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The first time I picked up the Minolta XG-M, it felt as if I were coming home. If you’ve been following along with these reviews for some time, you’ll know that my first real camera system came from Minolta, first with the SR-T 102 and then the X-7a. When I had the chance to get back into the Minolta cameras, I had no qualms about getting an XG series as they have plenty of good options, but out of all the XG line from Minolta, the XG-M is the one that suited me the best. A real camera of the 1980s yet carries on theRead More →

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Fomapan 200 is a film stock that like TMax 400 and Delta 400 I’ve struggled with. I find it far too grainy for 200-speed film stock, often rather soft on the edges and can be rather fickle about lighting conditions. But it’s not a bad film; I think it needs to be handled with little extra care. Fomapan 200, was the first of the Fomapan films that I tried, and while initially disappointed in it, I quickly learned to like the film, for certain applications. Film Specs Type: Panchromatic B&W Film Base: Polyester Film Speed: ASA-200, Latitude: 64-800 Formats Avaliable: 35mm, 120, Sheets Roll 01Read More →

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The Fomapan series of films are ones that I only recently discovered in the past couple years. It actually was in 2015 when I visited Europe for the 200th Anniversary of Waterloo and popped into a camera shop in the old city of Amsterdam. And there was the whole range of Foma products from paper to film. Well, when I returned I made a point to start checking out this Foma product line. While Fomapan 100 wasn’t my first experience with the product line, it is my favourite of the three film stocks. Film Specs Type: Panchromatic B&W Film Base: Polyester Film Speed: ASA-100, Latitude:Read More →

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The iconic Leica camera, often cloned and duplicated by many, the Russians with their Fed line, and the Japanese by Canon, Nikon, and Yashica. Wait, Yashica? Meet the Yashica YF, a camera that I didn’t even know existed until fellow photographer and friend James Lee showed it off. The YF, based on the Nicca 3L, which Yashica bought up the whole company, is a wonderful combination of the Barnack Leicas and the M-Series. Combined in such a way to produced a spectacular camera that shows off exactly how a rangefinder of the era should look and behave. Big thanks to James Lee for loaning outRead More →

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If there is one film out there that I have disliked the most but have had a radical change of viewpoints Delta 400 is that film. Like TMax 400, I just find Delta 400 too modern, and boring. It’s not a bad film; it’s just not exciting. It gives you a film that is almost equal in performance as TMax 400. And while I’ve found that the film isn’t bad, it just needs better development in many cases. While some people have managed to tame the film, I do have found through Delta Def Jam; it’s a great choice if you can’t get your handsRead More →

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It only makes sense that the iconic Mamiya m645 grew up, and ended up being a perfect camera that blends the traditional film and modern digital photographic market. I am of course talking about the Mamiya 645 AF-D III. The AF-D III is by far the newest and most advanced camera I’ve had a chance to review in these blogs and well worth the wait. The camera is the medium format camera for the 21st-Century hybrid shooter as it can accept both traditional medium format film and digital backs. The penultimate iteration of the classic wedding photographer workhorse that will pay for itself if youRead More →

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When it comes to T-Grained (modern films like TMax and Delta) I can be fairly picky, the 100-speed ones I tend to like while the faster 400-speed ones I can be overly critical about. That being said I’ve found that recently I’ve been warming up to these faster emulsions the more I experiment with them. As with Delta 400, I’ve warmed up a little to TMax 400. Oddly, TMax 400 was the first roll of film I processed on my own under the watchful eye of Julie Douglas back in 2010. Film Specs Type: Panchromatic B&W, T-Grain Film Base: Acetate Film Speed: ASA-400, Latitude: 50-3200Read More →

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A modern re-imaging of an Agfa surveillance stock, StreetPan has been a favourite of mine for some time, and it is incredible in 35mm, but it sings in 120. Back when news of Streetpan first dropped, there were plenty of rumours floating around about the source of the film. Many naysayers said that the supply would be limited as it was just repackaged dead-stock. And while many still rail against the film, I for one enjoy shooting the film, and it’s great for street photography, architecture and landscape. Just don’t shoot it for long exposure, it loves the light and doesn’t handle long exposures. TheRead More →

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At your first glance, you see this Soviet Styled space-age packaging, and you know you’re in for a treat. In full disclosure, Mono 100 is not a new film stock, it is repackaged Fomapan 100 with the times adjusted to fit the reseller’s personal choices to get the best results. When I first learned that Kosmo Foto was working towards releasing a brand new film I jumped. And while I know today that film is just Fomapan 100, I still buy it on occasion because I like to support a fellow Alliance Member, and that Soviet-Style box art is just fantastic. The Lowdown Type: B&WRead More →

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Well, looks who’s back! It’s the FP4Party! This time around I have no outstanding projects so unlike in the final FP4Party I can actually work hard on this one, unlike the last time I gave a rather lack-lustre performance. I sat down early and planned out my week, collecting five ideas of where to shoot and what I wanted to shoot with. The film, of course, a favourite of mine, Ilford FP4+. I came up with one roll of 35mm, three rolls of 120 and a box of 4×5. Now in the past, I’ve usually stuck to one day of shooting for these parties. ButRead More →