Polaroid One - Goodwill Find

I visit Goodwill monthly to look for used film cameras.  Sometimes I'm successful, most times not. Today i found this cool Polaroid One.  For as much as I use Polaroids, I have never owned one of these, so I was excited.  Guess what, it appears to work.  Fun find that I'll use this weekend.

Pentax PC35AF

I'm starting my 52in52 2017 project.  One film camera per week.  Possibly a cheapo point & shoots I pick up at Goodwill or a flea market or maybe an expensive camera purchased online.  I have MANY such cameras to select. Therefore the selection process will be a challenge in itself, but a good problem to have!

First up is a recently purchased Pentax PC35AF.  Shoots 35mm film.  The PC35AF feels very well built.  Not a cheap plastic toy camera, this thing is mostly metal.  It reminded me of my much loved Olympus MJU, although it's a bit bulkier and wider.

I bought the Pentax at Goodwill for a stupid cheap price of $2.99.  

What I like about the camera is it's cool looks.  I totally dig the red shutter release button and the small red switch that pops open the lens cover.  There is no manual way to open the lens cover so if you break off the red cover release switch you're screwed.  

The camera has a street photography perfect f2/8 35mm lens.  The shutter is super quiet.  The camera has an autofocus which is cool.  ISO range is only 25-400, so no low light for you.  You do have a pop up flash released using a red switch on the bottom.  Flash is automatic.  Film is advanced using a thumb wheel on the top back of the camera.  Mine is a bit tight, but smooth. A 10-second self timer on the shutter release.  I wasn't able to determine if you can take double exposures, but I don't think so.

Here's the top, bottom & back

I shot a roll of of Ilford XP2 400.  Easy to use.  Flash was responsive.  Overall a fun camera to start the year.  I'll definitely be using it again.

Girls On Film - Location Fashion Shoot

I did a fashion shoot on location in an abandoned building recently with model Katie Allen.  I was joined by local fashion photographer Wil Foster.   Lots of interesting architecture and natural light to work with.  Of course, I used my digital kit for the main shoot.  However, I also brought this little cutie to the shoot.  A super compact Canon SureShot 80u 35mm point & shoot.  

This was another Goodwill find some time ago.  Not sure when I got it, but it's completely clean.  The camera packs a 38-80mm zoom lens and a groovy art deco vibe to the body.  I loaded it with a roll of Ilford XP2 400 B&W film and put it in my camera bag.

During the shoot I pulled out the SureShot and popped off a few shots during each clothing & location change. Since this was a "real" shoot there was also studio lighting equipment involved. Because the lighting in the building was somewhat low, the SureShot's flash went off on every shot. After a few shots I realized the camera's flash was triggering the slave mode on the Profoto lights and setting them off as well.  No wonder a few of the shots were completely blown out.  The struggle is real.

On all the shots I kept the zoom at 38mm.  Everything was automatic.  The parallax framing in the optical viewfinder was a bit hard to see in the environment so some of the pictures were not framed like I wanted, but seriously, this is minor.

I dig the camera.  Really easy to use and I am surprised at the quality of the prints.   BTW, I developed the film myself and scanned the negatives using my low end Epson V370.

A few of the shots.  No post processing except to straighten / crop & apply a bit of sharpening.

Me Crazy, Nope Not Me - I'm Economical

Do you love the artsy Polaroids?  These are statement pieces, right?  Do they talk to you? Should I draft an artist statement? Nope, I was just playing around.  OK, here's the story.  

I went to my local Goodwill Outlet to look for film cameras like I do once a month or so.  Score, I found a Polaroid OneStep Express.  It looked clean, no cracks, good to go.  A good investment for 50 cents.  I opened the film cartridge door to see if the rollers were clean, and it had film in it.  I closed the door and a photo didn't pop out which told me the battery in the cartridge was dead...hmmm,

I figure why not.  When I got home I grabbed an empty Polaroid 600 film cartridge and went into a dark bathroom.  I extracted all 10 undeveloped photos from the old cartridge by feel in the dark & reloaded them into the fresh cartridge.

I loaded the re-loaded cartridge in a fresh camera and one of the photos popped out!  It worked.  I then went around my yard taking photos.  The results are above.  As expected...seriously, I expected this, all of the film emulsion packs were dried like a desert so the film didn't develop.  Even though the film ejected no emulsions spread across the photo to initiate the development.  This was an actual Polaroid pack of film, so its at least ... maybe 10 years old?  No way it will be any good unless it was cold stored.

Moral of the story boys and girls?  If you plan on buying real Polaroid film online, it probably not going to be good unless you KNOW it's been stored properly & from a reputable source.  Even then the cartridge battery may be dead.   If you have a Polaroid (not talking about Instax here) then do yourself a favor, buy film from the Impossible Project.  It's quirky, but it will be good.

Vivitar Ultra - So Sleek It's Fancy

It's been a month or so since I visited a Goodwill to look for film cameras.  Well this evening I decided to stop by a local Goodwill on my way home from the office.  I scored this cute little Vivitar Ultra for a sweet $0.99.  Also, there was a 3x24 box of Kodak color film for $0.25 so I scored that as well.  I loaded one roll into the Ultra and am ready to go.

There is absolutely nothing to this camera.  Just load & point & shoot.  No battery, nothing to adjust, and check it a 22mm lens, although it says f=22mm..strange.  Bottomline, EVERYTHING will be in focus. 

As always, just for giggles.

Photos I've Taken - Vivitar PZ3090

Ooopsie, I've been super busy with my digital photography side of things, so I've not had a chance to work much on film.  I picked up a couple of rolls today, so I thought I better get back to my blog.  Here goes.  

I purchased a Vivitar PZ3090 point & shoot from Goodwill, and kind of like it.  Compact, easy to use and packing a 38-90mm lens.  Really good range for a point & shoot.  It was clean.  It also packs a flash which is very useful for indoor settings.  I loaded it up with a new battery and plopped in a roll of Ilford XP2 400 B&W film. 

The camera was very responsive, and easy to use.  Just what you need in a point and shoot.  Here's a shot of the Indiana World War Memorial monument in downtown Indianapolis on an overcast day.

What I Found - Visit to Goodwill Outlet

I went to a Goodwill Outlet close to my office on my way home.  I go there just to look what is available.  Found some cool cameras.  An Olympus Infinity point & shoot, a Sears easi-load 310 & the best a Polaroid Pack Camera 335.  All of the cameras are dirty and rough shape, but I think all can be used.  The Infinity just needs a good cleaning, the Sear's 110 film sized is good, and not sure of the Pack Camera.  It looks OK, but need to clean it up and hack the battery.

Not bad for a couple of bucks all in.

Kodak Brownie Hawkeye Flash Camera - Really Old School

One of Kodak's famous consumer cameras was the Brownie Hawkeye.  I picked mine up a few years ago at Goodwill Outlet.  It looked rough around the edges, but guess what it works.  The Brownie Hawkeye was introduced in 1949 and produced until 1961.  Mine was made in 1951, so it's older than me.   Mine is a Hawkeye Flash version.  This version took a Kodak pin & screw flash attachment.  

The camera took 620 sized film which is hard to find, but you can roll your own.  Everything I read indicated that you couldn't use 120 sized film.  However, you can cut down the ends of a 120 film roll and get it to fit.  It's tight, but it worked.  I simply used a set of fingernail clippers to clip down the ends.

There are lots of websites on the Hawkeye camera that detail how to use it, how to load it, etc.  I couldn't find much on the actual camera specs.  However, physically, it has a look down viewfinder in-front of the top handle.  The image is reversed in the viewfinder which takes a bit of time to get used to.  It has a rotary shutter, but there is no other camera controls.  The only control was to pull up the grey knob on the opposite side of the shutter release and it converts the camera to bulb mode.  There is no adapter for a tripod, so you need to figure out another method to stabilize the camera during long exposures.  The lens is what's called a meniscus lens.  Here's a link if you want to read what a meniscus lens is.  

The camera produces a large 6x6 cm or 2.25x2.25 in square negative.  Loading the camera is a snap, and there are even instructions on the inside.  Very simple to open, just move the nob that's under the handle and the back pulls off.  Simply load the film, close it back up and you are good to go.  

I've only shot one roll of converted Ilford XP2 Super 400 120 film through it, but it was fun.  You sure get stares when you pull this out.  It's easy to use, no focusing, to aperture, speed, ASA, or anything else to adjust.  Just point & shoot.  Perfect for street photography.

Here is a photo from one of the parks in downtown Indianapolis during a bright but overcast day.  There appears to be an unusual pattern on the images.  Looks like something a pressure plate would create, but it doesn't have a pressure plate.  Still a cool, old school soft look.  It almost looks like it was taken 50 years ago!

So if you want to play with an old camera that's still fairly available and simple to use, get a Hawkeye flash.

Pictures I've Taken - Vivitar Series 1 500PZ

For those of you that know me, my primary photography Jones is editorial fashion and model photography.  That's all digital.  However, as you can tell by this blog I still play with film photography.  Rarely the 2 intersect, except for my Polaroid behind the scenes and fun shots during model shoots.

However, the other day I took one of my film cameras, a Goodwill find Vivitar Series 1 500PZ to one of my shoots.  While photographing Annette, I took a couple of shots with the film camera.  Even used flash mode.  Not the best quality, but still fun.   Shot this photo with a Kodak Portra 400.  Kind of creamy.

A formal blog post on the camera coming up soon.

Cameras I'm Shooting - Canon, Pentax, Olympus, And Others - Oh My!

Went downtown Indianapolis yesterday with Stephanie and then went to the Oranje arts event in the evening.  I took a my Sony A6000 digital camera with me, but I also took film.  Yep, lots of film cameras.  During the day I took a Canon Sure Shot 85 Zoom, my Olympus XA, & my Dad's old 110 camera (not sure who made it).  After hours I took a Pentax IQZoom 130M (which I recently picked up at Goodwill) and a Lomography Fisheye II.

I tried out an expired roll of Kodak Max 800 for one of the evening shots, so it will be interesting to see if I got anything.  

Fun stuff.

Picture I've Taken - Kodak Easy Load KE30

A photo I took with the no so easy loading Kodak Easy Load KE30.  Another one of my Goodwill Outlet finds.  This is the point & shoot that digested 2 rolls of film before I figured out how to use it.  For a 30 cent point & shoot camera with some cheap Mitsubishi film the quality is OK.   A formal blog post on the camera to come.  

Picture I've Taken - Prinz Alternative EZ-200

Time to share a photo between camera reviews.  This is a very light leaky photo from my recently purchased Prinz Alternative EZ-200.  A plastic toy camera that allows you to switch between normal & panoramic settings.  I kind of dig the panoramic look it produces.  Shot this with a roll of Mitsubishi MX-III film.  Very soft due to the plastic lens and the film.  I suspect the light leak is actually from the film since it's way past expiration date.

My Latest Finds - Minolta & Pentax

I went to a local Goodwill Store today during 50% off day.  Scored!  Found 2 small P&S film cameras.  A Minolta Freedom 35AF/QD & a Pentax IQZoom 130M.  Both appear to work.  The Pentax looks like it will be fun to shoot.  It has a REALLY long zoom at 130mm.

Oh, and both were marked at $0.99 so with the sale I got them both for just over $1.  Nice.

Canon Sure Shot 85 Zoom & Ricoh FF-1s - What I'm Shooting

Canon on the left of me, Ricoh on the right

What film cameras am I shooting right now you ask?  This week and today I've been using a Canon Sure Shot 85 Zoom and a Ricoh FF-1s that I found at a local Goodwill Outlet.  Both are pocketable and fairly simple point & shoots.  I'll be doing a blog post on each soon.  Stay tuned.