This post is deviating from my usual format. It’s not my “Two Rolls In” or “Getting to Know You” film equipment reviews. Really, this is about testing an idea I had about a nice little camera/lens combo.
I picked up a Canon Rebel Ti a few years ago (I can’t believe it’s been that long!) I didn’t have a lens for it for months, until I was given a Canon Rebel 2000 with a kit lens attached. I didn’t really need to test the camera for much more than whether or not it was functioning correctly, since it’s very similar to the Rebel 2000 (an earlier model in the Rebel series.) I had briefly owned a Rebel Ti in 2008, but I wasn’t able to use it more than perhaps once because the back latch was broken. That’s actually how I ended up with my original Rebel 2000. I bought it from my friend, who said it didn’t work, because it had a lens. The Rebel 2000 just needed a battery replaced, and the Ti I had bought had a broken film door latch. The rest is history.
But back to the current subject. I bought this Rebel Ti for a small sum, hoping to get a nice lens for it somewhere down the road. It took me probably about a year and a half to get the lens I wanted (it cost about five times the amount I paid for the camera itself!) The lens? A 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens. It’s TINY. The Rebel Ti is smallish and fits nicely in the hand thanks to its grip.
Tiny lens
Ergonomic grip
I thought it might make an ideal combo for a smallish 35mm autofocus SLR kit.
I was right 🙂
Roll #1 was Fuji Superia X-tra 400
I am so used to using manual focus SLRs that I forgot how quickly I can burn through a roll of film in an auto focus camera! I shot roll one basically in one weekend. This was around the end of September 2018.
Vegan snickerdoodle blondies
My niece obliged me with a quick photo shoot right before we went to Memphis so she could get braces.
Her last pre-braces meal was sushi (also sort of a pre-birthday treat, since this was right before her birthday.)
Quick shot in the parking lot of the orthodontist that same day
We also attended the Memphis Japan Festival at the Memphis Botanic Gardens that weekend, and it was a great chance to try out my new camera/lens combo!
There was an origami sculpture exhibit at the Botanic Gardens too, and it was amazing!
❤️
One of her purchases from the Japan Festival
Roll #2 was expired Kodak 64T slide film (expired in 2001,) which I had cross processed. Due to life circumstances (mom recuperating from a broken hip) and the fact that this film was not suited to gloomy weather, it actually took me about six months to finish this roll. These were taken from late 2018 to summer 2019.
Christmas season 2018
Shot a few frames in Como, Mississippi
School bus shop we saw somewhere in the Mississippi Delta
S. Main Street, Memphis, Tennessee
This was the day AM got the big chop! She cut off all her hair! Then we went to get coffee at her favorite place in Memphis!
Playing with some double exposures
Conclusion?
I am LOVING this as a camera body/lens combo! It’s fast, easy, and the lens is sharp to my eyes! I have to admit that I am a bit of a snob because I usually shoot film cameras that LOOK like film cameras, you know? But this is such a great little set up that I don’t mind if someone sees it and thinks I am shooting digital (doesn’t help that the control panel is a big lcd on the back, that might be mistaken for a viewing screen on a digital camera!)
(I actually have a couple of more rolls I was tempted to add on to this post, but I was afraid it would be TOO many images for one post!)
Kiev 4AM • Helios-103 53mm f/1.8 • Lomography CN 100
