We’ve all read the admonitions on the film boxes, the data sheets, and the manuals for our medium format cameras (you did read that, right?): load and unload in subdued light. So you do. And then you get a roll of film back from the lab, or you start to unspool a wet strip from your Paterson tank, and there it is… The dreaded edge fog, smoky little mountains emerging from the very edges of the film and extending well into the rebate, or perhaps even into your image area. In my case, I mutter a few choice words, and start to wonder if it’s just me.
Continue reading…Medium Format
Review: Mamiya C220 Twin Lens Reflex (TLR) Medium Format Film Camera
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…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…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 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 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.
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