Kodak Technical Pan, Super XX, and Verichrome Pan films – Were these better film stocks than what we can find today?

I ask my friend Greg why really old expired Kodak Tech Pan film fetches insane prices on eBay and his reply was, “It’s God’s film”.   He said that with the right developer, it would provide incredible grainless detail and long smooth tones and that it was better than say the ADOX CMS 20 II film which isn’t sensitive to all colors like Tech Pan was.   Greg is the one who also introduced me to Kodak Verichrome Pan which I immediatelyRead more

Voigtländer Perkeo II – oh man, wow: So much performance in such a small camera! – YouTube

I’ve got the Perkeo IIIe with the rangefinder and haven’t used it very much at all, but I agree with this reviewer that they are really nice cameras.   I have a few of the Ikonta’s too, and the Bessa I, II and III.  It would be fun to compare them all sometime, but certainly the Perkeo’s are nicely built and very lightweight.  What is your favorite folding 120 rangefinder?Read more

Camera Bloggers Alliance

Mike Eckman’s blog is pretty cool but if you need more camera fix then you can check out the  Camera Bloggers Alliance RRS feed on his page too. Here are a bunch of RSS feeds for some of my favorite vintage camera and photography related sites.  Click on the article name to be taken directly to the arti Source: Camera Bloggers AllianceRead more

Kodak Tri-X vs. Ilford HP5 – A photo comparison by The Darkroom Photo Lab

I thought this was a very useful film stock comparison and wanted to post it both for other and also so I can come back to it.   Personally I mostly shoot T-Max 400 and Ilford Delta 3200, but now that I’m shooting 8×10 and 11×14 I’ve started to shoot a lot more Ilford film stocks since they are available and less expensive.  What film stocks do you like? WHAT DO YOU LIKE? Kodak Tri-X 400 classic grain structure, contrast, deep blacksRead more

AuRA Rotary Assist Film Developing Machine by Viktor Falendysh — Kickstarter

Here’s a rotary film processing assistant on kickstarter that looks very well made.   I’m curious about how much difference in processing times a rotary drum makes, and whether drum speed, reversal matter.   I see that the AuRA’s standard processing turns fast for 30 seconds then slows down.  Is this really the equal of agitation?   Should a vane or other protrusion be put in the drum to assist with mixing?   I’m guessing that the film reels will provide enough opportunity forRead more

Rolleiflex 6000 – A Passionate Review – By Volker Muth

I’ve met Volker in Germany once during Photokina and he’s a nice guy.  It’s great to see his article on the Rolleiflex 6000 system which is very detailed, but omits a few things about lenses he hasn’t used.    The 90mm APO macro lens by Schneider, the 180/2.8 Schneider, and the 60mm Schneider Curtagon are all missing from his report and personally I think these lenses are some of the jewels of that system.  If he liked the 150mm SonnarRead more

THE TINHOLE CAMERA | Analog- & 3D-Prints

Here’s a really neat 3D printed tin can pinhole camera (designed by Christopher en.printsandprints.de) that you can load a roll of 35mm film into and shoot with.  What’s really cool is how he has printed gears to advance the film inside the can.   btw – He’s selling the parts for these cameras for about 20 Euro on his website, link below.   Source: THE TINHOLE CAMERA | Analog- & 3D-PrintsRead 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

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

Wikipedia’s List of Photographic Films a great reference

Source: List of photographic films – Wikipedia Recently I landed on this great and very complete film stock reference page at Wikipedia and thought I’d share it. What makes it so useful is one can quickly find the particular characteristics of each film stock, ie. fine grain, pushes to ISO 3200, etc.   If you find yourself wanting to test different emulsions coming out or happen like me to get old film stock in lots of cameras and want to knowRead more

Source: Filmtypes – Explore the world of analog film This is a really useful film comparison site….and I think it will improve as more reviews are added.    Hope they add sheet film!  I almost never shoot 35mm, but only 120 and LF films….Read more