photo from week 131 - Olympus XA4

reflected self-portrait with Olympus XA4 camera and Germany cap, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

I used a tape measure to set the focus on this one, as once again, in poor light, the exposure system will have selected a wide aperture with associated shallow depth of field.

photo from week 131 - Olympus XA4

top deck in the rain, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

It's been another very wet week in the UK, this was taken through the window of my bus home. I set the focus to the minimum, to catch the water drops on the window, there is no aperture control, so in the poor light, and with the meter set to ISO50, I expect the automatic exposure system selected full aperture for this one.

A Collector's Life For Me

A Collector's Life For Me, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

My column in this week's Amateur Photographer magazine is about the Russian Fotosniper that I used in week 87.

Week 131 - Olympus XA4

Olympus XA4, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The XA4 is the last of the XA series, and differs from the rest in having a 28mm lens instead of 35mm. There is also focussing down to 12 inches (30cm), though with no rangefinder, some care is needed at closer ranges. The oringal wrist strap was made exactly 12 inches long as an aid to focussing, but mine is a replacement.
I've used this camera before, but not as a "camera of the week", I've loaded it with home rolled redscale film (a Fuji ISO400 colour negative, with the meter set to ISO50 to give 3 stops compensation).

photos from week 130 - Rollei A110

Paul Evans with "Away from the pod", a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The first two frames on the Orca film are of my friend, the artist Paul Evans, holding a print of his drawing of an Orca.

photo from week 130 - Rollei A110

reflected self-portrait with Rollei A110 camera and black sequined hat, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

The sequins on this hat (50p, bootsale) are around the same size as the camera lens, the exposure sensor, my eye and the jacket buttons.
The damage on the emulsion was due to difficulties in loading the developing reel.

photo from week 130 - Rollei A110

NO STEP, a photo by pho-Tony on Flickr.

I was planning to scan the negatives to include the edge markings and sprocket holes, so was on the look out for subjects that would tie in with this. All the 110 film I have used before has had an arrow below the sprocket hole, so I took this arrow to complement it, only to find the the Orca film doesn't have one...