Tag Archives: tw

Fuji TW-3

Junk Camera Finds, , , , , ,

I got this camera as a “for parts” buy on eBay due to it having a dead soldered internal battery. I thought I might try to see if I could change it or fit an alternative…how hard could it be? I am useless at soldering, but you can’t get better unless you try. The weird thing is, it is a half frame. Why would I buy a half frame camera with a non-changeable battery? Because they are rare, I saw the price they are going for on eBay and I was looking for something to do.

When this camera from 1985 arrived it was completely dead. No lights, no movement, nothing…so nothing to lose. Looking it over, it seemed pretty obvious the battery was in the bulky part where the handle was. So I began to look for ways to access it and saw a couple of screws.

Once they were undone there is a cover you can roll back if your fingers are nimble, but mine are not so I took off the cover and removed the whole section.

As you can see I am great at unsoldering, but suck at resoldering. Yeah for electrical tape…and 2 CR123 batteries. Let there be light.

But the light is no guarantee the camera fully works, only film will prove the camera’s true worth. Oh, and the camera has a button for taking photos of the TV. On this camera the button has been very well used, somebody loved their TV.

Here is my test film. On wide the flash pops up and works automatically. On tele, the flash does not work. That’s about all you need to know.

And back to not liking half-frame cameras. It is not even a cute camera.

Keep or sell: Sell. I know it is a rare camera and the value might increase, but it is ugly and not fun to use for me. I have the Olympus Pen FT…that is all the half frame I need.

Oh and you can find another review and manual here.

 

Nikon TW Zoom

Junk Camera Finds, , , , , ,

I have just tried a couple of similar cameras to this. I just hoped this one would be as good and that it worked. It seemed clean enough, but you never know. Well, worth the risk.

 

This camera is stated as having Nikon’s first true zoom and was produced in 1988. To be honest I found it a little bulky and heavy. I also found the focusing switch on the top confusing. It lets you choose between portrait, groups, and landscapes…does it have autofocus or is it zoned? Make your mind up Nikon. I did like the zoom display on the LCD. It’s just a bit superfluous but funky at the same time.

Here are my test photos. I took the camera to some very different places, from the nightlife of Ikebukuro, Tokyo to the autumn trees of Doho Park, Ibaraki. I used an expired film again.

 

I also took a photo of the fluorescent light on this review. This camera got a much sharper shot. I really liked the autumn leaves shots, great colours and contrast. I would recommend this camera despite the size. This example works really well and I feel like adding it to the other version of this series I have, but I probably won’t use it again…too many cameras. So….

Keep or sell: Sold