Spartus 35

Week 50 - Spartus 35 with leather case purchased at the Black Rose Antique Mall in Hanover, PA for $12. I was drawn to this simple camera with the sans serif font spelling out the name around the lens, on a day that I was hankering to buy another camera. I didn't want to spend much money but wanted to find a nice little usable one to wind down my 2016 film camera project. The Spartus 35 is well, a 35 mm camera, made by the Herold Company of Chicago. It has a lens with focusing from 4 feet to infinity, time and instant lever, and aperture settings of Bright, Hazy, Cloudy, and Dull, with a tripod mount on the bottom.

I loaded the camera with Film Photography Project's FPP EDU 200, but when I turned the film advance knob, it kept turning, so I wasn't sure how many frames had been advanced until I noticed the film counter dial rotating as I was advancing. The film is supposed to advance one frame at time with a sprocket release button being pressed to advance to the next frame. This one apparently was not working, but I correctly observed that the film dial turned one full rotation between frames but unfortunately I had wasted a half a roll of film or so by then. I managed to get 10 frames out of this roll on a nice lunch time walk around my office in Baltimore.

It's getting increasingly difficult to find fresh material to photograph within a lunchtime walking distance around my office, and its too dark by the time I get home in the evenings to go out and shoot. I do still enjoy photography with the various cameras that I've been using this year, but as the year is winding down to a close, I feel that my project will also be closing at the end of the year as well.

I developed the roll in Kodak D-76 stock solution for 9 minutes and scanned the negatives with Epson V500 Photo. I think the photos came out nicely exposed with sharp focus where I correctly guessed the focusing distance.

Lomo'Instant Automat

Week 49 - White Bora Bora model of the Lomo'Instant Automat I received as a Kickstarter reward. This is an instant camera using Fuji's Instax mini film format which features a 60mm f8 (35mm equivalent) lens. The Automat has a fully automatic shutter with a +1/-1 exposure compensation button, bulb setting (up to 30 seconds), and the ability to shoot unlimited multiple exposures. It also has a tripod mount and there's a remote in the lens cap to trigger the shutter for selfies or to shoot long exposures with the bulb setting. It has zone focusing with three focusing distances on the lens - portrait, group and mountain (infinity). The flash can also be turned off, and there are flash gels to add color to your flash photos. My camera also came with Fisheye, Wide Angle, and Close Up lenses as well as a Splitzer accessory.

I have the previous model of the Lomo'Instant from the first Kickstarter, which I used in week 45, a camera that I've had for two years and enjoy shooting, but I wanted to get this new model hoping it would have better exposures. I found the Automat to be a little lighter and smaller than the original Lomo'Instant, and so far my impressions are that it has better exposure quality. The two have different lenses, which means that I'll be keeping both of them (I really just love all instant film cameras!) The Automat also has the nice added feature of the shutter remote in the lens cap. 

I had ordered a boatload of Fuji Instax Mini film from ebay in anticipation of receiving the Automat - the new Monochrome, Black Frame and Sky Blue Frame. There is a treasure trove of unique film borders to be found on ebay for Fuji Instax Mini film if you're into that sort of thing. I found the outdoor shots with the Monochrome to be very contrasty in bright sun, but I really liked it with the close up lens on a slightly less sunny day. The Black Frame is nice with outdoor color shots and I think it looks great with brightly colored subject matter. The Sky Blue frame looks nice as well, looking pretty sweet on a close up photo I shot of silvery Dusty Miller still standing in my front garden. The focusing on the Automat seems pretty accurate if you use the guidelines in the enclosed brochure for the focusing distances for zones and for each of the lenses. There is less vignetting on the photos than in the original Lomo'Instant.

I have not had a chance to fully test all the features, but my first impression of this camera is that I love it already - light and compact to carry around, nice features to give you some control over your photos, and better exposures than the original Lomo'Instant. I think I'll be diving into the world of Fuji Instax Mini frames available on ebay, they all look so tempting!

Agfa Isoflash-Rapid

Week 44 - Agfa Isoflash-Rapid 35 mm film camera purchased at the Westminster Antique Mall for $7. The Agfa Isoflash-Rapid is a German made camera produced in the 1960's that uses two rapid cassettes instead of the standard 35mmh film canister. The film from a rapid cassette is advanced by a gear inside the camera into a second empty rapid cassette. The second cassette was then sent in for processing. This two cassette system was brought back by Agfa to compete with Kodak's 126 film cassette. The Agfa Isoflash-Rapid's shutter will not fire without film in the camera. Fortunately there was film in the camera for me to test out the shutter at the antique store. I tried to develop the film in the camera but it came out blank.

I used an expired 12 exposure roll of Fujicolor 100 as the camera is only able to shoot 16 frames on a regular 12 exposure roll of 35mm film. I had to load the film from the Fuji canister into the empty rapid cassette in a changing bag before loading the film into the camera. I went for a nice walk around Hanover last Saturday morning with the intention of grabbing a few shots of autumn color, but the leaves on the trees were not quite ready. I thought the expired film performed well though, the camera was small and light, easy to shoot with using the fixed focus lens. 

I hand processed the roll with Film Photography Project's C-41 kit and scanned the negatives with Epson V500 Photo.

Lensless Pinhole 4x5 Camera - 52 Cameras, 52 Weeks

Week 36 - Lensless Camera Manufacturing Co. 4x5 Pinhole Camera, received at Christmas 2014 from my wife, Brenda. I have been weighing whether or not I wanted to delve into large format film photography for some time, I thought a 4x5 pinhole camera would be a good jumping off point. Some of the obstacles for me for large format film were the cost, reliable processing, and the ability to scan the negatives myself. I've pretty much been keeping to small and medium format cameras, because I could pick them up at flea markets, craigslist, and yard sales for a few dollars. I don't have a lot of extra money to spend on my hobby, and I really just enjoy the process of shooting photos and developing them myself. 

When I first started using the 4x5 pinhole camera, I found a technique referred to as the "taco method" using a Paterson two reel film tank for developing 4 sheets of film. I successfully used this method for over 70 photos but when I saw the kickstarter for Timothy Gilbert's SP-445 developing tank, I thought this would be a great option for processing my 4x5's. My tank arrived a few weeks ago and I was eager to give it go. On labor day, I loaded up 4 of my film holders with Arista EDU 100 and took a quick trip to downtown Hanover to shoot photos of St. Matthews Church on Chestnut Street and then to the square to shoot photos of the cannon display there.

I have to confess, I'm a bit afraid of the dark and only use a changing bag to load my film in holders and developing tanks. I found that loading the SP-445 from the film holders in the changing bag was a bit cumbersome, but with more practice it will go more smoothly. I think that I might invest in a larger film changing tent, especially if I wind up shooting more 4x5 film. The tank only uses 16 oz of developer for 4 sheets of 4x5 film, which is awesome! I followed the tips from the kickstarter project videos for processing and the only issue, which is very minor, is that there was a small amount of leakage around the caps. It wasn't enough to be a problem, but perhaps the next time I use it, I will follow the tip of wetting the O-ring around the lid before closing it up.

The negatives came out well, I used a 1+1 solution of Kodak D-76 for 9 minutes. I previously had scanned my 4x5's in two passes on my Epson V500 Photo, then stitched them together in Photoshop. About six months ago, I bought an old Epson Perfection 2450 Photo flatbed scanner and hooked it up to an old iMac, creating a dedicated 4x5 film scanning station. The scanner cost $12 plus shipping from ebay and I bought the dead iMac from Craigslist for $35. I was able to fix the iMac and load an old version of Photoshop on it to use the scanner.

Kodak Brownie Bull's Eye - 52 Cameras, 52 Weeks

Week 34 - Kodak Brownie Bull's Eye purchased from a seller on Craigslist for $10 sometime in the past year. When I met the seller he explained that it was his parents' camera that he had found in the closet, and he wondered what I would do with it. I explained that I liked to collect old cameras and try to use them if possible.

I had recently purchased a lot of expired 620 film from ebay and planned to use what I thought was an unopened box of expired Verichrome Pan for the Brownie Bull's Eye, but when I opened the box (which was not sealed) the film had already been exposed. This was actually quite exciting and I developed the film later that night - see additional blog post with the results. I went and grabbed another one of the expired rolls of 620 film, this time Kodacolor. 

The Kodak Brownie Bull's Eye uses, of course, 620 roll film, but I have used respooled 120 Lomography 100 color film in it once before. It has a Kodak Twindar Lens that focuses from 4 feet to infinity with zones of scenes, groups, and close-ups. There are shutter speeds of instant and long exposure with an eye level viewfinder. I decided to go for a walk around Baltimore, near my office on my lunch break and proceeded to shoot the entire roll of 8 photos. After seeing the results developed in Kodak D-76, I've decided that for the rest of my photo project I will use fresh film when possible.

Polaroid Land Camera 360 - 52 Cameras, 52 WeeksWeek

Week 23 Camera - Polaroid Land Camera 360 Electronic Flash model (without the electronic flash) that Brenda bought for me on her birthday! We were poking around in a few antique stores, I saw this camera and I was mulling over whether I wanted to add another pack film camera to my collection in light of the fact that pack film will no longer be produced by Fuji. But the camera was in such good condition and had the flip up Zeiss viewfinder, so Brenda bought it for me (it was only $10). I had trouble figuring out how to get to the battery compartment, but a quick search online provided the answer. As suspected, there were a couple of corroded batteries, but after cleaning with white vinegar, I popped in a battery and the shutter clicked twice - awesome!

On Sunday, I loaded my last pack of Fuji FP-3000b, found my Polaroid 516 Cloud Filter attachment and Brenda and I were off on a car ride up to Peter's Orchards and Pine Grove Furnace State Park, in the Michaux State Forest. I'm so glad that Brenda likes to ride along with me on these little photography excursions - at Peter's Orchards we stocked up on apple butter, honey, and a jar of pumpkin butter to try. To get to Peter's Orchards, it's a straight drive up Route 94 through Cross Keys and York Springs with part of the ride over some roller coaster type hills that can leave your stomach in the air (fun!). It seems an endless drive over the hills surrounded by acres of apple trees until suddenly there is the fruit market in the middle of the orchards. I especially love to drive through the orchards after the leaves have fallen as the bare trees have interesting gnarly branches that I haven't quite been able to capture well on film.

After shooting at the fruit market, we headed north with another stop for a photo and then to Pine Grove Furnace. The Furnace stack is near the Appalachian Trail and the park campgrounds. I love the texture of the rocks that form the furnace and the remains of the walls behind it with the foliage poking through. I made a couple of accidental double exposures here as I wasn't sure I had cocked the shutter. I also took a few iPhone photos for reference to make a sketch or two. 

The Polaroid 360 operated smoothly though the exposures were a little too dark, I probably should have adjusted the exposure more. The photos were scanned on Epson V500 Photo and I also scanned the negative side of the peel apart film, one of the scans is shown above.

Agfa B2 Cadet - 52 Cameras, 52 Weeks

Week 22 - Agfa B2 Cadet - I found this camera in an antique store in Berlin, MD for $5 and couldn't pass it up. We were on a trip to Rehoboth Beach, DE and had driven down to Ocean City, MD and neighboring Berlin to spend the day. I was of course, shooting with another camera that week for my 2016 camera project. I used an expired roll of Ilford FP4 that I had purchased on Ebay - the resulting images have some light leaks around the edges and I had light leakage through the red film window on the back of the camera. I will need to tape up the camera and the film window if I use this it again. 

I like the large 6x9 negatives (minus the light leaks) and shooting with the Agfa B2 Cadet was pretty much the same as other box cameras. It has two shutter settings, time and instant, with a pull out tab to switch between the two. I had read another review online where the photographer had trouble loading the film, but I didn't have that problem (sometimes a little tape helps, lol) Composing a photo is accomplished through two top down viewfinders, one for portrait orientation and one for landscape. 

 It was a beautiful Sunday on Memorial Day weekend and I was eager to get out shooting somewhere, so we drove over to one of my favorite places - Gettysburg, PA. We drove out to Devil's Den, a frequent stop on our battlefield drives, and then to the Pennsylvania Monument and Culp's Hill areas. Brenda happily posed for a view photos (she's so supportive!)

I developed the roll in caffenol and scanned with Epson V500 Photo.

Olympus Stylus Epic Zoom 80 - 52 Cameras, 52 Weeks

Week 19 - Olympus Stylus Epic Zoom 80 purchased at the local Goodwill store for $4.99. I chose Kodak BW400CN from my dwindling stash, developed in Unicolor C-41 home kit. These photos were shot at Maryland Institute of Art in Baltimore, Mount Vernon, and Maytown, PA. 

I really liked the size of the camera and I thought the photos came out really nice, since it's a compact point and shoot camera. There are options for shooting in different modes including an option for turning off the flash. I got nicely exposed no-flash photos from inside the MICA main building on a recent campus tour with my son. The camera is also weather resistant, making it nice to shoot in rainy conditions, like we had on our campus tour. I think it would make a great camera for walking around town or stashing in your backpack for a day hike.

Maryland Steam Show with Two Classic Cameras

Brenda and I went out the Maryland Steam Show in Arcadia, Maryland on Saturday to see the wonderful old steam engines and browse the flea market for halloween costume parts. I love to watch the antique steam engines being driven around the grounds of the show, it reminds of the times I went to the show when I was a kid. I brought along my thirty-plus year old Pentax K1000 loaded with Arista 400 film to try out. I'm planning to develop some prints in my newly set-up darkroom in the basement next week and I needed some good shots to experiment with. I also brought the Ansco Panda 620 camera that I bought at the Rinely Yard Sale for a whopping fifty cents filled with respooled Ilford Delta 400 film. After walking around the steam engines in awe and shooting nearly all my photos we started in on the massive flea market to search for parts for this year's halloween costumes - Steampunk. There were lots of tables filled with brass valves and fittings, old gauges and watches, odd looking hand tools and other random bobs and bits. We even picked up an old english riding helmet that Brenda plans to convert into some sort of Steampunk headgear. She has been busy down in the basement working on accessories for her costume, I need to get busy with mine. I developed the film with Arista Liquid Film Developer and scanned the negatives with my Epson V500 Photo Scanner. A few of the images are show here.