Crappy Commie Camera Party 2025

Papa Shitty Cams is at it again with a fun packed summer encouraging the use of cameras that don't get much, if any love at all. This time it's the Crappy Commie Camera Party! To celebrate the Crappy Commie Camera Party we are using cameras made in the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (CCCP in cyrillic, hence the name of the party), any of the post WW2 Eastern Bloc communist nations and China. 

Film photographers always laud the Japanese manufacturers for their excellent cameras. Nikon, Canon, Minolta, Olympus and Pentax cameras are in my collection, but few will laud cameras with names such as Zorki, Zenit, Praktica and Lomo. Fewer still will know the Soviet camera industry began with unashamed and blatant copies of the Leica II, made by FED in Kharkiv, Ukraine and KMZ under the Zorki brand at Krasnogorsk near Moscow. 

FED gained a reputation for producing quality cameras and, unless you know what you are looking at, you could be excused for thinking you had a Leica in your hands. Such was the exactness of the original FED, demand was high and manufacturing was also started at KMZ near Moscow. This led to the FED being renamed FED I and the KMZ manufactured camera was named Zorki I, but they were the same camera.

Post WW2, as the FED factory was rebuilt, the designers at FED had the opportunity to study Leica patents, which were surrendered as war reparations. They decided they could improve upon the Leica design and in the 1950's the FED 2 was born. Original FED and Zorki cameras command a high price, but for photographer like myself, the FED 2 is a very affordable option.

I also have a Zorki 4 made at KMZ that came with a Jupiter 8 50mm f/2 lens, a copy of a Zeiss Sonnar originally made for Kiev cameras made at the Kiev Arsenal, but re-manufactured with a Leica screw thread mount. I didn't care for the Industar 52mm f/2 lens that came with my FED, but as they are both Leica Thread Mount I swapped them over. For my contribution to the Crappy Commie Camera Party I loaded a roll of Rollei Retro 400S 35mm black and white film into my FED 2 and went for a wander. 

So, how does the FED 2 perform out in the wild? That depends if your FED 2 has been serviced and has no pin holes in the shutter curtain. Thankfully I got a good one, the shutter speeds are accurate, it has no light leaks, the lens is smooth to operate and it's free from fungus. That's all you ever need from a camera. I also used my trusted Gossen Trisix light meter to help my Mk.1 eyeballs guess the settings. 

I will never tire of the joy of using a mechanical camera that has no electronics. The necessity of using the skills I have built over the last few years is good therapy. I know what to expect from Rollei Retro 400s and after a check of my light meter, I took a couple of shots of the canal boats before heading to Wigan Pier to document the unwelcome change that has occurred there since my last visit. 

Some *insert insult here* has stolen the clock from the clock tower on the Pier 3 building. The clock has been there for decades, certainly since the building was renovated in the 1980's and has been a welcome sight for everyone walking along the towpath or driving into town.

When Pier 3 was The Orwell Pub, the clock was kept in working order, but in recent years it has been silent and still.  It wasn't neglected, it was always going to be integral in the refurbishment of the Pier Quarter. That refurbishment has been put on hold whilst investment is procured to restart the work to bring life to this once vibrant part of town. 

Sadly that didn't stop a few miscreants from posing as construction workers and removing the clock to either sell on the black market or for scrap. They did it in broad daylight too! Bold as brass with not a care for the fact that Wigan Pier is owned by our borough council and the people of Wigan. 

There's a bare, black circle covering the space where the clock was housed and it's a sad sight to behold.I got fixated upon the clock tower and shot several photos from various angles as blue holes were appearing in the clouds. With a little patience I managed to get the sunlight that had eluded me earlier on my walk. 

I headed back towards the town centre, photographing local landmarks along my route and hadn't finished my roll of film by the time I got to the Bus Station and my bus home. I had achieved a lot on this day so I saved the rest of my roll of film for another day. I enjoyed my wander with my FED 2. It's good to be out and about, enjoying some fresh air and exercise. My walk around Wigan Pier and then finishing my roll a few days later in my local countryside was just what I needed after the oppressive heatwave we had. 

I developed my roll of Rollei Retro 400S in HC110 1+31 dilution B for 10 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. Once dry, I digitised my film with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 size led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.

Two things struck me immediately when I started to process my scans. Rollei Retro 400S is great with an orange filter in bright sunshine. I got my settings just about right as I didn't have to do much to my photos in post. If the clouds had stayed I would probably have switched to a yellow filter as my first few shots were a little dark, but once I got to the Pier, the clouds started to blow away and I was bathed in bright sunlight all the way back to the town centre.  

Here's a few favourites from my wander with my FED 2 and Rollei Retro 400S for the Crappy Commie Camera Party, hosted by Papa Shitty Cams. I have placed them and more in an album on Flickr you can visit via the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

FED 2 - Rollei Retro 400S 

Kodak Sterling II Rides Again

 I have been thinking about my Kodak Sterling II since #620Day when I got some photos that were described as having "character". When editing my photos I saw the effect I got was rather like the one you would get by using a spot filter or a smear of Vaseline around the edge of a UV filter and I wondered if the rear lens element had been removed and put back in the wrong way around.  

There are many folk who enjoy reversing lens elements to get that kind of effect as an artistic choice. After trying to live with it I have decided that I'm not one of them. I got my tools out and took a look at the lens assembly on the inside. As far as I could tell there was just one fixing ring that kept the rear lens element in place, I just had to unscrew it. This is where my walking stick is a godsend. 

 The rubber foot on my walking stick is exactly the right size for removing threaded fixing rings that don't have slots for the lens tool that I have. A little pressure and a twist was all it took to start unscrewing the ring and I soon had the rear lens element free. I was right, the rear lens element was in the wrong way as the convex side should have been facing towards the film. I gave the lens element a good clean, carefully replaced it the right way round and screwed the fixing ring back into place. 

With that simple task done it was testing time. I still have a roll or two of Shanghai GP3 100 iso 620 medium format film that I bought from Nik & Trick Photographiques here in the UK. I loaded one into my Kodak Sterling II and, on a dry Saturday afternoon, headed out into my local countryside. I did consider doing a re-shoot of my #620day effort, but I wanted to do something a little different. I hadn't been to visit the horses for a while and headed towards the farm.

The road to the farm has a few changes this year. Some of the trees have been felled to make it easier for horse boxes to get down the dirt road and it has opened up the view to the farmhouse. The corn has grown taller too and now towers over me, which to be fair isn't too difficult as I'm a shortarse! I photographed a few familiar compositions and headed onto the wash to visit the derelict car and my favourite tree.

The graffiti on the car hasn't got any better, but my favourite tree has reached full foliage and looks beautiful in the summer sunshine. With two shots remaining I headed to the Power lines to finish my film. The corn has grown so tall that from my usual vantage point I can only see one pylon. I made an effort to at least try to see two in my viewfinder and I was glad I took my tripod and cable release as they were both needed on this shoot. With the last frames done, I headed home for a well earned cuppa.

I developed my roll of Shanghai GP3 100 iso 620 medium format black and white film a few days later in Bellini Euro HC, 1+31 dilution B for 8 minutes at 20 celcius and soon had it hanging to dry in my bathroom. I digitised my film with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi medium format film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 size led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Photo 2. 

Straight away I could see I had indeed cured the halo of blur, but had inadvertently made a slight pigs ear of my depth of field. Yep, Jim got his zone focus ever so slightly out. This is something I need to work at as I learn to use this camera. To be fair it's a minor adjustment and one I shall humbly take up and try this camera again. I still have some 620 film in my stash and it's an excuse to get out again, not that I need one.

Here are my photos from my afternoon out and about with my Kodak Sterling II and Shanghai GP3 100 620 medium format film. As the camera is a 6 x 9 I get 8 photos per roll and I have placed them all in an album on Flickr you can visit via the link below. There's also a link to Nik & Trick where you can buy Shanghai 620 film if you ever decide to try a 620 format camera. I hope you enjoy them.

Nik & Trick Shanghai GP3 100 620 film 

Kodak Sterling II - Shanghai GP3 100  

Olympus OM-1n - What a difference a service makes

 Back in November 2024 I used my ebay bargain Olympus OM-1n for the first time at the Mersey Meet Photo Walk in Liverpool organised by Stig Starr. I enjoyed it immensely and the camera worked, but it definitely needed a service. Then it jammed up on me just before christmas. I was gutted! I saved up my pocket money and booked it in with Pierro at PPP Cameras. I have had a couple of my cameras repaired and serviced by Pierro and I am very happy with the work he has done on them.

The last one he did for me was a Pentax K1000 that needed the prism replacing and, after shooting a couple of rolls with it, I gave it to my granddaughter. My OM-1n will probably be going her way too, but not until I have had a few years of fun with it. I want to enjoy it whilst I still can. When it came close to my allotted day, I packaged up my OM-1n and posted it to him, first class, of course! 

Servicing this camera wasn't entirely plain sailing, it fought back and gave both of us a surprise or two along the way. This is the peril we face when taking a chance and buying an almost 50 year old camera from ebay for a few quid. This camera was, externally at least, in good condition for it's age. Despite the niggles I had encountered with it, we were both determined to save it. Thanks to a little patience and a handy parts camera I purchased a couple of years back, Pierro sent the camera back to me in tip top condition. It makes us both feel good knowing there's another OM-1n back in use for many years to come. 

When it came to choosing which film I would use for the ceremonial recommissioning of my OM-1n, I went with Double-X, the fine Black & White cinema film from Kodak and a yellow filter. I enjoy using Double-X, it's a superb film and well worth it if you haven't tried it before. Having recently shot a couple of rolls of Plus-X, I was curious to see how they compared to one another. I took advantage of some fine summer weather and headed out for a wander to see what I could find. 

I didn't go too far, here in darkest Wigan we were having a heatwave that sapped all my energy, but I felt good enough to head out on a beautiful summer evening to see how much the corn had grown since my last visit to the local farms. Yes, I took a drink with me too. There's nothing worse than heat stroke, especially in the countryside away from the things we take for granted like running water and refrigerators. It didn't take me long to get through a roll of Double-X and I made my way home happy with my OM-1n that had performed beautifully thus far.

I developed my roll of Double-X the next day. I used Bellini Euro HC at 1+63 dilution H for 10 minutes and soon had my film hanging to dry in my bathroom. It's a time and dilution for Kodak HC110 that I got from Alex Luyckx whom has had a lot of success with them when shooting Double-X at 200 iso. I wanted to see if Bellini Euro HC is truly as good as Kodak's much lauded syrup. Spoiler alert: It is. I digitised my roll of Double-X 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 hung my film to dry I could see I had decently exposed negatives, but the proof is always in the processing. I needn't have worried as I didn't have to do much processing at all. Ye gods I love Olympus OM cameras and Zuiko lenses. My OM-1n is back in full working order again and will be in my regular rotation from now on. I'm not sure my other cameras will get a look in, so I will have to be brutal when reaching for my OM cameras in the future. I have a couple of cameras loaded and ready to go for future blogs, but the lure of Olympus is strong.

Here's a few of my favourite photos from my roll of Double-X shot with my OM-1n. Thank you to Pierro for his excellent service once more and ensuring I can hand this camera on to my granddaughter, but not before I have used it for a few more years, my preciousssss. 

You can visit PPP Cameras via the link below where Pierro has a selection of cameras, lenses and accessories for sale as well as being where you can book a repair or service. You can also check out Alex Luyckx' website where you will find a wealth of knowledge he has documented over the years about film, developing, and his favourite cameras. If you can't find a developing time for a particular film and developer combination, Alex might just have it. His blog is always well worth a read. As always I have placed my photos in an album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Olympus OM-1n - Kodak Double-X
PPP Cameras 
Alex Luyckx - Re-discovering Double-X 

Frugal Film Project 2025 - July

 I headed into the second half of 2025 feeling good about learning to use a basic 1950's 35mm camera and expired film for the Frugal Film Project 2025. My Kodak Retina 1a has proven to be reliable so far and adding a yellow filter to the lens has brought a new aspect to Type 517 cine film. I know how the current iteration of Ilford FP4+ 125 renders with the aid of a yellow filter and I discovered last month just how well Type 517 cine film responds to it, especially after spending a couple of decades in cold storage before being spooled and sold to the film photography community. 

For this July's roll of Type 517 cine film, I started off in the town centre and took a few photos as I made my way towards the Pier Quarter and the Leeds-Liverpool Canal. I was getting my settings figured out and making sure I had them firmly in mind. I was also photographing a few commercial signs along the way. I was curious about how the various colours, mainly red, yellow and blue would render on Type 517 cine film.

I made my way to the canal behind Trencherfield Mill and was fortunate to see not one, but two narrowboats making their way through the lock, heading up the flight. I captured a couple of photos of both boats as they rose up and then exited the lock. I followed the first boat to exit this lock as it made its way up the canal to the next lock. The second boat moored up so a few shots of the first boat were my focus. 

I struggled to keep up with the narrowboat as it was travelling at 4 miles per hour, but the 50mm lens on my Kodak Retina 1a helped keep the boat large in my photos. The Narrowboat had slowed as it waited for the next lock to be prepared for it to enter and allowed me to catch up with it and take a couple more photos before I headed back down the canal. I saw the second narrowboat turning around, so grabbed a couple of shots of it, and lo! I had shot my final frame of this months film. 

The frame counter doesn't work on my Retina 1a, so the only warning I get is when the film starts to become difficult to wind on. It's something I have learned to live with as I have got used to my Retina 1a. I will get it mended in 2026 if I can, but it doesn't affect the rest of the camera working as it should. It's probably a simple fix too, but as with all but the newest cameras today, parts availability is declining and I will have to do some hunting for spares.

I developed my roll of Type 517 Cine Film later that day in Bellini Euro HC 1+31 dilution B for 12 minutes at 22 celcius. The heatwave may have abated, but cooling my chems to a reasonable temperature level is still a pain. My time of 12 minutes was a shot in the dark a few months ago and I'm getting decent results so I stuck with it. I hung my film to dry in my bathroom over night. I digitised my film the next day with my Nikon D700, Tamron Adaptall 2 90mm f/2.5 macro lens, Valoi 35mm film holder, Pixl-Latr and A5 size led light pad. I processed the RAW files with Affinity Photo 2.

The joy of this film is that when you get the light metering right, you don't have to do much in post production. I inverted the negative to positive, made a couple of minor corrections and managed to get some pretty decent photos this month. Contrast is high, but that's what I expected and I am a self confessed contrast lover. The afternoon sky was very cloudy and I wasn't too bothered about blowing out the sky. I was hoping for a little cloud definition, but we can't win them all. Maybe next time. 

 I had a good time down by the canal and it's good to see narrowboats heading up the Wigan Flight. Sections of the UK Canal network have been closed for the summer as the spring and early summer heatwave has caused drought conditions in many areas. Without a good supply of water at the canal watersheds, the network is in danger of drying out. Good water management is the key and two narrowboats sharing a wide lock is often the best way.

Here's a few favourites from my July roll of Type 517 Cine Film for the Frugal Film Project 2025. As always I have placed them and more in my Frugal Film Project 2025 album on Flickr you can visit using the link below. I hope you enjoy them.

Frugal Film Project 2025 - July