The Ricoh 35 ZF is a zone focus, shutter priority (and full manual) 35mm camera from 1976. With a 40mm f/2.8 lens, shutter speeds from 1/500 to 1/8 (plus B), and an ISO range of 25-800, there isn’t too much to worry about: set the shutter speed (1/250 or 1/500 in daylight), put the aperture […]
Category Archives: Gear
Enter the Konica Wai Wai
Somehow, I’ve managed to be on Twitter at just the right time, twice, to catch generous offers from Dan K: first for a giveaway, through which I scored a bunch of different black & white films, some disposables, and some other stuff; the second to score 1 of 4 reloaded Konica Wai Wai disposables… I […]
Rollei RPX 100 – a review in 3 parts
Back in October 2017, I was blessed to take part in one of Dan K’s generous giveaways over on Twitter. It consisted of a gift certificate to Camera Film Photo and shipping, and I picked up a bunch of black & white film that I hadn’t tried before, including 5 rolls of Rollei RPX 100 in […]
Kosmo Foto Mono at the Neighborhood Picnic
The weekend before Ramadan, the neighborhood got together for a picnic. Fun! About 5 minutes after it was supposed to start, I received a frantic call from brother Riyaz, one of the organizers. He was breathless. “Brother James… we need a photographer here… hurry.” I was happy to oblige, and, interestingly, I had just received […]
Fun with Bulk Loading (and broken cameras)
When bulk-loading film with small, daylight-type bulkloaders, you’re likely to have some film wastage, especially if you don’t your bulk loading in a darkroom (or sweaty dark bag). This can make for some fun color washes, sure, but it stops being fun after awhile, especially when you lose 6-8 frames at the beginning of every […]
Enter the Zero Image 6×9
This is my Zero Image 6×9 Back to Nature edition pinhole camera. There might be some others like it, but this one is mine…
Lomography Color 800 – first rolls review
Everyone needs a good, fast color stock. And with Fuji(not)Film discontinuing it’s excellent Natura 1600, it looks like we’re down to 4: Cinestill 800T, Fuji Superia X-TRA 800 (but for how long?), Kodak Portra 800, and Lomography Color 800. I’m sitting on a dozen rolls of frozen Natura, but that’s my retirement fund, so I’m […]