As the US Rolleiflex importer and dealer since 2013, I get a lot of questions about the older TLR’s and I think this is a pretty nicely put together buyer’s guide. Seems everyone has their favorite – I’ve even seen photographer’s go to huge expense to have a digital back added to their Rolleicords (which aren’t reviewed in the linked article) but just goes to show even the lower cost TLR’s were capable of producing amazing images. Most people don’tRead more
The “biggest” aerial camera built
According to this article the ‘Boston Camera’ which shoots an 18×36 inch negative is the biggest aerial camera built. It does look quite impressive! Source: “Boston Camera” > National Museum of the United States Air Force™ > DisplayRead more
The New York Public Library Digital Collections resource has an amazing number of historic photos.
The New York Public Library Digital Collections have an amazing number of historic photos – including some from early San Francisco where I live. Definitely worth a look – maybe you’ll find something interesting? They have a decent search tool to help go through the archive. Source: Search results – “photography” – NYPL Digital CollectionsRead more
Books that made a difference: Camera Lucida (Roland Barthes, 1980) DPReview post
This post on DPreview today by Barney on the Barthes’ book Camera Lucida was really interesting and worth a read – and perhaps the book itself too? There were over 100 comments posted to this article at the time I read it, many including other essential photography book titles including books by Robert Adams, Susan Sontag, Stephen Shore, Joan Didion, John Berger and many more – so the comments on the article were really also quite interesting. What books haveRead more
8×10 film vs IQ4 150mp | On Landscape
8 years ago I was fascinated by Tim Parkin’s article comparing film to the then best digital medium format backs – and one of the reasons I began to explore film in a more serious way. I’m excited to see that he’s recently updated this with a new comparison of 8×10 film to the 150mp digital backs. For me this is a re-confirmation of what I’ve already found myself while shooting 6×6 mf, 4×5 and 8×10 LF film. Besides theRead more
MTF – The English Translation
This post contains absolutely no mathematics. Explaining MTF without math is sort of like doing a high-wire act without a net. It’s dangerous, but for any number of reasons is more likely to keep the audience interested. Why Am I Doing This Again? I wrote an article on reading MTF charts several years ago. It […] Source: MTF – The English TranslationRead more
Camera review: the Fuji Panorama GX617, a legendary panoramic behemoth | EMULSIVE
I’ve got several panoramic cameras in my collection including several swing cameras and a Linhof 617 Technorama but the Fuji is one that I’ve always looked at. Here’s a nice review of it on Emulsive! I’ll come back a bit later and add something about my own cameras… Source: Camera review: the Fuji Panorama GX617, a legendary panoramic behemoth | EMULSIVERead more
Film Simulation vs Actual Film: Fuji ACROS Comparison
Interesting film vs digital comparison posted on Peta Pixel by Dale Rogers. This is with the new version of the Fuji Acros pitted against the same film emulation on the Fuji digital camera. Different lenses but similar equivalent focal length. What do you think? In most cases I actually liked the real film shots better. The recent release of the Fujifilm XPro3 camera coincided with me getting some recently re-released Fujifilm ACROS 100II film. Given my love of Fujifilm Source:Read more
Developing 120-Year-Old Photos found in a Time Capsule — Mathieu Stern
Recently I picked up this thread about finding some 120 year old glass plates in a time capsule and watched the video on YouTube which was pretty fascinating and worth the watch them printed with Cyanotype. Honestly I’m pretty amazed that glass plate negatives from 120 years ago could print so well, and not at all surprised the that image was of the family pet, but pretty impressed with the craft employed by the photographer… getting correct exposure and compositionRead more
A Brief History of the Camera Flash, From Explosive Powder to LED Lights
Here’s a 2nd good article that covers some information on photographic flash bulbs. The first known photograph was captured in 1826 when light reacted with a particular type of asphalt known as Bitumen of Judea. Since that first natural Source: A Brief History of the Camera Flash, From Explosive Powder to LED LightsRead more
Flash Bulbs – The Lowdown! – The Film Photography Project
Many of the older flash bulbs had more power than electronic camera mounted flash units and some argue better quality of light. I’ve not used them much, but am really curious. Here’s an article on the Film Photography Project page that I read recently after a customer asked me about where to find flash bulbs. The Lowdown on Flash Bulbs Guest blog by Steve Ringrose Editor’s Notes: Millions of vintage cameras (especially the Kodak Instamatic cameras here in the USRead more
Zenit-E review – Kosmo Foto
Here’s a great review of perhaps the best selling SLR camera in the last century that maybe you never heard about? Definitely worth a read. These days these cameras are really inexpensive on Ebay and you even can get more modern versions with motor drive for about $140 with a f/2.0 lens Kosmo Foto review of the Soviet Zenit-E SLR camera, one of the cheapest M42-mount SLRs available. Source: Zenit-E review – Kosmo FotoRead more