Shot 100 years ago: Developing Kodak Premo-Pack 4×5 film from a Rochester Premo B camera ~ by Salvador Busquets One of the most fascinating things I’ve found by collecting cameras is that from time to time, there is some exposed — but not developed — film or glass plate. They often have spent decades inside […]
Category: Reviews
Find all EMULSIVE reviews, covering photographic films, cameras, lenses, bags and other film photography gear, hardware and software, right here.
Norita 66 system review: Pleasure and pain from my need for speed
Hello. My name is Aivaras and I am a bokeh junkie. I got into film photography mostly because of my ability to play with limited depth of field and I still can’t let it go. However, there are minor signs of remission; I already managed to understand that in the 35mm film world at least, […]
Swift shooter: The Chinon Auto 3001 has the functions and ergonomics to ensure you don’t miss the decisive moment
The ability to frame in the mind and see a photo before it’s even taken is a key skill, and one that only comes with practice and patience. An equally important factor, though, is the equipment.
Camera Review: The Diana Instant Square… Instant Control
Instant Pinhole photos are almost an oxymoron. The film process with the fastest feedback loop coupled with the film process with the longest exposure times. Does it make sense? Well, yes it does, particularly in the Diana Instant Square. In this article, I’ll be taking a look at the camera and how it delivers that classic Diana/toy camera […]
The minimalist Leica R6: Budget Leica or an overpriced SLR?
Leica is known for its legendary craftsmanship of cameras, but I don’t need to tell you that. Why do you think we all clamour at the idea of finding one amongst our grandfather’s possessions? It’s like finding the holy grail. While pretty much any camera from the M-Series is most sought after, most people would […]
I bought a Leica M3: Everything I need and nothing more
The Leica M3 is a camera I have lustered over since the beginning of my photography career almost eleven years ago now. Obviously, it looks absolutely beautiful as far as mechanical design and engineering go, and although you hear a lot of people saying the camera you use doesn’t matter, I actually believe it does. […]
Camera review: The Contax G2… So close…
I’ve waited long enough to speak. We’ve broken up, it’s over. The romance was hot and quick. A flash in the pan. It’s time to do a review on the Contax G2. If I could anthropomorphize the G2, it’s an unapologetically awkward, runway-gorgeous genius. The Contax excels conquers in every way that matters, and falls criminally short in a few […]
Bringing home a new baby… The Automatic Rolleiflex 4×4 (featuring Rollei, ReraPan and Kodak 127 format films)
Let me tell you about my adventures with my new Baby Rolleiflex 4×4 (technically speaking, the “Automatic Rolleiflex 4×4”) and Rollei Nightbird, ReraPan (and ReraChrome), AND Kodak Portra 160NC film… The adventure started way back in 2016 when I saw the Vivian Maier documentary and was just starting out with film. I really wanted a […]
Another Hasselblad XPan alternative: Introducing the PressPan
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!). […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]