Tag Archives: s

Film Washi S 50 ISO Experience

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I bought two rolls of this film ages ago and since then the weather has been absolutely rubbish, dark, grey, and wet. Which, as it turned out, was perfect for reducing the contrast of this very contrasty film. So Washi S, you can read all about the film and its history here. That blog also includes some sample shots. And there is a data sheet here, with some shooting tips.

I decided to put my first roll in my Canon IV SB2 because it had an f1.4 lens and I have only used it once since getting it CLA’d. That is a shame and a tragedy in camera terms. I took it for a wet walk around Dalton Bank Nature Reserve to see some rural graffiti and into Leeds for some “lines”.

Once finally finished, I developed the film in Kodak D76. I have to say the processed film is one of the clearest I have ever seen. I think I am so used to Fomapan with the blue tint, I have forgotten what other films look like. Anyway, here are some of my results.

As you can see, the film is indeed very contrasty. VERY. I think it works well for the lines and patterns, but not so well for run of the mill shots. The blacks are very black and the whites are so white they are sometimes blown out. There are very few grey or mid tones. I love it, but for the next roll I will choose when to use it very carefully, maybe stick to lines, patterns, or architecture.

I think I will also choose a camera with a built in light meter to compare the results.

Minolta Vectis S-100 (APS)

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I left my other Vectis S APS camera in Japan, but I had weirdly ordered lots of APS film in the UK. So now I have a plethora of film and no SLR type camera to use it with. Hello Vectis S-100, but really that is an excuse as I do have other APS cameras and I was just given even more. APS cameras…they breed you know.

Look at the size of that lens 25-150mm and it was cheap as many APS cameras are. When it arrived there was a film already inside, score.

It was produced around 1996 and apparently was a simpler version than the S-1. You can find all the technical details you might need here. Really, it is a point and shoot with a few modes. It is one of the smallest APS SLRs there is, but with this zoom lens it was hardly pocketable.

There really isn’t much more I can say than that. Pop in a film, point, shoot, done. I finished off the roll that was inside.

Here are the found shots.

Well, whoever owned this camera liked their motorbike.

Here are my photos take on the rest of the film. The first shot is me working out if the camera worked, then I realized there was a film inside. I took the rest of the photos around my garden and the local parkland.

For a film left inside, it was surprisingly good in terms of colour and noise. The camera focused quite well, it felt comfortable to hold and looks good, to me anyway.

Actually, maybe I should say more. Some of the cameras I try don’t leave an impression on me or maybe I am not in the mood to write much. Today it is a bit of both. The weather has been very drizzly recently, a bit depressing really. I have also just started working again, supply teaching. Some of the schools you see and the children you meet make you wonder about the state of the world. Then you see other children, other schools and it makes you wonder in a completely different, more inspiring way. Being a teacher is definitely a rollercoaster ride.

Anyway…the photos I took with this camera were of my local nature park and I think I miss it. I know I can go in the rain, but it is not the same as a blue sky day. Also, it is turning colder so not only are you wet but cold as well. There is also the issue of…there is never the wrong weather, only the wrong clothes. True. But being all wrapped up doesn’t make taking photos easy. Maybe I am just a warm weather photographer. It is supposed to rain tomorrow too. That’s it, I am going out rain or shine!

Update: As I bought the Canon IX7 I decided to sell this camera.

Minolta Alpha Sweet S (Dynax 404si, Maxxum STsi)

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I wouldn’t say this was an accidental buy, but a curiosity based one. I bought two lenses for a Canon camera body I had, both the lenses said Canon and I didn’t look beyond that. They were clean and that was my main concern. It turned out one of the lenses didn’t fit. So now here I was with a lens and no idea which make it belonged to. Of course, I have a few camera bodies lying around and I tried it on all of them, but it didn’t fit any of them. So my last resort was looking through photos of the lens online and checking the mounts similarities. After a bit of looking, I decided it looked like a Minolta. The next time I went wombling I looked for a clean Minolta body and found the alpha sweet from 1999. And just like the glass slipper, it fit.

It was wrapped in plastic so I didn’t get a chance to look in the viewfinder. If I had I might have changed my mind about getting it, there was a serious yellow stain.

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That is focused on a white wall. I read on a few forums that it was probably the adhesive used for the pentaprism. As it was not on the lens I figured it probably would not affect the photos. Some forums said to leave the camera in the sun and the UV ray would probably reduce the staining. I might try that…when there is some sun.

It felt light to hold, perfectly fitted my tiny hands, very easy to use, all the settings you might need, just the yellow stain. I wasn’t too worried. If you want more technical details, look here.

This is an entry-level SLR and it is perfectly fine if you are getting into film photography. It does the job, it doesn’t wow.

Here are my test shots…no yellowing 🙂

You can see I tried out the multi-exposure function for fun. I said I would keep the Pentax MZ-30 due it having this function, but the battery lid on that camera was weak. Apart from the yellow issue, this camera is in a much better condition so I think I will keep this one and get rid of the other.

Nikon Pronea S

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With my new found liking of APS films and Nikons, the perfect fit seemed to be the Pronea S. Released in 1998 it was the last APS SLR Nikon made. I managed to get one with a 30-60mm lens.

I thought, even if I didn’t like the camera, the lens would be useful. Unfortunately, the  IX-Nikkor lenses are not compatible with any other camera. Oh well, at least I can play with this camera.

I took it to Leeds, but straight away I was having issues. The camera was shutting down or locking up. I thought it was a battery issue so went to Dragon Photos and got a new one. If you want film or developing in Leeds this is the best place to go.  When I got home I sent the film off to Hippo Photos, if you have more specific needs and are not in Leeds then this company is awesome. They develop anything and will even do sprocket scans. You can receive a cd or a download link. If I could post film to them from Japan I would. In no time at all, I got these photos back.

 

The camera was a bit of a disappointment. It was slow to focus and had that weird battery issue. I thought I would give it another chance, especially as I seemed to have gone nuts buying aps film over the summer. So I popped in an expired Konica  Centuria 200 and went to Scammonden Reservoir.

..all the same issues continued. The camera locked up, the new battery died before the end of the film, and was slower than a snail having a lazy day when focusing…if it could decide what to focus on that is. It really is a crappy camera. Here is the second test roll that I eventually managed to get the camera to rewind and release.

Keeps or sell: Dumped in the bin with lens and some of my Nikon love.

Yashica Minimatic S

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This is actually my 100th camera post. It is a bit of a disappointing camera to get to a milestone with, but at least it is a Yashica.

I got this for $10 and it was broken, only slightly, but still broken. The catch on the bottom, the O-P slider, would not open the back. So I yanked the back open with a dentist’s tool, just to see inside and see if it was worth trying to fix. There was a little bit of fungus, but really not a lot. So I whipped off the bottom and saw that a spring had sprung. I reattached it and voila – a maybe working camera.

So what about the rest of the camera. I thought the scale on the top was a light meter, but it is really just an over the top ASA marker. The light meter is a needle scale inside the viewfinder and it still moved in the right direction. That was a good sign. The second image of the rangefinder was very faint, but still just visible. So I loaded up a fuji 400 film and set off to a local festival.

The camera actually got a lot of notice and I have found a few of my friends or associates making a switch to film. So here is the test roll.

And that is why I was a bit disappointed it was the 100th camera. Not great, not bad, just meh. I didn’t really enjoy using it either, not really enough control and too heavy. It does have a 1.8f lens and that helped on the cloudy day I used it. The main issues seemed to be over exposure. There is a scale inside the viewfinder, but no lock on the shutter. That means if you use it you have to stay out of the red.

At the end of the day it is a camera from 1963, it is lucky to still have a working light meter.

Keep or sell: Neither, I am going to give it away.

Also the photos of the camera were taken on a nikon aw130, I do not recommend it. I can’t wait to get my canon s90 back. Roll on summer.