Matanle's other book "Collecting and Using Classic Cameras" is out of print, because if this title is anything to go by, then the other volume is the missing link in the most comprehensive compendium any camera fanatic could wish to have.

Terrific book. You won't be disappointed. The emphasis is more on the 'using' rather than collecting, which is refreshing. A bonus is Mantale's dry wit.

A comprehensive review of a great number of those old and attractive tools: classic cameras. Using a simple and plain style mr. Matanle describes his criteria for judging old cameras, always giving useful information on cameras he has actually used. But don't worry: you decide what you're going to buy!