I love film cameras; I own a small collection and I like to use them, not to leave them on a shelf just for display. Thanks to the Internet, finding manuals and documentation for 30 or 40-year-old cameras is not that difficult, unless the camera is some rare or obscure model. The design of most of those vintage manuals is priceless, and I always like to search for a section entitled Holding the Camera or How to Hold the Camera. Perhaps it’s just a personal liking, but those black and white photographs of a young woman (of the Far East, most of the times) or man (rarely) are so evocative of their era, have a certain je ne sais quoi, that I thought it’d be a nice idea to showcase some samples here.

From the Agfa Silette LK Sensor manual

From the Canon A‑1 manual

From the Canon Canonet GIII QL-17 manual

From the Canonflex RM manual. I intentionally left the original accompanying text, to give an idea of the level of detail some instructions can reach.

From the Minolta XD7/XD11 manual

From the Minolta Minoltina AL‑s manual

From the Olympus Pen FT manual

From the Pentax ME manual. This woman doesn’t seem particularly happy or enthusiastic.