A Corvette Glows During the Golden Hour Near Sunset

The golden hour near sunset always gives photography subjects a special glow.  I stopped for moment while walking our dog and snapped this quick photo of a Chevrolet Corvette.  In the early evening, you can see that it is a special car and you can feel the potential that it has for speed.

Chevrolet Corvette

A Camera in the Car is Worth a Fuzzy Bird in the Photo

When I pulled into work one morning, I saw this little fellow sitting right outside my wind shield in the parking garage.  He seemed content and I knew he would fly off as soon as I opened my door.  Fortunately, I had my Kodak Z950 with me and I was able to snap this shot from inside the car.

Fuzzy Bird in a Parking Garage

Vintage Camera Review: Kodak Retinette 1A 35mm Film Camera

Testing a German-Made 35mm Viewfinder Camera from Kodak

Long, long, ago, amateur photographers had to use judgement to pick the appropriate film, set their camera's shutter speed and aperture, and manually focus on their subject. Have you heard of rangefinder cameras? Well, the Kodak Retinette 1A is a range guesser camera. With the Kodak Retinette 1A, you focus by manually setting the range to your subject. If you can guess the range between the lens and your subject, then you are rewarded with a delightful photograph. When you guess right, this antique 35mm camera is a blast!

Kodak Retinette 1A (Typ 035)

I picked up my Kodak Retinette 1A (Typ 035) on ebay for about $4. When it arrived, I was amazed by its quality, heft, and the solid construction. I also appreciated the Kodak tradition as this vintage 35mm film camera has a Schneider-Kreuznach lens much like the one on my modern Kodak Z950 digital camera. The Retinette 1A has a high quality f:3.5/50mm Schneider-Kreuznach Reomar lens. According to camerapedia.com, the Typ 35 Kodak Retinette 1A was produced sometime between 1959 and 1961 and has a "Pronto" shutter. Over the years, other Retinette 1A cameras have been equipped with Vero, Prontor, or Kodak Angen shutters.
 

 
Part of the charm of vintage 35mm cameras is figuring out the placement of the cameras controls. On my Retinette 1A, there are several controls on the lens assembly. The focus range is set by twisting the outermost ring right on the lens. The shutter speed can be set for 1/30, 1/60, 1/125, 1/250 or B (for manual long time exposures) by aligning a red hashmark on the next ring in with the desired shutter speed. The shutter aperture can be set by pressing a button and twisting a final ring closer to the camera body to an aperture of 3.5/4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, or 22. The higher numbers correspond to a smaller shutter opening. A red lever beneath the lens assembly is a 10-second self-timer to allow the photographer to move in front of the camera and get in the shot.

On the camera body, the Kodak Retinette 1A has a cold shoe for a flash, a film counter knob (to let you know how many pictures you have left), and a film indicator knob that lets you set the camera for artificial light color, outdoor light color, or black and white photography. A small circular viewfinder window lets you see a remarkably clear square viewfinder with a hashmark on each side at the top that is to be used with your subject is very close. The film is advanced via a lever on the bottom right-hand side of the camera and the picture is taken by pressing a button on the top of the camera. A button on the bottom of the camera opens the back for loading film. On the bottom left hand side of the camera a knob screws in to secure the Kodak Retinette 1A to its leather camera case and also has standard recessed threads to accept my Targus monopod and various tripods.


In practical use, I find the controls on this antique film camera straight forward and easy to use. Obviously, a vintage film camera is a lot different from a fully automated modern film camera like my Canon SureShot Z135. As a beginning photographer, I am still feeling my way in terms of shutter speeds and aperture settings. But, I have seen many references to a "Sunny 16" rule. On bright sunny days a shutter of f/16 can be used and a shutter speed of 1/250th or 1/125th of a second seems to work well. There are a number of film exposure guides on the web that can be used to guide your decision making. In general, brighter lighting requires a smaller aperture and thus a higher aperture number. When I handhold the camera, I sometimes get blurry pictures if I use a longer exposure time of 1/60th or 1/30th of a second. The self-timer is scarily slow and is probably unreliable on a 50-year-old vintage camera. Some photographers have had the self-timer fail and require camera repairs. I would recommend not using it.

Overall, I highly recommend the Kodak Retinette 1A for anyone interested in taking pictures with an antique 35mm camera. This antique Kodak camera is capable of taking wonderful pictures. You'll get a great feeling of accomplishment when you succeed in taking great pictures with it.
Sources:

Camerapedia.com (http://camerapedia.wikia.com/wiki/Kodak_Retinette_IA)
Kodak Retinette 1A Camera Manual, Eastman Kodak Company

Camera Review: Polaroid 300 Instant Camera

 An Instant Film Camera Revives the Polaroid Picture

I recently took a Polaroid instant picture for the first time. While I've been into film photography for years, I just bought a brand new Polaroid 300 camera in 2012 for my birthday. It's an investment in the future of film and opens up a whole new world of retro photography. Plus, I won't have to worry about film laying undeveloped in a camera bag for months. While the Polaroid 300 camera is undoubtedly a re-badged Fujifilm Instax Mini 7s, it's fun to use a camera bearing the iconic Polaroid brand.

The Polaroid 300 camera is a fixed focus camera with four scene modes and an automatic flash. If you are used to tiny digital cameras, you'll find the 4 5/8-inch tall by 4 5/8-inch wide and nearly 3-inch deep camera to be huge by modern standards. But, the ergonomics of the controls work well. Controls are simple. The camera is turned on my pulling outward on the lens housing. The scene mode is selected via a rotating selector on the top of the camera. Settings are indoor/dark, cloudy/shadow, fine, and clear.



Film is loaded via a 10-shot cartridge and runs between $10 and $14 per box. At a $1 a shot, you quickly learn not to take pictures of unpredictable subjects like the family dog. You can shoot Polaroid PIF-300 film or Fujifilm Instax Mini film in a Polaroid 300. When you take a picture, the exposed film is ejected out of the top of the camera. The image starts developing within seconds and the film remains chemically active for up to 10 minutes after exposure. The photos themselves are small. They are roughly the size of a business card and measure 2 1/8-inches by 3 3/8 inches. Since they have the traditional white Polaroid border, the images themselves are slightly smaller 1 7/8 by 2 1/2 inches.

The Polaroid 300 is made for taking instant photos at parties, family gatherings, wedding receptions, and other social events. It's a fun camera for taking pictures of people at fairly close ranges. However, since our dog was uncooperative, I pressed my Polaroid into service taking pictures of landscapes and cityscapes around Atlanta. While some photos came out too light or too dark, the camera did yield some wonderful pictures. I enjoyed the challenge of working with the camera and striving for great results. In a world of super zoom digital cameras, the Polaroid forces you to walk up to a subject so that it fills a viewfinder. You also have to compensate for a slightly offset viewfinder as you compose your picture. You can rotate the camera depending on whether you want to take a shot with portrait or landscape orientation.


Out of 17 pictures, one failed to develop, 2 came out a tad dark, and 2 came out with overexposed bright objects fading into oblivion. The one shot that didn't turn out may have simply been too bright or handled too roughly by me. I took a shot of a shiny mirrored skyscraper on a bright sunny day while sitting at a stop light and then roughly through the resulting shot into a box where it landed face down on a previous photograph. Shots of human subjects or objects like a park swing turned out best. I didn't have any problem scanning images into my computer using my inexpensive Pandigital scanner. I looked at both the Polaroid 300 at Target and the Fujifilm Instax Mini 7s at Walmart before buying the Polaroid 300. Ultimately, I liked the color scheme of the Polaroid at Target better than the all white scheme of the Fuji Instax Mini 7s. An all-white camera is just a little too Andy Warhol for me. The Polaroid 300 camera retails for around $70.

The Polaroid 300 is an interesting camera. It has some obvious disadvantages: expense per shot and small picture size. However, it is also an instant conversation starter and it provides instant developed photos that you can give to people. If you identify with the ideals of the lomography movement, you'll enjoy the Polaroid 300. If you like to bring a camera to social gatherings, you'll love the Polaroid 300. I'd definitely recommend giving it a try. It's the kind of camera that could save film photography.

Sources: Polaroid 300 Camera Packaging
Amazon.com

Vintage Camera Review: Canon AF35M II SureShot Autoboy 2 35mm Film Camera

A Classic Point-and-Shoot Film Camera Has Lots of Life

Most vintage cameras are all-mechanical marvels of metal construction with lots of interesting knobs and gizmos. The Canon AF35M II SureShot Autoboy 2 is different. It's a compact plastic camera with electronics and automation. This Canon 35mm film camera is about 30% larger than my modern Kodak Z950 digital camera. But, this circa 1983 camera has spirit. When you open the lens shield, this classic camera whirs to life. The Autoboy 2 is ready to shoot when you press the shutter release button. There is no hesitation. You point, you shoot, and you usually score a pretty good photograph for your effort.

 
Perhaps this old Canon camera has the soul of a sports car? It definitely provides instant feedback when you fire off a shot. With each press of the shutter release, a bar slides across the bottom of the viewfinder, illuminates the focusing distance (portrait, group, or landscape), and slides back for the next shot. The film advances with a whirr and the camera is ready again. There is no shutter lag. Plus, all the activity makes your typical digital point and shoot seem rather pedestrian.

The Canon AF35M II SureShot Autoboy 2 has a 38mm f/2.8 lens with four elements in four groups. Any subject from three feet to infinity is fair game for this film camera. The brain in this camera automatically determines the proper aperture and shutter speed. The vintage camera can also handle film speeds of 100 to 400. The film speed is manually set by turning a ring around the camera lens. Powered by two AA batteries, this classic camera can shoot up to 50 rolls of 36-exposure film without flash or seven rolls with flash. The flash can be used by pressing a release on the back of the camera which will allow it to pop up. A self-timer lever is conveniently placed near the bottom of the lens.

As a point and shoot camera, the Canon AF35M II Sureshot Autoboy 2 has autofocus, but no zoom capability. To compose a photo with the subject somewhere other than the center of the photo, you simply aim the camera at the subject, pull down the self timer lever, push the shutter release button so the camera will remember the focusing distance, recompose the picture, and press the shutter release button again to actually take the picture.


I was very pleased by the picture taking capabilities of my Canon Autoboy 2. I took a test roll of pictures and had them put on CD by my neighborhood drugstore. When I picked them up I was excited to see that the images on my preview print looked great and my picture CD was equally rewarding when I got home. This camera is definitely a keeper. I can't wait to see how the roll of black and white film currently in the camera turns out.

Overall, I enjoyed taking pictures with this nearly thirty year old 35mm film camera. It was easy and fun to use the camera and it was an interesting challenge to compose my shots through the viewfinder. Most of all it was fun to use such a lively little camera. It was definitely worth $7 at my local thrift store.

[I originally published this article to Yahoo Voices, but I am reposting it here with the closure of the original Yahoo site.]

Sources:


"Canon AF35M II Autoboy 2 (New Sure Shot)", Canon Museum
Canon Manual "Canon AF35M II Sure Shot Autoboy 2" Canon, Inc., 1982