Week 261 - Barclaycard SW-6

In most respects, this is just another ultra-basic plastic 35mm camera, but this one has the added feature of a close up setting, a little lever which shifts the focus of the lens to 0.6-1.2m. This particular example is branded by Barclaycard, and was presumably some kind of corporate freebie.

photo from week 260 - Canon Pellix

One unusual feature of the Pellix is the fact that the viewfinder doesn't go black during an exposure, as the mirror is semi-silvered and remains fixed. This meant that I could keep my subject in view while I waved the camera around with the shutter open, before firing a separate flash with a blue gel attached.

photo from week 260 - Canon Pellix

I didn't bother metering this one, simply used 1/30th second at full aperture, as I knew the film would need all the light I could comfortably hand hold.

photo from week 260 - Canon Pellix

This is a bit of a dull time of year, so I livened it up with a green/orange split filter that I picked up in a £1 rummage box in a camera shop.

Week 260 - Canon Pellix

I hadn't heard of the camera until I found it in a charity shop (complete with another lens and flashgun) for £10. At first I thought it was broken, as the mirror didn't move, but Google told me that this is a fixed, semi-transmitting mirror, to allow metering to take place near the film plane. The downside is that you loose light through the mirror, effectively reducing the aperture of the lens.

photo from week 259 - Rollei Nightbird Single Use Camera

This is a more typical redscale result, cropped square after scanning. The results from the Nightbird were mildly disappointing, I have used a stand alone roll of the film in my Vivitar Ultrawide and Slim in the past, but that was in autumn when there is more light around.

photo from week 259 - Rollei Nightbird Single Use Camera

There was just about enough light to produce an image using the available light from a window with the sun shining in.

photo from week 259 - Rollei Nightbird Single Use Camera

I had expected the results to be less grainy, given that this film is allegedly ISO800 and this was taken in bright sunlight, albeit close to the winter solstice. Redscale is always a bit hit and miss though.

Week 259 - Rollei Nightbird Single Use Camera

This is simply a bog-standard single use camera, but it is loaded with "Rollei Nightbird" redscale film, which claims to be rated at ISO800, meaning it can be used in less bright situations.

photo from week 258 - Yashica T4

The T4 is said to be popular with street photographers, not a genre I'm very comfortable with, so I used my shadow as a subject.

photo from week 258 - Yashica T4

Using a tripod and the self-timer to avoid camera shake (there is no cable release socket). The auto-focus coped reasonably well with the mirror, but a couple of other photos were out of focus.

photo from week 258 - Yashica T4

Week 258 - Yashica T4

This came from my dad's box of "junk" cameras, but it's actually quite a well specified model, they often sell for over £100 on eBay. This one is cosmetically a bit tired, but seems to work, I've loaded it with Agfa Vista ISO400 film.

photo from week 257 - Vermeer Anamorphic Pinhole

And this is a photo taken from inside the glass pavilion seen on the previous image.

photo from week 257 - Vermeer Anamorphic Pinhole

It's a steep learning curve (no pun intended) getting to know an anamorphic camera. Follow the link to Flickr to see a photo of the camera during this exposure. It might help understand what's going on, but it might not!

Week 257 - Vermeer Anamorphic Pinhole Camera

I've made several pinhole cameras in the past, including a 35mm anamorphic camera, but I decided that building a 120 version was beyond my skills, and I found this one on eBay for a very reasonable price. I'm using expired Fuji Velvia ISO50 film, as I have few rolls of this lying around, and I anticipate a steep learning curve when it comes to composition.

photo from week 256 - Yashica Microtec Zoom 90

No tripod this time, just resting the camera on a bridge while the longish automatic exposure took place.

photo from week 256 - Yashica Microtec Zoom 90

With a tripod and the self-timer setting, I was able to get a reasonably sharp image in this indoor setting.

photo from week 256 - Yashica Microtec Zoom 90

The camera has a macro setting, which only works when the lens is at the 90mm setting. These roses may have been a little too close for comfort.