photo from week 156 - Belair X 6-12

reflected self-portrait with Belair X 6-12 camera and kimono, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The shutter on the Belair will stay open for several seconds in low light, so I used a tripod for this one, test firing with the lens cap still on suggested that the auto exposure was likley to under-exposue, so I changed the ISO setting to 50 (I was using ISO400 film) to compensate for this. There is no cable release socket on this camera, and camera shake is an ever present danger, but I seem to have got away with it here.

photo from week 156 - Belair X 6-12

boxing day sycamore, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

There are reports from some users that the Belair has problems focussing at infinity, but this one seems OK, the 58mm lens and f16 would tend to minimise any focussing errors, so it is too soon to conclude that all is well, but so far the results are encouraging.

Week 156 - Lomography Belair X 6-12

Lomography Belair X 6-12, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

For the last full week of the third year of my 52 cameras project, I am using my latest acquisition, which arrived last week. The Lomography Belair is that rare beast, the new film camera. It uses 120 film, and can take images in 3 formats, 6x6cm 6x9cm and 6x12cm. I was attracted by the 6x12 format, as both 6x6 and 6x9 are found on a whole range of camera, many of which are in my collection. The camera is cheaply made, and has two plastic interchangeable lenses, inital reports form users have been mixed.
Last week I used my smallest camera, the Minox B taking 8mm x 11mm negatives, so I thought it would be interesting to go to the other extreme of the format scale this week.

Merry Christmas

'tis the season to be silly, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

Some of this year's hat/camera combinations.

photo from week 155 - Minox B

seasonal street food, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

A quickly grabbed spy shot of a street vendor, there is a lot of fogging on the left, I'm not syre when this crept in, as it wasn't near the beginning or end of the film, but the process of slitting film and reloading Minox cassettes provided ample opportunity for mistakes to happen.

photo from week 155 - Minox B

festive butcher's display, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

There's something slightly disturbing about having xmas decorations among the cuts of meat and sausages in this butcher's window display...

photo from week 155 - Minox B

reflected self-portrait with Minox B camera and leather gear, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

I knew this one was going to be underexposed, but I didn't want to use a shutter speed slower than 1/20th, and even that was pushing my luck.

Week 155 - Minox B

Minox B, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The Minox B is a classic spy camera, taking tiny 8mm x 11mm negatives on 9.5mm film. The "B" was produced between 1957 and 1972, and the styling of the light meter in this one suggests that it is a later model. It's a sophisticated piece of kit, and feels like a precision instrument in use. The mechanical shutter has speeds down to 1/2 second, and makes a very satisfying quiet purr when fired.
I used a home made film slitter to cut down some 35mm film before loading it into a used Minox cassette.

photo from week 154 - Minolta X-700

reflected self-portrait with Minolta X-700 camera and jaundice, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

I didn't want to spoil the view of this impressive balaclava that I picked up in Madrid, so I held the camera a chest level for this one.

photo from week 154 - Minolta X-700

looking into the temple, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

Another handheld shot in available light, I used the auto setting at full aperture, and I think this was 15/th or 1/30th of a second, there is some evidence of camera shake.

photo from week 154 - Minolta X-700

20-21 Gallery Scunthorpe, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

One of the reasons I chose the Minolta for this week was that it can be used in low light conditions, and with daylight at a premium I knew I would be having to use available light much of the time.
This was handheld at 1/30th second, I used manual overide to set the aperture to f1:7, and didn't bother metering, but used the slowest shutter speed I thought I could get away with without a tripod.

Week 154 - Minolta X-700

Minolta X-700, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

This one came from a charity shop for £5. There was no lens, and the camera didn't have a battery in it, which meant it was impossible to know if it was working, but I took a gamble, and all seems to be well.

photo from week 153 - Nagel Vollenda

Torres Blancas, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The Torres Blancas is a 1960s brutalist tower block in Madrid. I'm quite fond of this architecture, and this is a particularly successful example in my opinion. The film is Efke 100 developed in Rodinal.

photo from week 153 - Nagel Vollenda

reflected self-portrait with Nagel Vollenda camera and wooly hat, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

This week self-portrait was hopelessly under-exposed, I couldn't be bothered to get the tripod out and use a longer exposure, and I thought the light was good enough to hand hold 1/25th at full aperture, but it looks as if I was being over optimistic.

photo from week 153 - Nagel Vollenda

shadow self portrait at the Reine Sofia art centre, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

I took the Vollenda to Madrid, where the sun was low in the sky and cast some nice long shadows. I'd just walked through the section on mid 20th century photography at the Reine Sofia art centre, so that may have been the inspiration for this composition.

Week 153 - Nagel Vollenda

Nagel Vollenda, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

This is another of the little black folding cameras from the 1930s that I am particularly fond of. It all seems to work, but I've not put a film through it before, so I won't know how light tight it is until next week.

photo from week 152 - Baby Brownie Special

St Georges Church, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The low winter sun provided a very contrasty scene, but I like the way the bare branches of the foreground trees frame the church.

photo from week 152 - Baby Brownie Special

reflected self-portrait with Baby Brownie Special camera, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The self-portrait is not very good this week to say the least. There is no "B" setting, so I had no option but to find an outdoor reflective surface, also, there is no focussing, so I didn't risk getting too close.

photo from week 152 - Baby Brownie Special

sycamore, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The Efke film I used was pretty out of date, it expired 1995, so I was expecting some degredation in image quality. This film is one of two that I found together, I used the other one in week 80 in a Brownie 127 camera. That time there were easily visible backing paper markings on the negatives, but they are much less in evidence with this film.

Week 152 - Baby Brownie Special

Baby Brownie Special, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

From the oldest camera to the simplest, also made by Kodak, this is one of the ultra basic models taking eight frames on a roll of 127 film. The format is now pretty well obsolete, but I have a couple of rolls left, so it's not quite dead yet!

photo from week 151 - No. 1 Folding Pocket Kodak

Horse Chestnut, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

For this oudoors photo in rahter dull dayight, I used aperture setting number 2, which I guess is around f16. The single shutter speed is simply marked "I" (for instantaneous) and is probably around 1/50th second.

photo from week 151 - No. 1 Folding Pocket Kodak

reflected self portrait with Kodak No.1 folding camera and bowler hat, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The Shanghai film proved to be rather poor quality, and the backing paper markings are clearly visible, especially in under-exposed negatives like this one. The apertures are numbered 1-4, with no "f" number given, I stopped right down (beyond number 4) to get the most depth of field, as there is no focussing, and I suspect the hyperfocal distance is further away than the demands of this close shot. Using the "B" setting, I gave this 30 seconds, and was worried that I might have over-exposed it. In fact is was markedly under-exposed, the f number is probably f32 or smaller, as in identical lighting, I have found 30 seconds should be plenty long enough at f22.

Week 151 - No. 1 Folding Pocket Kodak

No. 1 Folding Pocket Kodak, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

This is the oldest camera I have used so far, it was made over 100 years ago, and has subtle differences from the more common, later folding models. There is a single speed shutter with B and T settings, the un-named lens has a diaphragm with 4 marked stops, but no "f" numbers are given. It takes 120 film, and I have loaded it with my last roll of Shanghai GP3 black and white film. We will see what state the bellows are in in due course...

Photos from week 150 - Yashica Rapide

Piccadilly Circus, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

It can be a problem with the half frame format is having so many exposures on a roll, one way round that is to take lots of photos from the same spot and make a collage, that is what I've done here with 14 exposures taken in Piccadilly Circus. With the rapid wind on strap, this can be done very quickly with this camera.

Photo from week 150 - Yashica Rapide

reflected self-portrait with Yashica Rapide camera and bowed top hat, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

In the poor winter light, this was hand held at 1/30th sec and near full aperture. I set the focus to 1m and stood 50cm from the mirror, and have got the focus about right.

Week 150 - Yashica Rapide

Yashica Rapide, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The Rapide is a half frame camera with an unusual vertical design. The film is advanced and the shutter cocked by tugging on a short leather strap (seen here bottom left). There is a built in un-coupled Selenium light meter, and the shutter speeds range from 1sec to 1/500th. It's made of metal, and quite heavy.

Photo from week 149 - Vivitar 742XL

reflected self-portrait with Vivitar 742XL camera and small sombrero, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The coupled range-finder proved very useful for this close up indoor shot. I kept as still as I could, and the shutter speed felt like about 1/15th second.

Photo from week 149 - Vivitar 742XL

junk shop, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The Vivitar has a fully automatic exposure system with slow speeds down to a couple of seconds at least. This was taken by resting the camera on a table in a dimly lit junk shop. The exposure sounded like about half a second.

Photo from week 149 - Vivitar 742XL

charity shop relocation, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

This is the charity shop where I bought the Vivitar. I happened to be walking past it and noticed it was moving.

Week 149 - Vivitar 742 XL

Vivitar 742 XL, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

This is one of the more sophisticated 110 format cameras. It has a coupled rangefinder and electronic shutter with speeds down to several seconds. I found it in a charity shop, where it was ina basket of assorted cameras, and was filthy and sticky, I considered buying it, as it had a part used cartridge in it, but for £4 I decided it wasn't worth it. It was still there a couple of weeks later, and the price had been reduced to £2, so I bought it. It wasn't until I got it home that I realised it was quite a high spec model, so I cleaned it up and improvised a replacement electrical battery contact using a paperclip. The batteries had been left to leak and corrode, but with a little TLC I got it working again. I've loaded it with a Konica Centuria cartridge which expired in 2006.

Photo from week 148 - Petri 7s

ghost ship, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

Taken at "Fright Night" using a slow shutter speed and a flashgun with a coloured filter taped over it.

Photo from week 148 - Petri 7s

reflected self-portrait with Petri 7s camera and halloween mask, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

This is a good (or bad!) example of the focus problem, even though this was taken at a wide aperture, that doesn't explained the poor focus.

Photo from week 148 - Petri 7s

spooky pianist, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The results from the Petri were rather disappointing, there seems to be a problem with the coupled range finder, and many of the shots were completely out of focus. Some of the photos were taken at night, and I could easily believe that I had mis-focused in the dark, but the problem remains on many of those taken in daylight.
I took it to "Fright Night", Sheffield's annual Halloween event, and used a slow shutter speed and a flash with coloured gel.

Week 148 - Petri 7s

Petri 7s, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The Petri 7s dates from the early 1960s, I picked it up in a boot sale for £4 a couple of years ago. This is the version with the f1.8 lens, it has a couple rangefinder and a coupled manual selenium light meter, which appears to work OK. I've loaded it with Agfa Vista ISO200 colour negative film from Poundland.

Photo from week 147 - DX-1000

big top flare, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

Roll up! Roll up! Come and see the impressive flare from the toy plastic lens!

Photo from week 147 - DX-1000

reflected self-portrait with DX-1000 camera and white cap, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

With no "B" setting, I was forced to find an outdoor reflective surface for my self-portrait this week.

Photo from week 147 - DX-1000

circus glitch, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

Perhaps not surprisingly, I was able to demonstrate a number of desirable but unpredictable effects from this toy camera. In this example there is partial overlapping of two frames.

Week 147 - DX-1000

DX-1000, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

There are many manifestations of this toy camera, most commonly it is called the "TIME" cameras as it was once given away as a gift to subscribers of Time Life Magazine.
It boasts an "optical lens" which has adjustable apertures down to f16. October 20th has been designated "World Toy Camera Day" so this seemed a good time to load it up. I've put some very expired Ektachrome 1600 slide film in it, which I will cross-process.

Photo from week 146 - La Belle Pal

reflected self-portrait with La Belle Pal camera and Madeiran hat, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

Taken at full aperture and with the shutter set to 1/25th sec, I was lucky to get the focus just about right, as the depth of field is quite small.

Photo from week 146 - La Belle Pal

kerb enthusiasm, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

Looking for subjects in town, I thought the newly surfaced and painted road might look interesting alongside the film's edge markings. This is three consecutive frames.

Week 146 - La Belle Pal

La Belle Pal, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

This dumpy little camera was made in the early 1950s in the USA. It is also sols as the "Bolsey A". There is a 3 speed shutter, and a 44mm f4.5 lens.
I've loaded it with a 24 exposure roll of Agfa Vista from Poundland.

Photo from week 145 - Olympus µ II

Through the red ring, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The mju focusses down to 35cm, and there is a setting to allow for spot focussing, so I used this to ensure that the ring in the foreground was in focus.

Photo from week 145 - Olympus µ II

reflected self portrait with Olympus mju II camera and compound hat, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

This camera is auto-everything, there was no way I could think of to prevent it focussing on the mirror surface rather than my reflection, but I quite like the dreamy effect.

Photo from week 145 - Olympus µ II

twenty toilets, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

I used slide film this week and cross-processed it in colour negative chemicals, so there is a green colour cast and increased grain and contrast. I spotted these toilets stacked up ouside a plumbing supplier.

Week 145 - Olympus µ II

Olympus µ II (aka Stylus Epic), a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The Olympus mju II is also known as the "Stylus Epic". It's probably the smallest of the Olympus compacts, but is fully featured with shutter speeds down to several seconds, and a facility for spot focus/exposure.
I bought it for £1 at a car boot sale, and have loaded it with a roll of Lomography xpro (cross processing) film.

photo from week 144 - Bencini Comet-S

yellow sculpture at the Es Baluard Museum, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The bright Mallorcan sunshine was almost too much for this ISO200 film, used in a camera made when colour film was at least a couple of stops slower. I like the bird at the top right, but I can't pretend I planned it.

photo from week 144 - Bencini Comet-S

reflected self-portrait with Bencini Comet-S camera and Mallorcan hat, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

With a shortage of outdoor mirrors, I once again took my self portrait indoors, knowing that it would be severely under-exposed!

photo from week 144 - Bencini Comet-S

Palma Cathedral with light leaks, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

I took the Comet with me on holiday to Mallorca, I didn't have a case for it, and the back catch slipped a little bit when I took it out of my bag, a couple of the frames have some quite noticeable light leaks.

Week 144 - Bencini Comet-S

Bencini Comet-S, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

This is one of the ubiquitous Italian Bencini cameras that were made in the 1950s an 60s. They are very basic, but so simple that there is little to go wrong and they are usually working. I've used this camera once before with black and white film, but this time I've loaded it with Macocolor C41 film.

photo from week 143 - Purma Special

the third tree, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

This was a bright day, so used the fast shutter speed. This scan covers the whole width of the film, showing the unusual 32mm x 32mm image (the standard size for 16 exposures on 127 fim is 40mm x40mm)