Help:FAQ

This is a work in progress.

Hello! This page tries to answer a few common questions about what Camera-wiki.org is, and how it works. Click on any question to expand it and show the answer.

If there's anything else about the wiki you think is unclear, feel free to click the "discussion" tab above this page and request an explanation there.

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What is a wiki?
A wiki is a website where a collection of linked pages can be edited collaboratively, directly from a web browser. The most famous example, of course, is Wikipedia, who have a good page explaining the concept (and the origin of its funny name).

What is the relationship between Camera-wiki.org and Camerapedia?

This wiki builds upon the earlier work of Camerapedia.org, which was founded in October 2004 by Brandon Stone. In January 2011, the former Camerpedia.org contents were transferred to new hosting at camerapedia.wikia.com. A number of earlier contributors were uncomfortable with their content being hosted on a for-profit, ad-supported service, Wikia. To address this concern, on 22 January 2011 users Steevithak and Voxphoto invited the community to organize an alternative non-commercial wiki. Camera-wiki.org launched on 7 February 2011. The community of users "voted with its feet," and quickly adopted the Camera-wiki.org Flickr discussion group and Flickr photo pool (adding more than 19,000 photos in the first 6 weeks of its existence). The rate of new edits at Camera-wiki.org is dramatically higher than at Wikia; and our editors already understand the culture and organization of the wiki. It remains to be seen how camerapedia.wikia.com will evolve now, without a group of experienced users to guide its growth.

What's to stop Camera-wiki.org from going commercial too?

Camera-wiki.org is organized by individuals on at least three different continents, who don't know each other personally. We try to share responsibilities and ownerships so that no one person could singlehandedly cripple the work. For example, camera-wiki.info is registered by a different person from camera-wiki.org; different people have server passwords, etc. We are also aiming to establish nonprofit status which would formalize organizational (not individual) ownership of domains and other assets.

Can you answer a question about my camera?
Post your question in the discussion forum of our Flickr group and someone will try to help! (But if you want to know, "is this old camera valuable?" the fastest solution is to search completed auctions on eBay.)

Your wiki has no/incomplete/wrong information about Camera X! Will you fix that?
Camera-wiki is a bunch of separate pages written by dozens of volunteers in their spare time. There are many cameras in this world, and even some entire brands, for which no one has had time to write a careful article. If you know something we don't, why don't you create a login and help us? (And if you have clear photos of the item, please submit them to our photo pool on Flickr.)

How are wiki pages constructed?

While displaying as a normal webpage to most visitors, behind the scenes a wiki page is constructed with a special code language, called wiki markup. This vaguely resembles HTML but uses punctuation marks in a different way. You can get a look at wiki markup by viewing the source behind our Sandbox page—where you are welcome to start typing some markup yourself, to see how it works (though you'll need a login first).

How do wiki pages link to each other?

A particularly important bit of wiki markup syntax is the internal link from one wiki page to another. This is done by typing the [[Target Page Title]] in double brackets. (You don't need to memorize that: above every edit window there is a button with a blue Ab icon; clicking that will type a placeholder link for you.) The phrase between the double brackets must match the page title exactly (including capitalization, spaces, punctuation marks, etc.) or you'll get a dead link (which [[Link To Nowhere|appears in red). But a nice trick of the wiki markup syntax is that you can make the hyperlinked word or phrase be something other than the exact page title: Insert a "pipe" character (the vertical line at the far right on your keyboard) after the page title, and add the text as you'd like it to appear. It looks like this: [[Exact Page Title | this text will appear in blue and link to the named page]]

How do I start a new Camera-wiki page?

For just about any camera made in the past 100 years, Camera-wiki is very likely to have a page for the manufacturer already. Check this company list and search the wiki for all the possible name variations. Frequently a wiki-page for a camera maker will include lists of camera models. Links in blue are to pages that already exist (note: sometimes several model names link to a single page that discusses them all together). A link in red indicates a page title that someone thought "ought" to exist, but which doesn't yet. If you click a red link, an edit window opens saying "You have followed a link to a page that does not exist yet. To create the page, start typing in the box below." And that's what you do! If a camera in the list appears in black, or doesn't appear at all, there's one more step. On the right side of the page, aligned with the relevant subheading, there is a link [edit]. Click this and you can add changes to the camera list. (On pages with no subheads, just click the top tab on every page that says edit.) In the camera list, type the exact model name if it's missing; enclose the name in double square brackets: [[Manufacturer CameraName]]. Click the Save page button, and when the page refreshes you'll see the phrase has become a red link. Now you can proceed to click that and start typing the new page. We currently have a New Camera Page Template under construction. If you copy the source from that page, you can fill in the placeholder text and images with ones of your own.

How should wiki pages be titled?

Many camera models are designated with an obscure string of numbers and letters: MSX 1000 or QL17 GIII. Others go for the more minimalist A or II. If the pages were titled that way, visitors searching for particular cameras might never find them. For clarity, page titles should be the full version of the camera name, including the name of the manufacturer. Use the manufacturer name as it appears on the camera, or as it is most widely known: For example Canon Canonet QL 17 GIII and Leica II. For consistency, it's good to include the manufacturer name in a page title even when the camera itself has a unique name like Spotmatic.

How are photos included in Camera-wiki pages?

Photographs illustrating what different models look like are extremely useful to Camera-wiki.org. Our Flickr photo pool was created as our central repository for wiki images. Any photographs of cameras or other useful illustrations are welcomed there. The wiki has a page on how to add photos to wiki articles. While the wiki text itself is licensed under "copyleft" (GFDL 1.3), we wish to respect photo copyrights and give credit to everyone who was nice enough to contribute images. Wherever possible we encourage using the wiki Flickr image template, filling in all its fields correctly. The template asks for two URLs for each photo. The first is the link to a Flickr user's own photo page, including its membership in our photo pool: This URL should be in the form http://www.flickr.com/photos/UserID/123456789012/in/pool-camerawiki ...while the second is the "deep link" to the actual .jpg file hosted on Flickr's servers. (Clicking on the images above will take you to pages explaining more about how to copy & paste these URLs.) Because we rely on Flickr's bandwidth for hosting all our images, we must respect their terms of service, which require a click-through link back to the Flickr page where the image appears.

What is a redirect? How do you make one?

A redirect is a special type of wiki page. It intercepts a search or a link to a particular page title, and re-directs it to another one. Why would you do this? Well a visitor might search for "Yashicamat," or "Yashica-mat" or "Yashica Mat" (the odd 3rd version is actually the correct one). Wiki page editors might inadvertently create links with the same variations. Redirects can send all of these to the correct page. Likewise, shorter and longer versions of a camera name like "Spotmatic" or "Asahi Pentax Spotmatic" can redirect to Pentax Spotmatic. Redirects also help with wiki organization. As it happens, the Yashica Mat is part of a series of related cameras, and it makes sense to treat them all in a single article, Yashica 6×6 TLR (crank advance). The names of each individual model in the series can be redirected to this one master page. The markup syntax is very simple. On a page whose title is the wrong term, there is a single line, #REDIRECT [[Target page name]] The button #R at the top of the editing window inserts this markup automatically; then you just type the desired page name, and save.

What are Categories, and how do I use them to index my page?

Categories help people find related information. At the bottom of every article page, there will be a few links, which would (for example) take the visitor to other cameras of the same style; from the same country; or by the same manufacturer. Other kinds of categorization are possible too; but we recommend sticking with categories that already have lots of members. (Hint: do a "Find" within that page within your browser to see if some relevant category term might be in use already.) In the case of Japan and Germany, their camera output is so large that a country category for them would become uselessly large. Instead, there are subcategories like "Japanese 6x6 TLR" to instead Category tags are typically added to the bottom of the page markup, in the following format: [[Category:Manufacturer]] [[Category:Camera type]] [[Category:Country (if not Japan, Germany)]] [[Category:Film size (if not 120, 35mm)]]

If I think Camera-wiki.org is awesome, how can I help?

Thanks! If you really know cameras, we are always happy to get thoughtful, constructive additions to our wiki pages. If you have some background in wiki administration, there are always a few housekeeping tasks we could use help with too (you don't need to be a camera expert). Any clear photos of photographic gear you would like to offer can go into our Flickr photo pool]. Do you work in a non-profit? We are aiming to set up nonprofit status, and would love your assistance in that process. Finally, we are always happy if you would care to chip in a bit of money for our hosting costs. There is a PayPal donation button on the Donate! page of our blog (the PayPal link is not hosted on a wiki page which anyone can edit!) Thanks and enjoy your visit to Camera-wiki.org!