Here are four full page ads from Canon promoting their SLR line, with two pages dedicated to the new high tech ‘programmed’ AE-1 Program. The reason this ad caught my eye is that I bought one new in 1983 with the kit 50/1.8 lens; I think it was about $200; a short time later I added the Canon FD …
Beware invading armies; the Kodak is more to be dreaded than a dynamite gun!!
Check out the Kodak advertising supplement that appeared in Harper's November 1891 magazine edition. It's six pages long, and filled with quaint descriptions of scenes from a bygone era. The timing of the ad in November suggests it was targeting the upcoming Christmas season, but I don't think gift giving was all the rage back then as it has become in more recent decades, so maybe it's just a coincidence.
Anyhow, it's a good read and a neat peek into the dawn of amateur photography; back when there were no automobiles or airplanes. Kodak was able to claim that during war, 'a view of the countryside can be had for many miles around, and the movements of the army can be detected long before the action begins. In this direction, the Kodak may become an instrument 'more to be dreaded than a dynamite gun.'
Think you need a $4500 Sony A9 and expensive trick lens to take fast action shots? The photographer that caught this moment was probably using an early 1950s rangefinder, or a press 4×5 with sport finder; try using one of those today in a similar situation and see if you can come up with anything remotely usable.
Swedish amateur motorcyclist …
If you're bored at work, how about checking out a four page B&H Photo ad from a February 1999 Popular Photography magazine? During the late 1990s the film industry was still going fairly well, but dark clouds were on the horizon. As I look through the ads, I'm amazed at the prices they were charging, and apparently getting for some of the higher end camera gear. Keep in mind these prices have been steeply discounted from high volume retailers; your local camera shop probably charged significantly more than what you see here. The swell, (and nearing the end of its life) Nikon 35Ti is $649, the newer Fuji GA645Wi is $1679, and the old, (and nearing the end of their lives) Fuji GW690III series are around $1250, which is actually much less than I would have guessed.
It's kinda fun looking through the old Photography magazines once in a while, not just for the ads, but the articles and reviews too. These pages...
