I’m Mack505 and I approve of this message.
I like the Vitoret L. It's reasonably sized without being huge. The shutter release on the front feels a bit odd, but it fires smoothly and quietly. I would get used to it with more use. The Selenium meter seems to work well. As with all general area meters, you must be aware of odd… Continue reading Vitoret L – week 78 results
Manufactured circa 1964, the Voigtlander Vitoret L is a viewfinder camera for 35mm. It features a 50mm f2.8 Color Lanthar lens with a Prontor 1/300 shutter. A coupled Selenium meter reads on the top plate of the camera; adjusting shutter speed or aperture moves another needle to match it. Focus is via distance markings on… Continue reading Week 78 – Voigtlander Vitoret L
The Spartus 35 provided a nice afternoon's shooting. It's relatively small, light, and simple to use. The viewfinder was useless, however, as it is full of dust. Cleaning the exterior made no difference. The shutter was also slower than I had guessed. All of my shots were a bit overexposed. This week's images were… Continue reading Spartus 35 – Week 75 results
Wikipedia reports that the Holga was originally designed as an inexpensive family camera for the Chinese masses. The company envisioned a sort of Asian Kodak recording family vacations and events. Things may not have worked out as originally intended, but I found my Holga perfectly suited to the task when we took it on a… Continue reading Holga 120N – week 74 results
Despite its precise Germanic appearance, the Beirette is a lightly built snapshot camera. I found the controls easy to manipulate accidentally, and its versatility was somewhat limited by a maximum 1/125 shutter speed. It reminded me a lot of my SMENAs; it was better looking but not as fun to use. A flat tire last… Continue reading Beirette – Week 72 results
The Spartus 35F "Model 400" is a Bakelite 35mm viewfinder camera manufactured by the Herold Mfg Co (Not Inc) of Chicago. It features scale focus and a single speed shutter. Four apertures are available which are selected by an aperture dial below the lens. It appears to have been made between 1951 and 1960. Mine… Continue reading Spartus 35 – Week 75
The Holga 120N was my entry into medium format. Prior to my return to film about 2 years ago, I knew nothing of things larger than 35mm. The Holga was an inexpensive way to learn. It features a zone focus plastic lens with symbols for Portrait, Single Person, Group, and Landscape. A switch selects different… Continue reading Holga 120N – Week 74
This small viewfinder was manufactured in East Germany sometime between the mid 1970's and mid 1980's. I believe it is an early VSN model. It features a 1/125 shutter, f2.8 lens, and scale focus delineated in meters. Exposure is assisted by a series of symbols on the lens barrel in similar yet inverse fashion… Continue reading Week 72 – Beirette
For this week I've trotted out a curiosity. The Nishika N8000 is a stereo camera from the early 1990's. It uses fixed focus lenses to take 4 simultaneous half-frame exposures on 35mm film. It was originally intended to use lenticular printing to create 3D images which could be seen with the naked eye. (Think of… Continue reading Week 68 – Nishika N8000
The Colorpack II is a cool Polaroid, if a bit quirky. The scale focusing is simple to use, and there is a mirror arrangement which makes the setting visible in the viewfinder. There are two apertures, marked 75 and 3000 for color and B&W film respectively. When shooting 3000 ASA B&W film, the depth of… Continue reading Polaroid Colorpack II – Week 64 Results
Notes from Mosquito Hill 