Tag Archives: Two Rolls In

Fujica ST605N {Two Rolls In}

June 24, 2015 5:19 am ⋅ 7 Comments ⋅

This could be subtitled “I got my mirror self-portrait mojo back”

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I am trying to get back into shooting m42 cameras/lenses. In the aforementioned blog about my Praktica MTL 5, I told of a “jumpy” meter needle that didn’t make me feel very secure about its readings and said I’d actually bought another m42 body after shooting that roll with the MTL 5. The second m42 body I bought was a Fujica ST605N.

Just as with the MTL 5, there isn’t much to say about the features on the ST605N. They’re both pretty basic cameras. The film speed selector goes from to 25-3200 ASA. Shutter speeds are 1/700s – 1/2s, plus bulb. However on my Fujica, the slowest two speeds, 1/4s and 1/2s are inaccurate. This is no big deal, as I very rarely use those shutter speeds anyway. One of the Fujica’s selling points for me was the fact that it takes batteries that are much easier to find than what the Praktica takes. Battery availability is one of the main reasons I bought this camera.

Shutter speed dial on top, with shutter speeds from 1/700s – 1/2s, plus B. Film speed selection is within the shutter speed dial.

It’s not lightweight, but I do like how much more compact the Fujica is compared to the Praktica.

This is kind of a strange thing to like, but I really like the little button that activates the meter/stops the lens down! Most other cameras of this ilk have a lever (as the MTL 5 does) that you press to turn the meter on. I like both the way the round button on the Fujica looks and the way it feels. It’s pleasant, I guess.

Little round meter activation button

Another thing I like is that the Fujica has a shutter speed indicator in the viewfinder. I don’t believe I’ve ever had an m42 body that’s had that feature, but it’s pretty handy and reminds me a bit of my beloved Nikon FE’s viewfinder.

Now, to the photos. As I always say, camera bodies are just vehicles for lenses and lenses are the thing that determine image quality. But inaccurate shutter speeds or a faulty meter can ruin photos taken with even the best lens. So when I am testing a “new” camera body, I’m really testing the shutter speeds and the meter (where applicable.) The Fujica’s meter seems just fine! I was shooting some of my expired Kodak High Definition 400, so I dialed in a film speed that was a little slower than 400 to help compensate for potential stop loss of the expired film.

Roll #1 was Kodak High Definition 400, expired in 2011

Chevy Camaro, Hennessy edition in the auction bay at work. I heard a really interesting story while I was taking these photos that maybe I’ll tell you one of these days. 

Me in the beauty shop the day Rachel gave me “fancy hair”

“The new Sunday dinner” – we stop and get Popeye’s, and I get a biscuit and an ear of corn. I use agave nectar instead of the “honey sauce” (it’s not honey) that Popeye’s gives you for the biscuits. 

Hope you aren’t tired of Wyatt’s photos yet!

Sunday dress

Ewwwww

There were already way too many photos of my new favorite book on my Instagram feed, but here’s another one!

Afternoon coffee and readin’ The Scarlet Letter

Roll #2 was Ilford HP5 Plus (and outshines the color roll IMHO)

Chevelle at work

Coffee out on my aunt’s deck in Texas

Some shots using a macro extension tube on the Fujinon lens

Some sweet little champagne coupes I got at Goodwill recently

Sundress days

Memorial Day at Huddle House

Boop

“The day my Vans arrived”

Vans mirror self-portrait

Hey

Eureka theatre, Batesville, MS (color images taken that same day in Batesville, coming soon)

Photos taken with Fujica ST605N, mostly with a Fujinon 55mm/1.8 lens, though a few were with a Sears 28mm/2.8 lens

Conclusion:

I really like this Fujica! I have had so many different m42 cameras over the years, and this is definitely one of my favorites. And I’m still likin’ my Fujinon 55mm/1.8. I wish I’d not gone through the frustration and cost of having a Praktica with a weird meter before getting the ST605N, but “God bless the broken road that led me straight to you” 😉

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Diana F+ Black Jack {Two Rolls In}

March 19, 2015 10:36 am ⋅ 2 Comments ⋅

Subtitled: “The Dog Ate My Homework”

If you’re just now joining us, my history with Lomography’s Diana cameras goes like this: I bought a Diana F+ a couple of years ago. I didn’t get along with it, so I sold it after a handful of rolls. I decided to buy a Diana+ the next year because I found one for a very small price. I thought I might want another F+ because I had light leak issues with my Diana+. I found a new-in-box F+ on ebay for about $60 less than it retailed and very happily bought it. I was excited to have the new camera, especially since it came with a flash (my two previous Dianas did not.) Excited, that is, until I got home from work the day the Diana F+ was delivered. My sister’s dog is a bit of a chewer. He got he box containing the new camera and went to town on it.

Bummer, right?

While the whole point of this new camera was the possibility that I wouldn’t have to tape the whole thing up to keep light out, I decided I would just tape up all the holes and give it a try anyway. Here’s how that went…

Roll #1 was expired Fuji Provia 400, cross-processed

Pinhole exposure

This is my newly-adopted cat, Sonja. My first time using the flash for this camera.  I don’t know what the bright orb in the photo is about. Freaky, huh?

This is actually an (intentional) double exposure. You can only faintly see the first exposure on this frame of film.

Another intentional double exposure

The remainder of the photos from this roll were taken in Holly Springs, Mississippi, where I’ve done some mini photo excursions lately.

Truck advertising for the auction of Graceland Too.

County courthouse on the town square at Holly Springs

Roll #2 was (fresh!) Kodak Tri-X

Photos taken in February during the ice and snow days, on and around the property where we live

 Conclusion?

Since I have written my conclusions about the Diana+/F+ in previous blog posts, there isn’t much to conclude here. Except that I will maybe admit that I think I am getting a little better at using the Diana, and I can even appreciate it for what it is (I know which camera to pick up if I want strong vignetting, now don’t I? 🙂 )

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Kiev 4AM {Two Rolls In}

September 7, 2014 10:34 am ⋅ 4 Comments ⋅

Everybody knows that I have a deep devotion to film photography. But there was something missing from my camera collection: an interchangeable lens rangefinder.

I know some people on Twitter who are well-versed in rangefinders, so I started asking around to see anyone had suggestions for me as I looked to buy one for myself. One of these Twitter folks, in particular, is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about a several rangefinder varieties. He directed me to the Kiev 4AM, a Soviet-era Ukraine-made copy of a Contax rangefinder. And even better, he let me know about a reputable US-based seller of Former Soviet Union (FSU) cameras, so I didn’t have to buy internationally through eBay.  I chose my camera from Fedka, ordered it, and it was here two days later!

(Shout out to Tony for guidance when I wanted to add a rangefinder to my collection! His help greatly simplified the process for me. I think he’s made Kiev users out of a few of us in the Twitter film photography community!)

I cannot stop looking at this camera. I have dubbed it “my most handsome” camera. I swoon over it!

Shooting with the Kiev takes some getting used to, mostly because you actually need to master a a grip known as the “Contax hold.” I’m not going to attempt to photograph myself doing that, but scroll to the bottom of Matt Denton’s review of a different Kiev camera to see the Contax hold in action! One tricky thing about holding the Kiev properly is making sure you don’t block the rangefinder window (you can’t focus if you do that!) With your Contax hold, you also focus the lens via the little wheel atop the camera. It feels awkward at first, but it’s not so bad once you grow accustomed to it!

The top of the Kiev – you see the shutter speed selector wheel, which also contains the shutter button, and works as both the shutter cocking and film advancing mechanism. Next is the film frame counter, which you manually set at the beginning of each roll (that is automatically set by most cameras I have.) In front of the frame counter is the aforementioned lens focusing wheel. Then there’s the flash shoe (it’s a hot one!) and the film rewind  knob. 

That lovely, lovely Helios-103 53mm/1.8 lens that I got with my Kiev from Fedka

Right then. Being busy with photo gigs and other things, my Kiev test rolls were spaced out between June and July.

Roll # 1 was Kodak BW400CN

Tractor texture. First frame of film shot with the Kiev. The Helios lens is excellent!

I’d received the Kiev right before I shot Jennifer and Chris’s wedding rehearsal dinner downtown. That urban setting was a great place to shoot most of my first Kiev roll!

Rubber shoes

Leaves in rain water

Bokeh!!

The attendance board from my Papaw’s church, hanging in my mom’s house. He passed in 2005, so this means a lot o my mom and our family.

Rooster

Frame

Roll #2 was Kodak Gold 200

Roll #2 was shot almost exclusively on various days I was at the auto auction where my family’s business caters meals a day or two a week. I didn’t photograph a wide variety of subjects with Roll #2, and I tend to burn through frames of film at an alarming rate when I set my eyes on some of the beautiful items I see parked in the auto auction’s sales floor!

CorvetteDecorations for the Fourth of July sale auction

My continued series photographing motorcycles on display/for sale at the auction. This Harley was GORGEOUS.

1964 Ford truck, in the auction bay and bathed in warm early morning light

Honda motorcycle

 Conclusion?

I am LOVING this camera, in a way that I wasn’t expecting to. I’m used to being an SLR kind of girl, where the viewfinder gives you a “what you see is what you get” experience and the lenses have closer focusing abilities. I didn’t think I would appreciate the fact that the Kiev has a knob that you turn to advance the film and cock the shutter instead of  lever, but it’s really not an issue. On paper, those characteristics I’ve listed would be a black mark against this camera. But it’s so beautiful and a joy to use – as I said, I’m surprised by how much I enjoy the experience of using my Kiev. Perhaps more important than how much I like the camera body itself, the Helios-103 lens is proving to be an excellent performer!

What is an issue is that my particular Kiev seems to be suffering from a problem where the shutter curtain hangs open when I change from a slow shutter speed (1/10 second or below) to a faster one. It’s sporadic, but you can see its presence on two frames of film I used to photograph the truck during Roll #2. Light fogs a portion of the film frame when the shutter sticks open. I’m currently trying to figure out if there’s something I’m doing incorrectly, or if there is a simple fix that would prevent the shutter from hanging open like that. I don’t foresee myself using those slow shutter speeds extremely often, but I still want to resolve the problem with the shutter. Other than that, I’m looking forward to integrating the Kiev into my arsenal of cameras.

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Canon Sure Shot Sleek {Two Rolls In}

May 8, 2014 9:36 am ⋅ 11 Comments ⋅

(This is actually “one and a half rolls in,” as the first roll I took with this camera only had about a dozen frames on it.) 

As I said when I bought this camera, “I needed another compact 35mm camera like I need a hole in the head.” Because I really didn’t need it. I’d just been hunting  down a Canon Sure Shot Sleek for awhile after I’d read about it on a website, searched the internet for examples of photos taken with the Sleek, and liked what I saw. I finally found one for $3 on eBay and thought, “Why not?” The answer to “why not?” should have been “Because you just got a Konica Big Mini last year for free, so you have the point-and-shoot category covered.” In fact, I will be comparing the Sure Shot Sleek to the Konica throughout this post, because my recent experiences with the Konica are fresh enough that I can’t help but compare the two.

The main draw of the Sleek was its 32mm/3.5 lens. The Konica has a 35mm/3.5 lens. Same maximum aperture, but I wanted that slightly wider lens!

About the Canon Sure Shot Sleek (aka Prima Mini II):

  •  The Canon Sure Shot Sleek is an auto-focus, auto-exposure 35mm camera
  • As mentioned, it has a 32mm/3.5 lens.
  • The lens protected by a cover that slides away when the camera is powered on.
  • User selectable modes, via dial atop camera: auto flash, flash on, flash off, self timer
  • Automatic aperture range of f/3.5 – f/22
  • Automatic shutter speed range of 2s – 1/250s
  • Minimum focusing distance 17.72 in. (45 cm)
  • Self timer is 10 seconds long, with a blinking indication light on the front of the camera.

What my $3 got me. A package deal!


Mode dial on the camera

Roll one was Kodak Gold 200 (partial roll)

My mother hosted a Gospel singing the first weekend I had the Sure Shot Sleek. It was in an old community center near where my family lives in Mississippi. It reminded me a lot of the churches my family visited when my siblings and I were growing up – my mom was invited to sing at churches, and we did a lot of traveling around the region for that. The community center was musty, the floorboards creaked, the air conditioning wasn’t working properly, and it had uncomfortable wooden pews. It actually brought back memories of visiting my grandfather’s church in Arkansas, which he built himself from the ground up and pastored!

We had to open some windows before the air conditioner kicked in. I liked how the breeze was blowing the curtains as it came through the window.

My brother-in-law, reading something on the wall in the community center’s main room. This is actually quite sharp, and I thought the Sleek did a good job handling the exposure. Notice the door in front of me, at the upper right corner of the image, says “ballroom.” It was just a room with some tables in it. I wonder if any balls were ever hosted in it?? (You can click on this photo to see a larger version, so you can see how sharp it is!)

“Theater” – this was the door to the area where the singing would take place. It was like a sanctuary of an old country church, not like a theater. Though there was a stage…

The Big Mini’s +1.5 exposure compensation would have been handy in for this photo.

Arrow sign outside the community center. It would have letters on it, indicating what sort of event was being held there, and obviously the arrow was pointing towards the building where said event was being held. In our case, there were no letters saying what was taking place that night!

Also like the churches we visited growing up, the community center had a small kitchen adjacent to what we would call a “fellowship hall.” That’s where you’d eat after the church service. That’s where we ate after the singing service that night. The kitchen was painted turquoise and red, which I loved.

I guess they’d call this the lobby of the community center. Decked out with fine furnishings.
 Steps leading up to the small stage of the community center.

Roll 2 was Lomography Color Negative 100

This is part of my unintentional “stuff I see in parking lots” series, as detailed in a previous blog post of photos taken with the Konica Big Mini. This was under a truck in a parking lot where we were shopping.

Hanging flower pot on my sister’s porch. I’ve linked to a larger version of this photo, so you can click through and see that, where it’s sharp, it’s VERY sharp. I just chose the point of focus poorly.

Trying to recreate a black and white photo from the Big Mini

I call this one “An allergy sufferer’s worst nightmare.” So much pollen! This was a puddle outside my house. 

Fungi on a felled tree outside the house

Tools in my dad’s shop

Harley-Davidson at the auto auction where our catering company works. I didn’t frame this shot. I just sat the camera on the ground and pressed the shutter button.

The same Harley, the next morning when the sun was coming up (I get to work early, ya’ll)

This isn’t a great photo, I was just in awe of how YELLOW the sun made it! Is this the Kelvin filter on Instagram 😛?

Pretty Annie. My niece’s dog. 

Leaves on my walk around our neighborhood. Look at the bokeh!

I guess this falls into the “stuff I see in parking lots” series. It was Good Friday.  A man was carrying a cross down the road. He rested it outside Wal-Mart while he was inside.

I call this one “MURICA!!” American flag on the man’s cross, with Wal-Mart in the background.

I call this one “Happy Easter tho” – As it was Easter and I was donning my purple tights because they’re festive.

Finishing up the roll on the (artificial) succulents at my sister’s church (where she works, actually.) Trying out the closest focusing distance. 

Decoration on a wall at the church (that’s quite a sharp photo, too!)

Things I like about the Sure Shot Sleek:

Slightly wider angle lens than other compact 35mm cameras I have.

Hey, the 32mm lens is what made me buy this camera in the first place.

Various modes selected by turning a dial atop the camera.

As opposed to pushing a series of buttons until you find the right setting, which is how most cameras of this type operate.

The fact that there is a mode dial also means you can leave it in whichever shooting mode you wish, even when the camera is switched off. Most cameras of this type lose the settings you’ve selected when you switch the camera off, which is a real pain when you want to turn a camera on a shoot quickly. Score one for the Sure Shot Sleek!

Lens cover

One drawback to the Big Mini is that its lens is not covered when the camera is powered off. There’s a glass filter, of sorts, over the lens but nothing protecting that filter or the lens itself. At least the Sleek has a cover that slides over the lens when the camera’s not on!

Things I didn’t like so much about the Sure Shot Sleek

Operational weirdness:

I feel like some of these Sure Shot cameras have weird ways of operating. I passed on getting the Canon Prima Mini, which is the model that preceded the Sure Shot Sleek, because you have to press two buttons simultaneously in order to get the flash mode you want. Similar to the weirdness of my Sure Shot Supreme, where you have to depress both the shutter button and a small button on the bottom of the camera to disable the flash. Technically, there is slow sync flash available on the Sleek, but only in self-timer mode. Most situations where I personally would choose slow sync flash would be, for example, taking photographs at parties or photographing bands at gig. Neither of those scenarios would pair well with a self-timer. Even though you had to simultaneously press the “flash on” button while pressing the shutter button on the Sure Shot Esprit, at least doing so would automatically put the camera into slow sync flash mode! (Now I kind of wish I had that camera instead of the Sleek 😛)

Additionally, you cannot turn the flash off when using the self-timer. This is no good for me. The only time I use a self-timer is when I know the shutter speed is going to be longer than I could hand hold without blur. I generally don’t combine flash and self-timer.

Squinty viewfinder:

Small viewfinder. Difficult to see through sometimes, especially with it knocking up against my glasses! The Big Mini has a much better viewfinder, in my opinion (as well as frame lines for when you’re using the closest focusing distances.)

Plastic construction

It’s not the most substantial camera I’ve ever held in my hands. The Big Mini’s shape may be less ergonomic than the Sleek, but the metal front on the Big Mini makes me feel as if I’m holding a “real” camera.

Conclusion?

When the Sure Shot Sleek is good, it’s pretty good. When it’s not good, it’s very mediocre. But I’m also taking into account that I didn’t necessarily have access to the most thrilling subjects during my one and a half test test rolls with it. I’m not counting it out yet though. I’ll give it a fighting chance to win a place in my heart.

As I said in the beginning of this post, I find myself comparing the Sure Shot Sleek to the Big Mini. The things I like about the Sleek are missing on the Konica, and the things I don’t like about the Sleek are found on the Big Mini. I’d make a Franken-camera of the two of them if I could!

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