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Everyone knows and loves the various cameras: FM, FE, FM2, FM2n, and FE2. But there are a series of cameras that are part of the minor F’s that make some significant technological splashes and some belly flops that are generally not as well known or are out of reach of the average photographers. These cameras were used to experiment with new technologies before they hit the big times with professional cameras. First is the Nikon FG, produced from 1982 to 1984; it was the first camera from Nikon to have full auto-exposure and semi-automatic and metered-manual modes. The Nikon FA, released in 1983, had aRead More →

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In: Sixteen
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Like the Chisholms, their grand estate overlooking the harbour is directly tied to the town’s history. And while nearly lost, the town’s efforts and the local historical society have ensured that the home still stands today. The estate of Earchless started not as a home but rather in a more humble manner. William Chisholm already had a home in Nelson Township and had no desire to move to Oakville. But he did need to establish some businesses in Oakville. In addition to the shipyard and a tavern, he established a general store that acted as a customs house. The earliest section of the home wasRead More →

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Regarding film developers, I tend to stray from those designed for one specific film stock. It’s not that I don’t want to try them; I have a dislike of closed image systems. A good developer should be able to achieve a specific result with various films. And for a while, I thought that Foma Retro Special is explicitly designed for Foma Retropan 320 Soft, and while this is the ideal film for the developer, it can do so much more for the entire line of Foma films. After finding a source for the developer, I purchased a pack since I am finally running a reviewRead More →

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Back at the end of May, in the final CCR episode of that month, I discussed the need to replace my ageing and to fall about Peak Design messenger bag. Some people suggested I contact Peak Design about repair/replacement under warranty. And I did that, but the damage to my bag was not due to a fault in the make of the bag, but instead wear and tear. I received the bag as part of their initial Kickstarter in December 2015. It was initially supposed to arrive earlier in the year and would have been perfect to bring to Europe that summer. And since then,Read More →

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Upper Canada provided a wealth of raw materials for the merchant barons in Montreal. In addition to supplying the needs for colonising the province, the vast forests supplied lumbers that would go over to England to provide materials for constructing the mighty warships of the Royal Navy. Agriculture fed the growing population and the armies of England. But the preparation of these two things required mills. In addition to the shipyards, some of the earliest businesses in Oakville were mills. Running water was the best source of power for the first mills in the region. A lot with a water source provided not only irrigationRead More →

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But wait, don’t I already have this lens? I do, after a fashion, of course. Suppose there is a single lens that changed my work as a photographer, especially within my urban exploration work. In that case, it is the Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8G, a lens that was a bit limited on my D300 but came into its power on the F5 and D750. But let’s admit it; the 14-24/2.8G is a heavy and big lens. I knew in the back of my mind that Nikon had several wide-angle lenses, but it was a chance that a fellow podcaster who picked this lens up for herRead More →

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The world of SLRs changed with the release of the OM-System from Olympus. It proved you could have a professional, high-end SLR in a small package. Nikon, at the time, was producing high-end but large cameras. While the F and F2 were solid performers in the professional market, their Nikkormat line of cameras proved popular. It would make the perfect camera to scale down to produce the next generation of advanced consumer SLRs. It also helped the Nikon recently did their first update on the iconic F-Mount, introducing Automatic Indexing or AI. This mount was first introduced in the final two models of the NikkormatRead More →

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As mentioned last week, the main reason for Chisholm’s desire to purchase the area where Oakville sprung up was the presence of the mouth of the Sixteen Mile Creek. Despite being a shallow creek, it has the potential as a natural harbour. By 1827 the Welland Canal and improvements along the St. Lawerance River had improved trade routes through Upper and Lower Canada and over to England. The mouth of the Sixteen Mile Creek was noted for a large gravel bar in the middle, splitting the planned harbour into two entrances. Chisholm directed his son Robert and son-in-law Merrick Thomas to dredge out the mouthRead More →

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In: Film Review Blogs
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Regarding CatLABS, you never know what they will pull out of the bag next. Earlier this year, I reviewed their latest version of the XFilm 320 Pro and was presently surprised with the results. While I never touched the original version (which is said to be Eastman Double-X), I did try their original version of XFilm 80. I loved the stuff in my original review and revisiting it at ASA-32. When I got my hands on the new 320 stuff, I grabbed a box of XFilm 80 II. And I’ve been sitting on it for a while, but during the hot days of summer finallyRead More →

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In: Musings
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I never thought I would have to write a piece like this one. Still, with the rise of generative AI software, sorry, plagiarism software, there has been some interesting talk online about how many bloggers within the film photography realm have started turning over the hard work of writing reviews to things like ChatGPT. And while I know that some people are, the people I closely interact with all ‘do their own stunts.’ But people love having proof, so today, I will walk you through how I create a full camera review from start to finish, using a review I wrote on the Nikkormat FT2,Read More →