Film Photography Podcast – Episode 119 – February 15th, 2015
The internet radio show for people who love to shoot film! Fuji Instax Update, Brownie Hawkeye Flipped Lens, Stereo Realist 3D Camera, Epson v800 Scanner, Steadepod and lots more!
Also at The You Tube! – http://youtu.be/5X6lNQJOJ-E
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Show Notes
Film Photography Podcast – Episode 119 – February 15th, 2015
Show Notes By: Alex Luyckx
It’s the Internet Radio Show for people who love film! Joining Michael Raso around the table today is Mark Dalzell, Leslie Lazenby, and Mat Marrash! Topics include Fuji Instax Update, Cameras: Stereo Realist, Brownie Hawkeye, and Minox 35 GT-E, the Epson V800, Steadepod, Book of the Show, and lots more!
Instax Win!
Mark has made an interesting discovery, it seems that our good friends over a Fuji have hit it big with their Instax line, occupying the top ten in the Photography Section of the Amazon website! And with good reason the group agrees, the Instax line is fantastic for those wanting a safe bet with Instant photography.
Don’t toss those 620 cameras or let them become shelf-queens, because the FPP has newly produced plastic-mold injected 620 spools that you buy on their own, or with fresh modern film stocks re-spooled onto them by the man himself, Michael Raso. In fact the FPP sent a bunch of re-spooled film to Chuck Baker, the founder of the Brownie Camera website, and he has nothing but praise for the new spools! Check out our fine selection of 620 film in the store today!
Flipping the Lens
One of the more comment 620 cameras out there in the Kodak Brownie Hawkeye, produced between 1949 and 1951 this was the predecessor to the Hawkeye Flash, a Bakelite box camera that shoots in the 6×6 format, and has a front plate like that of a 1940s Pontiac according to Mark. The most common modification done to them is flipping the single element lens. This will cause the center of the image to remain sharp while the rest get into a warp-drive Doctor Who effect. It’s just a couple of screws and you can easily do this at home. And with these being cheap cameras you can get a second one to leave normal, just make sure to label them.
Walking Workshop – The Countdown Begins
Yes! We’re just under a month until our 2015 Walking Workshop, March 14th and 15th at The Darkroom in San Clemente California! There will be tours of the Darkroom’s labs, photo walks, meet-and-greets, giveaways and so much more, but time is running out, head on over to: filmphotographyproject.com/fpp-walking-workshop-2015-march-14-be-there to find out how to sign up!
Now in Stereo
Leslie’s known to have a rather large and unique collection of cameras, but today she has one unique and historically significant camera. The Stereo Realist by the David White Co, is a Stereoscopic camera, or simply Stereo Camera. It’s not just any stereo camera, but the one that standardized stereo photography for the rest of the twentieth century and beyond. Stereo Photography isn’t new, having been done since 1851 and was rather popular during the American Civil War. The Stereo Realist really brought about an explosion of cameras, so much that almost every manufacturer worth their salt was producing the cameras. The camera features two side-by-side lenses, focus was done by changing the film plane, rather than the lenses. The camera captured two images, left and right on 35mm film, with each side being slightly smaller than a regular 35×24 image from your average camera. Then the images were printed, mounted, and viewed. Now these days you can download a template from Seawood Photos’ website. And despite everything stereo photography remains rather popular, check out 3dstereo.com for lots of information, cameras, and accessories.
Scanning All Night Long
Michael leads it off, by saying that starting to scan his own film was one of the best ideas ever as it gives you plenty of control over the final image on the computer, control that many labs don’t give you as the scanner is automatic and is usually attached to the same machine that processed the film. Now for six years the scanner of choice for the FPP has been the Epson V700, but now Epson has released the next model, the V800/V850. And while there is a resolution bump the real upgrade Mat explains, is the film holders. While you lose the number of slides/strips you can scan at once, you can holders that are more rugged, adjustable, and equipped with Anti-Newton Ring (ANR) glass. Say goodbye to newton rings when your Tri-X is cupping. And while you won’t get the same image quality out of the scanner that you would from say an Imacon or Drum scan, it’s still pretty darn good.
Tripod or a Monopod – Steadepod
One of the most used accessories in Mark’s camera bad is a little device called a Steadepod, but what is it exactly? Well it’s sort of a tripod and sort of a monopod. The main body (just a little smaller than a deck of cards) attaches to a camera, then a cable runs down and loops over your foot, pulling it taught, gives it the effect that a steadi-cam device would give. Makes it fairly quick and easy way to get a steady shot without needing to lug around a tripod.
Smallest 35mm camera out there?
Mark has a second camera waiting in the wings, this one just a touch bigger than a deck of cards and smaller than even an Olympus XA. The Minox 35 GT-E is the smallest full-frame 35mm camera out there, but don’t let the small size give you the wrong idea, this is a pretty sweet camera, that even Mat’s looking at getting one! This compact, zone-focus camera was released in 1988, features a 35mm f/2.8 (stops down to f/16) lens, with a 10 second self-timer, backlight compensation button (2x exposure), and automatic exposure (aperture priority) also has a hot shoe and a mechanical cable release socket. It’s a pretty sweet camera the entire gang agrees, small, easily pocketable, and has a sleek look about it.
Book of the Show
We’ve been slowly working through Mat’s latest purchases, and this latest book literally lept of the shelf at him. While this isn’t really for everyone, it spoke to Mat mostly because of his 8 week trip to Japan as part of an exchange program, and a trip that inspired his photography. The book is titled: Japan; A Neisei’s First Encounter by Doug Beasley. The book surrounds his (Doug’s) first visit to Japan, Doug being an American born Japanese. The book is beautiful with sepia toned darkroom prints, and lovely hand binding in a Japanese Style. Sadly the book is out of print, but if you look on Abe books or Half-Price Books you should be able to find some copies. Mat highly recommends this to anyone who has an interest in Japan or just Eastern Culture in general.