Back at the end of May, in the final CCR episode of that month, I discussed the need to replace my ageing and to fall about Peak Design messenger bag. Some people suggested I contact Peak Design about repair/replacement under warranty. And I did that, but the damage to my bag was not due to a fault in the make of the bag, but instead wear and tear. I received the bag as part of their initial Kickstarter in December 2015. It was initially supposed to arrive earlier in the year and would have been perfect to bring to Europe that summer. And since then,Read More →

The market for modern production meters is saturated with many options for those looking at a simple shoe-mounted meter. Matt at Reveni Labs has taken things beyond that, first with the spot meter and now with a unique handheld incident meter. And with the market for these sorts of meters being dominated by classic equipment or the same names still producing modern meters, Reveni Labs decided to take things in a fun and ergonomic direction. The style and design are somewhat limited because of how you use an incident meter. But there is some room for modification. And yes, the new Reveni Incident Meter looksRead More →

I’ll admit, I love a good exotic film developer that can develop any film to their ideal conditions. But lets be honest here, some of these developers are expensive, hard to acquire and require rigorous attention to detail to make them work perfectly. And often are so fine tuned they will only work on a handful of film stocks that a also difficult to come by. Sometimes you want a developer that will do its job and nothing more than that. It doesn’t have to be fancy, compensate for over or under exposure. Produce ultra-fine grain, or enhance tonality and edge sharpness. Rather than presentRead More →

I love trying out new film developers or new-to-me developers. So a while back I wrote an article on seven film developers that are worth trying. Since then, I’ve tried several more unique developers and have another five options to try something different in your home development experience. And this time, I’ve also included a colour developer. 1 – Kodak D-19 Originally designed for X-Ray Film, Technical Film, and IR Films, Kodak D-19 is a high-contrast developer. But that should not stop you from giving it a try. Because while it is a specialised developer, it works surprisingly well with regular panchromatic films. It alsoRead More →

This past year has been a lot of fun looking at different cameras. While some of these cameras I will have already released a review, others will be coming out next year. But that’s the thing about writing these reviews is that I’m often working 2-3 months ahead of the actual release. I put a lot of work into these reviews, between looking up specs, shooting multiple rolls of film through the cameras and trying to get the best results so I can give a fair and balanced review. But a group in the film photography blogging community decided to put out a series ofRead More →

The late 1990s and early 2000s were exciting times for photography. You had the APS system trying to take over the consumer market while digital cameras were starting to become everyday use by professionals and consumers. It was a hybrid era with film scans becoming normal when you take your film to the lab, and you got a CD-ROM with your prints and negatives. And yet, there was still a need and a desire for consumer-level SLRs. Earlier in the year, I started getting some of these cameras; they’re dirt cheap on the used market, offer up plenty of good features for what they are,Read More →

When I first was introduced to the Rollei RPX line of films, I referred to them as the spiritual successors of the iconic APX line of films from Agfa. I still stand by the statement but also know that the RPX line of the film is not related directly to the APX line of films. Besides holding the same three speeds and having “PX” in the name, these are two different films. But in the sense of fun and showing off the differences, I’ve decided to pit the two ASA-25 films against each other in a fun little head-to-head to show where they are similarRead More →

When it comes to assistance with long processing times or the need for constant agitation, there aren’t that many options out there today. Sure there is the original Jobo system, but these are completely closed systems that often carry a high startup cost. And on the opposite end of the spectrum are the Besler and Unicolor Cibachrome bases and tanks. But what about something new, using modern solutions. Last year I had the chance to try out one such system, the AuRA film processor, and it certainly made an impression on me and my processing. Sadly these aren’t yet for sale, and given the technologyRead More →

In the 1990s, a particular bread of camera was cheaply made, often in mass quantities and questionable quality. While many have been passed off these days as cheap and trash cameras, some achieved a bit of a cult following. One such camera was the Vivitar Ultra-Wide & Slim (VUWS). Vivitar never made the camera itself; instead, it was marketed and sold under the name. And actually, I don’t think Vivitar ever made anything of their own. What set the UWS apart from the other contemporary trashcams of the 1990s; it featured a simple 22mm f/11 ultra-wide lens, something that most well made point-and-shoot and toyRead More →

When it comes to metering for precision, there is nothing better than a spot meter, but most spot meters these days are expensive, both new and on the used market. The first and only spot meter I’ve used is the Pentax Spotmeter V. This analogue 1° spot meter has become the accessory that always gets thrown in my bag when I’m out with my Crown Graphic Hasselblad or Mamiya for precision tripod-based work. The meter served me through almost my entire War of 1812 project, Canadian Confederation and most recently, the Railway project. A simple easy to use device that allowed me to execute aRead More →