The Film Retriever

The L35AF was Nikon's first AF camera. This camera has a cult following in photography forums but honestly after being disappointed with my Olympus XA2 i though i should hold my breath until i got my films back from developing. There are something like 3-4 models which look quite similar to this one but without the 35mm f/2.8 Nikon lens which is supposed to be a special piece of glass. You can find here a page with the history of this lens, it is a sonar design semi wide angled and very nicely coated. If you are into lens designing (and not only) check this page out.  By the moment you pick this camera up, you can understand that it is a well build camera. A bit heavy but it balances nicely into your hands, it has a nice heft to it. Back in the 80's it was an expensive camera to buy and the main selling point was of course the lens. What Nikon should have thought better are the ergonomics. This might sound weird since the L35AF has only one button but try to take ...

As always a bit of a history first. In the early '90s when Minolta 9xi took the world by storm, i started thinking that one day I would buy a Minolta. Then the Canon came and I forgot all about it. Some years ago i had the chance to meet a fellow photographer who was carrying a Minolta 700si. We swapped cameras and I was pleasantly surprised by Minolta's quality.It was then when i remember that one day I would like to have one. Well, the 500si is by no means a 700si but when i saw it, i thought that i had to have it. Now that i gave it a cool off period i think it would be a good idea to write a small review about it. I've read theothermartintaylor's review about this camera and i would have to agree with it but I think it is a bit better camera than that.The Minolta has a decent AF speed-wise. It cannot compare with Canon's but it is fairly quick although a bit noisy. Sometimes it gives the impression that it's not sure if it has focused - you will he...

Back in the mid-90's i read an article about the importance of light meters in photography. I had no idea how to use them and i was getting very nice results from my Praktica's lightmeter but still i felt like i wanted to have one. And so i did, i bought this little gossen sixtino 2 lightmeter. I went out shooting a slide film on my vacations and when i developed it i was really disappointed with the results. No wonder of course, since i had no idea how to use it in the first place. I threw it in a drawer and kept it there for almost 12 years. A couple of years ago, when i bought the Zeiss Ikon Nettar, i realized that it wasn't very convenient to carry with me the digital camera just to take some reading so i thought that i could buy a new one since the little Gossen was left in Greece. And i did, i bought the Seconik Microlite from a charity shop which worked well for a year until it started giving erratic readings. I had to call my parents to post me the old gossen. The G...

I really want to like Prakticas. I really do. But it seems that no matter how hard i try, Prakticas don't like me. I'll try to explain that a bit more. But first some history. In 1992 - if my memory serves me right - i decided that it was about time to buy a camera. I went with my brother on a camera shop and i was trying to bargain a Praktica MTL-5. Eventually I couldn't afford it and i went instead for the much cheaper BMS. I learned the basics with that camera and it served me well for 5 years until its shutter started becoming erratic. The quote for repair was as high as the camera cost me so I decided to save some money for some time and buy another one (I bought the EOS 5 finally). A couple of years ago, i took my Zenit 12XP to the local repair shop to change the light seals and while i was waiting, i spotted an MTL-3 (or was it a MTL-5?, not sure) and i asked him if i could take a better look. He handed it to me and while i started winding up the shutter and fi...

Back in 1992, I came across one very popular photography magazine which had a review of the brand new Canon EOS 5. It was the time when I was getting obsessed on what camera I should buy (I ended up buying a Praktica) and the canon was the number one on my dream-camera list. Six years later, my Praktica had suffered a damage beyond repair so I was thinking that it was time to buy a new one. I went into the shop to buy a Nikon F50 and i ended up leaving with a Canon EOS 5 paired with a cheap plastic Sigma 28-80. At that time it cost me one and a half salary to get it but I was thrilled with the prospect of using the eye control focus. It's been twelve years since then and I think that it is about time to write a short and biased review based on my experience working with this camera. So I suppose the main question is : How good is it? It is simply amazing, even after 12 years i am still amazed of what this camera can do. The EOS 5 lived under the shadow of it's own ...

The old lady who sold me this camera said that it was her daughter's and she hadn't used it at all. I believed her as the camera seems to be in mint condition. The wind lever is so smooth to operate, and the body clean and shinny.This was mostly a compulsive buy, i saw it in good condition and the price she was asking was right, so i said "why not". It is a really good camera and i wouldn't hesitate to recommend it as a first time rangefinder. The viewfinder is a bit dark but the focusing patch is quite clear to see and easy to operate. A cloth shutter with speed ranges of 1 sec to 1/500 in a bit unusual arrangement. The lens on this camera is a very nice Industar-61, f/2.8 to f/16, coated and very sharp. It also works on my Leica IIc. A nice feature of the Fed-4 is the lack of light seals. It uses the old good Leica drop in loading ( * Correction 31/8/2010 - Drop in loading??? I have no idea what i was thinking when i was writing it, the whole back is removable i...

This camera was my birthday present a few years ago but since developing 120 film format in this area is something of a science fiction, i didn't have the chance to test this camera for a long time. But now I've got everything i need to develop and scan my pictures so here is a short review about this wonderful camera. This is a very well build camera. The moment you hold it in your hands, you know that the engineers in Zeiss did not save on metal. The viewfinder is reasonably bright and all the controls are smooth in my sample. A common problem with this camera is the focusing knob that can become stiff because of the dry lubricants. I am lucky, mine focuses smoothly and the wheel to set the speeds rotates without any resistance. Before you start using the camera, you need to read the manual. Really, there is no way you will manage to figure out how to load the film is you don't read the manual. After you practice it a couple of times, it becomes sort of obvious b...

I got this camera on a car boot sale for 10 pence. The seller said that it wasn't working and true, i couldn't trip the shutter although (according to the seller) there was a fresh battery in. I removed the top part and below the shutter button laid the problem. Be very careful when you take it off, there is a tiny little metal ball that keeps the clamshell open and it is really easy to lose. There is a metal part in the shape of "H" that was not making adequate contact. Took it off, washed it with vinegar and bent it a bit to make more contact and it was working again. It seems that this is a common problem with all XA series but still it is very easy to repair. The clamshell design is good - really good actually. When you close it it resets the switch on the left that adjust the focus. Very clever. The lens is a Zuiko 35 f/3.5 which is a quite sharp lens but it vignettes. Sometimes too much for my liking. Here are a couple of pictures to show you what i mean. ...

It is big. It is heavy as a brick and handles like one. It is extremely noisy and the viewfinder is... let's say... dark. Why should I ever bother with this camera? Let's take the story from the beginning. When my brother in law moved into his new house, he found this camera in his basement. Obviously the previous owner didn't consider taking it with him. Then my mother in law, who knows that I collect cameras saved it from a certain disposal. That summer i got married so I always considered it a kind of wedding present. The camera came with the standard Helios 44-M4, a biotar copy, which appears to be single coated (I might be wrong). Obviously the Helios is a pretty decent lens, provides nice, old fashioned pictures with low contrast but try to avoid the sunshine because it really strangles to cope with high contrast. It appeared to be working ok so i run a film while on vacations and one when I returned to Edinburgh. From those two films i got the following pictur...

This is a short review of the Seconik Microlite I picked up from a charity shop for just £3.5. The only resources i could find online was the manual where it can be downloaded from here . General The Seconik Microlite comes from the early '70s and it uses the long discontinued 640 1,35V Mercury cells. In my case I am using the SR44 silver oxide batteries providing 1.5V output together with a bit silver foil. As we are going to see, the 0,15V difference between the two cells can make a difference of about 1 stop under-exposure. Make sure that the silver foil is enough to provide a constant and steady touch of the base otherwise the meter's needle will be "jumping around" as a result of the battery not making contact. Features The Seconik Microlite is a CdS, reflected light reading only meter. It uses the simple "match the needles" principle and it is very easy to use. Just set the ASA and rotate the wheel until the needles coincide. The meter can be used in t...

Last summer (2009) the lens on my Canon EOS 5 ceased working so i was thinking of ways to finance a new lens for it. I was passing by a charity shop and there it was in the window , a Yashica T4 for £10. I could sell it on eBay for the ridiculous amount of £100 and buy a new lens for my Canon. I've run a couple of films through it and I can only say that this is a really -really- good camera producing top notch pictures. Is it worth the £100 price tag? I seriously doubt. The main selling point of this camera is of course the Carl Zeiss Tessar T* 35 f/3.5 lens. It has a nice blue coating and it is very sharp and controls flare very well. Here are some pictures of what this lens can do ( pic1 , pic2 , pic3 , pic4 ). Not bad at all. I've read somewhere on the internet that it is even sharper than the Contax T2 sonnar lens. Maybe, although i doubt about it. The lens can vignette a bit but i suppose it is normal with such a small front element. Overall it is a really nice lens ...

I came across this cute little camera in a car boot sale. After a hard bargain, my wife bought it for £4. Matt Denton has a great website where you can find some more info about this camera. I never knew that Ricoh was making rangefinders in the 70's. It just looked so cute and the size was right so for £4 i couldn't go wrong. After i got the results back from the lab, i was blown away from the quality of the pictures this camera can take. The camera offers a fully manual and a speed preferred automation. That is quite convenient if you think that most compact rangefinders of that time offered full automatic (Konica C35) or shutter preferred mode (Yashica). A 1.3v PX675 mercury cell powers the CdS lightmeter which is reasonably accurate. Since the PX675 has been long discontinued, i use a 1.5v SR44 battery which requires to compensate with the ASA dial (expose the 400ASA film as 320ASA) for the difference in voltage. The rangefinder patch is nice and visible. On the...

Searching on the internet, i was surprised to see how few resources you can find about the Zeiss Ikon 518/16 which has been such a popular model during the '50s. After working for almost half a year with my Zeiss, i thought that maybe it would be a good idea to write my own personal review about this great performer. I got this one as part of an exchange deal in a price that i feel ashamed to write. The guy sold me a Agfa Box camera which didn't work properly and since it was still in warranty i decided to give a couple of pounds extra and go for it. And i am glad i did. The camera seems to be in a very good condition. Size wise it is in the same league with the Zenit 12XP when unfolded but fold it up and you can put it in your coat's pocket. And that's not all. I am not exactly sure about the difference in weight, but it does feel much less heavy that the mighty Zenit. And remember, this is a 6X6 medium format camera. The lens on the camera is a 75mm - f/4.5 Nettar c...