End of Year

Well, the 52 weeks have gone, and I've managed to keep up, using a different film camera each week.
My renewed interest in using film has led my to acquire several more cameras this year, and together with my existing collection, I still have quite a few to use.
I plan to continue into 2011, but maybe not quite so strictly on one camera a week.
Watch this space.

photo from week 52 - Ica Ideal

Mop with a fly on his nose, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

This will be the last photo I upload this year, so I've chosen "Mop" my ventriloquist's dummy, who is my buddy icon here, and also on Flickr and Facebook.
He was a Christmas present from my Aunt Daphne more than 40 years ago, and as she died last week aged 91, this image is dedicated to her.

photo from week 52 - Ica Ideal

reflected self-portrait with Ica Ideal camera, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

Another long exposure (10 seconds) so deadpan expression and stiff pose!

photo from week 52 - Ica Ideal

elderly teddy bear, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

This week I used another expired film, this one a mere 30 years past its use by date (compared with 60 years last week). There is quite a lot of blotchiness and streaking, but the images are still there.

photo from week 51 - Eljy (type 4)

Santa on his sleigh, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

Santa on his 21st century sleigh, raising money for Edale Mountain Rescue.

photo from week 51 - Eljy (type 4)

reflected self-portrait with Eljy camera and silly hat, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

The exposure was approximately 15 seconds, hence the rather stiff pose.

photo from week 50 - Voigtlander Bessa 1

Millennium Square Leeds, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

A cross between sculpture and architecture in Millennnium Square, Leeds.

photo from week 50 - Voigtlander Bessa 1

Corn Exchange Christmas Tree, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

The Christmas tree in the Corn Exchange, Leeds.

photo from week 50 - Voigtlander Bessa 1

reflected self-portrait with Bessa 1 camera, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

This week's refelected self portrait was taken in the Tower of Steel at the Royal Armouries at Leeds. The light at the bottom of the tower was quite dim, and this was taken near full aperture (hence shallow depth of field) and with a shutter speed of 1 second, so even leaning against a pillar, I was unable to eliminate camera shake completely.

photo from week 50 - Voigtlander Bessa 1

car park, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

The continuing snow has reduced my range of possible subjects, this was taken in the car park at work, there is some definate camera shake evident.

Week 51 - Eljy (type 4)

Eljy (type 4), originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

This is a tiny little camera, made by Lumiere in France in the late 1940s. It uses a proprietary film format, taking 8 exposures on a roll of 30mm wide film.
The lens collapses into the body when not in use, and the viewfinder even has parallax correction for closer subjects. Although the shutter speeds range fro 1/10th to 1/200th of a second, they all seem to be the same now.
We'll soon see if there was any life left in the 60 year old film!

Eljy (type 4) with film

Eljy (type 4) with film and 35mm box for comparison, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

Lumipan film

Lumipan film, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

I'm using this 60 year old film in this week's camera, it's quite possible there will be nothing on it!

photo from week 49 - Olympus XA2

Rotunda, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

photo from week 49 - Olympus XA2

reflected self-portrait with red hat, red fleece, red camera and redscale film, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

This week's mirror self-portrait.

photo from week 49 - Olympus XA2

clock tower, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

I was quite pleased with the tones I got with this redscale film, clear blue skies and bright sunshine seem to give the best results.

Week 50 - Voigtlander Bessa 1

Voigtlander Bessa 1, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

I've had this camera a long time, I don't remember where I got it, but I don't think I paid much for it.
It takes 8 6x9cm exposures on 120 rollfilm, originally it would have had a mask to allow 16 6x4.5cm exposures, but this is missing, though the viewfinder still has the appopriate supplementary window for this format.
The Bessa 1 was made for a number of years, I think this one dates from the late 1930s or early 1940s.

photo from week 46 - Pentax Auto 110

Wolseley Road Mosque, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

photo from week 46 - Pentax Auto 110

reflected self-portrait with very small camera and very large hand, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

There is both poor focus and camera shake in this one - a lesson perhaps not to use giant gloves to operate a tiny camera!

photo from week 46 - Pentax Auto 110

angel, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

This one was taken with the 50mm lens (equivalent to 100mm on a 35mm camera)

photo from week 46 - Pentax Auto 110

killing time, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

Finally got the negatives, scans and prints back today. This was a Konica 200 film that expired a few years ago.

Week 49 - Olympus XA2

Olympus XA2, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

The Olympus XA2 is a fully automatic compact 35mm camera with a 35mm f3.5 lens. The top of the range XA has a rangefinder, and the relatively rare and expensive XA4 has a 28mm macro lens. The XA2 is the workhorse of the range, and is widely and cheaply available in black, I have three black ones, the cheapest was £1.50, the most expensive £7.99. The red ones are rarer, and there was also a blue model and one in "champagne" (off white).
It is an excellent little camera, and while there is no manual overide, the auto shutter speeds are from 1/500th to 2 seconds, so the camera can be used in a wide range of lighting conditions.
As befits a red camera, I am using a redscale film this week.

photo from week 48 - Zeiss Tenax I

framed tree, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

A distant tree framed by two closer trees.

photo from week 48 - Zeiss Tenax I

rare breeds, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

Two of the animals on display in Graves Park. Both of them look very cold.

photo from week 48 - Zeiss Tenax I

reflected self portait with china helmet, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

This week's "hat" is in fact the cover for a cheese board.

photo from week 48 - Zeiss Tenax I

cold sheep, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

I couldn't help feeling sorry for these sheep, they looked very cold!

photo from week 48 - Zeiss Tenax I

sycamore pair, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

Not surprisingly, snow features heavily in this week's photos...

Week 48 - Zeiss Tenax I

Tenax I, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

I'm sticking with the 35mm square format this week, the Tenax I takes 24mm square negatives, and the film is advanced using the lever next to the lens, which also cocks the shutter.
The Tenax I was first produced in 1931, but this is one of the post war examples made in the late 1940s.

photo from week 47 - Bilora Radix

reflected self-portrait with Bilora Radix camera and crumpled plastic witch's hat, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

With a fixed shutter speed of around 1/50th of a second, there wasn't enough light for a hand held exposure, so I mounted the camera on a tripod and stopped to to f16 to maximise depth of field (there is a rudimentary, un-marked 2 position focus ring). Using the B setting, the exposure was around 4 seconds.

photo from week 47 - Bilora Radix

pavillion diptych, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

Inside of of the pavillions shown in the previous photo.

photo from week 47 - Bilora Radix

West Pavillion, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

Taken in Sheffield's Botanical Gardens on a dull afternoon.

Week 47 - Bilora Radix

Week 47 - Bilora Radix, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

This camera was made in Germany in the late 1940s, it uses the Agfa Rapid (or Karat) system, in which 35mm film is loaded into a spool free cassette, and advanced by direct driving of the sprockets into another cassette. The most common image size is 24mm square, as used in this camera, but there were also half frame (see week 33), and full 24mm x 36mm cameras.
I've loaded approximately half of a 36 exposure roll of Rollei Retro black and white film into an old Agfa Rapid cassette.

Week 46 - Pentax Auto 110

Week 46 - Pentax Auto 110, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

For a couple of decades, this little camera and it's set of lenses were what I used for day to day photography, holidays, family occaisons etc.
I bought it new in 1981, there were various "kits" available, I had the one with the 18mm, 24mm and 50mm lenses, a motor drive and flash unit. There were more extensive kits including a whole range of filters and close up lenses.
Over the years I acquired the 70mm and 20-40mm zoom lenses, together with various close up lenses, and even a third party tele-converter.
I last used it nearly 10 years ago, and the film I have expired in 2003, but I hope to get something out of it. With a new set of batteries, after a few hesitant exposures, it seems to be fully working.
There are still several mail-order firms that process 110 film, even though the format is no longer manufactured (though there are rumours that this may change.)
I'll try to use the 24 exposures next week and get it in the post by the weekend, but it will be a little longer than usual before I can upload the results.

photo from week 45 - Kiev-15 TEE

one camera, five lenses, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

Scan of five consecutive frames, each taken with a different lens. See the Flickr caption for details.

photo from week 45 - Kiev-15 TEE

reflected self-portrait with Kiev 15 camera and Russian hat, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

Russian Hat, Russian Camera, both made in 1977.

photo from week 45 - Kiev-15 TEE

Stainborough Castle, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

Stainborough Castle, which is a folly built in the grounds of Wentworth Castle. Taken woth the Mir-20 20mm lens.

photo from week 45 - Kiev-15 TEE

black fungus, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

This one was taken with the Mir-1 37mm lens which focuses down to 24cm, at near full aperture the background trees are out of focus.

photo from week 45 - Kiev-15 TEE

Wentworth Castle, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

Wentworth Castle near Barnsley, taken with the 20mm Mir-20 lens.

photo from week 45 - Kiev-15 TEE

fly agaric, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

Most of the photos this week were taken with the Mir-20 20mm wide-angle lens. This lens can focus very close, and at near full aperture the backgound is comfortably out of focus.

Week 45 - Kiev 15 TEE

Kiev 15, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

The Kiev 15 was made in the soviet union in the 1970s, this one dates from 1977. They were not made for export, and are quite unusual outside the Eastern Bloc. This one came with five lenses, including the 20mm Mir-20 pictured, the others are 37mm, 53mm, 85mm and 135mm. The lenses use a bayonet mount peculiar to this and the previous Kiev 10 model, later models, eg the Kiev 17 went on to use the Nikon mount for greater compatibility.
The aperture is set with a dial on the camera body, and there is no way to set the diaphragm directly on the lens, so even if adaptors were available, these lenses would be of very limited use to someone without the correct camera. That probably accounts for the relatively low price of these systems. The metal focal plane shutter has an unusual fan arrangement, which I have not seen on any other cameras. This is a heavy camera, and feels solid, but with fairly basic engineering standards, changing the lenses for example involves quite a lot of gentle persuasion!
I've loaded it with a roll of Rollei Retro black and white film.

photo from week 44 - Minolta Dynax 5

a train in the rain, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

Rush hour at a very wet Oxford Road Station in Manchester, the camera was on aperture priority, at around f5.6, and I braced it against a pillar for the exposure which was around 1 second.

photo from week 44 - Minolta Dynax 5

reflected self-portrait with Minolta Dynax 5 and asian conical hat, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

This week's reflected self portrait (with a very old hat)

photo from week 44 - Minolta Dynax 5

fire juggler, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

Taken at "Fright Night" in Sheffield city centre, I manually set the shutter speed to 1.5 seconds and the aperture to f11, with the flash forced to fire.

photo from week 44 - Minolta Dynax 5

lichen landscape, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

Using the closest possible focussing distance, and the widest aperture, this was taken on the bridge at Compton Verney, lichen in the foreground and the lake and trees very blurry in the background.

photo from week 43 - Komaflex-S

Harrier, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

This is the Harrier part of "Harrier and Jaguar" at the Tate Gallery on Millbank.

photo from week 43 - Komaflex-S

Jaguar, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

This is the Jaguar part of "Harrier and Jaguar" at the Tate Gallery on Millbank.

photo from week 43 - Komaflex-S

David, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

Taken in the cast court at the Victoria and Albert museum, this was hand held at 1/15th second.

Week 44 - Minolta Dynax 5

Minolta Dynax 5, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

I found this camera in a charity shop a couple of weeks ago for £5, the batteries cost the same again!
This is a class of camera that I have never owned or used before, coming right at the end of the era of popular highly flexible film cameras, soon to be replaced by digital.
As well as being "auto-everything" is is extensively customisable and can be used fully manually.
I've loaded it with an ISO400 colour negative film, and, weather permitting, will take it to "Fright Night" tomorrow.

Week 43 - Komaflex-S

Komaflex-S, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

This is one of the few 127 rollfilm SLRs ever made. They were first manufactured in 1960 and produce twelve 4cm x 4cm photos on a roll. If used with reversal film, they could be mounted as "superslides", which could be projected in a 35mm projector, but had a larger (40mm x 40mm compared with 24mm x 36mm) picture area.
This model has a reputation for unreliability, partly because the wind on and cocking mechanisms are far from intuitive, and without a manual, there is little hope of getting it right, and every chance of damaging the camera! This example seems to be in working order, but this will be the first film I have put through it.

photo from week 42 - Super Ikonta

Tickling Stick, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

Statue of Ken Dodd with his tickling stick and a diddy-man. This was hand held at 1/10th second at full aperture, taken at Liverpool Lime Street station.

photo from week 42 - Super Ikonta

pipes, originally uploaded by pho-Tony.

An art installation at the Lverpool Biennial, the camera was placed on a window sill for this 1 second exposure at f8