Film What FILM (!) photography related item did you buy this week?

I tell you, seek and you shall find! I was going to be buy a F4 off Ebay, then I happened to look locally and there was one in great condition at the right price. I picked it up today, heavy but beautiful camera and oh that viewfinder is divine, and finally dials and no menus!

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This is a great find, to be able to buy it locally. I tried the local shops before purchasing mine, but all were pretty beaten up. The guy at the shop I use the most (bought most of my Pentax 6x7 gear there, for instance) recommended me to browse ebay, but told me I would need to be patient to find one in good condition and for the price I saw as reasonable. Sure enough, that afternoon I pulled the trigger :) I was lucky, I guess.

I was shooting this afternoon with a Pentax ME Super and Pentax 35/3.5 (amazing lens!) to finish a roll and then moved to the F4. What a difference! Yes, the Pentax is a fine camera, but when I pulled the F4 I was in a different league. Sure the results will not be very different, but the viewfinder and feeling/handling is great and it is unbelievable the functions we have available at our fingers.
 
I pre-ordered the MiNT RF70 today; as soon as I heard of it, I knew I had to get that camera as soon as it came out - a fully manually controlled rangefinder folder for Instax Wide film? Count me in ...

It's not yet been officially announced, but supporters are able to pre-order (well, as long as the first batch of 199 cameras lasts). Here's the story: The Mint InstantKon RF70 All Manual Instax Camera Gets Official Details

From the images I have seen, it's not a trivial camera to shoot, but if you know what you're doing, there are obviously very nice results to be had. For me as an instant film geek, this is the tool I've been looking for for years now and that neither Fuji nor Lomography were able to provide, in spite of all the fun machines they have produced.

M.
 
I pre-ordered the MiNT RF70 today; as soon as I heard of it, I knew I had to get that camera as soon as it came out - a fully manually controlled rangefinder folder for Instax Wide film? Count me in ...

It's not yet been officially announced, but supporters are able to pre-order (well, as long as the first batch of 199 cameras lasts). Here's the story: The Mint InstantKon RF70 All Manual Instax Camera Gets Official Details

From the images I have seen, it's not a trivial camera to shoot, but if you know what you're doing, there are obviously very nice results to be had. For me as an instant film geek, this is the tool I've been looking for for years now and that neither Fuji nor Lomography were able to provide, in spite of all the fun machines they have produced.

M.

Wonderful news! I got the notice about the pre-order, but still on the fence :). It is, however, a dream come true for instant film and so far the shots look amazing.
 
This is a great find, to be able to buy it locally. I tried the local shops before purchasing mine, but all were pretty beaten up. The guy at the shop I use the most (bought most of my Pentax 6x7 gear there, for instance) recommended me to browse ebay, but told me I would need to be patient to find one in good condition and for the price I saw as reasonable. Sure enough, that afternoon I pulled the trigger :) I was lucky, I guess.

I was shooting this afternoon with a Pentax ME Super and Pentax 35/3.5 (amazing lens!) to finish a roll and then moved to the F4. What a difference! Yes, the Pentax is a fine camera, but when I pulled the F4 I was in a different league. Sure the results will not be very different, but the viewfinder and feeling/handling is great and it is unbelievable the functions we have available at our fingers.

Yes, it's very well designed, I liked it immediately as soon as I picked it up, it feels so solid in the hand. The dials and many functions on board are really what I was looking for. I am now mulling over what film to use with it first, I am leaning towards Portra 160 or maybe a BW film. Decisions!
 
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It has arrived. And once more the sky is grey.
 
I did not buy any film related items this week, but I photographed a number of things to sell, mostly darkroom stuff. The Coolscan 9000 will have to help get me prints from scanned negatives, mostly from the Hasselbald 500CM and the Fuji GS645S. Though I no longer use them a lot, I'm not ready to part with those. I spent 30 years working in custom labs at an enlarger, and putting my personal Schneider 150mm Componon S on ebay is a little wrenching, but my darkroom days are behind me; I want the second bathroom back; and I don't need a full setup to develop rolls of film. I'm glad to see people still buying film things, though, and at some point I will probably replace my Olympus 35SP, one of the best 35mm cameras I ever owned.
 
I have decided to be a little adventurous, and shoot 400 speed film LOL! So I ordered some Portra 400 in 35, and have a lead on some Fuji 400 Pro in 120 (apparently a local shop sells some). We'll see how adventurous I can be as I keep hearing how many people prefer to shoot Portra 400 at 200, but I am too nervous to shoot any film beyond box speed (I have no idea why). I could shoot half the roll at box and half at 200 as I am told the developing is normal. Fun times ahead for this newbie! :D :D
 
I have decided to be a little adventurous, and shoot 400 speed film LOL! So I ordered some Portra 400 in 35, and have a lead on some Fuji 400 Pro in 120 (apparently a local shop sells some). We'll see how adventurous I can be as I keep hearing how many people prefer to shoot Portra 400 at 200, but I am too nervous to shoot any film beyond box speed (I have no idea why). I could shoot half the roll at box and half at 200 as I am told the developing is normal. Fun times ahead for this newbie! :D :D

I love Portra and Ektar. It is a shame that their prices are going up. Fuji is OK but for me it is too greenish. For "old" look I use Kodak's Colorplus. The Gold and Ultramax I find are OK.
My last 120 was FujiPro. It is fine. No complaints.
 
I love Portra and Ektar. It is a shame that their prices are going up. Fuji is OK but for me it is too greenish. For "old" look I use Kodak's Colorplus. The Gold and Ultramax I find are OK.
My last 120 was FujiPro. It is fine. No complaints.

I mostly shoot slower films, like Portra 160, or the Fuji 160, and I really like them, but lately I have been looking at a lot of Portra 400 images and how so many are so beautifully pastel coloured, a look that I adore! I used some Fuji Superia 200 lately and it's not for me, even Agfa Vista is not appealing (and gosh the two films look almost identical). Kodak Colorplus is very hard to come by in Canada, but I have heard good things about it.
 
I mostly shoot slower films, like Portra 160, or the Fuji 160, and I really like them, but lately I have been looking at a lot of Portra 400 images and how so many are so beautifully pastel coloured, a look that I adore! I used some Fuji Superia 200 lately and it's not for me, even Agfa Vista is not appealing (and gosh the two films look almost identical). Kodak Colorplus is very hard to come by in Canada, but I have heard good things about it.
ColorPlus is an old emulsion, it is out of production as far as I understand. I have boxes of the stuff from past purchases at Poundland in the UK. All kept in a fridge.
 
ColorPlus is an old emulsion, it is out of production as far as I understand. I have boxes of the stuff from past purchases at Poundland in the UK. All kept in a fridge.

I remember Agfa Vista at Poundland, back when I wasn't into photography, but I take it this is no longer sold at Poundland? My mom couldn't find any last month when she was in London.
 
I remember Agfa Vista at Poundland, back when I wasn't into photography, but I take it this is no longer sold at Poundland? My mom couldn't find any last month when she was in London.
You are right, Agfa Vista was the one Poundland sold at the same time and after ColorPlus. I bought stock of both. I stopped finding them about 1 to 2 years ago.
 
And now this one.
A couple of specialist labs can develop as B&W slide.
Or I keep it as a memento.

Kodachrome Processing
These folks are aces, they managed to develop a 30yo roll of Agfa C22 roll in a metal case.



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AG certainly have an amazing turnaround speed, and they provide prepaid envelopes for posting your next films. Plus for dev only they seem to be the cheapest around.
 
AG certainly have an amazing turnaround speed, and they provide prepaid envelopes for posting your next films. Plus for dev only they seem to be the cheapest around.

Agreed, I use them as my primary lab, I had to find another one for my remjet rolls but that is the exception.
Like you I tend to order development only.
However I usually order one full print and scan per order (sometimes I send up to 7 rolls) to make it worth their efforts.
I would hate to see them going out of business.
 
Gentlemen, I seriously need my head examined, I just bid on (at some obscure local auction) a Polaroid Land 450 camera, and won. I mean, what was I thinking, there is no film for it that can be bought easily, yikes! It looks to be in very good condition though :). Maybe I had the teaser from Catlabs on my mind, they are allegedly going to make pack film again, not sure how as I thought Fuji wasn't selling the formula to anyone.
 
Here it is, the Polaroid Land 450. It's in great condition for it's age, shutter fires, bellows are good, except the batteries are corroded as are the contacts, and there is some rust. I have to figure out how to clean it all out, and there is apparently a battery conversion so it can use modern batteries, but I have no idea how to go about it. I just hope new batteries work or else I have a useless camera :(. It might be useless nonetheless, as the remaining Fuji FP100 is just ridiculously priced.

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