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When it comes to slow films there are only two that matter in my book; the first is Rollei RPX 25 the second is Ilford Pan F+. Pan F+ was the first real slow film I ever used and fell for it right off the bat. Great when you’re shooting in bright light and want that fine grain, smooth tone look for your summer images. In fact, I don’t think there’s a developer that the film doesn’t like. But for me, it’s always the film of choice for the summer months of the year when I’m out shooting landscapes and urbanscape both on and offRead More →

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Like the Nikon FA, the Olympus OM-4 when it was released was a game changer for Olympus. The OM-4 saw a radical shift in how the camera metered. Where Nikon used a ‘matrix’ meter, the OM-4 used a multi-spot system to determine the shutter speed. And yet it maintained a classic OM look and feel, with almost everything unchanged in the layout from the earlier OM-1 and OM-2 cameras. Certainly a worthwhile addition to any photographer who is a fan of the classic OM cameras. Thanks to Bill Smith for loaning this beauty out for review. Disclaimer: This is an old review, and is scheduledRead More →

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It’s always interesting to see what you can do with what Adox calls a ‘closed imaging system.’ CMS 20 II is a film that is specifically designed for one developer, and one developer only that is Adotech II. In fact, in their datasheet, they even discourage the use of traditional developers as they could yield poor and unpredictable results. But thanks to the power of the Internet and having a bit of an experimental side and writing these blogs for you, my dear readers let us continue and say you can use traditional developers with CMS 20, and the results are rather stunning. Film SpecsRead More →

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The unique, the desirable, and hard to come by Nikon FM3a was the final FM model SLR produced by Nikon and exclusively for the Japanese market. But this is an FM camera that isn’t 100% and FM camera, you may have noticed the A in the model, and there’s a good reason for it, the camera is more a best of both worlds. All you love about the FM series and all you like about the FE series in one beautiful camera that will have you wanting one of your own to replace your FMs and FEs. Big thanks to James Lee for loaning outRead More →

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It feels wrong posting a review for Acros 100 in light of the recent news about the film’s demise at the hands of Fujifilm. But I would also feel this series of reviews incomplete without it included. One of my favourite black and white films from Fuji (which isn’t saying much there was only a handful). Bright, sharp, and with next to no reciprocity failure (you can expose the film up to 22 minutes before needing to adjust your exposure time to compensate). While I didn’t use the stock much, I did get to use it abandoned buildings where the long-exposure capacity can help outRead More →

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I’m sure sitting on my parent’s shelf is the book that inspired this title, The Church Mice Spread Their Wings, but in this case, I’m not talking about a book, but the Toronto Film Shooters Meetup. Usually, when these events are run they stick closely to the Greater Toronto Area. I made a choice, on the suggestion of James Lee to change up a couple things with the Summer 2018 meetup, and by a couple things, I mean all the things. Location, Time, even starting and ending points. I went full radical, must have been the influence of reading up on the Upper Canada Rebellion.Read More →

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While not many people would notice it, but when watching a film, and you come across this amazing sequence in black & white, the rich tones across the board, and just a classic cinematic look and wonder, how can I make my still images look that good! Well if you are watching a film shot on traditional film stock the answer is rather easy, Eastman Double-X 5222. Chances are you’ve seen a film shot on this stock, such as the opening sequence of Casino Royale or Shindler’s List. I first came across Double-X a few years back when I purchased some rolls through the FilmRead More →

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The general idea of toy cameras is something relatively new within photography circles, since the rise of Lomography even the Cameras we consider toys were probably built to offer a low-cost camera to the masses. And that’s where I put the Agfa Isoly Junior. The basic model of the Isoly line of cameras, it is designed to be something to give to your child, or junior, a simple camera that doesn’t need much thought in using in regards to focus or exposure. Mainly it’s a dressed up box camera, but don’t let that bother you, because those expensive ‘toy’ cameras are just that. Special thanksRead More →

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When it comes to Retro 80s, it’s a somewhat fickle film. At least for me, I find it hard to get good images out of the film stock. But when you do get images out of it, they are some of more unique in the world. For me, the film ranks among those speciality films such as Ferrania P30 and Eastman 5363, high contrast, slow, with a look closer to a black & white slide film than a negative film. Not to mention, the extended sensitivity into the Infrared spectrum makes it a good IR film in a pinch. Film Specs Type: Panchromatic B&W, ExtendedRead More →

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In my last review of a Polaroid Camera, I spoke on the age of the camera is a deciding factor on getting the camera. And while the PolaroidOne is one of the best options, there are others that still give that somewhat stable performance even if they are older. The late 1990s saw a shift in camera styling for Polaroid, going from the squared off box to a sleek and rounded form factor, like the OneStep AutoFocus. Internally it’s the same camera as the older Type-600 cameras, a slightly better lens, newer electronics, and a clean modern look. Thanks to Tom Stekner for the camera!Read More →