The Rikenon 40mm f/2.8, an appreciation

The Rikenon 40mm f/2.8 is one of my favorite lenses. It’s sharp enough, with good color transmission and not too much vignetting, and I love the field of view: it’s never too wide like a 35mm can sometimes be, and it’s never too tele like a 50 sometimes is (especially if you shoot with a …

1970s Ricoh Compacts, part 2: the Sears 35rf

The Sears 35rf (not to be confused with the Sears 35|RF) is a Sears-branded variant of the Ricoh 500 RF,  a compact rangefinder from 1980, and one of the last  in the line of cameras that began with 1972’s 500 G.  Like other cameras in the series (and I’m going to tire of writing this), …

Nightime, Right Time

A quick follow-up to this morning’s Reminder… Here’s the same view, shot moments apart, by 3 different cameras, at 30, 45, and 60 seconds (all manually counted, and so probably not accurate…). On the left, the Cosina CX-2; in the middle, the Lomo LC-A; on the right, the Sears 35 R|F (Ricoh 500 G). All …

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 …