I am a photography enthusiast, with a love for classic film cameras, and film photography. I also shoot digital (with a Fuji XE-1), but my passion is film. I'm also a bit of a camera
- Pentax Spotmatic II
- Pentax ME x 2
- Pentax MX
- Pentax Program A
- Yashica GS
- Yashica Lynx 5000
- Canon Canonet QL17 GIII
- Minolta Autocord
- Bronica SQ-A
- Fotoman 617 with Fujinon 105mm f8
I started getting serious about photography with a Canon G2 compact digital camera, using it exclusively for 5 years, before purchasing a Pentax Spotmatic with 55mm f1.8 lens at a secondhand store. I shot a few rolls of black and white film each year, mainly around Christmas and birthdays, but still primarily shot digital. 4MP started to seem too few, so I retired the G2 and moved up to the Pentax K10D DSLR. It became my main camera, with film shot when I was in the mood.
The few film rolls slowly increased to a few more, and I then acquired a mint condition Pentax ME with 50mm f1.7 pretty cheaply. I also borrowed my Dad's Yashica Lynx 5000, to see what all the rangefinder hoo haa was about. I loved the viewfinder of the Pentax Spotmatic & ME, but the rangefinder experience was compelling. Soon I was spending way too much time googling rangefinders, reading reviews, and consuming the rangefinder forums.
At a camera market a few weeks later I found a good condition Olympus 35SP with 10 rolls of expired colour negative and slide film. I loved using the camera, but it seemed to flare all the time (in not a good way). So I sold it and replaced it with the Canon Cannot QL17 GIII, which I still have, and its been great. I'd also love to try a Minolta 7s II and a Konica Auto S3, but haven't got there just yet.
At a camera market a few weeks later I found a good condition Olympus 35SP with 10 rolls of expired colour negative and slide film. I loved using the camera, but it seemed to flare all the time (in not a good way). So I sold it and replaced it with the Canon Cannot QL17 GIII, which I still have, and its been great. I'd also love to try a Minolta 7s II and a Konica Auto S3, but haven't got there just yet.
When the mirrorless Pentax K-01's were heavily discounted, I grabbed a yellow and black one. The upgrade to 16MP, no mirror slap, focus peaking, and live view, and cheap price, was too good to ignore. Whilst the camera was panned by reviewers, I found it quite nice to use, but I really missed a viewfinder.
I eventually added a Pentax MX to the mix, as I wanted full manual control and the ability to use the K-Mount Pentax lenses I had acquired. It became my goto film camera, but I still occasionally used the others. The Yashica GS and second Pentax ME were practically being given away at a garage sale. I didn't really want another ME, but it came with a lens I wanted, so I grabbed it and the Yashica.
I eventually added a Pentax MX to the mix, as I wanted full manual control and the ability to use the K-Mount Pentax lenses I had acquired. It became my goto film camera, but I still occasionally used the others. The Yashica GS and second Pentax ME were practically being given away at a garage sale. I didn't really want another ME, but it came with a lens I wanted, so I grabbed it and the Yashica.
At this point I started reading lots about medium format cameras, and the advantages of the increased film size. I liked the look of the Fuji medium format rangefinders, but really wanted a Mamiya 6 or 7. The high price stopped me from on that front, but I then stumbled onto TLR's. I liked the top down finder and the ability to hand hold slower shutter speeds (with no mirror slap).
Around the same time a local auction house was clearing stock from a photo studio that had closed up shop. There was a dozen Hasselblad 500 medium format cameras up for grabs, but all went for far more that I was prepared to pay. I did however manage to snare a box full of 120 film, mostly expired Ilford FP4+, for about a $1 a roll. I now had a bunch of film, but no camera to shoot it with! I cranked up my search and found a reasonable Minolta Autocord on eBay.
Another couple of chance finds saw the acquisition of the Bronica SQ-A and the Fotoman 617. I really liked the square format of the Autocord, but wanted a camera that I could use wider and longer lenses on, as well as the ability to switch films mid-roll. I also wanted to use graduated ND filters, which is pretty tricky with the Autocord. I love the look of medium format black and white, and have plenty of rolls in the fridge/freezer to burn through.
Thats probably enough history for now. I hope to regularly post about the film photography, my results, gear and photo projects.
Around the same time a local auction house was clearing stock from a photo studio that had closed up shop. There was a dozen Hasselblad 500 medium format cameras up for grabs, but all went for far more that I was prepared to pay. I did however manage to snare a box full of 120 film, mostly expired Ilford FP4+, for about a $1 a roll. I now had a bunch of film, but no camera to shoot it with! I cranked up my search and found a reasonable Minolta Autocord on eBay.
Another couple of chance finds saw the acquisition of the Bronica SQ-A and the Fotoman 617. I really liked the square format of the Autocord, but wanted a camera that I could use wider and longer lenses on, as well as the ability to switch films mid-roll. I also wanted to use graduated ND filters, which is pretty tricky with the Autocord. I love the look of medium format black and white, and have plenty of rolls in the fridge/freezer to burn through.
Thats probably enough history for now. I hope to regularly post about the film photography, my results, gear and photo projects.
No comments:
Post a Comment