Since well before the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve been learning (slowly and carefully) how to repair and restore certain types of film cameras. As time has gone on, I’ve tackled increasingly bigger challenges, and one of them recently was resurrecting a Yashica-D twin-lens reflex (TLR) camera that its previous owner apparently dropped, face down. What follows is a narrative on bringing that camera back — with a subtext for all of us on how not to handle your cameras, since drops onto hard surfaces are not generally reparable. And when they are, as I discovered, it can be quite challenging.
Continue reading…Medium Format
Review: Graflex Pacemaker 23 Speed Graphic Medium Format Camera
My fondness for the iconic Graflex Graphic cameras was no doubt in evidence as I reviewed the Pacemaker 45 Crown Graphic back in 2020, and my fondness for the Graflex brand has only expanded since, as I discovered the quirky but quite usable Graflex Graphic 35 rangefinder cameras for 135 film and restored a few of them on my workbench. But while the Pacemaker 45 scratched the 4×5 large format itch, I continued to be intrigued by its smaller sibling, often referred to as the “baby” Graflex, baby Graphic, or “23” Graphic. The 23 is a reference to the cameras’ use of 2¼ x 3¼ inch sheet film (2×3, nominally), and they’re everything the larger Graphic cameras are — just presented in a petite (and adorable) little package that has charmed me to the core.
Continue reading…Understanding and Using Auxiliary Close-up Lenses (Proxar, Rolleinar, Portra, etc.)
One of my favorite types of photography is taking images from unique perspectives, revealing worlds unseen — or more accurately, unnoticed; images that reveal something you wouldn’t normally see, or don’t normally choose to look for. It could be shots taken low to the ground, or from the top of a ladder, but often it’s very simply shots taken up close.
Continue reading…Review: Yashica-D Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) Medium Format Camera
I’ve said very little about it here as I write this review in October 2021, but for over a year now, I’ve been slowly, methodically gravitating toward repairing and restoring cameras, and developing a workbench and collection of tools to do so. First it was the Zeiss Jena Biotar lens on my Exakta. Then I managed to get a couple of Zeiss Ikon Contina II cameras running (a model which still needs its own review here). Then a Graflex Graphic 35. Bit by bit, my confidence and knowledge levels rose in the face of (or perhaps because of) a few notable failures. And while I still know my limits (e.g., complex cameras don’t belong on my repair bench), I nevertheless relish tackling basket case cameras in horrible cosmetic condition just to see what (if anything) I might be able to do to get them working and looking acceptable again. Such was the case recently with a very tired, non-working, aesthetically bankrupt Yashica-D — one of the many twin lens reflex (TLR) models to come out of the Yashica factories over the course of the company’s existence.
Continue reading…Review: Yashica Mat-124G Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) Medium Format Camera
I don’t generally require nearly two years to write a review, but in fact, I did start this one in October 2019. The passage of time has given me new perspectives on the venerable Yashica Mat-124G TLR camera, and in those two years, much as changed about the used film camera market — especially when it comes to decent medium format cameras. Given this camera’s stature in the medium format universe, and given its amazing 16 year production run, from 1970 clear until 1986, it constitutes both a popular and a worthy choice — at least when you can find one to buy.
Continue reading…Review: Conley No. 2 Kewpie Medium Format Box Camera
When I got back into film photography a few years back, I was interested in one thing: shooting medium format film, using modern cameras — those no older than the 1980s. Rolleiflex lust dragged me into vintage camera territory, but I resisted embracing anything that could be described as antique. But one charity auction lot later, and here we are, deep into antique camera territory.
Continue reading…Review: Kodak Ektachrome E100 Color Reversal Film (135/120)
Many film photographers were crestfallen when — after declining sales resulting from the rise of digital — Kodak discontinued the last remaining variety of its Ektachrome color reversal film back in 2013, leaving Fujifilm as the only major producer of color reversal films. (I have always preferred the term “reversal film,” but many call it transparency film or slide film.) Some predicted that reversal films would eventually go away, labs that process E-6 (a chemical process identifier for Ektachrome and all other modern reversal films) would stop doing so, the very few remaining labs that specialize in E-6 would close, and that would be that.
Alas, that wasn’t the case, at least not for now. Film slowly began to rebound to a seemingly sustainable level; enough so, apparently, that Kodak made waves when it announced in late 2017 that the Ektachrome production line was to be restarted. Ektachrome E100 finally began reaching store shelves in 135 format in October 2018, followed by 120 and sheet formats, which began to trickle to stores just a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Continue reading…Review: Ilford Delta 100 Black and White Negative Film (135, 120)
When I returned to film photography, I have to confess that I came back as a traditional emulsion snob. By traditional, I mean the old stuff: Tri-X, Fomapan, HP5, and so on. What I wanted was authenticity, and I didn’t think that some engineered emulsion, with its controlled formation of silver halide salts (that means you, Delta and T-Max) was something I wanted to have anything to do with. Oh, I tried the modern stuff — and was disappointed by its overly pure, overly perfect contrast, tone and grain. It looked… digital. And the entire reason I was shooting film was to not be digital. All that may be how the story begins, but it’s not how it ends.
Continue reading…Time Capsules: The Voyeuristic Joy of Found Film
I like shopping for classic cameras, I suppose — I must, given how many web sites I frequent, just seeing what I can find, and at what price point. So it was a few weeks back when I was on shopgoodwill.com, the online auction site for numerous Goodwill Industries chapters through the US and Canada. The site has myriad camera listings, but most of the merchandise is, candidly, not that desirable to me. Still, I look from time-to-time, which is how I found an interesting listing, for a not-so-interesting camera.
Continue reading…Review: Rolleiflex Automat MX Medium Format Film Camera
To say that there is a lot of passion about Rolleiflex TLR (twin-lens reflex) cameras feels like a massive understatement. To be sure, there are tons of great film cameras, and there are myriad brands (and specific models) with passionate users. But as I noted in the opening of my Hasselblad 503CW review, for me, anyway, there are just three camera brands that achieved truly legendary, truly iconic status: Rollei, Leica, and Hasselblad. I still don’t own a Leica (maybe one day?), and I’ve already reviewed the Hassy, so it’s time for the Rolleiflex to have a few words on this web site devoted to it.
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