Here are some additional photos with the Close-Up Lenses No. 2 on the Yashica Mat-124 G. These were shot on expired Kodak Tri-X. The resulting images have a lot of grain.
Camera: Yashica Mat-124 G (1970 – 1986)
with Yashica No. 2 Close-up Lenses.
Film: Kodak Tri-X (Exp 6/2003).
Process: CineStill Df96 Monobath 3 Mins @ 26° C.
Scanned: Epson V700 Photo
I recently sent my Yashica Mat-124 G off to Mr. Mark Hama in Georgia (USA) for a CLA (clean, lubricate, adjust). Mark is known for working on the team that built the Mat-124 G at Yashica’s factory in Japan. For the past 30 years he’s been repairing cameras from his home. If you recall, he also repaired my Yashica 44 last year.
I was having issues with the shutter button. For whatever reason it would not click after advancing the film. For the past two weeks I’ve been running a few rolls of 120 film through the camera to ensure that it’s working correctly. I’m happy to report that it works as good as new. I’m not sure what I did wrong with the negatives, but they’re showing some banding at the top. Possible light piping? If you have some ideas, please leave me a comment.
Camera: Yashica Mat-124 G (1970 – 1986)
Film: Ilford HP5+ 400 (Exp 8/2018)
Process: Kodak HC-110 (1+31) 5 Min @ 68°
Scanned: Epson V700 Photo
When 127 film was discontinued in 1995, photographers were left to create their own ways of cutting film to use in their favorite cameras. The easiest method is cutting 120 film down, and re-spooling it, with the backing paper, to a smaller 127 spool. There are a few different ways that this can be done. Some photographers have used a cigar cutter method. This method uses a single or double-bladed guillotine cigar cutter normally used for shouldering cigars, to cut the correct amount of film directly off a 120 spool. There’s also a 3-D printed cutter that comes up every once in awhile on eBay that uses the same cigar cutter design.
Last summer, Claudio at Camerhack in Italy introduced his new FCK127, a 3-D printed kit that contains everything needed to cut 120 film down to 127, in the daylight. To summarize the process, you prepare the 120 roll, cut the film in the winding module, and you’re done. Without going into the details of using the kit, you can watch Claudio’s video here. There are several pieces to the kit, and it may appear to be complicated, but it’s not.
When I purchased the Camerhack FCK127, I had two cameras that used 127 film. A Kodak Brownie Starflash (1957 – 1965) and a Kodak No. 0 Brownie (1914 – 1935). The FCK127 gave me an excuse to look at buying some new cameras. So, I went to eBay and started to look at cameras and purchased not one, but three: Kodak Baby Brownie (1934 – 1941), Yashica 44 (1958), and a Yashica 44 LM (1958 – 1962).
The Kodak Baby Brownie is an art deco styled bakelite camera that was made from 1934 to 1941 in the United States. It’s a simple camera that has a flip up viewfinder with an f/11 meniscus lens, and a rotary shutter that’s approximately 1/40th sec. The following images were created with the Kodak Baby Brownie. I had an issue seeing the frame numbers in the red window on the camera, so I had several shots that overlapped. I’ve decided to leave them for the most part. I had much better results with the two Yashica TLR cameras. In the coming weeks I’ll share those images and details about the two Yashica 44 cameras.
Camera: Kodak Baby Brownie (1934 – 1941)
Film: Fomapan 100
Process: FPP-110 (1+31) 7 Min @ 68°
Scanner: Epson V600 Photo
It’s been a crazy summer for me. With some new job responsibilities, I worked some incredibly long hours at odd times of the day or night. On a Friday back in June, I had spent 12 hours working from home in front of my computer. I felt like I was going to go crazy if I didn’t get away from the screen. When I finished my work around 9:30 PM, I loaded up my Olympus OM-1 with some Kodak Ektar and headed down the street to a local carnival. With a tripod and cable release, I decided the best way to disengage and relax from work would be some long exposures. I’ve never tried long exposures on film, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. With my patient wife standing by me, I opened up the OM-1 in bulb mode, and just shot. It was actually a therapeutic way to end the day. The results aren’t stellar, but they’re not bad either. The next morning, I walked back down to the carnival to get a few shots of some wild looking horses that were part of the merry-go-round.
Camera: Olympus OM-1N MD (1979)
Film: Kodak Ektar 100
Process: CineStill C41 Kit
Scanner: Epson V600 Photo
This summer, I spent an afternoon at two recently abandoned places with my Nikon F2 and a roll of Kodak Ektar. On the occasion that I shoot color film, I like the saturated colors of Ektar and the way it renders red, orange and green.
The house and pool in the images are a piece of property purchased last year by the Utah Department of Transportation. Several homes along US 89 in Fruit Heights, Kaysville and Layton in Davis County will be demolished because of a highway expansion project.
Raging Waters in Salt Lake City was operated under a contract starting in 2011 with Seven Peaks Resorts. The contract however expired in early 2019 and the owners decided not to re-open and the water park was abandoned. I know a few skaters that would love to trespass on this property.
Camera: Nikon F2 Photomic (1971)
Film: Kodak Ektar 100
Process: CineStill C41 Kit
Scanner: Epson V600 Photo
Coca-Cola began using polar bears for print advertising in 1922. And the polar bears would appear occasionally in printed advertisements over the next seventy years. It wasn’t until 1992 that advertising professional Ken Stewart gave life to the Coca-Cola polar bears in the popular Northern Lights television commercial in February 1993. The Coke polar bears were one of the first digitally animated advertising campaigns. The television commercials featuring the polar bears touched on the emotion and magic that many of Coca-Cola’s previous ad campaigns had done. Starting in 1993, the Coca-Cola Polar Bears from the “Always Coca-Cola” (admit it, you just sang that in your head) series of advertisements and many more successful marketing campaigns came complete with matching Coke merchandise.
Manufactured in 1999, the Coca-Cola Polar Bear Camera could be purchased in a Coca-Cola collector tin or bought by itself in a sealed plastic clamshell package. The camera came with two AA batteries and a roll of Kodak Max 400 color film, a Coke branded camera case, and camera strap. The camera is a simple point-and-shoot, with no special features other than being automatic and motorized. Sliding the polar bear, holding his beverage of choice, to the side reveals what I’m guessing to be a 35mm f/5.6 lens. The camera automatically senses light and fires the flash if needed. The top of the camera features a frame counter and a switch to rewind the film. The shutter is triggered by pressing the Coca-Cola bottle cap.
This camera was given to me last Christmas by my oldest son, Caleb. My initial test was an incredibly expired roll of Kodak Gold 400. The roll was not stored in a box, so I don’t know the expiration date, but the shifting colors are a good indicator that it was past its prime. I developed this roll with the CineStill C-41 one quart developing kit. I like quirky branded toy cameras like the Coca-Cola Polar Bear Camera. I wish they would make a camera featuring my preferred drink, Coke Zero.
One final roll from the the Canon 10S. This time using one of my favorite black and white film film stocks, Kosmo Foto Mono 100.
Camera: Canon EOS 10S (1990)
Lens: Canon 24-105mm f/4 IS USM L-Series
Film: Kosmo Foto Mono 100
Process: Kodak D76 (1+1) 10:00 Min @ 20°
Here are some additional photos taken with the Canon 10S. This time I experimented with some Kodak Plus-X Pan 125 that had expired in March of 1981.
Camera: Canon EOS 10S (1990)
Lens: Canon 24-105mm f/4 IS USM L-Series
Film: Kodak Plus-X Pan 125 (Expired 3/1981)
Process: Kodak D76 (1+1) 8:30 Min @ 20°
Back in August, my wife and I took our two teenage sons to New York for eight days. I knew this was going to be a great trip to get some photos, so I took 3 cameras; one digital, and two film. The digital was a Canon 6D with 24-105mm f/4 lens. The two film cameras were my Leica M3 with 7Artisans f/1.1 lens, and a borrowed Olympus XA. I always tell myself I want to travel light and end up taking too much gear. The camera that received the most use on this trip was the Olympus XA. Why the Olympus XA? I needed something that was wider than 50mm, and small enough to fit in my pocket.
The Olympus XA is a compact camera that was sold from 1979 to 1985 and has some not-so-compact features. It’s a rangefinder focus camera, aperture priority, with a 35mm Zuiko f/2.8 lens, and shutter speeds from 1 – 1/500th sec. The design of the XA is simple, you slide open the camera, uncovering the lens and activating the CdS exposure meter. The rangefinder focus is located below the lens, and the aperture is controlled by a vertical sliding switch on the front right-side of the camera.
Compact 35mm cameras are commanding higher prices on eBay, and the XA is no exception. The unique compact design and sharp lens are two features that set this compact apart. The electronic A11 flash can be detached from the camera, making the camera a nice 7.9 ounces. And how did they get such a sharp f/2.8 lens in such a small design? According to Modern Photography Magazine in 1979, “high-refractive-index glasses had to be used to control aberrations across the picture field, and optical elements had to be manufactured and aligned to very close tolerances.” Olympus was able to accomplish this with, “the XA’s “reversed retrofocus” [is] a 6-element, 5-group optic measuring about 31mm from front element to film plane. Focusing is internal, via moving third group. Achieving this extremely flat design necessitated high index crown rear element, special flint second element. Result is a super-compact, rigid camera body with rangefinder focusing.” Voodoo magic and pixie dust? No, just some super engineering and meticulous optics.
The size doesn’t predict the quality of images this camera can deliver. As you can see by the gallery below, the Olympus XA was used a lot on my trip. Unfortunately, the photos taken from the top of the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center were subject to a few days of poor air quality in Manhattan. The only complaint I have about the XA is the sensitive shutter. The feather-touch shutter doesn’t take much pressure to fire, and it can take some getting used to. This is hard to explain, but this is the first film camera I’ve used where I knew immediately whether I got the shot I wanted. The images in the gallery were shot on both Kodak TMax 100 and Kodak Tri-X 400.
Camera: Olympus XA (1979)
Film: Kodak TMax 100 / Kodak Tri-X 400
Process: RepliColor SLC
Scanned: Epson V600 Photo
Over the past few years of buying and shooting vintage cameras, there’s one camera I never thought I’d actually own, and that’s a Leica. Why? A Leica always seemed like a “bucket list camera.” Nice to look at, but too expensive to own. Of course, I had to ask myself, do they live up to the hype? Or do photographers tell themselves they are outstanding cameras to justify spending the money?
About a year ago, my friend Scott Smith purchased this M3 from our mutual friend, Maurice Greeson, who is a Leica collector and expert on all things Leica. Scott decided that after purchasing an M6, he wasn’t using this M3 as much as he used to. It was a hard decision for Scott to sell me the M3 because it’s in beautiful condition, and Maurice had taken excellent care of it. In a small way, I had to convince Scott to sell it to me. However, with all Leica camera owners, I consider myself the “current possessor” of this camera. The build quality will outlive me or any of its future owners. And as a side note, I’ve promised both Scott and Maurice visitation privileges as long as I have the camera.
Production of the M3 began in 1954 and was the transition point for Leitz to move from screw-mount lenses to the updated Leica M Mount. The M Mount was able to give new M-series cameras a single viewfinder/rangefinder window. The M3 features a coupled rangefinder with an incredibly bright viewfinder, and a focal plane shutter with speeds from 1 to 1/1000th second. Early models of the M3 had a two-throw film advance, meaning you had to move the film advance lever twice to move the film to the next frame. And those early models also had German-based shutter speeds of 1/25, 1/50, 1/100, etc. This M3 is a single-throw model and came with a Leicameter MR.
Several version of Leicameter’s were made starting in 1951. The MR was manufactured from 1965-1967 and has CdS cell behind a small lens. The meter mounts to the flash shoe on the camera and is coupled with the shutter dial. A meter reading is taken by pressing the needle release button for 2 seconds, then using the channel scale, you know where to set the correct lens aperture.
When I initially purchased the M3, I didn’t have a lens. Maurice loaned me his 5cm f/2.0 Summicron-M (1956). This lens is the second version of the Summicron 5cm and is a rigid lens, meaning it doesn’t collapse like the original. The updated lens increased the distance between the front lens elements. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a photo of this lens on the camera. All the photos below were shot with the 5cm f/2.0 Summicron-M lens, making this part one of a two-part post. In the next post, I’ll share some images taken with the M3 and the new 7 Artisan’s 50mm f/1.1 lens.
Overall, I’m very happy to have an M3. A few friends have joked with me about becoming a Leica snob, or professing the “Leica lifestyle.” It’s been an ongoing joke with me and Mike Williams. I don’t see myself becoming obsessed with Leica gear. I may have champagne taste, but I’m always on a PBR budget. I’ve never used a rangefinder that has such a big, bright, viewfinder. That’s probably my favorite thing about Leica cameras. And the camera is so quiet to operate, you almost don’t hear the shutter click. And again, I could go on-and-on about the build quality of this camera because it is incredible.
Camera: Leica M3 (1959)
Lens: 50mm 5cm Summicron-M f/2/0 (Rigid/2nd version) (1956)
Film: Kodak Tri-X 400
Process: Kodak D-76 (1+1) 9:45 @ 20c
Scanned: Epson V600 Photo
