The Classic Camera Revival

March 31, 2015The Classic Camera Revival

In 2014 Alex Luyckx asked me about starting up a podcast with John Meadows and my wife Dawn Bitaxi.  Well, after a bit of discussion we all agreed to start it up.  In January 2015 we recorded our first episodes.




What an exhilarating experience!  We discussed our Workhorse cameras… I talked about my black beauty Canon T90… while Alex discussed the Nikon F4.  My wife Dawn discussed the Olympus OM2 S/P (which has sadly since died) and John discussed his beautiful Mamiya M645 Pro!






Alex gets very animated holding the Nikon F4

John's Mamiya 645

In episode 2 we went outside the box to Box Cameras…!  I talked all about my Agfa Shurshot Box Camera, Alex talked about a Kodak Brownie Box and Dawn discussed the Kodak Brownie Bullseye camera…





And finally in Episode III we got into the Rangefinders… Those wonderful cameras that we all love to use for Street photography.  They are super quiet and unobtrusive. From the Leica to the Zeiss Contax…. I discussed my Kodak 35 RF, while Dawn discussed her beautiful (and incredibly sharp) Olympus 35SP.   Alex happily blabbed on and on about his Himatic 7 from Minolta, which is a real sleeping gem of a camera… John, however, stole the show with his stunningly beautiful Voigtlander Bessa!  Talk about a real star of a camera!  LTM mount, and TTL metering!
You can catch us every month at the end of the month on iTunes and from the Classic Camera Revival Blog (hosted by author of the Podcast Alex Luyckx). Stay tuned as we delve into APS and DIY… plus the Communist Cameras in May!
Also with all episodes we also discuss Darkroom printing and at-home developing! Look forward to hearing from you regarding the CLASSIC CAMERA REVIVAL! Until next time, keep those shutters firing!


*All above images were taken on a Canon A-1 w/50mm ƒ/1.4 lens on Fuji Superia 400 film

The Sharpest Film - PART II

So for an ongoing saga in this "SHARPEST FILM" I will continue to test films that claim to be "THE SHARPEST" films.
Kodak claims that TMAX400 is the sharpest 400 speed film, so I will put it up against TRI-X, HP5+, Delta400, Kentmere 400 and Rollei 400.  I will skip Foma 400, because I already know it'll lose badly. Beautiful tones, absolutely, but not exactly a sharp sharp film.

Anyway, this is about ADOX CMSII at ASA 3 instead of ASA6.  I have tested it at 6, and loved the results, so here's the film at ASA3.

But that's not the most interesting thing about this film.  The detail and entire lack of grain, even under such a huge crop, just shows how amazing this film is.
If it didn't cost so much in 4x5 I'd order a box.

Even under such magnification I can see no grain, and there is still very recognizable detail.
Absolutely a film that I will definitely be getting more of, and since I'm essentially all done testing it, shooting it without considering it to be "test" shots only.

Until next time fellow bloggers, keep those shutters firing!

All images were exposed at EI3 which is a 2 2/3 stop pull.  Film was developed in Rodinal 1+200 at 20°C  (68°F) for 10:30 using standard agitation.