By:
On:
In: Photography
With: 0 Comments

At the end of last year, Harman/Ilford made a fantastic announcement, their popular budget film, Kentmere, was now available in 120 formats. And it was going to be the least expensive option for medium-format shooters. Kentmere and I go back, and when I first reviewed Kentmere 400, I was not happy with my results. I was downright rude towards the film stock, but looking back at it now, I can see it was not as bad as I thought it was when I first came to review it. Kentmere 100, however, did make an excellent first impression. And since then, I hadn’t thought much aboutRead More →

By:
On:
In: Houses of Holy
With: 0 Comments

If there is a single place in southern Ontario where you could find Scottish immigrants, it was the Esquining Township. A small farming settlement, known locally as the Scotch Block, is the perfect spot to find the oldest Presbyterian congregation in Milton. But Boston is much more than that; it also shows the messy history of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. The earliest recorded service of Presbyterian Worship took place in 1820 on the farm of Alexander Laidlaw. Rev William Jenkins used a tree stump as a pulpit. He preached on Ezekial 34:25. The service proved popular, and in 1824, a section of Laidlaw’s farmRead More →

By:
On:
In: Developer Review Blogs
With: 1 Comment

Respooling and shooting motion picture films have been around for several years now. The Vision3 line of the film presents a somewhat affordable way to shoot colour film since it is far more readily available than dedicated still photography film. But most people have been developing this film in C-41 chemistry. Now there’s nothing wrong with that, my first experiences with motion picture film developed in C-41 at home. And CineStill strips away the remjet layer specifically to allow motion picture film to be developed in C-41 lab machines. But technically, processing motion picture films, specifically Kodak Vision3 films, in C-41 chemistry is cross-processing. KodakRead More →

By:
On:
In: Houses of Holy
With: 0 Comments

When it comes to the makeup of Churches within the Halton region, during the early colonisation of the region, Roman Catholics made up a small minority. This is because most of the area was settled by those of English, American, or Scottish descent. And Catholicism was often connected to the Irish, who were often seen as second-class citizens, and often targeted by racist policies. But the Irish did make up a small percentage of the population, and there was a Roman Catholic presence in the larger urban areas of the province. And if it wasn’t for this small rural Parish, there’s a strong chance otherRead More →

By:
On:
In: Optical Review Blogs
With: 2 Comments

When it comes to Minolta and Konica, both had terrific optical quality throughout their run as separate companies, but at some point in the merger is where they started to lose a little steam. And while there were still some winners, there were also some troublesome lenses. No company can be 100% perfect all the time when it comes to optics. Sure, the Nikon Series E had some winning glass, but that line also had some bad lenses. This is the second Konica-Minolta lens I’ve reviewed, and it is not what I was expecting, and that’s not a good thing. I got this lens asRead More →

By:
On:
In: Houses of Holy
With: 0 Comments

If there is one church that surprised me in this project, it is Palermo United Church, not because it is still active, but of the various churches in this project, this one is the oldest. If you have never heard of or even seen this church, entirely wholly understandable, as it is a bit hidden, set a bit east of the major intersection of Bronte and Dundas. The village known as Palermo was first settled in 1806 a mainly agricultural settlement on Dundas Road. The earliest recorded visits by Methodist saddlebag preachers came in 1808. The settlement soon became a regular stop on the AncasterRead More →

By:
On:
In: Camera Review Blogs
With: 1 Comment

The return of the 1990s classic trashcam that, despite being what it was, the Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim became a cult classic in the rise of the toy camera movement. And while the original Vivitar run ended, and the Sproketheadz version had some serious troubles, in 2022, a new version came to the market. Produced by Hong Kong firm RETO, the RETO Ultra Wide & Slim rebirthed the classic and is probably one of the closest versions of the original. It’s all plastic, light, and has a particular flare for the strange. But if you missed the boat on the original, this camera mightRead More →

By:
On:
In: Developer Review Blogs
With: 3 Comments

There have been a lot of great releases of developers onto the market of late, including refreshes and clones of some of my favourites. And this won’t be the last time you see a clone of a beloved developer in this series. But with the dull grey days of winter starting to pile on, now is the time to begin using developers designed to help push development and ensure your fast films keep their fine grain. But there’s something that sets Bellini EcoFilm developer apart from other Xtol clones, such as Adox XT-3, which is that the concentrate comes in liquid form rather than powder.Read More →

By:
On:
In: Optical Review Blogs
With: 0 Comments

I love a good wide-angle lens, and while I have two excellent options in my A-Mount kit, the 17-35mm and the 28mm f/2.8, sometimes you want something a touch wider and in a fast prime. So I kept my eyes out for a 24mm f/2.8 and jumped when I came across one for a good price. I was not disappointed at all; this is a fantastic lens and one that will be used much more than the 28mm when photographing landscapes and urbanscapes. Lens Specifications Make: Minolta Model: Maxxum AF 24mm 1:2.8 Focal Length: 24mm Focal Range: ∞ – 0.25m Aperture: f/2.8 – f/22, 7Read More →

By:
On:
In: Reviews
With: 0 Comments

This past year has been a lot of fun looking at different cameras. While some of these cameras I will have already released a review, others will be coming out next year. But that’s the thing about writing these reviews is that I’m often working 2-3 months ahead of the actual release. I put a lot of work into these reviews, between looking up specs, shooting multiple rolls of film through the cameras and trying to get the best results so I can give a fair and balanced review. But a group in the film photography blogging community decided to put out a series ofRead More →