The world of Twin-Lens Reflex cameras seems to be endless and has plenty of surprises, but few manufacturers have offered TLRs with long focal length lenses permanently attached to the camera. Interestingly, the Tele-Rolleiflex was not the first to be released, as a rather unusual French camera predated it on the market by a few […]
Category: Reviews
Find all EMULSIVE reviews, covering photographic films, cameras, lenses, bags and other film photography gear, hardware and software, right here.
Posted inLens Reviews
The Lomography Atoll 17mm f/2.8 M-mount lens: Get close to your subject. No, closer. No, really, get a bit closer…
This is just a bit of fun with my Leica M6 and the new Leica M-mount Lomography Atoll 17mm f/2.8 wide angle lens. This isn’t really a review, it’s certainly not too technical, and I’m not going to talk about edge sharpness at f/4 or the lens’ micro-contrast: It’s one user’s experiences with & opinions […]
Posted inArticles
Caveat emptor, buyer beware: Restoring a Flexaret IV
If you have had a look at my article on the Goldilocks of camera designs you will have realised that I am a bit of a fan of the Twin Lens Reflex (TLR), a type I have used for around half of my 60 or so years in photography. Unfortunately, in my declining years I […]
Posted inFoma Bohemia Film Stock Reviews
Shooting 4×5 in 2021: Affordable Czechnology with Fomapan 200 Creative
Like many commodities affected by the COVID pandemic, photographic film prices have soared to unprecedented heights. I acutely remember 25 sheet boxes of ILFORD Delta 100 Professional 4×5 film selling for $45 at my local camera store in 2019, only to see that price rise almost 70% to $65 in September 2021 — before tax. […]
Posted inILFORD Film Stock Reviews
Chromogenic inspiration: ILFORD XP2 Super – Andrea Bianchi
What is the reason that drives a photographer or an analogue lover to use chromogenic black and white film in 2021? Personally, I appreciate them for the almost total absence of grain and the way they surrender detail. I like their characteristics and you feel good using them. Don’t get me wrong, I am a […]
Posted inFujifilm film camera reviews
Unrequited love: The Fuji GA645 Professional
I’ll admit my bias upfront: I adore the GA. This camera delivers sharp, perfectly exposed negatives with a minimum of fuss and worry.
Posted inNikon film camera reviews
Best of both: The Nikon Z6 “vs” the Nikon F6 in a portrait session
After learning last year that our office was due to close, I wanted to use my photographic skills to give something back to the people I worked with, something that might help them find their next dream job. I thought I could offer portraits that people could use on their CVs and social media. After […]
Posted inGuides & How-Tos
Shooting 35mm panoramic photographs with the Pentax 67
I first heard about the 24x65mm panoramic format when I bought my Fujifilm GFX50S a few years back. The digital medium format camera is able to shoot in 24×65 cropped mode whilst keeping the raw file intact and uncropped. I thought it was fun to shoot but I didn’t really commit to the format that […]
Posted inFilm camera reviews
Half a year with the Nons Camera SL42 Mk II: a real user’s review
I have had the Nons Camera SL42 Mark II for 8 months and it has transformed my instant film photography. In this mid term user’s review I’ll explain why the Nons Camera has filled a niche of its own in my instant film camera line up.
Posted inFilm camera reviews
Revisiting the cameras of my youth: Five half-frame Canon cameras over five and a half decades
In the 1960s half frame 35mm cameras enjoyed some popularity and several manufacturers offered models for this format. The idea was that the standard size of the 35mm frame (24×36 mm) was divided into two, which produced a frame half the size at 24×18 mm.
Posted inFilm stock reviews
Svema Foto 65 – Shooting Expired Film from 1989
I didn’t imagine that film which over 30 years expired would yield any result, decent or otherwise. Following the unwritten rule of adding a stop of exposure per decade expired, my film speed plummeted from 80 ISO all the way down to 12 ISO. Not ideal for anything that moves, such as children or sports! […]
Posted inPentacon film camera reviews
Camera review: The Pentacon Six TL and the Curate’s Egg
The Pentacon looks just like a standard 35mm SLR, although it is a little taller, a little wider and a little deeper. It is also heavier although does not feel particularly unwieldy in use.
Posted inArticles
Reviewing the original daylight film processing tank: the Agfa Rondinax 35U
I’ve been developing my own film now for over ten years, using Paterson system tanks and reels. The process of finishing a roll, getting out the dark bag and getting the film onto the Paterson spool has become almost second nature and, when all goes well, almost meditative. A few moments of calm. Does it […]
Posted inHasselblad film camera reviews
Camera review: A love letter to my Hasselblad 500CM
After graduating from college in 2020 my parents gave me a Hasselblad 500CM as a graduation present. I had been wishing for a Hasselblad since learning about them. As a quick introduction, Hasselblad is legendary within analogue photography circles, from photos on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission (I can recommend the 2019 documentary […]
Posted inArticles, Featured, Film camera reviews, Kiev film camera reviews, Reviews
Camera review: The utilitarian Kiev 60
The Kiev 60. It was the camera that got me into medium format film photography, and for better or worse, the one that I love, and the one that frustrates me the most. A Soviet tank of a camera — the T-34 if you will — it’s not one that you want to lug up […]
Posted inCineStill Film Stock Reviews
Film review: Cinestill 50D on Zurich’s smaller streets – Pentax MX and SMC Pentax-M 50mm f/1.7
I recently shot a roll of Cinestill 50D on a sunny, Saturday walk in Zurich. I chose to shoot Cinestill 50D because I had recently watched a review of it on the Analogue Wonderland Youtube channel. Having shot it before and not finding it particularly good, I wanted to shoot it again because the photos […]
Posted inArticles
Taking Stock: A shootout with 3 very different color films highlights creative possibilities – Kodak Portra, Fuji C200 and Fuji Velvia 100
I recently acquired a Rollei 35 after dreaming about shooting with this ultra-compact camera and its legendarily sharp Carl Zeiss lens for many years. I was able to score a great deal on a lightly used “Made in Germany” variant at my local camera shop by trading in an old Canon A1 and 50mm lens […]
Posted inGuides & How-Tos
Everything you wanted to know about auto (thyristor) flash photography …but were afraid to ask
I am familiar with flash photography. Much of what I shoot digitally, either in the studio or in the real world, is done with flash. On camera, off-camera, one flash, 6 strobes, no problem. I am, however, no hero. Shooting flash with digital is simple. I am good at simple things. I would even go […]
Posted inLomography Film Stock Reviews
Purple nights on Lomochrome Purple with the Pixels and Grain Collective
Lomochrome Purple XR 100-400 is an interesting film, with unclear origins, that shifts colours towards the purple spectrum, like a fantasy/dream. Greens become purple, blues aqua/green, and skin tones orangey, in a psychedelic way. Iso 100? 200? 400? Take your pick! While there are many articles out there about the colour shifting properties of this film, […]
Posted inArticles
Medium format film camera showdown: Contax 645 vs Pentax 645NII
I love medium format cameras but sometimes I feel a bit lazy: I just want to shoot a camera that is quick and convenient to use. That is when I reach for my trusty Pentax 645NII. It is a medium format film camera, but at the smallest end of what’s officially medium format. The Pentax […]
