When my favorite band — Philadephia’s mewithoutYou — came to town in Fall 2019 fall, I knew I wanted to shoot the concert with film. I’ve been going to punk rock shows since the mid-90s, but have only taken up film photography in earnest over the last year or so. For my first foray into concert photography, I opted for Kodak T-MAX P3200 because of the killer low light results I’ve seen elsewhere, shot with the Canon Canonet G-III QL17 — lent to me by a dear friend — for its small size, light weight, and fast, fixed 40mm f/1.7 lens, which met the venue’s criteria for photography.

Kodak T-MAX P3200 is actually an 800-speed push film, and since the Canonet’s default settings max out at ISO 800, that’s what I shot at. I let the camera do the metering, and focused on enjoying the show and snapping when the moment felt right. Both film and camera are highly recommended.

While I missed focus here and there, I couldn’t be happier with the results. The intense grain, high contrast, light flares and deep shadows perfectly capture the feel and energy of the show. I scanned the negatives with a PrimeFilm XEs and CyberViewX and tweaked these a bit in Apple Photos to get deeper black and white tones.

mewithoutYou recently announced that this year will be their last, and having followed them passionately for the last 16 years, I’m so grateful for the images that this unbelievably capable little camera and film enabled me to capture.

I can’t say enough good things about the Canonet… the meter is spot on or you can shoot full manual, and the wonderful lens has helped me realize 40mm is my favorite focal length. This camera makes photography fun, engaging, and challenging when I want it to be, facilitating precisely the sort of creative outlet I was searching for when I turned to photography.

~ Eric

[5-frmes]

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4 responses to “5 Frames… Of mewithoutYou on Kodak T-MAX P3200 (EI 3200 / 35mm format / Canon Canonet G-III QL17)”

  1. I have the QL17 as well and it has always prevented me from shooting the P3200, which I love, due to the max ISO of 800. One question though, did you develop the film at 800 as well or at the normal 3200 time?

  2. I have the QL17 as well and it has always prevented me from shooting the P3200, which I love, due to the max ISO of 800. One question though, did you develop the film at 800 as well or at the normal 3200 time?

  3. This is amazing. I’ve been wanting to get into shooting some shows on film and I think I’ll finally take the plunge once all the craziness in the world dies down.

    Btw mewithoutyou rules so much and I’m bummed I didn’t get to see them when that tour came through my area

  4. Jaffar.H.Sobha Avatar

    Hi,great the QL 17 ,I still have it and also the Feb,mechanic,these cameras make true photographer,with respect to digital,now life has become easier,but a little bit still have a preference for negative,which is difficult to find,as I still have the equipment for darkroom to

 

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