Agfa Paramat #1

26-02-18

I took this image on Kodak Tri-X with the Minolta X700 using the macro setting on the zoom lens.

I bought the little Agfa Paramat about 10 years ago, ran 1 roll of film through it to check it was working and then put it away. Thought it was about time for another outing. It’s a half frame camera, fully auto, if there’s enough light you see a green dot in the viewfinder, and a red dot if there isn’t. Focusing is by guesstimating although there are markings for Portrait, Group, and landscape. The fastest film speed the meter will handle is 200 asa, so I loaded it with Agfa Vista 200 and set off on a cold but very bright day to the Botanic Gardens.

I was really surprised given the age of the camera and the bright contrasty lighting how well it functioned.

My feeble attempt at a diptych !

About half way through the roll of film the wind on lever started to get tight, I guessed it must have been condensation as the film had been in the fridge and I probably hadn’t given it enough time to acclimatise, but all was OK. The local quick photo store had their film processor down so I sent the film off to FilmDev, they did a really great job, lovely clean negs and scans (their minimum size)

 

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Nikon f801s & Sigma 28-80mm

I’ve used the Nikon a few times this year, love the large viewfinder, and the camera has a good feel to it. The Sigma lens has a macro function and from the one roll of film (8 or so years ago) was surprisingly good. So I thought it was about time the lens had another outing.

Fungi In My Garden

This is straight out of the scanner, no adjustments.

Mimi

Just as I pressed the shutter she moved, she’s a lively cat, but I like the expression on her face, leave me alone !

Fruits Of Summer

Spotted these on a walk to town.

Nikon FM2

04-06-17

One of my Beer & Curry night buddies very kindly donated his old Nikon FM2 to me. It’s very well used and he wasn’t sure if everything still worked as it should.

It came with 3 Nikon lenses, a 50mm f1.8, 28mm f2.8, and a 70-210mm f4.

So I popped in some fresh batteries and loaded up with £1.00 a roll Agfa Vista 200.

Frame 0

Didn’t expect this to come out as I was winding on to frame No.1. Nice shot of my Giottos blower though !

In The Garden – 50mm Lens

Mimi

Mimi is difficult to photograph because of the amount of white fur she has, and she’s very lively, but I’m guessing a bird or something must of caught her attention giving me time to grab this shot. Film tends to cope with the whites better than my digital camera’s.

70 – 210mm Lens

Lilac Tree

An exciting shot of my washing! But a good subject for testing the focus and Bokeh on the lens.

Street Art – 28mm Lens

The film was processed at a quick photo store which means lots of scratches and marks. Had to use Digital ICE on the Coolscan to remove it, this softens the image so a little bit of sharpening in post processing was needed.

Really liked the Nikon, good viewfinder and a wide range of shutter speeds so it’s really flexible.

Ricoh Shotmaster Ultra Dual #3

I was just congratulating myself last week for going about four years without having a cold or flu, so foolish. Friday the throat started to feel sore, got a really annoying dry cough, and an aching head, so I have now got Man Flu. At least I’ve got a film to process if I’m going to have to stay indoors, and some old negs I’d like to scan. 

I wondered if the Ricoh Shotmaster would be any good for street photography, I’m never sure about autofocus cameras when shooting from the hip. There was a continental market in the town a few weeks ago, the weather was good so I thought I would give it a try.

Face In The Crowd

What You Doing

I was pleasantly surprised, I’m sure the bright light helped as the camera would have stopped down to give a good depth of field.

My Nurse Maid ! (Mimi)

Ricoh Shotmaster Ultra Dual #2

The Last Real Department Store Closes

35mm lens Setting

55mm lens Setting
This was the last real traditional department store in the city and has now sadly closed. I used to shop there for greetings cards and kitchen bits bobs, the staff were really friendly and helpful. The store was first opened in 1880, it was called Joseph Johnson & Co. (Some interesting History) This seems to be the story in a lot of countries around the world. I believe it’s going to become apartments, no surprise there.

Victoria Park Gateway

35mm lens Setting
On a brighter note the the gates and stonework to Victoria park (not far from where I live) have been restored and look really good. They have also completely rebuilt the car park, I was a bit dismayed at first because they cut down a lot of trees, but have replanted with more than there were before.   

Ricoh Shotmaster Ultra Dual #1

22-04-17

I couldn’t resist, it was on that auction site at a £1.00. starting bid, but the postage was £5.00. (a bit steep) No one else bid so it was mine. I have always liked Ricoh cameras and this was a model I hadn’t seen before. It has a dual lens (35mm & 55mm) rather than a zoom, the flash can be turned off by a flicking a slider, there’s an infinity button and the viewfinder cover acts as the on/off switch. The camera is quite small and easily fits in a coat pocket, and an added bonus is that it takes two standard AA batteries.

Loaded it up with £1.00 a roll Agfa Vista 200asa and took it out with me on my walks to town.

Natural Green (35mm)

The light was quite tricky for this shot, sun and shade. I have found Agfa Vista 200 has a slight magenta cast, but the Ricoh coped well with the lighting conditions.

Brightening Up The Park (35mm)

More tricky lighting.

Pegs & Finials (55mm)

Having recently bought a Nikon TW zoom 35-70 and then donated it to a charity shop because of the really slow autofocus I didn’t know what to expect from the Ricoh, I needn’t have worried, it has one of the quickest autofocus systems of all of my compact cameras.

The film was developed by a local high street photo store, and scanned in by me on my Nikon Coolscan as near to neutral as I could get, with some contrast and sharpening adjustments in Lightroom to get rid of the digital fug. 

 

Lomo in the chemists #5

The last 2 images from the Lomo (the film tore when rewinding and I lost a few frames)

That Dickensian Look

About 5 seconds after I took this shot a chap came out of the house and asked “can I help you ?” I said I really liked the house as it stood out from the crowd, “my son chose the colour scheme” he said defensively, great I said, well done. As I walked further on I noticed there was a Blue plaque on the side of the house to say Edward Thomas Loseby, clock maker once lived there. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Thomas_Loseby  There’s a Loseby Lane in Leicester which I guess could be named after his ancestors. 

Flakey

Can’t resist flakey paint.

Lomo in the chemists #4

Love Pizza

Curved Field

The Zenith Lomo lens can put some lovely curves into the image

Lomo in the chemists #3

Cider With Ivy

Parallel Lines 

Barbie

Lomo in the chemists #2

Cheerful At 30

Bondage