Sources: English language

General books

McKeown's Guide

McKeown, James M. and Joan C. McKeown's Price Guide to Antique and Classic Cameras, 12th Edition, 2005-2006. USA, Centennial Photo Service, 2004. ISBN 0-931838-40-1 (hardcover). ISBN 0-931838-41-X (softcover). (Template:McKeown12 and inline Template:McKeown)

Matanle's Classic Cameras

Matanle, Ivor. Collecting and Using Classic Cameras. London: Thames & Hudson, 1986. First paperback edition, 1992. ISBN 0-500-27656-0.

Matanle's Classic SLRs

Matanle, Ivor. Collecting and Using Classic SLRs. London: Thames & Hudson, 1996. ISBN 0-500-01726-3.

German cameras

Zeiss Compendium

Barringer, C. and Small, M. Zeiss Compendium East and West — 1940–1972. Small Dole (UK): Hove Books Ltd., 1999 (2nd edition). ISBN 1-874707-24-3.

Japanese cameras

The Collector's Guide to Japanese Cameras

Sugiyama, Kōichi (杉山浩一); Naoi, Hiroaki (直井浩明); Bullock, John R. The Collector's Guide to Japanese Cameras. 国産カメラ図鑑 (Kokusan kamera zukan). Tokyo: Asahi Sonorama, 1985. ISBN 4-257-03187-5. (Template:Zukan and inline Template:Sugiyama)

A large, clothbound book that presents a photograph of and some very dry information (in both Japanese and English) about each of thousands of cameras. (The Japanese title means "illustrated catalogue" and is more accurate.) Hundreds of these cameras are obscure, giving the impression that the book is comprehensive. It is not: there are glaring omissions among even cameras that are well known (e.g. the Fujica G690 and its interchangable-lens successors). There are also some odd mistakes. (The book is acknowledged to be a major resource for McKeown's Guide, and some of its mistakes — such as attributing the Mine Six to "Takamine" — are reproduced there.) While the book should be used with care, it is nevertheless very informative and a remarkable achievement; and it is greatly enlivened by the informal and irreverent asides scattered here and there. Although now (late 2006) out of print, new copies are still available at some retailers (e.g. JCII Camera Museum) for the original (high) price; the price of used copies is sometimes lower than this, more often higher (sometimes with the predictable if dubious claim of rarity).

The History of the Japanese Camera

Lewis, Gordon, ed. The History of the Japanese Camera. Rochester, N.Y.: George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography & Film, 1991. ISBN 0-935398-17-1 (paper), ISBN 0-935398-16-3 (hard). (Template:Lewis)

The Japanese Camera

Baird, John R. The Japanese Camera. Yakima, WA: Historical Camera Publications, 1990. ISBN 1-879561-02-6.

The Japanese Historical Camera

The Japanese Historical Camera. 日本の歴史的カメラ (Nihon no rekishiteki kamera). 2nd ed. Tokyo: JCII Camera Museum, 2004. (Template:J historical)

A clothbound book in a simple slipcase that presents a photograph and a very few facts about each of over seven hundred cameras, from 1903 to 2003. Most are innovative in some way (often only a small or merely gimmicky way, and sometimes innovative only among Japanese cameras rather than cameras in general). A very few are presented with no claim of innovation but because of their reputation, sales or both; there are surprising omissions, such as the original Asahi Pentax. The terse text is in both Japanese and English (the latter not always completely understandable), the Japanese (but not the English) also appearing in the camera database of the Center of the History of Japanese Industrial Technology. This book has no ISBN and perhaps is only sold at and from the museum (for ¥3500). The museum shows it here; however, the site seems to presume that anyone interested in buying it would be living in Japan and would order via fax.

Canon Rangefinder Cameras

Dechert, Peter. Canon Rangefinder Cameras 1933–68. Hove, East Sussex: Hove Foto Books, 1985. ISBN 0-906447-30-5. (Template:Dechert Canon)

A compact, highly informative, and excellently written book that provides a detailed history of Canon's Leica-inspired cameras, and brief looks at other aspects of the company and its products. Dechert goes into enough detail to satisfy earnest rivet-counters, but also clearly enjoys using some of the cameras; the book thus gives plenty of information about how the equipment holds up in use, and thus a copy is an excellent investment for anybody wondering whether or not to buy this or that Canon with the intention of using it rather than merely sticking it in a display cabinet. Used copies of the book are now (2007) often described as "rare" by more optimistic or unscrupulous dealers; meanwhile, new copies are being sold at the modest list price by dealers such as Andrews (Teddington, suburban London).

Kuribayashi-Petri Cameras

Baird, John R. Collectors guide to Kuribayashi-Petri Cameras. Grantsburg, WI (USA): Centennial Photo Service, 1991. ISBN 0-931838-16-9. (Template:Baird Petri)

Chinese cameras

Cameras of the People's Republic of China

St Denny, Douglas. Cameras of the People's Republic of China. Leicester, UK: Jessop Specialist Publishing, 1989. ISBN 0-9514392-0-0.