My camera gear lust truly knows no boundaries. But in my defense, ever since I first got into large format photography, neither my Horseman L45 monorail camera (since sold) nor my Graflex Pacemaker 45 Crown Graphic quite seemed to completely scratch my large format itch. The Horseman is (well, was) quite simply too big and too heavy for serious field work (it’s not what monorails were even designed for), and the Graphic, as much as I love it, doesn’t provide enough view camera movements to be considered much of a contender for serious large format work — where perspective control, and depth-of-field control, through the use of those movements are central to the art form. Quite literally the only camera in existence that combines all the use cases of a monorail camera and a press camera into a single package is the Linhof Master Technika, or Master Technika Classic (more on that distinction later), and it’s the reason I’d wanted one for years. I never thought I’d have the opportunity, but it presented itself, and I think I have pretty well found my photographic capstone, not just for my large format endeavors, but for my film camera collection as a whole.
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Review: Nikon F5 135 (35mm) Film Camera
As I pointed-out in my review of the Nikon F4, I’ve said many times over the years that, “I’m just not a Nikon guy.” I also pointed-out that I was walking those words back a bit at that point. And now, as I sit down to write this review, I’m forced the reckon with an inconvenient truth: I am, now, indisputably, “a Nikon guy.” I didn’t see it coming, really, but the acquisition of a Nikon F5 professional SLR is the straw that broke the proverbial camel’s back. What else did I not see coming? How very much I could actually love a modern, highly electronic camera from what I refer to as the “new school” of SLR camera design.
Continue reading…Review: Minolta XG 1 (XG-1) 135 (35mm) Film Camera
Do you remember your first real film camera? Do you still have it? I do — and I still have mine. That camera? The Minolta XG 1, introduced in 1979, and later (in 1982) very subtly renamed (with a hyphen) as the XG-1, at which time it also received Minolta’s updated, so-called “rising sun” logo. I’ve been writing content here for years, and somehow or another, despite it being my first decent camera, I’ve overlooked writing a formal review of it despite mentioning it in other articles and reviews dozens of times. After the camera received a CLA recently, its first servicing in the 43 years I’ve owned it, I was reminded how much I love the camera, and love using it — and it was about time I shared both its story, and my feelings about it.
Continue reading…Review: Nikon F4 135 (35mm) Film Camera
Over the years, I’ve uttered these exact words, multiple times: “I’m just not a Nikon guy.” But these days, I find myself walking those words back a bit. I wouldn’t necessarily define myself as a “Nikon guy” even now, but I have definitely carved-out a spot in my photographic heart for the beloved Japanese camera and optical brand, having now, with the Nikon F4, discovered for myself what others have apparently long known.
Continue reading…Review: Nikon FE 135 (35mm) Film Camera
Last year, I surpassed the 200 camera mark in my film camera collection, and out of those, only one camera sported the name Nikon: My mother’s mid-1980s N2000 (known as the F-301 outside of North America), which I inherited when she passed a few years ago. It had been a gift to her from my father, and despite its simplicity, it was a little too much camera for her, and saw very little use. When I finally got around to using it, I came away relatively unimpressed. That was a few years ago, and while I need to give it a second chance, my sour opinion of it left me wondering why so many people are so enamored of Nikon cameras, and haven’t ever been able to shake the feeling that I was simply missing something. Recently, I seem to have gotten a glimpse of the reasons for all that Nikon Love among a certain subset of film camera enthusiasts.
Continue reading…Review: Petri V VI (Petri V6) 135 (35mm) Film Camera
When you think of Japanese SLR camera makers from the film camera era, you probably think of Nikon, Canon, Pentax, and Minolta. Perhaps also Olympus, Yashica, Fuji, Ricoh, Mamiya, or Konica as well. Maybe it even stretches to the obscure, like Cosina or Chinon. But seemingly, almost nobody recognizes another Japanese company that made an interesting mark in the history books: Petri. Originally known as Kuribayashi, Petri was initially the name of a camera model, but later adopted by Kuribayashi as (ostensibly) a more market-friendly name for the company itself. In 2022 when I became enamored of 35mm SLRs and wanted to try pretty much anything that looked interesting, I saw, and purchased, a Petri 35mm camera, what I know as a Petri V VI, but often referred to as the V6, Petri Flex V6, Petri Penta V6, and other variations. After putting a couple of rolls through my beautiful example of the type, I decided it’s high time for a review.
Continue reading…Review: Ihagee Exa 135 (35mm) Film Camera
Anyone who’s read my extraordinarily lengthy review of the Ihagee Exakta Varex IIa knows that I have a bit of a fascination with this brand of German cameras, the majority of which were produced in the post-war period behind the Iron Curtain in the former East Germany. But the Exakta family had a smaller, simpler, less costly sibling: The Ihagee Exa. After ignoring these models for a long time, I finally got the bug and secured my first example from an online charity auction.
Continue reading…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…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.
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