Category: All Reviews
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The mighty Fujica Panorama G617 Professional camera review
The mighty Fujica Panorama G617 Professional was the camera that made me return to shooting on film. After I’d sold my film gear and gone all digital, I had thought that if I ever found a panoramic camera in a second-hand shop, that it might tempt me back to film – I was right. I…
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What I’ve learned from my LomoChrome Purple XR 100-400 experiences: A user’s guide
Lomography’s LomoChrome Purple XR 100-400 is definitely an interesting film. Until shooting it in late 2019, I had never tried a ‘special effects’ film before and surprisingly, I liked it. But there are some caveats that never seem to be mentioned in Lomography’s posts and promotions. This is not so much intended as a film…
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GAS and the “wrong” camera: Skateboarders with the Pentax 6×7 in Singapore
I suffer from GAS: Gear Acquisition Syndrome. Even as I write this I have a painfully expensive Mamiya 6 on its way from Japan because I just had to have a medium format camera that’s light and easy to carry. You know, because my 35mm cameras are great, but what if I find myself in…
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B&W pinhole photography with the Vermeer 6×12 and 120 format Kosmo Foto Mono 100
It was time to have some fun with Kosmo Foto Mono 100 while tour skiing in the Alps. This time around the Frauenalpe in Austria. The Frauenalpe used to be a ski resort but they removed the equipment. Which makes it so much better to experience nature. Going ski touring or snowshoe walking is really…
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Film stock review: Fujifilm FUJICHROME Velvia 50 Professional (RVP 50)
I think there’s a pretty big misconception about shooting slide film. We’ve all heard the stories about how slide film is ridiculously hard to shoot, that if you’re off on your exposure by just a small amount that your highlights will either be blown away or everything will be a murky detail void shadow. Maybe…
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Shooting expired Kodak EKTACHROME 100 in 220 and 4×5 format: why I’m excited medium and large format is coming back
After the successful resurrection of 35mm Ektachrome, Kodak announced it would also bring back 120 and large formats. Later we even found out 4×5 large format sheets were also going to be released. At the time of writing in the middle of January 2020, we are living in the twilight zone of it being–or-just-not-yet–being on…
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Billingham AVEA 7 和 AVEA 8 侧口袋好用吗?
我使用 AVEA 7 和 AVEA 8 已经年,它们一直挂在我 Billingham 包两侧。对于 大部分人来说,AVEA 系列侧袋是一种固定在 Billingham Hadley、S、f/stop 等 系列相机包上的侧包。
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Film review: The magic of TMZ – Kodak T-MAX P3200
Have you ever wondered if magic is real or not? Well, I can tell you that it is, and somehow, Kodak has managed to harness that magic and stuff it into a small film canister for me to bewilder over. I have absolutely no idea how they did this but I’m so happy they did. Kodak T-MAX…
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EMULSIVE’s most popular film stock reviews of 2019
There are a few days left for 2019 but fingers crossed, it’s the first year for quite some time where we haven’t seen one or more film discontinued – great, isn’t it? In fact, we’ve seen somewhere in the region of three new film stocks announced AND released – ILFORD ORTHO PLUS, Fujifilm NEOPAN 100…
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A complete guide to the Mamiya RZ67, part five: conclusion and personal stories
This five-part review has taken the best part of three years to complete. At over 40,000 words, I admit that it is quite long (!) but I wanted it to be as detailed and as precise as possible. To the best of my knowledge, no book has ever been written about the Mamiya RZ67 Professional,…
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Building a point and shoot 6×17 camera: the TwoFourths DIY camera kit
In 2016 I decided to back the TwoFourths DIY 617 Kickstarter project, paying about $185 for a kit that would let me use two lenses on the wood and plastic 6×17 format camera. I saw this as a point and shoot camera, requiring less effort than my 4×5 and 8×10, and much less expensive than…
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The mighty Salyut-S; Or how I learned to love a Hasselbladski
While there were a number of different models made – see below – the Soviet copy of Hasselblad’s 1600F modular camera is commonly known as a Kiev, which was both a model name and a reference to it’s place of manufacture, The Arsenal, or more correctly, the Arsenal State Enterprise of Special Instrumentation in Kiev…
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A complete guide to the Mamiya RZ67, part four: maintenance and miscellaneous accessories
Over the past three weeks, I have introduced you to the Mamiya RZ67 Professional camera, its series of film holders and the extensive lens system. In this, part four of the series, I will introduce you to the main system accessories and some basic maintenance/troubleshooting concepts. The neck strap After purchasing my RZ, the first…
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A Day in the Life: London Street Photography with the Leica M6
This article is part diary, part camera review, part lens review, and part film review, all based around my average day-to-day exploits as a film-based street photographer and photojournalist in London.
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Camera review: 14 years with the “invisible” Nikon FM3a
In January 2006, after 5 or so years of film photography with a combination of cheaper cameras (e.g., a Minolta SRT-101, a Fed-3 and an old Mamiya 35mm), I bought a like-new Nikon FM3A for $429 USD on eBay. Since then it has shot hundreds (if not thousands) of rolls of film, and has accompanied…
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A complete guide to the Mamiya RZ67, part three: lenses, filters and accessories
Welcome back to part three of this guide. We’ve already covered a deep overview of the Mamiya RZ67 Professional system as well as a look at the system’s film holder options. For part three, I’ll be covering the lenses. If you’ve read the previous two parts, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of the…
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Comparing Fujifilm NEOPAN 100 ACROS II to original ACROS. What’s the difference?
Understandably, I was very excited to hear the news of Fujifilm bringing back NEOPAN 100 ACROS in the form of ACROS II earlier this year. So, when a second announcement came with details of a November 22nd Japanese release date, I started making calls to see if I could buy some. I got lucky and…
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A complete guide to the Mamiya RZ67, part two: film holder system
Welcome to part two of this short but exhaustive series of articles on the Mamiya RZ67 Professional camera system. In part one I gave you a deep overview of the RZ67 system; its history, breadth, basic steps to taking your first photograph, focusing and use cases. Part two dives deep into the RZ’s revolving back,…
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A complete guide to the Mamiya RZ67 Pro: part one – deep system overview
The Mamiya RZ67 is very interesting and in many ways, an unusual camera. It’s not very easy to operate and a little bit slow if you’re not used to it, so it’s maybe not a camera for everybody. It’s also huge and a bit heavy and was primarily created for studio work and landscapes for…
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The TLR, a Goldilocks camera design
The Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) is a camera design over 130 years old and it’s almost a hundred years since its now-familiar appearance first was brought to the mass market by Franke & Heidecke and subsequently, so widely and successfully copied. It is a “just right” Goldilocks camera if ever there was one. I am not…