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When it comes to Soviet cameras you can never be too sure, I’ve had some winners in the way of the Fed and Zenit E, but also some failures with the Zenit 122K. However, when Boris, a member of the Toronto Film Shooters group offered up his Kiev-19 I jumped at the chance, and the day I tested it on, was the perfect way to see if these Soviet Cameras could take a Soviet Winter. But the Kiev-19 is no ordinary Soviet Camera. While most use a universal mounting system like the M39 or M42 Screw Mount, this camera uses a Nikon F mount. NotRead More →

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I like to think I have an open mind when it comes to different film stocks, but it’s easier to write that than to practice it. Thankfully thanks to these reviews I’ve found that I have come to like several stocks that I once derided. It would be in that category I will place Kentmere 100. Kentmere, once an independent company saw purchase in 2007 by Harman, and today is manufactured by our friends at Ilford. My first couple experiences were fairly terrible, especially the first and second rolls, but in those cases, I’ll chalk it up to the camera and my own mistake inRead More →

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The North American film photography community can probably thank Mike Bitaxi for the introduction of Polypan F. And to make things more interesting, the film is not intended for pictorial work. Instead, Polypan F is a motion picture copy film. As such the film is a blue-sensitive orthochromatic film, but looking at it, you can hardly tell. But if there is one thing the film is known for it’s the GLOW, thanks to the lack of an anti-halation layer on the film. Sadly the film was discontinued, but there’s still plenty of bulk rolls floating around. Undoubtedly worthwhile trying if you come across it. IRead More →

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One thing that is always satisfying is being able to come up with new processing details for rare films. I did some extensive testing with Eastman 5363 back when the Film Photography Project began to release it for general photographic use. But now I have a new challenge from the group, Derev. Of course, there has already been some testing of the film by the Alpha team over at FPP HQ in New Jersey which gave me a baseline, so I went and checked over my extensive list of films looking for similar film speeds, film feel, and developing times to see if other developmentRead More →

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When it comes to Fuji I have had some experience with their equipment, from the Texas Leica to the beast of the GX680iii. However, I have never tried one of their 35mm options. And they have a few, the cult Klasse being among them. So when I went to look for something unique to review for number 101 and the first camera review of the new year, the ST605 came across my desk. At face value the Fujica is just another mechanical SLR from the 70s, I mean the look the styling. But in reality, the ST605 is a sleeper, an inexpensive SLR that takesRead More →

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Svema, or by its proper name, Свема is a film stock that is relatively unknown here in North America unless you are of course fans of the Film Photography Podcast. The name comes from the combination of two Russian words, Светочувствительные Материалы, translated means Photosensitive Materials. While Svema collapsed when the Soviet Union died in the 1990s, another Eastern European film manufacture, Astrum, continues the legacy of Svema using some of the old machinery in a new factory in Shostka, Ukraine. If I had limited experience with the 100-speed version of the film, I have even less with Foto 400. The only time I’ve shotRead More →

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Svema, or by its proper name, Свема, is a film stock that is relatively unknown here in North America. But if you’re a fan of the Film Photography Podcast you will have heard of Svema. It would be Svema Foto 200 that first burst onto the FPP scene, and quickly became a favourite film of Leslie Lazenby. The name comes from the combination of two Russian words, Светочувствительные Материалы, translated means Photosensitive Materials. While Svema collapsed when the Soviet Union died in the 1990s, another Eastern European film manufacture, Astrum, continues the legacy of Svema using some of the old machinery in a new factoryRead More →

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In the category of gone too soon is New55 and their amazing film stock, Atomic-X. Now, this isn’t the first time I’ve spoken on Atomic-X when they first started releasing just their negative material for their revival attempt at the iconic Polaroid Type 55, I grabbed a box of one-shot envelopes to try out. The Atomic-X negative was in reality based around their goal of a Postive/Negative material, however, when I tried the New55 PN I got no usable results, the envelopes fell apart on me or the chemicals failed to spread it just became a disaster. But when they offered up 25-sheet boxes ofRead More →

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It’s taken me nearly three years, but I have now reviewed one hundred film cameras! Even though the review rules have slipped a couple times (namely review a sheet film camera and a pair of polaroids), so it’s only fair that I distil these one hundred cameras down into a few top five lists! Just note that there’s no particular order for these top five lists and certainly are my own personal opinions! Also of note, I’ve done my best to not double-dip, that means if a camera appears in one list, that means it won’t appear in any other list. Top Five 35mm SingleRead More →

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Before Plus-X there was Verichrome Pan. The two films have rather similar looks, but if there was a film that defined the look of the mid-century, that is the 1940s through 1950s of the 20th-Century that film is Verichrome Pan. Despite its age and the mid-speed nature of it, the film today remains surprisingly stable, having shot some that had expiry dates of the late 1960s. Designed as a general purpose film for the average consumer who at the time of its release in 1956 had nothing more than a box camera the film had a wide exposure latitude to overcome the disadvantages a boxRead More →