I recently acquired (yet) another medium format camera: a Mamiya C220 TLR. It was offered on eBay (a place I normally avoid like the plague), but the fact it was fully complete — including boxes, manuals, all body and lens caps, etc. — and in great condition made it sort of a no-brainer to take the risk. I’m glad I did, because what arrived was every bit as good (or better) than the eBay listing photos. Full-form reviews on this camera are virtually non-existent, so it also seemed like a no-brainer to take a deep dive and explore its allure in detail.
Continue reading…Cameras
Review: Pentax 645 Medium Format Film Camera
There are already multiple reviews, history lessons, opinions, and so forth regarding the Pentax 645 medium format film camera (my favorite being Todd Reed’s on Emulsive), and as I begin this piece, I’m not sure I’m necessarily going to be bringing deep, new insights to the table. But after shooting with this camera through over a dozen rolls of 120 film, I feel I’ve experienced its capabilities pretty well at this point, know some of its foibles, and have a basis to pull together some cogent thoughts. If you’re considering adding one of these cameras to your collection, read on.
Continue reading…Review: Yashica-A Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) Medium Format Film Camera
The camera purchase I made in July 2019 was one I didn’t see coming: A lovely Yashica-A twin lens reflex (TLR) camera. But when I saw it in the display case at Englewood Camera with a US$125 price tag on it, it got my attention. Then when I looked closer, I just couldn’t not take it home with me.
Continue reading…My Polaroid Experience
In early April, I did a blog post on Polaroid, right at the very beginning of my renewed interest in film photography. (On another note, I can’t believe it’s only been a month and a half; it feels like it’s been a year, given everything I’ve been doing.) As fascinated by and happy as I am about the former Impossible Project (now Polaroid Originals), I’ll be honest: I’ve been pretty disappointed in the reality of it. Just yesterday, I read this blog post over at Emulsive that really resonated for me.
Continue reading…Rediscovering Film: Part Four
In Parts One, Two, and Three of this series, I talked at length about getting reacquainted with old friends: film cameras. While I’ve not taken the Polaroid out since Part One, I have shot film in my old Duaflex (Part Two), and my Minolta XG 1 (Part Three), and have finally received them back from the lab.
Continue reading…A Learning Experience with My Pentax 645
It may surprise you to see a picture of a package of Duracells as the featured image for this post, considering the title. But as you might well guess, the two are related. I’ll jump to the point: When you camera requires batteries to function, always, always carry extra batteries, because they will fail you when you need them most.
Continue reading…A Few Decades Later, I Embrace Medium Format
Readers will know I’ve recently rediscovered some old friends, including my Polaroid OneStep, my old Kodak Duaflex II, and finally, the Minolta XG 1 I used in photography class back in high school many years ago. This week, I made a brand new friend: a Pentax 645 medium-format film camera.
Continue reading…Rediscovering Film: Part Three
In Part One and Part Two of this unplanned series of posts, I dusted-off my old Polaroid OneStep and my even older Kodak Duaflex II cameras. Digging through boxes that have remain untouched since moving here over four years ago, I found another camera relic: My old Minolta XG 1, a 35mm SLR, which I bought for photography class when I was in high school after draining a small savings account someone had set-up for me as a kid.
Continue reading…Rediscovering Film: Part Two
In Part One of this series, I talked about Polaroid instant photography, and the walk down memory lane I had finding my Polaroid OneStep from the mid-1990s, loading it with new Polaroid Originals film, and taking some interesting shots. While digging around in pictures and cameras, I also thought of another old camera: my Kodak Duaflex II. The old Kodak, however, was sitting on the lower shelf of a side table in my living room, where’s it’s been little more than a knick-knack for years now. I thought it was time to say hello again.
Continue reading…Rediscovering Film: Part One
Recently, I’ve been going through old stuff — boxes from my late mother’s house, boxes of stuff from childhood I’ve moved from place to place over the years. You reach an age where you start to think, “It’s time to thin this pile of stuff down a bit,” and that’s where I’m at.
Part of the old stuff is photographs. Lots and lots and lots of photographs. And lots of cameras, some of which took some of those many photographs. It got me thinking: When was the last time I actually shot a photograph on… (gasp)… film?
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