When I grew up during the Cold War, every product from the Eastern Bloc was considered junk. Take the Trabant and its 2-stroke engine. While it’s gone on to cult status, it remains a laughably horrible vehicle. You might think lenses from East Germany’s Carl Zeiss Jena (CZJ) are in the same camp — trendy […]
Tag: Carl Zeiss Jena Biometar 80mm f/2.8
Posted in5 Frames..., Articles
5 Frames… Of symbols of the German Democratic Republic 1990-expired ILFORD HP5 (120 Format / EI 80 / Pentacon Six + Carl Zeiss Jena Biometar 80mm f/2.8)
Since 2019 I’ve been photographing the remaining symbols of the German Democratic Republic using a stash of (non-PLUS) ILFORD HP5 medium format film that expired in 1990 — the same year as East Germany itself “expired.” I went full “Ossi” (German slang for Easterner) and chose as my kit the Pentacon Six with an 80mm […]
Posted inPentacon film camera reviews
Camera review: Fixing a bad rep… It’s time for the Pentacon Six to shine
Can the Pentagon Six take pictures as sharp and contrasty as a Hasselblad or a Rolleiflex? After all, this is the only question that matters apparently and — spoiler alert — I would not have written this review if it couldn’t. Overlapping frames, unreliable shutter times, frame counter off sick, jammed self timer, blurry images […]
