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Let me start this by saying that DD-X and I have not had the best of relationships. The first time I used it I wasn’t happy with my results and decided that I was never going to touch the stuff again. But hey, almost every filmstock and developer are worth a second glance. DD-X, like its Kodak cousin, TMax developer was initially designed for use with the Delta range of films, specifically Delta 3200. Ilford has two versions of this developer, Ilfotec DD which is designed mainly for automated film processors that will use a dedicated replenisher and used in the stock formulation. White DD-XRead More →

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In: Optical Review Blogs
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I’ve quickly learned over the three previous reviews of Olympus lenses that there is a certain polarization when it comes to Zuiko glass. In most cases, Zuiko glass is well received by those who use the OM system. But only some lenses and those are usually the ones that fetch the highest price on the used market. And then there’s this lens. Now I’m only recently starting to make more use of zoom lenses, and I have the Minolta Maxxum system to thank for it, so if this review seems clunky, it’s because this is the first zoom lens I’ve reviewed in this series. TheRead More →

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When it comes to 50mm lenses I’m a sucker for a fast fifty, and while I initially got the 50/1.8 (don’t worry, I will get that lens on the review table but not until next year). I couldn’t turn down the excellent price tag on the chrome nosed 50/1.4 when I was at Burlington Camera one day. While in some circles the early version (which I’m reviewing today) gets a bit of a bad rap due to the coating on the lens. But honestly, the coating just looks cool when hit with light and viewed at the right angle. Most will go for the newerRead More →

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In: Musings
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Over the previous year, I worked hard to expand my knowledge of black & white film developers and find myself down a deep rabbit hole. Some good, some meh. Some I didn’t care for or I found them to be too specialised for average use. And while I have several up for review later this year and you can check those out later, here are seven that have stood out in my head as worthy of using again and of getting you out of the rut of using the more vanilla developers like D-76/ID-11, HC-110/Ilfotec HC, and Rodinal. 1 – Adox FX-39 II Based onRead More →

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Work has been a bit stressful of late and that restless feeling I had about a month into this whole mess we’re still sorting through came back. Either that or I never stopped feeling that way, and it just regressed enough to function. Thankfully I had my form of therapy still available with a lot more options than I did in April. I made a point to ensure I had three days of photography even if I only went out for a short amount of time with a camera and a roll of film. I ended up going out Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday with WednesdayRead More →

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In: How To
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If you have been doing home film development, then the term stand-development might have crossed your eyes. And when it comes to the process, I’m still relatively new to using stand-developing in my black and white film processing toolkit. While I’ve had some successes when it comes to handling particularly rough or even unknown film stocks, it isn’t a method for all films. So for today’s post, I went out with three different films, Ilford FP4+, Rollei Superpan 200, and Kodak TMax 400. Each shot on a different day, in different conditions, and various cameras. Then I went and soaked all three rolls in aRead More →

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I’ll be the first to admit; I never was a fan of TMax Developer. It was, at least in my mind initially TMax developer was a one-trick pony. Suitable for only modern T-Grain films (TMax, Delta, Acros). But that quickly changed as I started to branch out and trying to see what the developer can do with both modern film grain and classic grain. I discovered that TMax developer is something a little more than a one-trick pony. Technical Details Manufacture: Kodak Name: TMax Developer Primary Developer: Hydroquinone Type: Reusable or One-Shot Mix From: Liquid Handling TMax developer is a liquid, it runs clear andRead More →

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I used to run with a 50mm f/1.8; I got one when I got my hands on my first Nikon autofocus camera, the F80. And you know that was a great lens if you want a cheap and fast lens go for the 50mm f/1.8. But if you need something a little speedier or want something with a large front element and don’t care too much about having that f/22 aperture, then go with the 50mm f/1.4. Now I got my first experience with the 50/1.4 with a manual focus version I got with my Nikon F3 and immediately thought this lens superior. It isn’tRead More →

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In: Project:1867
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The term Dominion within the British Empire was not new. England first used the term to describe its relationship with Wales, much to the chagrin of the Welsh. But in the new Canadian context, Dominion would be a new concept. Canada was not a Province of the greater Empire, nor was she fully independent. A Dominion was a grey area, autonomous in all domestic concerns, but in the greater world, she remained sub-servant to England. In a nutshell, this meant that the Governor-General represented not only the interests of the Crown and the British Parliament, and Canada could neither send or receive ambassadors from foreignRead More →

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In: Optical Review Blogs
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One of the first things that struck me as odd when I was building my A-Mount lens collection was the 50mm, after getting the two zoom lenses (35-70 and 70-210) I went for a fast prime and what lens collection wouldn’t be complete with the fast fifty while companies like Nikon, Olympus, and Canon produced their 50mm at f/1.8. Minolta, well they’re different they went with the f/1.7. But let’s not quibble over that, I just happened always to like the fact Minolta was different. And back when I was first shooting SLRs with an SR-T 102 I had the 50mm lens; in fact, IRead More →