Ko-Fi

Wednesday 25 January 2023

1990's Camera Challenge with my Nikon F801s

 The 1990's Camera Challenge started out on Twitter, thanks to Papa Shitty Cams, as a bit of fun for photographers to dig out their 1990's cameras and give them some love. I wrote in a previous blog about this when I bought my Praktica Sport Royale point and shoot. The challenge comes to an end on January 31st so I figured I had better pull my finger out and start carrying a 1990's camera with me when out and about. The camera I chose is my Nikon F801s which was first released in 1991 and AF Nikkor 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6 D lens.

I have been getting back on track recently and catching up with various projects I have on the back burner. I began carrying my F801s for recon shots of locations and compositions as well as general street photography around town. I loaded a roll of Agent Shadow 400 into it and it has been living in my camera bag since christmas, waiting for the weather to improve.

The Nikon F801s, lovingly labelled N8008s in the US, has a history as a second camera. It was released as a high end prosumer model below the legendary F4. A lot of Nikon users who bought the F4 for their professional photography often bought an F801s as a second camera to hold in reserve during weddings, studio work and sporting events. This means there are a lot of low mileage F801s cameras out there for a reasonable price that simply do the job with little fuss.

It's also a very robust camera as I discovered last week, I managed to drop mine when I slipped on a muddy path whilst out shooting my Frugal Film Project roll of Kentmere 400. I learned why Professional Nikon photographers found them to be reliable additions to their kit, they were well built and weather sealed. It set a standard that photographers continued to enjoy with the F80, F90 and F100. 

Whether I am out in a biblical downpour or a sunny day with blue skies and fluffy clouds, my Nikon F801s does what it is supposed to and does it very well indeed. The cameras that appeared in the 1990's laid the ground for the DSLR's that started appearing during this decade. Nikon's first DSLR the D1 counts as a 1990's camera for the challenge thanks to its debut in 1999 and one of our regulars has indeed bought one especially for this challenge. I must also give kudos to Keith Devereux for using a Game Boy camera and having fun with it.

Here's a few of my photos from my F801s and as always I have posted them and more in an album on Flickr you can visit via the link below. You can see more photos from the folks taking part in the challenge by using the hashtags #1990sCameraChallenge and #ShittyCameraChallenge on Twitter, Tumblr and Mastodon. I hope you enjoy them.

Agent Shadow & Nikon F801s
#1990sCameraChallenge on Twitter 
#1990sCameraChallenge on Mastodon

Bridle Path

Sheep Grazing

Shortly after this photo I dropped my Camera

Mesnes Park

The Wiend

Road Works

Nikon F801s, 24-120mm lens and Agent Shadow


Tuesday 17 January 2023

Frugal Film Project 2023 - January

With the new year comes the first instalment of the Frugal Film Project 2023 and I had to bide my time to get started this year. January began with rain and strong winds and I swear it didn't let up for a fortnight! Last weeks blog was evidence of that, but we finally got a day of sunshine which I tried to make the most of. I loaded my very first roll of Kentmere 400 120 medium format black and white film into my Agfa Isolette I and headed off around the local farms and nature trails to see what I could find.

It felt good to be out in the sunshine as I wandered up the lane to the farms. Staying indoors over the festive period and the first days of the new year was getting to me and this walk was a welcome change from the biblical rainstorm I endured the previous week. I took my customary shot of the gate with my Vivitar 45 light meter helping me get the settings dialled in and headed up the lane to my next shot.

The intersection between the lane and the route of the railway that serviced the mines in the area is always worth a look, I set up a composition and then had to wait several minutes as a cloud blocked the sunlight that had attracted me as it shone through the leafless trees. It soon returned and I bagged the shot and carried on my way.

My third composition was going to be of the intersection where the tarmac runs out and the lanes become tracks. However there was a slight problem that I discovered after I had taken shot 3. I hadn't wound the film on from shot 2 and ended up with a double exposure. It turned out to be a happy accident as I got both lanes lined up by sheer luck and decided to keep it as a lesson to try and remember.

The rest of my walk was pretty uneventful as I studiously kept track of my compositions from that point onwards. I hadn't used the camera for a while and got a little too confident I could remember how to use it properly. I visited some reccurrent locations and did some recon for future reference but the challenge for me on the spoil heap was navigating my way through the muddy clay without falling on my arse.

I almost managed to get back down onto the farm track when I slipped and dropped my Nikon F801s that I had been using for recon shots. This is possibly the only time I was glad my camera landed on soft ground as the worst that happened was it got muddy. I only just managed to keep my arse off the ground thanks to my walking stick giving me something to dig into the clag and keep me off the floor. Thankfully I carry a few paper towels in my pocket and soon had the worst of the mud removed from my camera.

I had just about had enough of the mud and headed home, grabbing a few shots along the way and finishing my film near the pond where the Moorhens live. I was glad to be home too as a few minutes after I walked through my front door the heavens opened and the rain hammered down.

As this was my very first roll of Kentmere 400 in medium format I decided to be gentle with development and used Kodak HC-110 dilution E, 1+47 from concentrate, for 9 minutes at 20 celcius. On hanging my film to dry I was happy with what I saw and left it to dry overnight. I digitised it with my Nikon D700, Panagor macro converter, Meyer-Optik 30mm f/3.5 Lydith and a Pixl-Latr to hold the film. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.

I enjoyed getting out, but not the dropping my camera bit. Thankfully I only needed to clean the mud off and everything works fine, but it dented my pride. Here are a few of my images from the walk and as always I have put them and more in my Frugal Film Project 2023 album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Frugal Film Project 2023
 

Agfa Isolette I and Kentmere 400

The Starting Gate

Which Way?

Happy Accident

Favourite Tree In January

Parking Lot For Farm Equipment

Reflection




Wednesday 11 January 2023

Pentax K1000 - Does It Deserve The Hype?

 During the second half of 2022 I was contacted by a friend who wanted to find a home for a couple of Pentax cameras owned by a family member whom sadly passed away. All my friend could tell me was the cameras looked in good condition, but he doesn't know anything about cameras. I decided to accept the cameras and see what I could do and sent him some money for the postage.

A few days later the parcel arrived and inside I found two holster style bags, one with a Pentax MZ-5 in it and the other a Pentax K1000. The MZ-5 needed batteries so I couldn't really test it, but the K1000 was clean and needed a lens fitting. I popped my Hoya 28mm lens on it and held it up to my eye. "Oh dear" was a polite way to describe my feelings when I discovered its flaw.

It had a black splodge in the viewfinder.

I gathered my cleaning cloth and rocket blower and removed the lens to clean the mirror and focus screen. I also cleaned the viewfinder and tried again. Nope, still there. The camera needed a repair and I did a little research to see if could it be fixed or not. An article on Johnny Martyr's website (link below) caught my eye and revealed the root of the problem.


Pentax had reduced the budget to make the darling of photography students more affordable.
This K1000 had been assembled in China and there is a known issue with the prisms in the Chinese K1000's de-silvering over time. I needed a solution and got in touch with Pierro at PPP Cameras to see if he could help me out.

We discussed a few ideas via email and it appeared that a prism from a later camera, the Pentax P30 might just fit. I was in the fortunate position of having a spare P30 as a parts donor thanks to my friend Mike who gave me three of them in May 2022. Pierro did a little research and as it looked promising, he was willing to give it a try. I booked the repair and posted both cameras to him.

Pierro never ceases to amaze me with his skills and he
repaired and tested the camera for a very reasonable price. It was delivered to me during the first week of the new year and I set about choosing a lens and film to shoot with it. Agent Shadow 400 was loaded, my Tamron Adaptall 2 28mm f/2.5 wide angle prime fitted and I went for a walk.

With this being my first taste of the most recommended student camera in history I looked for ease of use and all I can say is "yep, It's a doddle". My Pentax Spotmatic SP1000 is exactly the same layout as the K1000. It uses the same match needle type of light meter in the viewfinder and has that reassuring Pentax "clunk" when you release the shutter. Bar cosmetics, a built in hot shoe and an easy to find battery, the only real difference is the lens mount.

The K1000 introduced the Pentax K mount to the photography community and it is still in use to this day on Pentax DSLR's. When Pentax refreshed the Spotmatic range in the mid 70's they left everything good about the Spotmatics in the K1000 and decided to change the lens mount rather than continue with the universal M42 screw mount the Spotmatics have.

Pentax took the opportunity to refresh their Takumar lens range with better coatings and the K mount. They also introduced an adapter that enabled long time Pentax owners to use their M42 mount lenses on the new camera. This allowed Pentax to take a bit of time to pad out the K mount lens range with the popular focal lengths and zooms over the next few years.

I have said in a previous blog that "KISS Theory" works. "Keep It Simple Stupid" is what Pentax did with the K1000 and 40+ years after it's introduction it is still the camera that every college has in stock to loan to students as they begin their photography course. This popularity with colleges and students kept the K1000 in production from 1976 through to 1997, outlasting all
that came after it. It also spawned a multitude of K1000 clones made by Centon, Cosina and Ricoh who liked it so much, they bought the company.

With an introductory price in 1976 of $229.50 for a K1000 with a 50mm lens, (that's around $1100 today), it was a big investment for a student. As the years have gone by its value on the used market has remained pretty healthy despite there being around three million of them out there. Yeah, Pentax sold 3,000,000 K1000's, I checked. I am going to enjoy using it for many years to come.

Please check out Johnny Martyr and the PPP Cameras websites via the links below. Here's a few shots from my first roll of film shot with the K1000. I chose the soggiest day of the year thus far here in Wigan to take photos, but that just showed me what great performance Pentax cameras have in the direst of weather. It also showed me I haven't learned a damn thing about leaving my blog to the last minute! To be fair it has been persisting down a lot this week and I might shrink in the wash. I have placed them and more in an album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Pentax K1000 - Tamron 28mm f/2.5 - Agent Shadow 400
PPP Cameras
Johnny Martyr Is There A Gremlin Lurking In Your K1000?










Thursday 5 January 2023

The Year Ahead - What does 2023 have in store for me?

 For my first blog of the year I want to have a quick look at what 2023 has in store for me. As I mentioned in my previous blog, 2022 was a good year for my photography. I learned a heck of a lot, fell in love with three cameras and completed the Frugal Film Project 2022 in the most challenging circumstances.  It was definitely a rollercoaster ride of emotions. So, what does 2023 have in store for me? it can only get better, right?

I have two cameras to review in January and February. One is a sought after workhorse and the other is a "what the heck?" camera from the late 1980's to early 1990's that didn't last long and I find out exactly why. The Workhorse has been in the care of Pierro at PPP Cameras for some TLC andis on it's way back to me as I write this blog. The "WTH?" is  being used straight out of the posh case it arrived in. I'm literally giving it a wipe with a cloth, scraping dead battery juice from the contacts, putting in some fresh batteries and a roll of film and seeing what the fuss is about.

I'm finally able to take part in 127 day! My daughter bought me a very nice Kodak Brownie 127 camera for christmas and as it was a gift and I have never shot 127 film ever, it would be rude not to use it. I have managed to buy a couple of rolls of film for it from a retailer here in the UK that I haven't bought from before. Fresh 127 format film is a little scarce, but it is being manufactured. One retailer had it in stock and they got it to me in three days between christmas and new year which impressed me more than just a tad. The first 127 day of the year is January 27th (1-27-2023 in that 'muhrica!).The others are 12th July (12-7 imperial) and December 12th (12-7 'muricah! again).

I am going to be publishing some 'Zines this year of my photos. I have been working on a review of my favourite shots from the Frugal Film Project that I am close to finishing. I also want to publish more photos I shoot through the course of 2023 with my Goodman Zone Z1. I enjoyed learning how to put a zine together in 2022 and managed to sell a few that helped me pay for a camera to be serviced. Thank you to everyone who bought one.

It wont be the only 'Zine I will be involved with. As well as publishing my own 'Zines I am also going to be involved in a collaboration to pay tribute to John Whitmore from the Sunny 16 Podcast who passed away in 2021. His family and friends spooled his stash of Kodak Double-X and named it Black and Whitmore Bananachromatic. It was sold via Analogue Wonderland to raise money for the Asthma and Lung Foundation here in the UK. We hope to add to that by shooting the rolls we bought and hopefully have enough decent shots for a zine that will be on sale at some point in 2023.

Here's a couple of photos you may not have seen in 2022 and if you fancy joining the Frugal Film Project for 2023 click the link below. It's a lot of fun and a great community.

Frugal Film Project 2023 On Facebook

My Secret Santa gift, it's exactly what I wanted

This years Frugal Film Project camera and film

Kodak Brownie 127

Beauty of a VW T2 Kombi

Frozen Fountain

It had to be photographed



Frugal Film Project 2024 - 35mm - March

February was almost a bust. I won't lie, I wasn't sure I was going to have anything to submit for the project when my OM101 failed a...