Panorama. Speaking of panoramas... I've a link over on the right to a panorama taken with a Mju. You rarely see compact cameras on tripods, but the Mju has a tripod socket - as do most cameras - and there's nothing to say you can't use one.  ¶ 10:33 AM 1 comments

  More pics, less gear. It's the usual story: we get so involved with the camera that we take fewer photos. So, I've been looking through some recent pics and I found this one. The one here is a crop of the original - I thought the panoramic look suited it (and I can pretend that I have a Hasselblad (grin)). It was taken maybe half an hour before sunset at Lindisfarne, alias Holy island, which is off the northeast coast of England. The photo was shot handheld and as with every photo in the blog, the print is far better than the scan.


Lindisfarne, England

The posts visible are markers to help people who walk across the mudflats to the island, which is also linked to the mainland by a causeway.  ¶ 9:58 AM 0 comments

  A brand new Yashica 124G? Bit of a change from the usual posts. The 124G is a twin-lens reflex camera (a TLR). Nobody makes TLRs any more, with the exception of two companies: Rollei and Seagull. Rollei's Rolleiflex costs around two thousand pounds (that's heading for $4,000). There's also one with a long lens. Seagull's downmarket Chinese-made cameras cost maybe a tenth of that, but you get what you pay for. I have a late 1950's Rolleiflex and it's a fun camera to use, although the metering is a bit shaky. TLRs generally use medium-format 120 film (aka rollfilm), which gives you 12 shots per roll. The film costs around the same as 35mm film, but the negatives are 2-3 times bigger, measuring 2.5 inches or 6cm per side. With a good lens, a TLR can give you higher-quality large prints than any 35mm camera - or even than any digital. More here about the advantages of medium format cameras.

Anyway... I found out the other day that a guy in London has a supply of new, never-opened Yashica 124Gs. The 124G was a Japanese TLR. It has a great reputation, sharp lens, metering, etc. The guy's name is:

David Leung (Authorised Canon EOS PRO CENTRE)
34 Goodmayes Road, Ilford, Greater London, IG3 9UN.
Tel.: +44 (0)20 8599 6657 or 8590 3268; Fax.: +44 (0)20 8590 0293
Email: davidshleung - at-sign - msn.com

Anybody looking for a TLR has a new and intersting choice available.  ¶ 8:47 AM 0 comments

  Fixed lens fun. I've added another interesting article to the list over on the right hand side. It's a two-part article. The first bit outlines the differences between the original Olympus Mju-I and its successor, the Mju-II. The article then explains in simple terms why having a fast fixed lens has advantages over having a camera with a zoom lens. The big advantage is lens speed: the Mju's f2.8 lens lets in more light which is handy in low light situations, such as evening or indoors. And many of the great photographers, like Cartier-Bresson and others won their awards and did their work using a camera with a single lens. The Mju's normal-to-wide 35mm lens is not that different to what they used, although I must admit that a Mju with an f2.0 50mm lens would suit me even more. I've never seen a compact camera with an f2.0 lens, apart from Konica's Hexar, which isn't made any more and which is a little dear. And the Mju's faster shutter speeds make up for the fact that it's a slower lens. Dante Stella has a review of the Hexar on his site, which is always worth exploring.  ¶ 1:43 PM 0 comments

  AnjaPhoto A much-overdue plug for my friend Anja's photos, many of which were taken with a Mju. Msg for Anja: Mr Darcy says "Hi" to Vinnie.  ¶ 1:29 PM 0 comments

  Going chromogenic Been playing with chromogenic film on the Mju recently - Fuji's 400CN. Chromogenic film is black & white film that's processed like colour. Which means you can get it developed in any lab, like Jessops or Boots and at the same price as colour. It doesn't look that bad, in my opinion... And the Mju is quite happy with it. Kodak, Ilford and Fuji all do this sort of film. Ask in a camera shop. I've seen arguments online to the effect that it isn't proper film, it doesn't look right and it's not proper - all possibly because you can get a nice black and white effect without half-poisoning yourself in your bathroom, pretending that darkroom photography is proper photography. It's 90% as good, in my opinion. But hey, what do I know?

Fisherman, shingle beach, Folkestone

Regent Street, London

The Stade, Folkestone

  ¶ 9:05 PM 0 comments