Before we begin, I just wanted to mention a couple of things. In the interest of the flow of the article, links to websites, Instagram pages, and YouTube videos will all be found at the end of the review (but I do hope you’ll read the whole thing, and not just skip to the end!). […]
Category: Reviews
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Posted inZeiss Ikon film camera reviews
Box of Magic: The Zeiss Ikon Box Tengor 56/2
This post has been a long time coming as well. Seems as though I have a backlog of ideas to work through, so bear with me. I’ve always had some sort of junk box camera kicking round for decoration, and the few times I’ve used them the results have been a bit of a joke […]
Posted inScanners
The CAMERADACTYL Mongoose: A modern full-roll 35mm film scanner
A few months ago I was catching up with CAMERADACTYL’s Ethan Moses when we got to talking about projects that would have the most impact on the film photography community. I happened to mention my pet peeve: the lack of a modern equivalent to the Kodak Pakon, an automated full-roll film scanner. Fast forward to […]
Posted inKodak Film Stock Reviews
Blood-red Witchery: Portraits on Kodak AEROCHROME III color infrared slide film
I spent a year preparing to shoot a roll of portraits on Kodak AEROCHROME III Infrared 1443, the false-color infrared-sensitive film manufactured by Kodak for aerial reconnaissance and scientific purposes in one shape or form between the early 1940s and 2010. There are some informative articles on the web about the film and how to […]
Posted inFilm stock reviews
ILFORD HP5 PLUS vs Kodak Tri-X 400 at EI 1600 in the Moscow Metro with the Mamiya 7II
I highly recommend the Moscow Subway Metro. As someone who loves spending time exploring underground, this was perhaps an unexpected highlight of my 2019 trip to Russia. If you are going for a photo trip (after the obvious COVID restrictions are lifted), I highly suggest Sunday mornings between 8-10am. Weekdays will be hell as you’re […]
Posted inLens Reviews
Shooting São Paulo with the Nikon 500mm f/8 Reflex-NIKKOR: the Pandemic from my Window
During this worldwide quarantine, as everyone was generally confined to their homes, I too was stuck inside but still had the desire to get out and shoot. When that wasn’t a possibility, I started to shoot from the inside looking out. I started documenting the city around me using a mirror reflex lens. You may […]
Posted inArticles, Featured, Film camera reviews, Reviews
Camera review: The Dora Goodman SCURA pinhole experience
One day I came across a post on Facebook by a fellow “pinholer” showing their recently acquired SCURA 35mm panoramic pinhole camera. I own several pinhole cameras but none are 35mm. I was intrigued by the film size and the fact this camera was designed to create 60x25mm panoramic images. The creator, Goodman Lab, also […]
Posted inLeica film camera reviews
Leica R6 Review; Like recommending an Aston Martin
The secret behind Leica’s R series is that their optical formulas for their SLR lenses are the same as their famous M mount lenses. A 50mm f/2 Summicron is made by the same people, with the same materials, in the same factories whether it is on an M6 or an R6. The R counterparts go […]
Posted inKodak Film Stock Reviews
Croatian views and colour tones on a Hasselblad 500C/M and Kodak Portra 160
No matter where I’m heading travel-wise, I always make a point of doing some sort of online recce before I depart. I think It gives you a visual understanding of the geographic layout and nature of the country you’re heading to and Croatia wasn’t a country I’d travelled to before. This online point of reference […]
Posted inArticles, Featured, Film camera reviews, Pentax film camera reviews, Reviews
Camera review: The unlovely (but very good) Pentax MZ-S
First an admission, I am an accidental Pentaxian. Like thousands of others, quite by chance I first learned to shoot film on a Pentax K1000. Since then many other Pentaxes have passed through my life: Spotmatic II, KM, MX, LX, 645n, both the 67 and 67ii and the MZ-S of course (twice!). The attraction is […]
Posted inFilm camera reviews
Night photography with the MiNT Camera Instantkon RF70 and Fujifilm Instax Wide film
There have been few opportunities for me to take the Instax Wide format MiNT Camera Instantkon RF70 on a night shoot, a favourite activity of mine. With the “iso” in Sydney having lifted in June, I was excited to have an opportunity to see what it could really do in low light. The Instantkon RF70 […]
Posted inArticles, Film camera reviews, Reviews
Building the CAMERADACTYL Brancopan
“Are you drilling?” asked my bleary-eyed wife, coming out of the bedroom of our small apartment at 1:30am. My desk was cluttered with tools, plastic shavings, and a half-completed CAMERADACTYL Brancopan 3D-printed camera. Of course I was drilling: the Brancopan has 27 fasteners with 1,094 thread revolutions, and there was no way that I was […]
Posted inFeatured, Film camera reviews, Leica film camera reviews, Reviews
The Leica M3: 5 reasons why it’s the greatest camera ever
The Leica M3 doesn’t do anything that another camera can’t. In fact, by today’s standards, it is severely lacking in features that are normally considered standard. No light meter. No hot shoe. No autofocus. No automatic exposure. Limited frame line selection (50/90/135). 1/50 max flash sync speed… On paper then, one might ask why anyone […]
Posted inFilm stock reviews
My 2020 lockdown journey: a comparative test of Kodak EKTACHROME E100 and Fujifilm Velvia 50 (bonus Portra/Lomography included)
I set out this Spring and Summer to do a comparative test of Kodak EKTACHROME E100 and Fujifilm Fujichrome Velvia 50 (RVP50). In my lifetime experience with film (going back to childhood), I’ve mostly shot slide film, and we had those traditional slide shows with Family and Friends because my mother used the original EKTACHROME from […]
Posted inArticles, CONTAX film camera reviews, Film camera reviews, Kodak Film Stock Reviews, Reviews
Expired Film from 1987! Kodacolor VR 400 and the Contaflex Super (New)
Discovered in the depths of the cellar this film from 1987. My oh my expired, brittle and a pain in the major to develop and scan. Nonetheless, its finally done! Video and Images of my adventure across an alpine pass and up to the Ramsau am Dachstein plateau from some images taken with the Contaflex […]
Posted inGear Reviews
The Cocotte Fred: One bag to rule them all
I’ve been remiss in writing on this blog, and for that I apologize. I return to form in a new year with a review to share. I’ve been searching for years for the right bag. Not just a camera bag, because those are thick on the ground. I use a camera bag differently than some, […]
Posted inBronica film camera reviews, Film camera reviews, Reviews
Zenza Bronica ETRS: Not exactly the poor man’s Hasselblad
The Bronica has been described as the poor man’s Hasselblad. That is just wrong, as I hope to demonstrate through this article. When I began my journey back to film photography, I looked at Rolleiflex cameras first, but finally settled on the Hasselblad 500C/M — of which I have two now. I recently decided to […]
Posted inLens Reviews
Rolleinar: it’s German for Sorcery
Lots of chatter about Rolleinars lately, I’ve only had mine since October ’15. A Rolleinar is a set of close-up lenses that fit on the front of your Rolleiflex. This shortens the working distance to your subject at the cost of minimal distortion and arguable loss of quality. The magnifier goes down below on the taking […]
Posted inArticles, Film Notes, Film stock reviews, ILFORD Film Stock Reviews, Kodak Film Stock Reviews, Reviews
Film Notes: Current high-speed films, ILFORD Delta 3200 Professional and Kodak T-MAX P3200
I’ve often described how I think that people looking for a different “look” from film would be better suited exposing and developing in a different way before they’d see any benefit from switching emulsions. Unless someone is searching for a specific “effect” in terms of grain structure, or halation, then most films will produce fairly […]
Posted inYashica film camera reviews
Yashica-B review: the lovable “rare” TLR camera
I’ve been fascinated with Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) cameras ever since I can remember, and even before I knew what a TLR was — I just knew them as these beautiful, quirky little photograph-taking boxes that appeared in the hands of famous and not-so-famous people dressed in 1950s and 60s attire. They had appeal, they […]
