The #CameraChallenge - March 2023

 The film photography community on Twitter is alive and well and Jason Avery, the man behind #filmfeb #filmjune and #filmtober, decided to put a challenge together to encourage film photographers to give street photography a try using a camera costing no more than £20/$20 during the month of March 2023. It's a format I am familiar with and I decided why the heck not. This was to be a three week challenge; week one we shoot our film, week two we develop our film and week three we share our results.

Normally for a challenge such as this I would purchase a camera, but having bought several new toys recently I decided to use a camera I already own that satisfied the price requirement. I loaded a roll of Ilford HP5 into my long neglected Pentax SP1000 with Helios 44m-4 lens, which cost me the princely sum of £20 back in 2017 and headed out for an afternoon of film fun.

Street photography is not a skill that everyone can do and those who can could still have qualms about it. This is where your choice of lens can make all the difference. I love to use a 28mm lens when I explore the back alleys, but narrow back streets are not where the Helios 44m-4 58mm f/2 lens is useful. It likes wide thoroughfares, such as a busy shopping street, where I could stand back and use the 58mm focal length to bring things to me.

The limitation of my SP1000 is the lack of a light meter. I can usually sunny 16 with the best, but it's late winter-early spring here in Wigan and "sunny" is the guy who owns the takeaway down the road. The challenge mentioned nothing about accessories, so I brought my Gossen Trisix light meter along and used that to give me a chance of making the best of a grey day.

I enjoyed using my Pentax SP1000, It was good to hear its reassuring Pentax "Clunk!" again. I was able to stand back and observe as people went about their business or sat chatting whilst enjoying a coffee with friends. I could also get closer in to the demolition works going on at The Galleries without having to stand right up against the gates. I was enjoying myself and all too quickly, or so it seemed, my camera let me know I had finished my roll of film and I headed home.

The following week I developed my roll of Ilford HP5 in Kodak HC-110 1+63 dilution H for 11 minutes to bring the best from a film shot on an overcast day and hung it to dry in my bathroom overnight. I scanned it with my Ion Slides2PC 35mm scanner and processed the images over the course of the following few days with Affinity Photo 2. Going long in development with dilution H helped a lot with this film. The gentle approach tamed the contrast and gave me rich blacks without losing much detail in the shadows. 

It's now week three so here's a few of my photos from the one roll of film I managed to shoot for the March #CameraChallenge. If you fancy joining in Jason Avery's challenges you can find him using #CameraChallenge #filmfeb #filmjune or #filmtober over on Twitter. I had planned on shooting more film, but I'm happy with the results from my single roll and I have placed them and more in an album on Flickr you can visit via the link below. I hope you enjoy them. 

£20 #camerachallenge 

Goodman Zone Z1 - Kentmere 100 - K&F Concept Tripod

I have been having a lot of fun lately with my new toys, they have helped me get through a bit of a rough patch caused by the winter blues and I have one more to talk about. I have a new Tripod. I needed one as the cheap bottom of the range Manfrotto I have been using for the last few years finally held up a white flag and bit the dust. I was out and about with my Goodman Zone Z1 trying a roll of Kentmere 100 medium format film and, well, the ball head on my tripod decided to flop and it took my camera with it. AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!

I saw it go but couldn't grab it fast enough before my beautiful Schneider-Kreuznach lens hit the deck, but thankfully I have a filter holder on it which took the full force of the fall and saved my lens. One side of the filter holder snapped off, which I don't mind, it's better than having to find several hundred quid for a new lens for my Goodman Zone Z1. The clamp on the ball head has stripped a thread and there's no saving it, it will not tighten up. I came home and went hunting for a reasonably priced tripod.

I have seen a lot of adverts on social media from K&F Concept and it seems like they have a permanent sale on. I decided to pay the website a visit to see what they have to offer. Before anyone asks, NO this is not a sponsored blog post. I had a good look at a few tripods within my budget and bought the K&F Concept K234A7 tripod that came with a BH-28L ball head and an Arca Swiss style clamp and plate to keep my camera firmly attached. A few days later it arrived and on first impression it's quite a decent bit of kit.

The tripod is made from anodised Aluminium with quick release flip locks rather than the screw locks on the more expensive models. At maximum height it is 78 inches tall, thats six feet six inches, which gives me plenty of wiggle room and folds up to a compact 19 inches. It also has a leg that can be removed and used with the centre column and ball head to make a Monopod. K&F also provided a bag to put it in and an allen key. I had to give it a try so I attached the plate to my Goodman Zone, fastened my camera to my new tripod and toddled off out in the snow to finish the roll of Kentmere 100 I had started a few days previously.

It was good to get out with my Goodman Zone again. The fall it had gave me a fright and my new K&F tripod gave me hope that it would be a while before that ever happened again. The tripod held the weight of my Goodman Zone easily and is rated to carry 10kg / 22lbs which is going to hold all my cameras with ease. Being out in the cold didn't cause it any problems either and I'm very happy with it. I have placed a link below to the K&F website where you will find many more products at reasonable prices.

 I was heading home when a chap out and about with his camera spotted my camera and asked is if it was a medium format camera. "Yes", I replied. He then asked if it was 6x7, "Yes" I replied again. He then said "I thought it was, I follow you on Instagram!" He recognised my camera and couldn't resist having a chat about it. It was nice to meet you, Will.

When I arrived home I set about developing my Kentmere 100 in HC-110 dilution B for 6 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry. I digitised it with my Nikon D610 and Tamron 90mm macro lens attached to my new tripod that held it nice and steady. I processed the photos with Affinity Photo 2 and I am pretty happy with the results despite a couple of hotspots. This was my first roll of Kentmere 100 medium format film and I wanted to have a baseline to refer to in future. I'm definitey going to use filters as spring advances and the weather warms up, I need to experiment and see what this film is capable of.

Here are a few of my Photo's from my first roll of Kentmere 100 medium format film and I have placed them all in an album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

K&F Concept UK
Kentmere 100 - Goodman Zone - K&F Concept Tripod Flickr Album   

Servicing My Pentax SP500

 Regular readers will know how much I love my Pentax SP500. I came back to film with it in 2017 along with a Helios 44m-4 58mm f/2 lens and it was an ebay bargain at £20. I used it for the Frugal Film Project in 2022 and I promised it a service if it made it through the year. To pay for it I sold several copies of my e-book on my Ko-Fi pages and added the kind donations from folks who bought me a Ko-Fi to put towards the cost. As it performed admirably I set about arranging for it to have a CLA with a chap I have heard good things about, Lyndon at Londinium Cameras.

My Pentax SP500 is a 50 year old camera and although the light meter works, the 1.5 volt battery I have been using is just that little bit more powerful than the original 1.35 volt mercury battery it was designed for. This caused the meter to over expose a bit and I wanted to have my camera adjusted so the light meter would not be a stop or so over exposed. This was always known to me and I did compensate for it, but I'm getting on and just wanted to have it sorted.

I bought the camera with no gaurantee it had ever been serviced and It has been a grand workhorse over the last half a dozen years in my ownership. As it had behaved during the Frugal Film Project in 2022 I made good on my promise to get it serviced so it would give me many more years of reliable use. I found the Londinium Cameras website via twitter and had a read of what services he could offer. Encouraged by what I read, I sent an email to Lyndon to take it further.

Lyndon explained what the job entailed, a CLA is stripping the camera down to Clean, Lubricate and Adjust the precision mechanisms that work together to release the shutter for the precise amount of time required to make a well exposed photograph on any given day. I'm not averse to taking things apart, I can strip a motorcycle down with my eyes shut, but cameras are small and delicate so I'm happy to let a professional do it. I sent my Pentax to Londinium Cameras to have it serviced. First Class, of course.

A couple of weeks go by and I received an email from Lyndon to tell me my camera was ready to return to me. I paid the bill and a couple of days later the Postie brought my camera home to me. I was like a kid at christmas. I couldn't wait to see it and I carefully opened the parcel. I unwrapped my camera and marvelled at it's cleanliness. It looked new and it's only the slight brassing in places from years of use that tell it's true age. I had to try it, I wound the shutter and pressed the release. It not only looked new, it sounded new too.

Mechanical things get sloppy with age and the CLA it received has tightened it up again. It feels precise, eveything now moves as it did when it was new with new lubricants to smooth the mechanism. I loaded a roll of Ilford HP5, put my Tamron Adaptall 2 28mm f/2.5 lens on it and toddled off to Mesnes Park, my favourite testing zone.

Here in Wiganshire we often get grey overcast skies and this day was one of them. Thanks to Lyndon weaving his magic skills on my camera to allow for a 1.5 volt battery, I was confident I would have well exposed photos. I wouldn't really know for sure until I developed my film later that day. However, I did make one error. In my haste to get out and enjoy using my freshly serviced camera I forgot to set the film speed dial and I had shot my roll at 100 iso. Oops!

Oh well, I carried on and soon finished my roll of Ilford HP5 and headed home. A little research later that day showed a developing time on the Massive Dev Chart to process Ilford HP5 shot at 100 iso and I gave it a try. I developed my film in HC-110 dilution H 1+63 for 6 1/2 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry. I had a decently exposed roll of film despite my mistake. Huzzah! I scanned my film with my Ion Slides2PC 35mm scanner and processed the images with Affinity Photo 2 to remove any blemishes.

My Pentax SP500 was always a pleasure to use right from the day it was delivered to me in 2017. Now it has been serviced by the very capable hands of Lyndon at Londinium Cameras, it's like having a new camera. Have a look at the Londinium Cameras website using the link below where you will find all the information you need about the services he provides and he's bloody good at it too. My 50 year old camera is good as new and I hope to enjoy many more years of using it.

Here's a few photos shot with my Pentax SP500 on Ilfords finest HP5 at 100 iso. I have placed them and more in an album on Flickr you can visit using the link below, I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I did taking them.

Buy My e-book, "In The Zone" here
Londinium Cameras.com
Ilford HP5 @ 100 - Pentax SP500 Flickr Album 

Nikon D610

 This week has been an exciting one for me as I have bought some new toys. I have been looking for another DSLR as getting my D700 serviced is nigh on impossible due to the cost and shrinking supply of spares. It got the dreaded "Err" message on the top panel and refuses to acknowledge my AF lenses, but it works perfectly with manual focus lenses. Go figure! Rather than spend a load of money to get it mended I spent the money on a Nikon D610 that I found for a reasonable price on the bay of evil. I delayed my blog this week so I could try the camera out and let you guys know what I think of it.

It arrived on Wednesday afternoon and I spent a little time to unbox the camera and accessories that came with it. It was all packed neatly into a Krisyo shoulder bag that carried the weight of all the gear with ease. Also in the bag was a MB-D14 Battery Grip with extra AA battery holder, 2 EN-EL 15 batteries, 1 battery charger, 1 USB cable, 1 Jessops Flash, a remote flash trigger and a manual. The vendor said in the description it had been serviced and had little use after they upgraded. I can believe it too as the camera and accessories are spotlessly clean. I have been hunting for another DSLR for some time, I researched what price the D610 is going for at the moment in good condition and I got a bargain.

I put my AF Nikkor 24-120mm D lens on it and began going through the settings. Everyone has their own preferences when setting their camera up and it didn't take me long to set it up to my liking. The Nikon D610 is an entry level full frame DSLR situated below the D750 in the Nikon full frame range and was unleashed upon the world in 2013 to replace the D600. It has a 24 megapixie sensor and does 1080p video too. I may do something with that capability in the coming months, but for now I am concentrating on taking photos.

I am rather impressed with the weight of the camera, it's a lot lighter than my D700. With my hefty 24-120mm D lens on I needed to fit the battery grip to balance the weight of the lens and it felt much better. I packed my new camera into its bag with my Tamron 70-300mm lens, picked up my tripod and went for a wander in the woods. It didn't matter that it was a dull overcast day that threatened to snow, I wanted to see how the D610 handles a wet Wednesday in Wigan.

Straight away I could see the difference a few years makes to technical developments on digital cameras. The shutter is nice and precise, the colour rendition on the back of the camera is sweet and the novelty of autofocus when using live view will never get old. My photos are nothing special, I just wanted to build some experience in using the camera and to be honest it is a very easy camera to get along with. The controls are very familiar, the selector dial is easy to use with my woollen gloves on and I was soon exploring locations I have visited many times to see what else I could see.

I really enjoyed getting out and about and didn't mind when the snow began falling, it was the fine stuff that soon melts as it hits the ground. I was hoping it would get heavier, but alas it wasn't to be on this day. My Nikon D610 handled the conditions with ease and I'm looking forward to getting proficient with it over the coming months as we start getting warmer weather and more trees sprout their new leaves. The Hawthornes have made an early start and are a welcome sight which will only get more colourful as spring progresses.

I enjoyed my walk in the woods learning how to use my Nikon D610, but I had to head home as I was starting to feel the cold despite having my winter coat on. More snow was forecast for the next day and to tell the truth I hoped it would snow overnight and give me some more challenges as I continue to learn this photography malarkey. I lucked out with the snow. Bugger...

Here's a few of my first photos shot with my Nikon D610. I processed the photos with Affinity Photo 2 and I have placed them and more in an album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Nikon D610 - AF Nikkor 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6

New Toy - Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm Macro Lens

 I am a patient kind of guy when I am looking for things I need for my photography and that patience paid off recently when I finally bought a lens I have wanted since I came back to film in 2017. Long time readers will know I am a fan of Tamron Adaptall 2 lenses. If you came here recently I recommend you give Tamron Adaptall 2 lenses a try, especially if you haven't got a lot of cash, and have a read of my previous blog on these great budget friendly lenses via the link below.

 I have done a lot of reading up on Tamron Adaptall 2 lenses since 2017 and found that a couple of primes are sought after for their sharpness and colour rendition. One of those is the lens I took delivery of last week after waiting for one to come along at the right price and at the same time that I had the money to buy it. That lens is the SP 90mm f/2.5 Tele Macro, model number 52B.

Up to now I have been using either my Pentacon 50mm f/1.8 or my Meyer-Optik 30mm f/3.5 Lydith in conjunction with a Macro Converter for my DSLR scanning. I have enjoyed learning the art of using my DSLR to digitise my film, but I always knew that buying a macro lens that provides true 1:1 resolution was always going to happen at some point, hence the patience in finding the one I wanted at the right price. To get that 1:1 resolution I need to use my Tamron Adaptall 2 2x teleconverter, but even at 1:2 without it the macro resolution is bang on.

I couldn't wait to try it so fitted it to my Nikon D700 and began learning. In last weeks blog the photos I posted were dslr scans done using the 90mm macro lens, the difference in quality is definitely visible in those images compared to what I have been able to achieve up to now. I also went for a walk with it. I spent a bit of time having a wander around my local woodland and nature trails just to see how the lens performs out in the wild. I must say it has me in it's thrall even more than when it was just on my list of things to buy.

This lens excels in the woods and the bigger landscapes around the local farms. I was able to shoot close ups of the tree buds bursting out as new leaves and still enjoy my love of a big sky with longer shots along the paths or inded my ubiquitous power lines location. I also tried the lens on my Nikon D90 and its APS-C crop factor gives a field of view roughly the same as a 135mm lens does. This does make street photography very challenging and I need to think about that a bit more a I haven't used a 135mm lens for quite a while.

Despite the shortcomings of learning to use a longer focal length, I really enjoyed using my Tamron 90mm macro lens. It has brought plenty to my photography as I will be using it on my D700 for digitising my medium format film and maybe my 35mm film too on my walks around town. The beauty of the Tamron Adaptall 2 System is I can use this lens on all my cameras, so expect more from it with my film photography in the not too distant future. I am really happy with it and it is now a much loved addition to my lens collection.

Here are a few photos I shot this week using my Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 tele macro lens on my Nikon D700. I have placed these photos and a few more in an album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Tamron Adaptall 2 Lens System
Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 tele macro

Snowdrops

Hawthornes are waking up

New Hawthorne bud opens

Waiting to be ploughed