My Top Three Cameras Of 2023

2023 has been a great year for my photography, I feel as though I have achieved a lot and grown both my technical and observational skills. Overall it's been a very enjoyable year for My Journey Into Photography. It's not just my skills that have grown, it's also my appreciation of the tools I have in my collection and here are my top three cameras I have really enjoyed using in 2023.

Pentax K1000



The perennial favourite of photography students around the world, I was given a Pentax K1000 by my dear friend Sid in 2022 and I really got to know it in 2023. Being one of the later cameras that was assembled in Hong Kong, it did suffer the fate of many K1000's from that era, the black splodge in the prism. After having the prism replaced with one from a Pentax P30 parts camera, my Pentax K1000 has been a great addition to my collection.

It is your typical Pentax that took the best traits from the Spotmatic range and updated it to take into account changes in the photography world. Just like the Spotmatic it's easy to use and has simple controls. The upgrades it has are a modern battery that replaced the mercury battery used in the Spotmatic and the Pentax K mount so I can use every manual K mount lens Pentax and others made. I have one Pentax K mount lens, an SMC Pentax-M 50mm f/2 and it's a great combination. It showed me why students and colleges love it and now I agree with them.

Olympus OM-10



I am a self confessed Olympus fan and I have often spoken fondly of my dream camera, my OM-1. This year it was joined by an OM-10 that my dear friend Gren gave to me and I was delighted to find that Olympus had not let us down with this camera. It has the fabled Olympus light metering found in the pro OM cameras and an aperture priority mode that produces great exposures time after time. Its only bad point is the manual adapter that is often lost or the camera is sold without it.

The OM-10 is an automatic camera where you choose the lens aperture, say F/8 and the camera chooses the shutter speed for you. The manual adapter allows you to choose the shutter speed too, giving you full manual control over your settings. Don't worry if you buy one without that adapter, I find it a bit fiddly courtesy of a wonky left hand and tend to use my OM-10 on Auto

The Auto setting is very precise. As I mentioned, you choose the aperture and the camera chooses a shutter speed based off a reading from its excellent light meter. It was positioned as the entry level Olympus OM camera, but don't let that fool you into thinking you cant get pro grade photos with it. It is a very capable camera indeed.

Balda Baldax 6x4.5



I almost withdrew from the Frugal Film Project 2023 as my Agfa Isolette was failing and needs a full restoration. I was looking for inspiration to continue and found a Balda Baldax via an instagram post from the Vintage and Classic Camera Company based here in the UK. It looked great in the photos and the price was well within the budget for the project. I hit the buy button.

When it arrived I could see it was every bit as good as the listing said it was. Considering it is a 90 year old camera I knew I would be able to do great things with it and promptly brought it into the project as a substitute. I have never shot 6x4.5 medium format and knew I would be getting 16 photos on each roll, but didn't expect it to shine. Oh how wrong was I...!

I quickly learned how to use it with a test roll to see what little quirks it may have and if any adjustments needed to be made. The film pressure plate was a little sloppy, so I adjusted that and it's been great. After a few rolls through it I was getting a higher hit rate with each roll. It's a beautiful little thing that fits in the palm of my hand and has a great Vidanar 75mm f/4.5 lens mounted in a Compur #00 shutter. I have been able to get sharp images with it and it has taught me a lot about trusting my technical skills.

Having auto features on cameras is great, but stripping photography down to basics really teaches you to think as a photographer. My Balda Baldax 6x4.5 is my number one camera of 2023 and I have decided it will be my medium format camera for the Frugal Film Project 2024 too. Considering it was made in 1933 it's doing well for a 90 year old camera and long may it continue.

I have really enjoyed using these cameras in 2023 and will continue to enjoy them for many years to come. It has been a lot of fun with a few hiccups along the way that have been challenging, but very rewarding. What will 2024 bring? I have no idea, but you can be sure I will be writing about My Journey Into Photography as the year progresses.

I am taking a break for the festive season, but I wont be stopping taking photos. I will no doubt be pointing my camera at my family and hope to have plenty of great photos and memories to look back on in future years. That's me done for 2023. I hope you all enjoy health and happiness in 2024 and beyond.

Jim Graves  

Chester captured on Kodak Double X

 On our recent photo walk around Chester I had decided I wanted to use Double X, a 35mm black and white cinema film from Kodak. Double X has a legion of fans who appreciate it not just for it's excellent qualities as a cinema film, it also produces fine photographs too. I loaded a roll into my OM-10 fitted with a Zuiko 50mm f/1.8 prime lens before we set off and got straight to work when we arrived.

Alternating between my Balda Baldax and my OM-10 was easy as I had my OM-10 around my neck and could sit my Baldax on my bag when I changed cameras. It was deciding which compositions to shoot with each camera that got the old grey matter in my noggin going. I really enjoy using my OM-10, a gift from a very dear friend, and had chosen to shoot my Double X at 200 iso.

It was a bit overcast on the day and Double X likes a lot of light, 200 iso would give me a chance at getting some decent exposures hand held in a busy city centre. I hoped the contrast between the Victorian Tudor Revival buildings and the more modern edifices in the town centre would stand out on Double X. On a bright sunny day I tend to shoot Double X at 400 iso and a slower shutter speed at 200 iso was definitely the way to go given the conditions.

As we wandered along the streets, busy with shoppers and tourists, I was spending a lot of my time looking upwards or waiting for the next available gap in the crowd to quickly photograph a composition I had spotted. There was also a demo march in the town centre who were calling for a cease fire in the conflict going on between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. There wasn't a huge amount of people marching, but they certainly made their voices heard. 

I was picking my shots with my OM-10 as the 50mm lens didn't give me much room in the tight confines of Chester city center. It was great for photographing the details on the upper floors of the buildings that lined both sides of every street. It also gave me some space to stand back a little and be able to pick a spot before going closer in with my OM-2 and it's Zuiko 28mm lens.

I enjoyed photographing the various Buskers around the city centre who were happily entertaining everyone as they went about their day. There was a young chap belting out some fine tunes on his Cornet whilst his Dad accompanied him on the Accordion. Keith and I grabbed a few shots and Keith, being a brass player himself, showed his appreciation and put a few coins in the young lads Cornet case. They were our favourite Buskers of the day.

My second roll of Double X was the last film I shot on our walk. Keith had surprised me with a roll of Agfaphoto APX400 and I shot that after I had finished my Vision 3 in my OM-2. I figured it was good to use both rolls of Double X in the same camera for consistency, but it wouldn't have mattered which camera I used. Maitani made sure that whatever OM camera you used, your photos would consistently be properly exposed thanks to the excellent metering utilised in the OM cameras.

We wandered back the way we had came and found a few more compositions as we had walked around the city centre. This is always the way when enjoying a photo walk, you will always find things you missed as you look from the opposite vantage point. We tend to see the world in front of us and rarely will anyone look up or behind themselves. 

I rattled off the last couple of frames as we headed back to the car to make our way home and I was very happy with our photo walk, it was a very fruitful day. I shot 5 rolls of film, 4 35mm and 1 medium format so my next developing session was going to be a busy one. I needed a rest day before I even thought about developing any film, I was mentally and physically worn out, but happy that I had been so productive.

After my rest day I got to work developing my two rolls of Kodak Double X. I chose to again use Keith's current favourite dilution and developed both rolls in Kodak HC110 1+47 dilution E for 8 minutes at 20 Celsius. It didn't take long to complete the remaining stages of the process before I was able to take my first look at my shots. I was pleased with how the negatives looked and I hung both rolls to dry in my bathroom.

After a few hours my film was dry and scanning was done with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 led light pad. The RAW files were processed on my PC with Affinity Photo 2. 

Here's a few of my favourite photos from both rolls of Double X I shot on our photo walk around Chester, I think they have turned out great. Developing them in Kodak HC110 dilution E really brought the best from a cloudy day with precious little sunlight to keep us warm. The longer developing time brought out the wide tonal range that Double X is noted for with rich blacks, bright whites and all shades between them. As always I have placed them and more in an album on my Flickr account you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Kodak Double X - Olympus OM10 

Pentax K1000 and Ilford HP5

Late October to mid November was a never ending succession of dark, wet, cold, dull and gloomy days here in Wigan. I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get out again! However, a gap in the weather gave me a chance and I took it. I loaded a roll of HP5 into my Pentax K1000, packed it with my Nikon D200 and headed into town.

This is where it all went pear shaped. Between seeing a gap in the weather and getting my backside into gear, the clouds had gathered once more and I missed the light. Not to worry, I thought. I have HP5 in my Pentax and my trusty Tamron 28mm f/2.5 as well as a Pentax 50mm F2, I should be ok. I got to work.

The demolition works at the site where The Galleries once stood continues apace and there's not much left now. The Galleries section has all gone with just the Morrisons supermarket site and the underground loading dock left. The demolition of this part needs care as the underground loading dock is being kept as parking for the housing that will eventually occupy the site. Once that is done and the site is cleared, construction of the new Market Hall can begin.

Despite the grim weather that had appeared, I was enjoying my photo walk. Nature was teasing me and testing my skills at photography, but I was up to the challenge. After photographing the progress of the demolition of The Galleries I took a walk up Standishgate and photographed the brave souls doing their shopping and going about their daily business in the awful weather. It didn't take me long to shoot a 24 shot roll of Ilford HP5 and it was time to head home, after a bit of shopping of course.

I developed my roll of HP5 a few days later using Zone Imaging 510 Pyro diluted at 1+100 for 8 minutes and 15 seconds, stopped the development with filtered water and fixed it with Fotospeed FX30. I hung it to dry in my bathroom. I digitised it with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Pixl-Latr and a5 led light pad. I processed the RAW files on my PC with Affinity Photo 2.

Here's a few of my favourite photos from this rather soggy photowalk in town. The horrid weather gave my photos a sullen, moody look to them and makes me glad I braved the rain. We all love a great photo taken on a sunny day, but there's a lot to be said for a moody photo shot in the rain, it was worth the effort even though it took me a day or two to dry out. As always I have placed them and more in an album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Ilford HP5 - Pentax K1000