Good Saturday you awesome WordPress camera geeks! Just keeping you guys in the loop with my latest video review.
The camera is the Minolta TC-1. It is a compact “luxury” point and shoots from what I consider the glory days of high end point and shoots cameras in the 1990s.
Its peers are other cameras you might remember such as the Nikon 35ti, the Konica Hexar AF, the Leica Minilux, and the Contax T2 & T3, and maybe a few more.
I’ve written about this camera a few times over the years here but I’ve put all my best information into this video.
The Minolta TC-1 and its peers are no doubt amongst the most desirable compact film cameras of all time but for many, many reasons I no longer consider them good buys.
I address this at the end of the video with some brutally honest commentary of which you’ve probably not heard me say before.
I thought I should do a video on all the luxury point and shoots before I expressed my true views but that would be a really cruel thing to do to the people! 😂 So I’m putting it out now so that the more sane minded can save themselves the heartache in addition to saving a lot of money 👍
I have chased these cameras and endured a lot of headaches when they eventually broke down or developed issues. Let my story be a cautionary tale. I did it so you don’t have to. But like a moth to a flame burned by the fire, if you feeling like taking a gamble that could end up in a blaze of glory I’m not going to stop you! 😂
Thank you guys for checking it out and if you’re on YouTube please comment, like, and subscribe it helps a lot with the YouTube algorithm to get the video out to more people. Thanks for your support I greatly appreciate it! 😍🙏👍
Good morning you awesome war torn and nostalgic camera geeks! Just keeping you guys in the loop.
As a person trying to be a content creator I find myself running out of ideas, just like many “real” content creators I’m sure.
But as I look to these pages of the cameras, lenses, and things I’ve written about here on WordPress I realized I didn’t have to look far for material 😂
I could literally take the topics done here and make countless videos on them! Now I don’t think I’ll do that but I will do some of the ones I really liked.
So here in video form is one of the true digital Camera Legends that really bring me back to another time, a time when digital photography was coming into its own, a really exciting time for me.
The camera we’re talking about today is the Canon EOS 1Ds Original aka 1Ds Classic. In my opinion, this is the camera that caused the paradigm shift, the camera that made people take digital seriously, the camera that killed film!
Now I don’t mean that literally but I explain everything in the video and I also take the opportunity to thank two real world Camera Legends, Fred Miranda and the late great Michael Reichman 🙏🙏
Thank you guys too for reading, watching, I do appreciate your time because I know it is precious. Thank you! 😍👍
As promised, I am keeping you guys in the loop, even if it’s just a shameless plug for my latest YouTube video 😂 Honestly, anything I could write would be the same as what you’ll see in this video! Thanks for checking it out!
If you have this camera or remember it, I would love to hear your experiences with it, especially the shutter mechanism failure issue. Thank you!
Good day you guys! Just keeping you guys in the loop. This may not be what you’re looking forward to on this channel but if you’re not already on YouTube and you’ve been wanting to do it, this is your video.
I started this YouTube channel about six years ago after years of procrastinating. I wish I had done it sooner! I hate the actual making of the videos, the editing, but I love sharing the knowledge I have gained over the years especially from reading here in WordPress, from forums like Rangefinder Forum, Fred Miranda, Photo.net etc, etc, as well as my own discoveries through real world experiences.
Just like many of you middle ages, I started life on film cameras but was young enough at the dawn of digital to love and appreciate it.
This video is directed at a certain and particular group of people but the message applies to anyone young or old or in between!
The point of this video is that there is so much knowledge out there that’s been hidden from the world. There’s things that YOU know that maybe I should know. There’s things that you and I don’t know about certain cameras and lenses that someone out there knows. They may have had the knowledge for years and years but for some reason or another they never thought to share it.
If you have a passion you should SHARE it with the world. If you have an idea that you CONCEIVED and you actually BELIEVE in it, you can ACHIEVE it!
I’m not making money from YouTube but this channel was not started because of money. I wanted to share my passion for cameras and lenses. If the money comes, it comes. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t but if you need more motivation, the potential for making money on YouTube is there. What have you got to lose?
Thanks to anyone who watched today’s video. I don’t expect a lot of views on this one but maybe you’ll surprise me Please comment, LIKE & SUBSCRIBE to help keep this channel growing! Thank you for your support!
Good Saturday morning you awesome and amazing war torn camera geeks! Just thought I’d do a quick study on “film like” black and white photography as it’s one of my favorite themes and something I’ve been practicing for years ❤️
Plus I REALLY have to get back to this platform! I really hate making YouTube videos but it’s a necessary evil in today’s world.
See if you can figure out what’s film and what’s not! Take a few seconds before you read the answers…
Ok here’s the answers:
1) Google Pixel 7 Pro with built in editing 2) Leica M9 & LLL 35mm f2 Eight Element 3) Nikon F3 & 50mm f/1.8 Series E T-Max 400 4) Nikon SP & 35mm f/1.8 Nikkor & Holga 400 film 5) Ricoh GRD Original 8mp
What are my takes from this…
1) Image #1: POTD! ❤️ You can do almost anything with your phone camera these days! I just tweaked the tones and the #grit to my liking. It may or may not be film like but that doesn’t matter as much as the subject or subjects and the situation. Those things are far more important to making the image.
2) Gangsta! Is it film like or digital? It is what it is! For me it’s the mural, the Gangsta!
3) Image #3: Film doesn’t always have to look gritty or grainy. It depends on the film, the developer, the light, the exposure ❤️
4) Image #4: Sometimes film can get very grainy!
5) Image #5: The tones from the original Ricoh GRD are still my favorite! However the dead giveaway that it’s digital are the blown highlights and overall sharp “edges” of the pic. Film can blow highlights too but there’s usually a softer edge to film images
Anyway the whole point to this post is to say with the #blurredlines between film and digital bw these days, it doesn’t matter really what you shoot as long as YOU love the images. That is all that counts!
Thanks for checking this out and have an awesome weekend you guys! ❤️
If you’re on YouTube here’s my latest video:
The Light Lens Lab 35mm f2 Eight Element is a BARGAIN Leica Summicron clone!
This image was taken recently with a Graflex 4×5 RB Series B and 7 1/2 Inch Kodak Anastigmat on Arista EDU 400.
I’m still testing this camera for operations. The one thing I did differently on this shot is that I developed it using stand development.
I’ve done stand development before but not often. It all goes back to first impressions and the first time I did it, I remember ruining that roll of film, thus I was not inclined to do it again.
But this experimental image inspires me to do more of it! Why? Because even though the image is not the greatest, it made me realize that stand development is perfect for someone like me.
Over the years, I have gotten really lazy and dread being in the darkroom even for an hour or less. The stand development process frees up that hour but I want you to understand, it’s not just for the lazy man, but there’s actually a science and reasons why people like the process.
Without getting too long, just search for stand development to see what I mean. Some people find more acuity in their images, some people claim there’s better development for shadow areas.
I find it all fascinating and I’m looking to do more of it! I’m no stand development expert but I want to learn and I enjoy experimenting.
The Panasonic DMC-LC1 is a digital Camera Legend from 2004.
On the digital front, I’ve just completed my video review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC1 aka Leica Digilux 2.
It should be up on YouTube by this time tomorrow night. If you search my blog you will find a review of this camera from years back so you guys know I’m not just riding the digicam wave. I will share everything I know about this camera and its Leica sibling. Is it just another old digicam? Or is it one of the greats? Stay tuned to find out!
Thanks for reading and have a great day you guys! 😍🙏👍
In an effort to stay connected with this great community, I will start posting more stuff. Sometimes it might be long, sometimes it might be a short “Photo Of The Day” like this one 😂
This image was taken with a Leica M6 & 50mm f/2 Summicron-M and CineStill BWXX film, developed in HC-110. I like the look of this film! I have to shoot it more to get a real feel for it, but so far I like it a lot. Have a great weekend you guys and happy shooting! 😍❤️👍
Hello and good morning you awesome war torn camera geeks! It’s been a helluva while hasn’t it? Well, I had a little time so I figured I’d write to keep you guys posted on recent events and what we’re currently doing. I’m going to delve into several topics so forgive me if it sounds like I’m rambling. I will divide the topics into titles for easier digestion 😂
“Coffee Art” 😂 2024. We’re still here! 👍
The Passage Of Time
Last year I took a trip overseas to the Philippines and Thailand. It still feels like I just came back to the States yesterday. But it’s already been ten months! What the?!
Cafe. Tha Sala, Thailand 2023.Beach. Wildwoods, NJ. 2015Camera fun with baby girl and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC1 ❤️ 2009.“I Love L.A.” 😂 Los Angeles, California, 1988. Minolta X-700 & 50mm f/1.7 MD lens. Photo taken by my brother I think!“Sam Fam” ❤️ 2024. Google Pixel 7 Pro
I don’t want to just talk about myself so if you’re of a certain age, please let me know if you can relate to this…
It seemed not too long ago I was a teenager. Then I became a young man trying to find my way in my twenties. Then I got settled down in my thirties. Then the forties came and went. Now into my fifties, I still feel I haven’t accomplished much of anything. And I wonder how much time do I have left.
Listen, I hate to say this, but at the rate these years have been flying by, we’ll be done before we know it! Fifty years sounds like a long time but when you realize how fast one year goes by, is fifty, eighty, or a hundred even that long in reality?
People say grow old gracefully. I’m trying to do that but I don’t know how to. I mean, I still feel like 35 and sometimes even younger but I know I’m not.
People say the fifties are still young. Maybe in today’s world it is but as a younger man, I remember thinking 50, 60, 70, etc, that’s old! Now I’m in that first spot.
I know I sound like a Debbie Downer but on the positive side, I feel as if I can do almost anything I did at thirty but better ❤️ I’m more sure, I’m not as awkward.
But one profound difference I can see is the people who are younger than me, people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s see me as someone older or maybe even “old” in their eyes.
And it doesn’t help that physically more fine lines have appeared on my face. The skin sags a little more. The hairline is receding. This is aging.
My Mom once said you’ve got two choices. Either you grow old or you’re dead. Wise words! Yet somehow it doesn’t make me any more comfortable with the thought of aging.
To me as one ages, not only are changes in physical appearance inevitable but there’s also a very real, increased chances of some dreaded illness or disease coming your way. In the past four years, we have lost four beloved family members. That’s one a year!
Of course I try to eat healthy, try to get more rest, try not to stress too much. I need to exercise more. But honestly, there’s only so much one can do. When it’s your time it’s your time. But yes, I want to be around to see what my kids do with their lives, to help them whenever I can.
To me aging is like falling into a whirlpool that keeps pulling you towards that center and you can’t escape it.
How do you guys deal with it? I’d love to hear your thoughts! Perhaps it would help me deal with aging better. Thanks in advance 🙏🙏
One thing that’s been with me through all the decades is my love for cameras, lenses, and photography. That is the one singular constant I can think of 😍👍
THE YOUTUBE DILEMMA
As I mentioned to you guys a few years ago, I was writing less here in order to focus on building my YouTube channel. That was in 2018.
I can tell you right now, unless you can commit to doing it consistently, I wouldn’t recommend it.
I’m still not monetized but I’m close to meeting their requirements. I’d probably have gotten there sooner if I were posting more consistently but as a family man who has two growing kids and a day job, I just can’t. Instead, I just post whenever I can put something together. That’s not the formula for YouTube success.
A recent and seemingly popular video about the cameras of Daido Moriyama.
So here’s what I’ve learned from my six years on YouTube. First you need a topic or subject. In this case, I have many! The channel is about cameras, lenses, and photography. I got this covered!
A recent and not so popular video about my very first digital camera and the early days of film vs digital. As a smaller channel, I noticed that some videos get a lot of views and some get very little views. The most interesting part is that some videos “catch on” but much later! Some people say the dreaded “YouTube Algorithm” is responsible for what people see and what they don’t.
Second, you need good video quality. High quality video production counts on YouTube. I have the equipment to make better videos but I’m not a videographer and I’m lazy so I just use my phone most of the time. Count that as a strike against me 😪
Third you need to spend hours editing. This is the part I hate most! As a photography and camera review channel, I have to gather the necessary photos from the cameras/lenses being reviewed. Then I have to put them together and often narrate. Then I try to find some ear pleasing music to keep it flowing. After that, I have to edit all the parts together and make it into one cohesive video.
And the worst part? Sometimes I get decent views but often times I get very little views and since YouTube is not paying me yet, I feel very little motivation to continue but I push forward. I feel I’ve just scratched the surface of all the things I’d like to share with the good camera loving folks out there 😍
Anyway, YouTube and other social media like Instagram and Facebook are what has kept me from this blog for so long. Even though I’m an old school guy, I kinda feel that writing is passe 😂 I know I’m wrong, convince me that I’m wrong!
But yeah, until I can actually see the benefits I can’t really recommend doing YouTube.
RECENT PROJECTS
I’m pretty much doing the same thing I’ve been doing for years, that is I’m shooting with film and digital gear ❤️
I’ve been focusing a lot of my YouTube videos on digicams because that’s been a favorite of viewers of my channel and it so happens that I’ve been collecting old vintage digital cameras for a long time so it works out.
The Leica Digilux 2 of 2003.
There’s a lot of film stuff I want to cover, but I feel that the channel doesn’t have enough traction yet to make these videos worth the effort.
Here’s a recent project I’m working on. It’s the original Rolleiflex from 1929. When I got it, the camera had only one working shutter speed which is 1/500, the rest were sticking. I fixed it up to where only the slowest speeds stick and I’m able to use the camera in the range I need. But today’s posting is not about the Rolleiflex, as fascinating as it is. I’ll keep you guys posted on my progress with this legendary camera
And here’s some recent film images…
Pool Party 2023 ❤️ Leica M6 & 50mm f/2 Summicron on CineStill BWXX ISO 250 developed in HC-110Manila Traffic 2023. Leica M6 & 50mm f/2 Summicron-M on CineStill BWXX Oldest Lady In The Village. Sa Kaeo Village, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. Leica M6 and 50mm f/2 Summicron-M on CineStill BWXX ISO 250. Image was very underexposed but I was able to recover the gist of it and I don’t mind the grit!My most recent project photo ❤️ Test shot with a Graflex RB Series B 4×5, Kodak No. 33 f/4.5 Anastigmat and Arista EDU 400 film developed in HC-110.The nearly one hundred year old Graflex RB Series B is a “portable” 4×5 camera that can be had around $300. I think this will be a great portrait camera! 😍
Thank you guys so much for reading this today! If you made it this far I just wanted to thank you ❤️🙏❤️ The reason this post is so long is because we’ve got some catching up to do and I’m making up for lost time! Appreciate you guys, thank you!
Good Saturday morning you awesome EOS camera geeks! Well I’m still working on building my YouTube channel so I’m not back here full time but I’d like to stay in touch and not disappear for another year 😂As we seem to be on the crest of another Camera Legend in the making, the mythical and yet to be released EOS R1, I take a look back in time to another Canon legend. Today we look back at an all time #great the Canon EOS-1N from 1994 ❤️
I have just uploaded a little YouTube Shorts about this amazing camera. I also show you some interesting tidbits from the brochure from my memorabilia collection which I got as a camera hungry young man in the mid 1990s. Check it out if you’re interested in a little camera history!
This is not a full review by any means. I already have a review of the original EOS-1 which you can find here and on YouTube.
What makes the EOS-1N an all time great in my book? It took the road paved by the original EOS-1 and took Canon to the sky, opening endless possibilities for the camera giant.
The EOS-1N refined all that was great about the original EOS-1 and far surpassed it in many ways. From my memory, the camera won over any electronic camera doubters left over from the legend of the EOS-1 and helped Canon surpass Nikon as the professional photographers choice making Canon number one in the camera business for a long time to come.
This camera was used for countless photos that you may remember from the press and media in the mid 1990s to early 2000s and its multi-point AF technology made its way to cameras of the future, even from other manufacturers, as film transitioned to digital. It made an impact on the camera world and is a true Camera Legend.
Thanks for reading, watching, and have a beautiful weekend you guys! 😍📸👍
Good morning you awesome camera geeks! An old song once said “Hello stranger, it seems like a mighty long time!” Well today it’s more like Neil Diamond with “Hello Again” Hello 😂
I would like to thank my friend Frank B. from upstate NY for this post because he reminded me that I haven’t posted anything on the blog since last October! Wow, has it been that long?
On a recent flight to the Philippines.
I spent the last month traveling in the Philippines and Thailand. On this trip I decided to bring less gear but really focus on a few key Camera Legend cameras, some of which you’ll see in this post.
Multi-Tasking in Bangkok with the Minolta TC-1. I don’t multitask well but somehow I did it for this shot 😅
The trip may explain my inactivity for last month but what about the rest of the year you might ask? 😂
Well first of all let me apologize to all the great bloggers who I follow, who I haven’t dropped by to leave a comment or two. I have come to realize that I simply cannot multitask! And it gets worse the older I get.
It originally started out with me wanting to concentrate on my YouTube channel. Then my phone filled up and it automatically offloaded some key apps like WordPress and since I wasn’t posting much anyway, I very nearly forgot about it! I suck I know! 😂
Anyway with my regular day job, with Instagram and Facebook and YouTube I simply got burnt out. I apologize and I have the deepest respect for you guys who do this on a daily basis 🙏🙏
I got to a thousand subscribers on YouTube but I’m still not making any money off it. They keep upping the ante like you need a certain amount of watch time, certain amount of subs, etc. Honestly I hate making videos and I don’t really recommend it unless you’re a video-centric person.
But among the legendary cameras I took on this trip, my two most used were the Minolta TC-1 and the Leica M9.
The Minolta TC-1 and CatLabs X Film 320.Classic car spotted in Manila, Philippines. Anyone know what make/model this is? Shot with the Minolta TC-1 and CatLabs X Film 320 developed in HC-110 developer
I found myself using the TC-1 a lot on this trip. Its tiny diminutive size was a plus! I’ve written about the TC-1 here before but have yet to do a full review either here or on YouTube. I hope to once I get all my film developed.
The Leica M9 is a legendary digital Leica introduced in 2009. I actually picked up mine in 2020. I got a great deal on the camera and I used the extra money I made during the COVID-19 pandemic to pay for it.
As a user of the older M8 since 2010, I felt right at home with the M9. Even though the M8 is APS-H (1.3x Crop Factor) and the M9 is full frame, they produce (mostly) similar looking files.
“Chillin'” 2023. Leica M9 and 40mm f/2 Summicron-C.“Pa Jian” A 91 year old lady in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. She reveals her secret to long life in my latest video. Shot with a Leica M9 and 40mm f/2 Summicron-C.Kodakchrome like colors are one of the hallmarks of the Leica M9.Does anyone besides me miss those cute COVID masks? 😍 Shot in the fall of 2020 with the Leica M9 and 35mm f/1.2 Voigtlander Nokton Halloween 2022. Is it almost time for Halloween again? Time moves fast my friends and I’m making up for lost time! Leica M9 and Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 Nokton.The Leica M9 is a fantastic image maker even in 2023 but is it worth the risk? To me it is but only you can decide whether a camera from 2009 is still worth buying.
I’ve heard people describe the M9 as having an upscaled version of the M8 sensor and they indeed produce similar looking images for the most part. Although I’m not anywhere ready to write a full M9 review what I can say is imagine all the things you like about the M8 but make them better. That’s what the M9 is. Better color correction, better resolution, plus making full use of your lenses with the full frame sensor. But it has one major flaw. Sensor Corrosion!
Here’s my latest YouTube video which is part travel, part review. It’s not a complete M9 review but I think you’ll find out almost everything you need if you’re considering buying an M9.
I dedicate this video to the memory of Anthony Bourdain whose food and travel videos were an inspiration to me. In fact, although I don’t advocate smoking, I included the smoking scenes as a tribute to him, particularly the early Bourdain. I think that rawness was part of his charm.
I have been watching his shows since he was on the Travel Channel with “No Reservations.” Then he moved to CNN and did “Parts Unknown” for many years. Then seemingly at the height of his fame, he took his own life in 2018. A sad ending for a man who brought a lot of joy to many many people.
Anyway that’s it for today! I just wanted to say hi and try to get a post in. I appreciate anyone reading this. Thank you very much!
Camera Legend 