By:
On:
In: Camera Review Blogs
With: 0 Comments

Cameras Featured on Today’s Episode Agfa Ventura Deluxe – The Agfa Ventura Deluxe is a camera by many names, and while the copy that Alex has produces images closer to that of a toy camera, that is mostly due to age, rather than design. But hey, you can probably get one for a lower price than a Holga these days. Make: Agfa Camera Works Model: Ventura Deluxe. Also Known As: Ventura 66 or Isolette II Type: Point & Shoot Format: 120, 6×6 Lens: Fixed, Agfa Apotar 1:4,5 f=8,5cm Year of Manufacture: 1952-1955 Agfa Ventura Deluxe – Agfa Apotar 1:4,5 f=8,5cm – Kodak Tri-X 400 @Read More →

By:
On:
In: Camera Review Blogs
With: 2 Comments

If you think that you’ve seen this camera reviewed before, you’re right, in a certain way. I have written about the newer version of this camera, the Contaflex Super B before. Despite this, I figured it would be good to compare it to the battery-less version of the Contaflex. Despite the troubles I mentioned in the Super B review, the Super remains a strong camera and one I would take over the Super B any day. Special thanks to James Lee for loaning out this beauty for review. Disclaimer: This is an old review, and is scheduled for an update and may look funny duringRead More →

By:
On:
In: Photography
With: 0 Comments

I never thought that this little idea of mine would catch on. I never believe that my little social ideas would go over. And yet they usually do in some form or another. For example, the Toronto Film Shooters Meetup, now starting on its the fourth year. TFSM, a quarterly gathering of photographers in the Southern Ontario region who loves to shoot traditional film based cameras is an idea I floated back in 2013. I was still an active member of the Analog Photography User Group (APUG), and in the Toronto Sub-Forum, someone was complaining that there was not enough photo walks in the GreaterRead More →

By:
On:
In: Camera Review Blogs
With: 6 Comments

It’s the red dot special, but not the red dot you were probably expecting. While Leica is best known for their rangefinder cameras, both the older Barnack and the iconic M-Series Leica produces a line of single lens reflex cameras in response to the cameras coming out of Japan. While the early cameras were strictly manufactured by Leica, by the mid-1970s, they had teamed up with Minolta. The agreement produced the Leica CL/Minolta CLE both rangefinder cameras, and the Leica R3/Minolta XE! The first time I picked up this camera, having never used a Leica SLR before I was hoping for something special, but IRead More →

By:
On:
In: Camera Review Blogs
With: 0 Comments

Most of my experiences with communist built cameras have been gear from the failed Soviet Bloc, which is all well and good, but those cameras were not exactly known for their quality control, offset by the ease of repair by the layperson. However, there is still another communist state still producing cameras even today, and that’s China. The Shanghai Camera Factory started production of their Seagull 4A line in 1968, and by the 1970s the Seagull 4A-103 came into being. At first glance, you’d probably think that the camera in question is a German Rolleicord and you would be partially right. The 4A-103 is aRead More →

By:
On:
In: Classic Camera Revival
With: 0 Comments

Cameras Featured on Today’s Episode Minolta SRT-102 – This mechanical beast is an all mechanical, match-needle SLR. It has all the same features as the SRT-101 but what sets it apart is a hot shoe for a standard flash. From the viewfinder, you have both your aperture and shutter speed displayed which helps with setting the exposure without loosing the scene. Through the rest of the world, the camera is known as the SRT Super or SRT-303. Make: Minolta Model: SRT-102 Type: Single Lens Reflex Format: 35mm, 36x24mm Lens: Interchangeable, Minolta MD Year of Manufacture: 1973 Minolta SRT-102 – MC Rokkor-PG 50mm 1:1.5 – FomapanRead More →

By:
On:
In: Photography
With: 0 Comments

Ah yes, the winter, cold, snow, and frozen shutters. Back in January, a small, brave group from the Toronto Film Shooters community decided to head out to Milton’s Hilton Falls Conservation area. I, deciding to ignore my own advice brought my Crown Graphic along for the trip. While we had a decent snowfall at the end of December, a warm spell through early January melted everything, and when the temperature dropped, everything was frozen over, and the trails were ice rinks. I was started to think I should have brought a simple 35mm camera to run with. Despite this, it was good to get outRead More →

By:
On:
In: Camera Review Blogs
With: 2 Comments

I have a love/hate relationship with Bronica cameras. If you listen to the Classic Camera Revival Podcast, I railed against the Bronica SQ-Am in episode 22, and I gave away my SQ-Ai because of ergonomic issues I had with the camera. But putting all that aside I went into shooting the ETRS with an open mind and discovered a rather fun camera. When it comes to 645 cameras, the ETRS is the real underdog while the Mamiya m645 and to a lesser extent the Pentax 645 get most of the glory. Which to people looking to crack into medium format the ETR line of camerasRead More →

By:
On:
In: Camera Review Blogs
With: 2 Comments

Sometimes a camera sings, sometimes a camera just sucks, and then there’s the Maxxum 5000. It’s a meh camera, K-Car of cameras, the Maxxum 5000 isn’t the bell of the ball, and it is a little meh on the handling, but for basic, no-nonsense SLR photography, the 5000 is a cheap option with an A-Mount. Let me explain a little bit more. Some cameras are amazing that they grab your attention as soon as you pick it up, for me that would be the Nikon F2, F3, and F5. Also the Rolleiflex 2.8F and several other cameras. Others are so downright terrible that you wantRead More →

By:
On:
In: Reviews
With: 0 Comments

For anyone who shoots a large volume of film and doesn’t always process it right away or sends it off to get processed. It can be difficult to retain a lot of the details in your head. So when I began to send film away to the awesome folks at Old School Photolab and The Darkroom. I needed something to record the date, camera, location, lens, film, and any other details that I may need for when I posted the images. I started carrying around a simple notebook and pen to record all this in. It worked! When I started shooting large format, I wouldRead More →