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In: Camera Tales
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I can thank the sale of the Konica-Minolta camera division to Sony and a gift of a Nikon F80 that marked my one and only system shift in my photographic journey. The F80 was my go-to camera for many years, and it was the one that helped build up my Nikon AF system. There’s even one lens in my kit that I got with that F80. While my first two cameras were purchased through Garage Sales, the X-7a and the F80 were both gifts from other members of my church. It came to me from a teacher at Sheridan College. I wish I could rememberRead More →

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There are small cameras, and then there are small cameras. When designing cameras, there are certain constraints that you must work within. In the realm of 35mm cameras, you do have to make sure there’s enough room to fit the cartridge, and there have been some small 35mm cameras that I have reviewed. The one I think of is the RETO Ultra-Wide & Slim, and in the 35mm world, the smallest I’ve worked with is the Pentax MX (smaller than even the Olympus OM-1 and Nikon FM). But once you start to scale down the size of the film, you can bring the size ofRead More →

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In: Optical Review Blogs
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Alright, I said I wasn’t going to get one of these, well, specifically an autofocus version of the Nikkor 20mm lens. The Minolta one solidified my enjoyment of the 20mm focal length, and I was passively looking for a manual focus lens, either AI or AI-S, because then it would work on all my cameras without fail. But I also don’t turn up my nose to a lens when offered. And well, here we are, the 20mm f/2.8D. I do like my wide-angle choices, and the 20mm offers up a nice in-between when 24mm isn’t wide enough and 14mm is too wide. And I don’tRead More →

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In: Camera Tales
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Many photographers of a certain age started with the Pentax K1000. I went a different route, and it’s different from even my preferred camera type today. I went with the Minolta Hi-Matic 7s, a fixed lens rangefinder from the 1960s. The Hi-Matic made things real; it was the first camera that was mine and the first good camera that I used. Before this, I used disposable cameras, like the point-and-shoot my parents had, and I still remember the 110 plastic camera I got at a McDonald’s event (at least, that’s what I think in my head-canon). While I would end up with a lot ofRead More →

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In: Film Review Blogs
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I have a troubled history with 200-speed films. They’ve always given me more trouble and often try too hard, which can be detrimental. I struggled to find a way through Fomapan 200 and Rollei Superpan 200. Both Svema and Derev Pan 200-speed offerings were far more trouble than they’re worth. And then last year, along came Kentmere 200, a middle child for the Kentmere budget offerings. In all these colour film releases, Kentmere 200 took a backseat. But I latched onto Kentmere 200 almost right away. I already enjoyed Kentmere 100 and Kentmere 400, and the first flush of Kentmere 200 proved a solid performer.Read More →

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Like last year, I had a few extra days free to myself at the end of the year. So I rounded up the CCR team and headed into the city. The goal was to shoot some film and record an episode of the Classic Camera Revival for the start of our new season. I grabbed a train out from Oakville and into Union Station to meet up with the gang. I packed my Minolta Maxxum 7 and the 20mm lens, along with a roll of Kodak Tri-X 400 (rated at ASA-320 and developed in 510-Pyro). Since we were also doing the Mystery Camera Challenge, IRead More →

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In: Camera Tales
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Okay, it’s a bit clichéd to start with an iconic student camera, but there’s a symmetry to beginning with the K1000. See, eleven years ago, I kicked off my camera review series, and the second such review was the Pentax K1000, this K1000, as a matter of fact. And to turn a phrase, this is my K1000; there are many like it, but this one is mine. So why am I starting with the K1000? Well, because it is the second such camera that I clearly remember from my childhood, it captured some of my memories from that time. If you haven’t already guessed fromRead More →

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I had a lot of fun last year working through some of my cameras and picking a different camera and film each month and shooting them for the enjoyment of photography. Often I would tie the roll to a YouTube video, specific blog post, developer review, or a podcast episode, but sometimes it would be for the fun of photography. These were always posted to Instagram and I worked again in collaboration with the community of folks through the 12monthsonfilm account. For 2025 I’ll admit there were repeat cameras from last year, but I did make a point to include some new arrivals and thoseRead More →

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In: 1812:Revisited
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By 1814, both sides were starting to tire of the war. For the Americans, they had been facing no actual movement. The Royal Navy was causing havoc on the east coast. The British held Mackinac Island, Fort Niagara, the District of Maine, and Prarie Du Chien. The Americans only held Fort Erie, having been turned back in their Niagara invasion. They were under siege and had some control of the western edge of Upper Canada but nothing beyond the settlements of Sandwich and Amherstburg. The possibility of peace negotiations had started in 1813 but were soon shut down. However, with long lines of communication betweenRead More →

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In: News & Updates
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Well we made it through another year. Like every years things did not always go to plan and that’s okay. Because it’s important to be flexible, especially when this blog and other channels is not a full time job. The year was a lot of fun despite being a little chaotic. I always have hope that things will eventually calm down, but they do in fact always calm up. There was a rather unfortunate bump through the fall with a five week support staff strike that did reduce some capacity for creation, but I had the chance to play catch up through October and NovemberRead More →