Category: classic cameras

Aug 24

Yashica Mat 124 G – The last TLR camera made by Yashica

This camera review is posted by raypg



Yashica Mat 124 G

After a long waiting time period I finally got my Yashica Mat 124 G, and I can say it is fantastic and a different experience shooting with a TLR camera.

The Yashica Mat 124 G was created between the 1970 and 1986, this camera was the last TLR camera made by Yashica, It´s almost similar with the Yashica Mat 124 the only differences is the almost black elements of the body and it has gold contacts.

The technical details it has an aperture of  f/3.5, shutter speed from Bulb to 1/500, It can handle 120mm as well as 220mm film, you can use studio lighting  and has a self time. The Yashica Mat 124 G has an internal light meter that uses a 1.3v mercury battery that is no longer available but you can get a replacement with the same voltage from Wein Cell from Amazon, ebay, etc.

Where you can get this TLR camera? well this is very simple I got mine on ebay, just find the one that is in a very good condition and with the light meter working. Mine as you can see in the photo above is like new but I found the Mercury battery spill and probably damage the light meter wires. I think is a simple repair solution but I still have no time to send it for repair.

Other way It works perfectly all the internals are mechanical so the battery is only for the light meter reading. But in the TLR world is better to use an external light meter.

Here are some samples of the first 2 rolls of film shoot in Black and White and as I already shared before using my DiY Film Scanner to share is over Flickr.

This image I use a strobe triggered using the Yashica PC Sync input

So far is a fantastic camera if you are looking more quality in your photos that you can not get in your Holga or Diana camera.

I hope you find this helpful, ah I just forgot  you can get this camera around $80-$400 dollars over ebay just be sure to get the one in better conditions.

I wrote this in spanish in my blog but I really need to shared here.

This camera review is posted by raypg

6
comments

Aug 12

More than Photography book published!

eBook: So Much More than Photography
eBook details:
So Much More than Photography
by Nitsa
PDF, 174 pages.
Special pre-release price: $10

So Much More than Photography is a book of ideas and inspiration for creative and experimental photography.

The first part of the book encourages photographing without following the rules while at the same time exploring new methods and ideas to approach photography.
The second part of the book shares numerous ways to present your photographs artistically such as Image transfers, texture layers, mixed media photography and so on. You will see how easy it is to take your ordinary photos to the next level and you don’t even have to attend an art school or have any special skills to utilize these creative techniques.
The third section includes an article about Print on Demand, selected entries from my photography blog, and final thoughts.

All the processes shared in the book are the product of many experiments, endless trial and errors, I made in the last couple of years. I hope you will find these techniques easy to do and most of all they will inspire you to create your own photo-art work.


So Much More than Photography [PDF]
PRICE: $10


Thank you for your support!

BOOK CONTENTS

Part one: Why you don’t need to follow the rules – Intro to non.photorapy – no rules – The science (art?) of photography – Abandoning the rules – Street photography – Accidental Work – Unplanned and unstaged photography -The challenges of street photography – Photographing on the move – Constructing a street photograph – Alternatives in street photography – Photographing in the rain – Shooting in the fog – Sky, sunset & sunrise
Photographing at night – Long exposure – Flash effects – Motion panning – Zoom lens effect – Shoot different cameras
Part two: Unconventional and creative photography techniques – The cameras we use – Polaroid – Holga – Other toy cameras – expensive cheap cameras – Diana – Lubitel 166 – Holgaroid – Classic cameras – Best camera for street photography – Film and scanning techniques – Cross processing – Tungsten film – Time Zero film – Multiple exposures – Expired and damaged film – Extreme and creative scanning – The negative as a frame – Computer techniques – Canvas background layer – Aging a color photo with coffee – Adding texture to a photo – Make your own textures – Texture from a mixed media collage – Working with textures and layers – Fake HDR – Positive/negative composite – Inkjet transfer – Basic image transfer (inkjet) – Perfect photo transfers – Transferring with transparencies – Xerox (photocopy) image transfer – Test transfer – Packing tape transfer – Paint transfer – Mixed media transfer – Transfer to mirror or ceramic tile – Gel Layer transfer – Aluminum foil transfer -Transfer to Polaroid – Paint a transfer – More transfer ideas – Hand coloring and painting photos. – Modified negative – Distressed prints – Mixed media and journaling – Slicing and reassembling a photo – Print on Demand – Which Print on Demand should I choose? – Standard books POD (Lulu & CreateSpace) – Publishing a Photo book – Lulu Studio – Blurb BookSmart – Publishing on Amazon – Marketing your book – Selling at your local bookstore – Online Marketing – Website/Blog – Search Engine Optimization – Join an Online Network – Link exchange – Book review – Social Networks – RSS feed – Marketing services – Paid advertisement – Document sharing services – Tools you can use – Photo editing: Paintshop Pro – FTP Client: FileZilla – Blog: WordPress

Preview selected pages from the book here

0
comments

Jul 07

Kodak Brownie Bulls-Eye

Echo Park.  Kodak Bulls-Eye

Echo Park 2010
Camera: Kodak Bulls-Eye
Film: Arista 400 B&W 120mm

One of the things that always surprise me about the Kodak Brownie BullsEye is that this box camera produces crisp negatives, more so than most of other sophisticated cameras I know.
It is one of the simplest cameras I have with only plain focus settings, and a choice between normal and bulb exposure.
The Bullseye is a Bakelite camera made by Kodak in the 50’s which takes 8 6x9cm exposures on a 620 film but can easily accept 120mm that had been trimmed down to fit inside the camera.
And maybe this camera’s best feature: you can get it for under $10 on eBay.

1
comments

Jun 23

Yashica D

My latest find is a twin lens camera made by Yashica during the 50’s and 60’s which needed some TLC and lots of cleaning but looks like this camera certainly worth the effort.
It has 80mm f3.5 lens, Shutter speeds of B to 500 and it takes 120mm film.
Drawbacks: 1. it took me a while to figure out I need to press the film release button located at the center of the winding knob EVERY TIME when I want to advance the film to the next frame. 2. Gotta push down the shutter cocking lever EVERY TIME you take a picture.
3. The camera is on the heavy side.
Benefits: 1. The highly sophisticated automatic counter is a really nice feature and makes it easy to move on to the next frame. 2. The TLR viewfinder is clear and has a grid to help with the framing.
3. There is a neat little window above the lens where you can set the F-stop
and Shutter speed.
If you need the user manual for this camera you can find it on this page: Yashica D user manual (which is a part of a wonderful website that has tons of free camera manuals.)
I pretty much over-exposed all the photos on the first test roll so it’s definitely something
to pay more attention to next time.

You can find classic camera reviews and many photo processes in my new book:
So Much More than Photography – eBook edition is now on sale for $10.
Get it here

jack in the box.  Camera: Yashica D Film: Kodak Tri-X Pan 400

5
comments

Jun 08

The classic camera experience

Pink's, Los Angeles.  Camera: Kodak Brownie Film: Kodak 160NCI’ve always loved my Kodak brownie but I guess I love it even more now after I flipped its lens and found an entirely new dimension of charm and mystery to the whole experience of shooting a classic camera.

0
comments

May 29

Get yourself a classic camera!

One of the greatest benefits of shooting FILM is that most film cameras can be purchased now days for very low prices. It is even more so when it comes to Classic Cameras which can be found for ridiculously low prices in second hand stores, flea markets, garage sales, and on eBay.
This little fact means that you can have as many cameras as you wish (or at least as many as your partner will put up with) and have fun playing around with them.

My first classic camera was a 1952 Kodak Brownie Hawkeye
I found it in a garage sale and even though I wasn’t sure it was working I took it home ($8), loaded it with a black & white 120 film ($2.49), and took it out to the streets. The images turned out beautiful, soft and dreamy ($ priceless). The Brownie was a definite keeper and the beginning of a beautiful relationship with different classic cameras.

If you too are interested in using an old classic camera such as the Brownie, you have to keep in mind that most of these cameras use some type of film that might not be available in stores anymore.
The Brownie, for instance, uses 620 film, which is obsolete. But have no fear; there are a few ways to use 120 film instead. One such way is respooling the 120 film into a 620 spool, in a darkroom, a changing bag (chekc out this tutorial: www.brownie-camera.com/respool/respool.shtml) or even inside a camera that can take both type of reels (The Brownie Hawkeye is in fact one such camera).

Classic cameras gallery

1
comments

Apr 22

Yeah right!

Earth Day 2010
If you really want to do the right thing why not recycle old posts?

Earth Day 2008 (When I was in a positive state mind)
Other than doing the obvious things such as reducing unnecessary electricity usage, planting something, recycling failed photo papers, bicycling, walking or taking the bus to work, all of us photographers (and non-photographers of course) ought to just turn off our computers, grab our cameras and go out there (i.e. walk, bike, take the bus) to make pictures of our beautiful planet.
Ah? How about that?

Earth Day 2009 (When I was down-to-earth)
Happy Earth Day!
Don’t forget to leave all the lights on when you leave home, drive your over-sized SUV over your neighbor’s stupid organic garden, cut down a couple of trees and dispose of used cans and bottles in the trash can. OK?

Malibu panorama.  Camera: Minolta SRT 101

Malibu panorama. Camera: Minolta SRT 101

4
comments

Apr 15

Don’t buy a Lensbaby

Fairfax. Los Angeles / Brownie Hawkeye with a flipped lens Keeping with the same state-of-mind as the previous post about exploring and finding inexpensive solutions in photography, I decided to try out something new. I think it was probably a year ago when Mike Connealy suggested flipping the lens in a Brownie Hawkeye.
As I have only one Brownie Hawkeye ($8 in a garage sale) and since it is the first classic camera I acquired, I was a little hesitant to flip the lens and risk damaging my beloved camera. But really it turned out to be a no brainer and low-tech enough, that even someone as non- handy as me can do it, and even do it right.
There’s a good tutorial on flipping the Hawkeye’s lens by Bill Hansen Here.
The images this modification turns out have a distinctive appearance which reminds me of the special effect created with a Lensbaby. The only difference is that the Lensbaby costs between $150-$270 while flipping the lens is free of charge!

2
comments

Jan 27

A composite image of rain

Rain at the Grove .  January 2010 .  camera: Olympus 35RC . Film: Kodak 400NC

Last week, during the intense Southern California winter storm I made sure to have one of my cameras with me all the time and eventually I ended up with a few rolls of film documenting these unexpectedly stormy days.
While shooting at the Grove I had the annoying feeling of “Been there, Done that”,.
I’m sure every photographer out there knows exactly what I’m talking about.
So I decided to try something new; I will photograph from above and try to connect the images together into one visual narrative of the scene.
It was both fun to adjust my thinking and photograph this way and also put the photographs together in my photo editor.
Though I’m sure it would have been much easier to do with a digital camera, I cannot imagine the effect would have been this pleasing.
I also have to mention that I absolutely love the appearance and colors of this particular film, an expired (2003) Kodak 400NC which I shot with an Olympus 35RC.

4
comments

Sep 01

Konica C35

Konica C35 - test If you’ve seen this camera before I’m sure it is quite obvious to you why I was interested in trying it; it’s small, light weight, quiet and automatic.
Just perfect for street photography!

The Konica C35 is a little rangefinder manufactured in the late 60’s and there’s really not much to say about it beyond that.
So I took this camera for a test drive and I shot a roll of Fujicolor 100, which I like to use as a test film because it has only 12 exposures.
All the pictures came out pretty much out of focus.
it turns out the focus part is not so automatic.
Oh well. I guess I’ll have to try again :)

2
comments