What is the best lens for street photography? There are many articles and discussions on this topic, and every photographer has their own suggestion and a personal favorite. In the new Kai Wong’s video (a.k.a. Digital rev Kai) , you can see all three of these lenses compared in the streets of Hong Kong. So, what’s the judgement?
This old Soviet camera cost £4 at a London flea market
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The Zenit E is one of the Soviet Union’s most enduring photographic legacies. Designed in the mid-1960s, it was produced on an eye-watering scale. Millions and millions – as many as 12 million, some believe – were produced in Soviet factories until the middle of the 1980s, by which time it’s rough and ready charms were decidedly old hat.
I reviewed the Zenit E in the early days of my own blog – it was one of the SLR cameras I’d burned a bunch of rolls through. The Zenit E’s a pretty uninspiring camera if you look at the specifications – a handful of shutter speeds, chunky, clunky lines, an uncoupled selenium meter and screw mount lenses.
It turns out, though, that the Zenit E’s unsophisticated, uncluttered CV makes it a pretty decent sunny weather camera…
A primer on shooting 35mm, medium format and large format film
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Shooting film is often seen as more of a novelty these days. Once, it was just the way photography was done. For those who started off in the digital world, the idea of shooting film can feel quite alien. Understanding the different formats and the effect they can have on the image can be difficult concepts for beginners to wrap their head around. And when it comes to developing their own film, that’s just too much for some folks to handle.
In this series of videos from Stefan Litster, we’re taken through the basic process of understanding different cameras & formats, as well as how to develop our own film. The series started about three years ago, with sporadic updates, but was recently revived on Reddit, and it appears that Stefan has started posting to YouTube again in the last few months.
FILM Ferrania gearing up to turn E6 slide film production into a reality
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Ferrania was restarted as FILM Ferrania in 2012 by Nicola Baldini and Marco Pagni. The pair took to Kickstarter in September 2014 to seek funding to resurrect the recently closed Ferrania film factories after 3M’s departure. Their goal was simple. To keep producing the popular 35mm and 120 format films Ferrania was famous for.
But a number of factors caused some pretty big delays. Issues with suppliers, harsh weather, and the discovery of asbestos in one of the buildings to name a few. Now, though, FILM Ferrania are now back and say they are close to starting up with E6 slide film production once again. After a successful coating test, and the restoration of a film slitter, it seems they may not be too far away.
How to “scan” film using your DSLR and process it in Lightroom
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For those that shoot film, developing and dealing with chemicals isn’t usually the biggest hassle. Often it’s scanning the resulting film into the computer. Many lower end scanners simply don’t have the quality. Higher end ones, even flatbeds like the Epson Perfection V850 are out of the range of many film shooters. Drum scanners like this Hasselblad are even more expensive. And that’s their cheaper model.
So, what else can we do to digitise our film shots? Well, in these two videos, we see how we can use a lightbox, copystand and DSLR to bring our film shots into the computer. Such a setup can be had relatively inexpensively if you shop around. Or you could pay an absolute fortune for one if you wish. If you’re going to spend that kind of money, though, I still think I’d go with a scanner.
SLO: The 3D printed 35mm film camera
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I’ve always assumed a camera should be impartial. Sharp and bright, lacking consideration or mystery, randomness or error. Lately we’re asked to apply a filter to add a gloss of emotion after the fact.
Analog photography takes the sense of a moment and turns it into a tangible image. My 3D printer turns the content of my thoughts into real shape and form. I wanted to know if there’s a more authentic photograph to be found at the intersection of design and photography – so I set out to make a camera with only a 3D printer.
The result is the SLO, whereby the act of recording a moment expands to include the creation of the recorder. SLO is a single lens objective. SLO is the mechanical shutter. SLO is the speed of good design, and the feeling of capturing life with a camera you made yourself.
A hipster’s guide to EOS film cameras
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Are you the sort of person who thinks that digital photography is as unexciting as shaving? Then read on…
PSEUDO Film Canister plans to succeed where others failed, bringing digital sensors to 35mm bodies
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I’d love nothing more than to be able to slap a digital sensor into my old mechanical film bodies and wander off doing some street photography. So, I’m trying really really hard to get excited about this one, but the lessons of the past have taught us to not get our hopes up.
The PSEUDO Film Canister plans to succeed where the previous attempts have failed and finally allow us to shoot digitally with our 35mm film bodies.
Kodak and Kickstarter team up to give four lucky cinematographers free film to shoot on
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Earlier this year, Kodak showed the world that it has no plans of burying its storied history as a manufacturer of cinematic film. In addition to releasing a Super 8 camera, they also managed to get six major studios to purchase enough filmstock to help Kodak keep its plant operating.
It appears though that their efforts haven’t stopped there though. Kodak has decided to team up with Kickstarter to create an artist initiative that will help support cinematographers who are interested in shooting analogue film in the 35mm and Super 16mm varieties.[Read More…]
DIY: How to turn 35mm film canisters into compact SD card holders
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If you’re anything like me, you likely have a dozen or more empty film canisters scattered about your drawers. While there’s no shortage of DIY projects you can make using them, here’s one you might not have come across before.[Read More…]
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