As is my wont on Saturdays I went for a walk with my camera. Recently I’ve been organizing my collection and noticed that I almost never use my Electro 35 GS, so, I decided to take it out with me.

After using it for a about half an hour I remembered why I don’t take it out often. It’s rather big, and there’s something about the ergonomics of it that just doesn’t click with me. It’s not at all a bad camera, however. The lens is famous for being usable in very low light and its build quality is not shoddy by any means. Just the handling of it tends to get in my way somehow.

You can see some photos I took with it in my Electro 35 set here. The last 4 photos are from last weekend.

I grew tired from walking around by about 11am (I’d left the house slightly after 9am.) I was in an out-of-the-way park finishing up a roll of Portra 160VC in my Agfa Billy-Record (results coming soon) when a neighborhood old man began talking to me.

What I thought was going to be a simple chat (hopefully about classic cameras) turned into over twenty minutes of him espouting how he and others cleaned the park and summer vacation was coming and kids would eat in the park and throw their wrappers into the bushes and did I know how much the city of Nagoya paid for cleaning vs how much he got paid? When I foolishly asked a question about a nearby rail bridge he started about how the government was wasting our tax money and how much it cost to build and it was then that I slung my camera over my shoulder and made my exit.

Timing was on my side as I reached a nearby bus stop just one minute before the bus came, which took me almost to my door. By evening I was ready to go out again.

This time I took my M3, Nikkor 50, M-Rokkor 90, tripod and cable release out into the woods behind my house. When I went out it was already raining and slightly foggy, which gave some of my photos an interesting feel.

That night was the first time in a very long time that I felt scared to be outside. The photos I took don’t really show how dark it was out because they were timed exposures of 4 seconds or more. As I made my way down the street there was utter silence save for the rain pitter-pattering on leaves and the occasional distant barking of dogs. Street lights became few and far-between and I eventually stopped and went home when I looked ahead and saw nothing but inky darkness.

You can see the series here.

This weekend I took the new Rolleiflex out for a walk. I went to Bic Camera to pick up some film I had dropped off and then went for a walk behind Nagoya station.

I ended up getting lost for over an hour, wandering down numerous identical streets. Along the way I found some interesting things to photograph like this temple and an abandoned house. Using a TLR under and umbrella in the rain I’ve found, is easier than using a 35mm camera. The sky was overcast but bright though, which made seeing the viewfinder slightly difficult to see.

This time I used D76 for developer. I like the way Acros 100 looks in D76, it brings out slightly more grain than SP does. Ordinarily I don’t like developers in power form because I have to make the entire bag at once, but it’s been a while since using D76 so I thought I’d give it a try again.

I uploaded more photos into my Rolleiflex Automat set on Flickr.

A shameless plug, but I created a Canon P group on Flickr. If you’re on Flickr and want to join, by all means do

Yesterday afternoon I set out to expolore the woods behind my house. Just a short walk up the hill and into some trees and it’s goodbye to the city hello countryside.

The first roll of Across I took came out kind of slow, and I didn’t find much to shoot. Right after changing to a roll of Presto 400 however, it began to rain and the mood changed with it. I walked down a few roads I’d never been down and I ended up finding a beautiful stream, some mysterious paths into the trees and a dead end road. Some photos didn’t come out too well because it was getting dark, I didn’t have a tripod and I had to hold an umbrella to block the pouring rain. I have posted the photos that did come out well.

You can see more on my Flickr account

Have I mentioned how much I love Tri-X 400?

Stairs - Olympus XA - Tri-X 400 - HC-110

Taxi! - Olympus XA - Tri-X 400 - HC-110

Waiting for the train to pass, Osaka Japan - Olympus XA - Tri-X 400 - HC-110

… because I really do.

This is a Rolleiflex Automat, it’s from around 1950. I found it at one of my regular haunts near Nagoya station. The outside has seen some better days; it’s somewhat dirty and the there’s brassing in some places. The lenses are nice and clean however, and the viewfinder clear. There was no case but it did come with the lens cap (which seperately can go for $80. Seriously.)

In the world of TLRs, by reputation the Rolleiflex reigns as king. This model is a 3.5 (the taking lens is f3.5.) The next step up are the 2.8 models which command a much higher price … $1000 and up. If you want a new one Rollei still make Rolleiflexes … for a cool $5,000+

As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m an equal opportunity employer; I like to try all kinds of cameras. I frown on camera snobbery because there are quite a few dirt-cheap cameras out there that can produce some stunning images (Olympus XA, Trip 35, etc.)

However I have a fondness (weakness?) for TLRs and once you use any other model and then hold a Rolleiflex and you’ll immediately know why the latter is so popular.

About 10 minutes after buying this one I put a roll of film through it. The photos weren’t really exciting but they confirmed that the camera is functioning properly. I promise I’ll take some more interesting photos this coming weekend.

Train passing - Rolleiflex Automat - Acros 100 - Super-Prodol

I like to think of myself as an equal opportunity employer. That is to say, I try not to judge a camera by its maker or its looks. In the computer world I have brand loyalty to certain extent (Apple & Palm) but when it comes to cameras there are too many good ones out there to stick with just one maker. I am especially fond of TLRs, they are really fun cameras to use. 

In this entry I gave a quick blurb about a Ricohflex VI that I had picked up cheap. Very cheap; less than half what stores would sell one for. I picked it up because I wanted a compact TLR, and this series is about as small (and cheap) as you can get. The other being the Voigtlander Brilliant, but they are more expensive and much more fragile.

… I don’t want to say that this camera is a piece of you-know-what, but this series of Ricohflexes are not know to be luxury TLRs. Use one and then use a Rolleiflex and you will immediately notice the difference, especially ergonomically. Still, the VI is nice and compact and comes in a nice leather case (that gets lots of looks from old people around town.) The viewfinder was hard to use in less than bright light, but I found that closing the lid helped. Mine has seen better days so opening and closing the viewfinder takes a little effort (and makes funny noises.) With only 4 shutter speeds I wasn’t going to be doing much low-light photography anyway. The shutter is whisper-quiet, probably the most quiet of any camera I own. The focus is a little tight, but (thankfully) in feet (still learning metric) and accurate.

At the end of the day image quality is also important, and the VI really surprised me. Sometimes I wasn’t able to see the viewfinder clearly and some slight overexposures have me thinking that 1/100 might be slightly slow. When I pulled the roll of film out of final wash however, the camera vindicated itself. Whatever jokes I have about this camera, this time it had the last laugh.

Lamp - Ricohflex VI - Acros 100 - Super-Prodol

Local park  - Ricohflex VI - Acros 100 - Super-Prodol

Water fountain  - Ricohflex VI - Acros 100 - Super-Prodol

In the train  - Ricohflex VI - Acros 100 - Super-Prodol

 

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UPDATE: The Zeiss Ikon that I detailed here is being returned for a refund. The lens was very hazy and the shutter speeds almost all completely off. Shame, I was looking forward to using it.