Film Photography Podcast – Episode 189 – June 15, 2018
Topics: 7Artisans 50mm lens for Leica, Graphlex XL KS98B Camera, Miranda Sensorex, Minolta Vectis APS Camera Giveaway, Listener Letters and More!
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Show Notes By Alex Luyckx
The gang is all here, and we mean everyone, Michael Raso, Mat Marrash, John Fedele, Mark O’Brien, Mark Dalzell, Leslie Lazenby, and our extraordinary guest on this show Bashir Bashinger! On the show today we have a review of the 7Artisans 50mm Leica Mount Lens, The Graflex XL, Miranda Sensorex, a giveaway, Listener Letters and so much more! Keep cool, grab a Mr Brown Iced Coffee and join in the fun! But first up, who is Bashir?
above: Michael Raso, John Fedele and Abad Rosa shooting a music video on 16mm circa 1992.
Bashir knows Michael and John from way back when they were first learning the art of cinematography and helped teach them skills and techniques, not in technical skills but skills for working in a fast-paced news environment. Go so far as to recommend that young cinematographers go and shoot events like weddings to learn how to operate in such environments. And with those skills, both agree that they learned how to shoot live video for news, sports, and even music videos!
The Doctor is In!
So one of our listeners has written in with a request about their camera that requires some rare format of film! Before you even shoot film through it, check over the body, bellows, lens, and shutter on the camera. Make sure there are no light leaks and that the shutter opens. Next, make sure it’s a format you can develop! Roll films such as 35mm, 126, 127, 120, 220 can be developed in your standard Patterson Plastic reel. If your camera has passed all that, then head onto eBay and find something expired to get a general idea of the functionality of the camera. These days, 127 film from Rearapan is no longer available (It was Acros 100 which has been cancelled by Fuji). Of course, you can cut 127 down from 120 just reuse the old spools and paper from an actual 127 roll. Mat also recommends that each year, Ilford does their rare format special order and 127 is available with their classic HP5+ format, you will need to order a minimum of 25 rolls. While we’re past the deadline (June 1st), mark it in your calendar and get your order in next year! If your shooting 116 or 616 formats, you can check out the FPP Store and pickup respooled 70mm film on 116 or 616, and Fakmatic has adapters that allow you to shoot 120 film in your 116/616 camera.
Vectis Giveaway!
If you’re a long time listener to the show (what show!), then you will remember our giveaways from our earlier episodes. While these days most donated cameras go towards our School Donation Program, we have something fun to giveaway if you’re into APS (Advanced Photo System) Photography. Mat presents the Minolta Vectis S-1. The S-1 is fully tested, and comes with three lenses, including the legendary 50mm Macro lens! To enter the giveaway, send us an email with the subject line Vectis Giveaway to giveaway@filmphotographyproject.com! If you’re looking for film, you can only get expired stock these days, through the FPP Store or on eBay.
The F3 – Not Obsolete
Mark Dalzell in a recent donation box got a Nikon F3 a beautiful professional camera from the early 1980s, with a note stating that it belonged to the sender’s father, and the single line, “This camera is Obsolete” which has the whole gang reach for their torches and pitchforks. The F3 is a beautiful camera that is far from obsolete! The camera also had a roll of shot Kodachrome 200, which Mark has since developed in Xtol, so it’s in Black & White, and he’s now sending them back to the owner!
The Miranda Sensorex – The Dodge Ram of Cameras
Mark has figured out where Dodge got their inspiration for their truck grills, the Miranda Sensorex. Produced starting in 1966 and ended in 1971 with the release of the Sensorex II, the Sensorex replaced the older Automex III as the top camera from Miranda. The camera is fully manual but does feature a match needle metering system in the viewfinder. Now you do have to manually set the maximum aperture. The camera is a solid chunk of metal with a strange front-mounted shutter release, similar to the Exacta and Practikas. Another interesting feature is you can remove the prism finder and shoot it as a waist level finder. There was a planned motor drive that would mount on the back, but that never got built. The camera uses a Miranda lens mount, a screw mount known as M44, and has a strange coupler for the aperture. While has a PC socket, some don’t even have a cold shoe, but you can replace the prism with one that does have the shoe. Mark does like the camera, he doesn’t have many lenses for the camera, and it’s fairly bulky and heavy so it’ll become a shelf queen.
The Graflex XL – A Military Camera
Mat, in his job at Midwest Photo, gets to see all sorts of strange and normal cameras come through the store’s used department and today he has something of a military mind. The Graflex XL KS98B. If you’re looking at the camera you might be thinking that you’ve seen something like this before, it has the same appearance as the Mamiya Press or Polaroid 600. The camera would be first released in 1969, and shoots 120 (6×6, 6×7, 6×9) 70mm, and Type-100 Polaroid. It can also shoot 2.25×3.25 sheets. The camera takes various lenses made by Zeiss, Rodenstock, and Schneider. The camera, especially the military version that Mat has, is built like a tank! It was even knocked off the table during the show, and it didn’t matter. An interesting bit of history in regards to the XL is that it was built by Singer. Singer had by this point purchased the Graflex time and were continuing to produce the cameras under that name. The camera itself is fairly bulky and not the easiest to use, but they produce amazing images! And if you want it, head on down to Midwest Photo in Columbus, Ohio! You can check out if it’s still available by emailing Mat!
7Artisan – An Inexpensive M-Mount Option
If you haven’t heard of the 7Artisan lenses, you’re probably living under a rock! But Mark O’Brien is here to fill you in with this wonderful inexpensive 50mm lens for the Leica M-Mount. So if you’re looking for something to mount on your Leica M-series cameras but don’t want to sell some of your organs on the black market to pay for Leitz, the 7Artisan (DJ Optics) is an excellent option. Mark has their 50mm f/1.1. The lens itself is large and fairly heavy, but produces amazing images, though it’s soft wide open, you don’t often buy a lens for shooting it at f/1.1. While Mark has the Leica M-Mount, they do produce one for the Sony E-Mount and Fuji X-Mount. For Mark, the lens is just fun, and you really can’t beat the price, it costs 370$ in change. The lens’ aperture features 12-blades, with a smooth aperture ring (so it doesn’t click).
That’s it for this show, but don’t fear we’ll be back in a short two weeks. In the meantime, why not join our community on Flickr. Got something to say, write us either by email, podcast@filmphotographyproject.com or by regular postal service Film Photography Podcast PO Box 264 Fair Lawn NJ 07410. Catch all the latest FPP news by signing up for our newsletter!