[Taken 20 March 2015]
This photo of the PNC Building in downtown Toledo was one of my favorite images off of this first roll through the new-to-me Agfa Pioneer (manufactured in the early 1940’s).
Category Archives: test rolls
new-to-me film cameras
Ricoh 35FM, Test Roll Number Two
The short-short version: I messed up when I scraped out the goopy old light seals and attempted to seal the back with gaffer’s tape, instead. I need to properly replace the seals.
Aaron With Iced Coffee and iPhone
[Taken 9 July 2011 | exposure unrecorded | ISO 200 | 50mm]
I took some test photos with my new-to-me Praktica Super TL1000 during the beginning of July. Thanks to a massive (read: not artistic in the slightest) light leak that rendered many of the photos unusable, this was one of the best images that came out of the 24 exposures. I suspect that it had something to do with the failing sealant foam; I may try some camera surgery in the future to see if I can manage the light leak without resorting to mummifying the camera in gaffer’s tape, a la my Holgamod.
Apart from the light leak, I really do like the look of the photos that come from this camera. I seem to have cleaned the camera well enough, despite feeling super sketchy (almost naughty, even) about actually touching its interior. After scanning the images, I couldn’t tell what dust was from the camera and what was from my scanner, which tells me I must have done OK. (Hope I didn’t cause the light leak during cleaning…!)
My Praktica will definitely stay in the collection for a while — someday I’ll come back to it and fix its light leak(s) and take it for another spin.
Update: I found a topic in the Praktica group on Flickr that details where the light leak is coming from. I was right: I did inadvertently cause it (or make it worse) during cleaning, when I scraped some old foam off of the back hinge. Once I replace that foam, my East German axe should be right as rain.
The Anthony Wayne Bridge
[Taken 24 Feb 2011 | ISO 400 | 50mm | Kodak 110 film]
A.K.A. The “High-Level Bridge,” downtown Toledo. Another shot from my Pentax Auto 110.
While researching this camera online, I’ve learned something important: since the manufacture of 110 film cartridges was never standardized, film manufacturers could choose whether or not to remove a notch on the cartridge that some cameras (including this one) used to identify film speed. Since the camera misreads the 400 speed that I use, and exposes it like 100 speed, all my photos are slightly overexposed.
When I test my wide-angle lens, I plan to manually remove the notch on the film cartridge and see if that makes a difference in the exposure.
Tall Skinny Caramel Macchiato
[Taken 20 Feb 2011 | ISO 400 | 50mm | Kodak 110 film]
The return of Photo Thursday (after a brief hiatus) features the return of the Pentax Auto 110 SLR — this time, with a longer lens than the standard 24mm.