Frugal Film Project 2025 - January

My involvement with the Frugal Film Project continues in 2025 and last week I freely admitted 2024 was a slog at times. I know now that doing both 35mm and medium format in the same year was a bold choice, particularly for a chap who has health issues, and it almost made me give it up and take a year off. However, Baldy the Baldax gave me the confidence I needed to go around again with another German made folding camera, a Kodak Retina 1a 35mm film camera.

I bought my Kodak Retina 1a in early 2024 as a part of a bundle on ebay for £29. I was looking for a viewfinder for my Zeiss Ikon Maximar and the Kodak Retina 1a was a part of the bundle. After testing the camera with a couple of rolls of film I was delighted with how it performed and decided that it was the camera I would use for the Frugal Film Project in 2025. There's a more in-depth review of the camera you can read using the link below.

Also being used this year is my Watameter rangefinder and Gossen Trisix light meter that will both help me get comfy with my Kodak Retina 1a. My Watameter cost £12 and my Gossen Trisix was a gift from Owen back in 2017, you can pick them up for around £10-15. Add that up and my total spend is well within the $75 budget.

Using black and white film again is a no brainer and I'm using a film I haven't seen before, Ilford FP4 type 517 cine film. Yes, Ilford once manufactured cinema film based on it's very popular FP4. It expired a long time ago, but was stored in a refrigerated unit and, looking at other photos shot on FP4 type 517, time has been kind to it. It's also the cheapest film you can buy and is available from Analogue Cameras via the link below. 

I headed into town on January 2nd to take advantage of the first sunshine of 2025. We had rain of biblical proportions overnight on new year's eve and new year's day, then the sky cleared and it froze overnight. This made my walk a fair bit more challenging, although the bright sunshine soon melted what it touched, the shaded areas were a tad sketchy. 

I set my Gossen Trisix to meter for 100 iso and photographed my usual favourite compositions, I want to compare them with photos I have shot with the more up to date FP4+. I would find out after processing it, but for now I was enjoying my walk and, despite the cold, it didn't take me long to finish my roll of film and I headed home for a well earned cuppa. 

I developed my film a few days later in HC110 1+31 dilution B for 14 1/2 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. I digitised it with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 sized led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.

When I was hanging my film to dry I saw immediately that the development was pretty much bang on. Thank you to Analogue Cameras and friends for their diligence in finding the best developing times for this film in a range of popular developers. I thought 14 1/2 minutes was a bit long in HC110 dilution B, but no, It's perfect. Nice one, chaps!

I continued my habit of setting the zone focus so infinity was at f/11 which gave me good depth of field. My photos were mostly shot a 1/50th second at f/11 or f/8 depending on my meter reading and I am very happy with how they turned out considering I made a mistake with my metering. I should have used a faster shutter speed, 1/100th would have been better, and I was saved by the dynamic range of this film. Given my inexperience with this film I will take that as a win and work on improving my skills as the year progresses.

I didn't go for any close up shots with this first roll, that will come later in the project. The Schneider Kreuznach 50mm f/2.8 Retina-Xenar lens is great for allowing me to stand back and get the big picture without getting much distortion. It's a happy snappers dream that I intend to make the most of in the future. Overall I am impressed with my Kodak Retina 1a paired with Ilford FP4 type 517 cine film. I have asked the Photography Gods to give me decent light and no mishaps this year. I'm hopeful they will reward me for my perseverance in 2024.  

Here's a few of my favourite photos from my January roll of Ilford FP4 Type 517 cine film taken using my Kodak Retina 1a for the Frugal Film Project 2025. I had a lot of fun with this first roll of the year and enjoyed the steep learning curve that came with it. You can view them and more in full resolution on my Frugal Film Project 2025 album on Flickr that you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Kodak Retina 1a
Ilford FP4 type 517 - Analogue Cameras
Frugal Film Project 2025 - January