My response to “photography isn’t real”¹ takes² in the context of generative AI:
I am not convinced.
A photograph is a direct effect of photons hitting film and altering its physics. A photograph is a photograph even if it’s never been seen or even developed. It exists on the surface of film as a latent image, and only after some processing can it become an image. We may choose to alter it in various ways, but the material we work with exists because of the photons that landed on film.
This is very helpful and well written, Thank you! I recently got a hand me down camera bag with 6 rolls of Ektachrome 200 in one of the pockets, did you stop up your ISO at all when shooting or stay at 200? Thanks again!
Wonderful review! The Ricoh Caddy is becoming one of my more sought-after half frame cameras. Wide-angle half frames are a bit more rare, but this one also has a selenium cell and manual controls. Sounds like a hidden gem! (a bit hard to find on ebay though)
I review lots of lovely gear on the blog, but unfortunately, I can not keep it all.
Today, I’ve updated FilmBase (my Etsy shop) with some of the nicest gear that came across my desk:
The most prized camera in this lot is the only Mamiya U with a fully intact shutter button. Though you may find this strangely designed ‘80s chic camera elsewhere, it never comes with its beautiful yet brittle yellow button. This is…
In case Bob won’t have a chance to answer this, I’ve had pretty decent results with Tiffen Yellow (analog.cafe/r/developing-c…) — which appears slightly redder than the images here. However, that may be due to the exposure differences.
In general, denser yellow filters should give you more “pink” tones, whereas thin filters (like 85C) will give you a more deep, “meaty” reds.
How many photos can you get out of your 35mm film?
Typically, you’d expect 36 frames. But that’s just an estimate: depending on how you load your camera and its width, you may get anywhere between 34 and 42 frames out of a 36exp. roll.
Cameras with motorized film transport usually wind/“burn” a few frames to ensure it’s loaded securely. Wide cameras will require you to stretch a long leader out of the canister, which will cost you more frames than shorter, manually loaded cameras like the Rollei 35S…
I’ve added new spaces on Analog.Cafe, where I’ll be organizing some of my thoughts on film photography.
You’ll probably notice #editorial🔥 the most since it’s where I write about product launches and share announcements like this. Comments under this tag may end up in your RSS feed, Community Letters¹, or you may hear about them from me on Mastodon and Bluesky.
This week, Polaroid updated their “world’s smallest instant camera.”
Polaroid Go Gen 2 focuses on improving the exposures with the aperture range of 𝒇9-42, up from the previous version’s 𝒇12-56 on its plastic lens. Its max shutter speed has also got faster: 1/300s.
Perhaps most importantly, Polaroid updated the autoexposure system on the Go:
“Our team redesigned the light sensor’s positioning and field-of-view, so whatever you’re pointing at is exactly what the camera is picking up. And if you’re pointing…
Fujifilm’s new Instax Mini 99 is a fully analogue instant film camera that uses LEDs for in-camera special effects.
We’ve seen instant film printers with tiny digital sensors before from Fujifilm, Leica (analog.cafe/r/film-photogr…) and others. Though these cameras have their advantages like special in-camera effects, many film photographers just want a camera that shoots film.
Well, it appears that Fujifilm has just delivered the…
Fujifilm is famously opaque when it comes to communicating its work on film production. Though a former rival of Kodak for the top spot in emulsion sales worldwide, the Japanese brand of today makes the most money in makeup, drugs, digital cameras, and other chemical products. Film is far down the “todo” list for Fujifilm, which you can also gleam from the great number of emulsions they discontinued over the years…
I developed & fixed film using nothing but edible ingredients from a grocery store. It’s been over twelve months, and it’s time to re-scan to see how the picture holds up.
Developing black and white film with coffee is a well-known trick. Many photographers tried this method and its edible variations. However, the last step usually involves industrial chemicals.
The Caffenol film development experiment I tried last year used an unproven substitute for the last step (fixer): table salt. It got results, but I…
Update: In An Instant has a video overview of this camera, which is particularly informative about the format itself. You can watch it here: youtube.com/watch?v=pGEU5N…
I am also attaching one of the sample images Lomography sent me with their press package. A significant downside of this type of camera is the challenge of scanning such a small film. It’s smaller than a half-frame format and, as a result, makes less detailed images.
However, that doesn’t have to be a bad thing; simply something…
I’ve added the new Editorial Comments section to Analog.Cafe, where I plan to publish timely announcements (like the one above) and opinion pieces.
Editorial comments will be short, with a maximum of one image per post (some will also have video). There won’t be any fancy formatting or beautiful display like on the main article posts.
Editorials will be distributed alongside the articles on the RSS feed and a few other places like Flipboard (flipboard.com/@analog_cafe). You may now see…
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