“Nice camera,” said a passing Montrealer as I looked up from the waist-level viewfinder of my Rolleicord Vb. I’d just photographed their local depanneur (convenience store) in the Vieux-Rosemont neighbourhood of Montreal. I had sought out this depanneur specifically due to its big blue sign which jutted out of a residential building. Fortunately for me, […]
Tag: Rollei
Posted inOpinion
An ideal match: 120 roll film cameras and the square format
In this current age of the so-called “full frame” digital camera, with its 2:3 proportions, the square format, or 1:1 proportion, is somewhat of an outlier and perhaps even disparaged as a remnant of the age of 120 roll film. Even Instagram, which started as an emulation of square format instant photographs has opened the […]
Posted in5 Frames...
6 Frames… Of Prague on six films on a Plaubel Makina 67 (120 format / EI 100-50 / Nikkor 2.8/80mm – by Frédéric Schneider
In the summer of 2022 I had a fantastic photo week in Prague (Czech Republic) with my friend João. I used six different films with my Plaubel Makina 67. The weather was sunny and warm (up to 38°C on one day, but Czech beer helped a lot to keep cool) with some clouds all over […]
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5 Frames… At Westonbirt Arboretum on ILFORD Delta 100 Professional Rolleicord Va + Xenar 75mm f/3.5
Rolleicord Va is a medium format (6×6) camera using 120 size films, with which you will get 12 frames per roll. It is a Twin-Lens Reflex (TLR) camera and has a Xenar 75mm f/3.5 as the taking lens and a 75mm f/3.2 as the viewing lens. My Rolleicord Va is a version 2, according to […]
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6 Frames… Of morning pinholes on an ONDU 6×12 Multiformat and Rollei Superpan 200
I have shot film since my childhood, but I completely switched to film 5 years ago. During all this time I gained a lot of experience experimenting with different film, formats, and cameras and gradually realized what I like most — the square format and slowed down shooting. This naturally led me to the idea […]
Posted in5 Frames...
5 Frames… In Central Park on Rollei Ortho 25 Plus (120 Format / EI 25 / Hasselblad 500CM + Zeiss Planar C 80mm f/2.8)
Rollei Ortho 25 Plus is easily my favorite film, and it’s probably the one I use least often. It’s obviously a lot easier, and less conspicuous, to load my Nikon F2 with a roll of Kodak Tri-X 400, push it to EI 1600 for a long walk and call it a day. But, when I […]
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 inArticles, Film camera reviews, Reviews, Rollei film camera reviews
An accidental Rolleiflex TLR: A new experience with the Rolleiflex Automat 6×6 Model RF 111A
I had used film from the late 1950s right up to the digital revolution when I was seduced by what the new cameras could do. As DSLR cameras improved (I now have a Nikon D850) there were few practical reasons for working with the older technology. But what does practicality have to do with anything? […]
Posted inGuides & How-Tos
Brighten up your Rolleiflex (or any TLR camera) with a new Rick Oleson Brightscreen
For a photographer, there is nothing quite like the experience of looking onto the focus screen of a TLR or other medium format, primarily waist-level viewfinder cameras such as Hasselblads, Bronicas or Mamiya RB67s.
Posted in5 Frames..., Articles
5 Frames… Of social deprivation in the English West Midlands on Rollei RPX 400 and a Yashica Mat-124G
Growing up in the digital age, I took the leap into film photography a year ago shooting a roll of Rollei RPX 400 on a £5 Praktica. I hated how with the introduction of EVF’s and ‘live view’ there was almost no need to think about how to get the look you wanted so I […]
Posted inArticles
My first roll… Of slide film: Fujifilm Provia 100F in a Rolleicord III
A quick word on my photographic origins, a hiatus, and creative evolution: I started with film photography in the late-1990’s to early-2000’s, self-teaching the basics of exposure and composition on a Nikon F65 SLR. I shot that camera for a few years, fairly religiously, though not very seriously. Then, for some (no?) reason, perhaps around 2005, […]
Posted inArticles, Featured, Film camera reviews, Reviews, Rollei film camera reviews
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 […]
Posted in5 Frames..., Articles
5 Frames… At Pradelles, deep in the heart of France on Rollei Retro 400 (35mm Format / EI 400 / Nikon FG)
During the confinement period in France earlier this year, I have decided to get back to film photography. I found this Nikon FG in excellent condition with a Nikkor 50mm Series E f/1.8 lens and a Falcor 28mmm f/2.8 lens on a second-hand website popular in France. The camera was going for 90 euros. The […]
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5 Frames… Of my grandsons on Rollei Retro 100 (EI 100 / 35mm format / Nikon FM2n)
It’s not often I shoot 35mm film these days despite a drawer full of film and twenty-plus 35mm cameras to chose from. However, on a whim, I picked up the Nikon FM2n over the weekend and noticed it had a partially exposed roll of film in. It was also fitted with a Nikon AF 28-70mm […]
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5 Frames… On a panoramic-mod Zeiss Ikonta 521/16 and Rollei Retro 400S (EI 4200 / 120 Format)
I have an obsession with panoramic photos and the cameras that take them. Walk into a museum or historical exhibit and chances are you’ll find a panorama; often impossibly long and expertly taken by masters of the past. Often there’s a bigger opportunity for unintended scenes, objects, people, and situations to be captured in time. […]
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5 Frames. Cumulus afternoon with a red filter on Rollei Superpan 200 (EI 200 / 120 format / Rolleiflex T)
Once again it was time for a spontaneous photo tour with a fixed theme. Normally I only shoot what comes to my nose. I am always very free. But that was a wonderful day, Saturday 30 May 2020. The sun was shining and cumulus clouds were gathering in the sky. The ideal weather for cloud […]
Posted inFilm Photographer Interviews
EMULSIVE Interview #221: I am Gaetan Cormier Interview and this is why I shoot film
Stormchaser, landscape photographer and portraiture, today’s interviewee has a long and varied photographic history. Please give a warm welcome to Montrealean (-er? -an?), Gaetan Cormier! Over to you, Gaetan. Hi Gaetan, what’s this picture, then? Farm and Trees – Bronica SQ-A with 80mm lens, ILFORD FP4 PLUS GC: I learned about these cute farm buildings […]
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5 Frames… Of prototype Adox HR-50 on a tiny Rollei (35mm Format / EI 50 / Rollei 35S)
I love cycling. I also love taking pictures. An old Rollei 35mm camera turned out to be the ideal way to marry these two things without putting my fancy digital camera in danger, I even liked the pictures so much that the modern monster now stays at home for most days. One day I found […]
Posted inRollei film camera reviews
NOT Being Vivian Maier: NOT really a Rolleiflex 2.8F camera review
It has nearly been 12 months since I got my hands on my Rolleiflex 2.8F, and whilst I’m not usually a reviewer of equipment, I’d like to share my experience of using this iconic camera and the inspiration behind me finally owning one. Like many who were first made aware of the story of Vivian Maier, I was completely […]
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5 Frames… Of portraits and landscapes on Rollei Infrared 400 (EI 12 / 35mm format / Leica M3)
I have always been fascinated by infrared photography. This idea to make visible that part of the light spectrum which is invisible (to our eyes) has always got me. When I was a (geek) teenager, I modified my first digital camera (a Konica Digital Revio KD-220Z) to shoot infrared pictures. My parents yelled at me: […]
