Wednesday 27 November 2013

Week 204 - Halma Flex

Halma Flex by pho-Tony
Halma Flex, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
This twin lens reflex came from a charity shop, I think it was £5. The nameplate is missing, but a bit of research suggests that it is a Halma Flex, which is basically a copy of the Rolleicord range. There is a full range of shutter speeds, and the 80mm lens has a maximum aperture of f3.5
I've poaded it with Fuji Neopan ISO100 black and white film.

Sunday 24 November 2013

photo from week 203 - Agilux Agimatic

The shimmering reflections in the canal take on an impressionist feel, which becomes even more pronounced when the breeze picks up.

photo from week 203 - Agilux Agimatic

I'm not sure where the apparent light leak on the left came from, it doesn't appear on any other frames. Once again, in poor light, I was shooting at full aperture and with the slowest speed I could hand-hold, so depth of field was a bit of a gamble.

photo from week 203 - Agilux Agimatic

stone ballustrade by pho-Tony
stone ballustrade, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
The camera seems to be in full working order. It was a dull day, so I was using a wide aperture and close focus distance to get a limited zone of focus.

Friday 22 November 2013

Week 203 - Agilux Agimatic

Agilux Agimatic by pho-Tony
Agilux Agimatic, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
This neat little British made camera is quite reminiscent of the Voigtlander Vito series. It is fully featured in that it has a rangefinder and exposure meter, neither of them are coupled, and the exposure meter is a visual extinction meter, very old and basic technology! These cameras had a reputation for being unreliable, so we'll have to see how I get on.

Thursday 21 November 2013

photo from week 202 - Olympus-35 ECR

locks and shard by pho-Tony
locks and shard, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
I set the focus to the closest possible, and then moved myself backwards and forwards until the rangefinder matched the padlocks in the foreground. The distant shard is pleasingly blurred.

photo from week 202 - Olympus-35 ECR

At close range and in low light, the accuracy of the rangefinder is tested, but it seems to be about right.

photo from week 202 - Olympus-35 ECR

Tate Britain by pho-Tony
Tate Britain, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
I used a roll of Rollei Retro ISO400 black and white film this week. I took a bit of a chance, as this is the first time I have used the camera, and unable to get the correct batteries, I improvised with some smaller ones and some tin foil. It seems to have worked, and the exposures look about right. For this shot I placed the camera on the floor, as the shutter speed was too slow to hand hold.

Thursday 14 November 2013

Week 202 - Olympus-35 ECR

Olympus-35 ECR by pho-Tony
Olympus-35 ECR, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
I found this in a charity shop recently for £9.99 The batteries were dead, and as this is a fully electronic camera, there was no way of knowing whether it worked or not, so I took a chance on it. As it turns out, all seems to be well, though as this is my first film init, I won't know for sure until I've developed the roll of Rollei Retro ISO400 black and white film that I've loaded.

Wednesday 13 November 2013

photo from week 201 - Agfamatic 5008 makro pocket

hat stall by pho-Tony
hat stall, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
Taken in the lively North Laines area of Brighton on an overcast day, with the guesstimated scale focus set at 1 metre.

photo from week 201 - Agfamatic 5008 makro pocket

The light in the hotel room was just at the limit of being able to hand hold an exposure. I used the scale focus here, and tried to be as accurate as possible, as I was expecting full aperture and shallow depth of field.

photo from week 201 - Agfamatic 5008 makro pocket

micro-brewery pub by pho-Tony
micro-brewery pub, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
I took the little Agfa with me on a trip to Brighton. I wanted to use it to its full, taking advantage of its ability to do very long exposures in low light. This was a very dimly lit pub, and I rested the camera on top of my pint glass to take this one, the exposure felt like a couple of seconds.

Monday 4 November 2013

Week 201 - Agfamatic 5008 makro pocket

Agfamatic 5008 makro pocket by pho-Tony
Agfamatic 5008 makro pocket, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
This is one of the more sophisticated 110 cameras, with an automatic exposure system and focusing down to 0.5m with a further macro setting at 0.25m.
I've loaded it with some new Lomography iger ISO200 colour negative film.

photo from week 200 - Fuji STX-2

Happy Halloween by pho-Tony
Happy Halloween, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
I don't remember halloween being this scary when I was a kid!

photo from week 200 - Fuji STX-2

The narrow depth of field is very apparent in this picture, the natural daylight was quite poor, and this was shot at 1/30th at f1.6

photo from week 200 - Fuji STX-2

sausage stall by pho-Tony
sausage stall, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
I took the STX-2 to "Fright Night" - the UK's largest halloween carnival, and using ISO800 film was aiming to hand hold in available light. Most of my photos were taken at full aperture, f1.6, so focussing is quite critical, and not always spot on!

Sunday 3 November 2013

Week 200 - Fuji STX-2

Fuji STX-2 by pho-Tony
Fuji STX-2, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
I really don't need anymore 35mm SLRs, but I saw this one, filthy and sticky, in a charity shop for £5, and took pity on it. The f1.6 lens is a tiny bit faster than the more common f1.8, and the fully mechanical shutter seems to work. There was no battery in it, and it is quite usable even without the coupled TTL exposure meter, but this appears to work as well once I put a battery in.
This week is Halloween, so I've put an ISO800 film in so I can use available light where possible.

Saturday 2 November 2013

photo from week 199 - Olympus LT-1

Bingo by pho-Tony
Bingo, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
This is a pair of adjacent frames, I decided to scan the full width of the film, as the sprocket holes go well with the subject matter.

photo from week 199 - Olympus LT-1

The mirror self-portrait is out of focus, I think the camera attempted to focus on the mirror surface. The innards of the LT-1 re the same as those of the "Ecru" which I used in week 5, when I had exactly the same problem with the self-portrait.

photo from week 199 - Olympus LT-1

halloween reflections by pho-Tony
halloween reflections, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.
I used a roll of Poundland Agfa Vista film, and took the camera with me on my travels, in the run up to Halloween, lots of shops had scary window displays!