Sunday 28 June 2015

Week 287 - Kodak Advantix F350

Kodak Advantix F350
The supply of the now obsolete APS film is finite, but I still have a few rolls left. This camera is fairly basic, though it does have some degree of automatic exposure. The focus is fixed, as is the aperture. I've loaded it with some Agfa ISO 200 colour negative film.

photo from week 286 - Agfa Billy

foot bridge
This footbridge is one of my regular subjects. I think the gritty urban feel works quite well with the cross-processed film .

photo from week 286 - Agfa Billy

reflected self-portrait with Agfa Billy camera and union flag hat
With a tripod bush and cable release socket, there is no problem taking long exposure in low light. I stopped the lens right down to get as much depth of field as possible, and the exposure was around 10 seconds.

photo from week 286 - Agfa Billy

street in the sky
There's not much to go wrong with an old camera like this, one, and all seems to work OK, though there is a minor light leak. The colour here is entirely due to using cross-processed slide film, and has nothing to do with the camera.

Wednesday 24 June 2015

Week 286 - Agfa Billy

Agfa Billy
The "Billy" name was used by Agfa for several decades, and the cameras evolved considerably over this period. This is on of the first Billys, dating from between 1928 and 1930. It is very simple, with little to go wrong. I've loaded it with some expired slide film which I intend to cross-process.

photo from week 285 - Olympus Pen-D

Torres de Serranos
Two consecutive frames taken at the ancient Serrano Towers in Valancia.

photo from week 285 - Olympus Pen-D

reflected self-portrait with Olympus Pen-D camera and Valencian hat
This was a brightly lit interior, but even so I was grateful to the f1.9 lens, allowing me to easily hand hold this shot.

photo from week 285 - Olympus Pen-D

The City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia
As you can see from this trio of negatives, the light seals on the Olympus are failing. The light was very strong, and there is no case for the camera, so the risks of light leakage were quite high.

Wednesday 10 June 2015

Week 285 - Olympus Pen-D

Olympus Pen-D
The Olympus Pen-D is a half-frame 35mm compact camera. It has an uncoupled Selenium exposure meter, and an f1.9 32mm lens. The shutter speeds range from 1/8th to 1/500th.
I've loaded it with Rollei Retro 400S black and white film.

photo from week 284 - Dixons Disc 2500

The Cavern
This is a novelty Beatles themed boat, moored at the Salthouse Dock in Liverpool.

photo from week 284 - Dixons Disc 2500

Three Graces
Three consecutive frames from the disc. These are the "Three Graces" on Liverpool's historic water front.

photo from week 284 - Dixons Disc 2500

whole disc
This is a scan of the whole disc, it expired in 1986, so the results aren't that bad consdiering!

Tuesday 9 June 2015

Week 284 - Dixons Disc 2500

Dixons Disc 2500
This is a very simple camera using the obsolete disc system. There is a motorised wind on, but the electronic flash doesn't work. There are two aperture settings for sun and cloud, but given that the only disc film available is now considerably expired, I will be mainly using the "cloud" setting to maximise the amount of light getting to the elderly emulsion.

photo from week 283 - Cosina CSR

Fitzwilliam Museum Railings
Once again I used a wide aperture to throw the background out of focus. These are the railings in front of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

photo from week 283 - Cosina CSR

reflected self-portrait with Cosina CSR camera and waterproof hat
Another dim interior, and another shot at full aperture, this time I kept extra still and set the shutter speed to 1/15th.

photo from week 283 - Cosina CSR

dark snooker
The Agfa Copex Rapid film that I used has an ISO of around 50, so I was pushing the limits with this dimly lit scene. Even using the full aperture of f1.7, and the slowest shutter speed I could hand hold, 1/30th second, the negative is rather underexposed.

Monday 1 June 2015

Week 283 - Cosina CSR

Cosina CSR
This came from a charity shop for £10, and also included a 24mm "Prakticar" lens. It uses the M42 mount, so there is no shortage of lenses that can be used on it. There is a coupled TTL meter, but although it appears to work, the results are erratic, so I will use a handheld meter to determine the exposures.

photo from week 282 - Ricoh Auto 35

STAY BRIGHT
A recently painted mural in Sheffield.

photo from week 282 - Ricoh Auto 35

reflected self-portrait with Ricoh Auto 35 camera and burger hat
Although the shutter sticks at most speeds, the "B" setting still works, so I was able to take this photo at f22 using a tripod, and with an exposure of approximately 1 second.

photo from week 282 - Ricoh Auto 35

lambs in the park
The Ricoh Auto 35 is only barely working, the shutter will fire with "Type 6" film selected, all other settings are sticky, the aperture can be selected to a degree by using the flash settings. Given these limitations, I stuck to outdoor subjects in good light.