Hello Again Hello

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?

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!

Olympus Camera Legends Salute The New OM-1 Digital!!

Good morning you awesome camera geeks! Usually I create a post and link a video but due to lack of time, I’m just giving you guys the link! 😍

In today’s video, you will see Olympus legends such as the Pen F film camera, the E-1 Digital, as well as the rare M-1, progenitor of the OM-1, a camera many of you read about right here in my 2015 review.

I’ve been working very hard creating content for the Camera Legend YouTube channel but I haven’t forgotten my home base here ❤️

Once the YouTube channel goals are accomplished, I hope to be back here writing full time! Thanks always for your support! 😍🙏👍

“My Rolleiflex Life” A Short Film 😍

Good morning you awesome camera geeks! Happy New Year 2022!

No article today. I’m just sharing our latest YouTube video which is my attempted “cinematic” lol video which is actually a tribute to the Rolleiflex cameras 😍📸👍🏻

Some people had asked me for video samples from my EOS RP and vintage 50mm f/0.95 Canon Dream Lens and so this was shot with a combination of the Dream Lens and the RF 24-105mm kit lens.

Please note, I do not endorse or advocate smoking or vaping. My Dad died of lung cancer eleven years ago and I quit “analog” cigarettes then. I switched to vaping and I haven’t been able to quit that.

I only put the smoking/vaping in there to recreate the old Hollywood movies that I’m a big fan of! Smoking in black and white always looked cinematic somehow, at least to me!

Thanks for checking it out! I wish each and every one of you good health and happiness and continued success this year. Thanks for your support as always!! 😍📸👍🏻

YouTube Shorts Playlist

Good morning you awesome camera geeks! Today for your Throwback Thursday I’m just sharing with you a YouTube “Shorts” playlist.

Now in case you don’t know, YouTube recently rolled out a feature called “Shorts” in which users can put out videos that are 60 seconds or less, in vertical format.

I’m not sure if YouTube ever mentioned this but it seems obvious that this was done to counter videos by rival Tik-Tok.

Anyway, I started using it for fun and also as a way to give a little spotlight to cameras and lenses I own or have owned, but have yet to fully review.

If you haven’t seen these already, the items spotlighted so far are: the Leica R8, Minolta TC-1, Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L which I referred to as my “most unused lens,” Topcon Super D, Canon Dream Lens and EOS RP, and my famous or “infamous” $20 dollar Vivitar PS-20 point and shoot and maybe others I don’t remember off the top of my head!

Why don’t just make full video reviews of these items? Well, I’d love to, and some are half done but time constraints from work and family prevents me from finishing these projects sooner. I don’t make any money on YouTube yet so I need to give priority to my real job 😍

Plus, now with a little YouTube experience, I can sense that while a camera like the Topcon Super D or Graflex Norita may appeal to a small cult, they will be largely ignored by my viewers until I have a larger subscription base so I’ll save them until they can be properly appreciated.

Nothing worse than putting a lot of time into videos that will get little views! But yes, I know it’s better to post something than nothing at all so I’ll keep trying 😎😍😎👍🏻

FUNNY PHOTO OF THE DAY

I love an app called Snapchat! The girls think I’m getting old because it’s an “old” app. Is time moving so fast that a five or six year old app is old?! All I can say is…I still love it! 😍❤️😍

YouTube Video Part III…Results, Poor Man’s Rollei Wide, and What YOU Need To Start Developing Film

Good morning you war torn hardcore camera geeks! Just posted last night the latest (I don’t want to say last) installment of the “The Lonely Art Of Film Developing.”

As stated in the video, when I first thought of doing this, I just wanted to take you guys through the process, give people an idea of what a film developing session is like, for me at least.

The focus was not really to show you pretty results or anything, although the results are just a by product of this.

As you’ll see in the video, before I even thought of making the video, I was testing a Rolleiflex 3.5F with a 0.7x Mutar which is an add on lens that turns the 75mm lens of the 3.5F into a 55mm, or around 28 or 30mm in 35mm equivalent.

The goal was to see if this would work for me as a poor man’s Rollei Wide. The Rollei Wide is the Rolleiflex with the 55mm f/4 lens. The prices for these cameras are insane, like $3000-4000 insane! Like Crazy Eddie’s “Insane!!” 😀👍🏻

They have pretty much become collector’s items. In comparison my poor man’s version cost me $400 total.

I’ve read in many forums and discussions that the Mutar is junk, that it doesn’t get sharp until you stop it down to f/11 or f/16 even. But there were a few who said it was very good, fine even. Since opinions differ greatly, I wanted to find out for myself.

The above photo is a good example. I shot this probably at f/4 or 5.6. I definitely did not stop the lens down to f/11 or f/16.

Maybe I’m not as demanding as the $4000 Rollei collector but the sharpness is perfectly acceptable to me. Center sharpness is best but even corner sharpness is not bad. Sure it may not be a match for a $4000 Rollei Wide but the point here is that this is good enough for me! If you want to see the photo larger, just pinch the photo to enlarge it if you have a phone, tablet or smart computer.

The film was Ilford HP5 Plus developed in ID-11. This is one of the frames I developed in Part II of my video.

I still have some more testing to do with the 3.5F and Mutar but needless to say, it works for me! I’m happy with my poor man’s Rollei wide and as most of you know, you can’t get much better in photography than getting something good for cheap! 🙂

Also in this video I discuss a little bit of the basics you would need to get started in the fascinating world of black and white film developing.

To make it easier, here’s a list of the items you would need. Please understand, these are affiliate links. You pay nothing extra and I may get a few cents, maybe not even enough to buy a cup of coffee but every little bit helps the site to grow.

As always, thanks for reading and I truly appreciate your support!

LIST OF THINGS YOU NEED TO GET STARTED:

1) Patterson Tank https://amzn.to/3kstlBr

2) Kodak D76 Developer https://amzn.to/3kfJmue

3) HC-110 (Great Developer!) https://amzn.to/2T6PZTP

4) Kodak Rapid Fixer https://amzn.to/3m3Byw1

5) Kodak Photo Flo https://amzn.to/31qabEG

YouTube Video: The Lonely Art Of Film Developing Part II: “Fixer…It Just Smells Funny!”

Good September morn you war-torn, hardcore camera geeks! Continuing on from our last article, here is Part Two of my YouTube series on “The Lonely Art” of film developing.

This video focuses on the “fixing” part of bw film development. It is a very important process that makes your images permanent and protects the film from going bad, ie, fogging up, etc.

Incidentally, the fixer is also the part of bw film developing that “smells” the most! All the fixers I have used have had this really pungent, sour smell to them.

Some of you may remember the Flickr group with the brilliant name of “Film Is Not Dead It Just Smells Funny.” Personally, I believe the fixer is what they’re talking about. If I am wrong, let me know!

Anyway, this video is a little more technical than the last but my main point is still NOT about teaching bw film developing. Many people already have videos up that show you how to do it way better than I can.

What I have learned over the years is that, even though there are guidelines as to what to do for whatever film or developer you’re using, there can be variations and people sometimes do things a little differently but as long as you don’t stray too far from the formula, your results should be ok.

The point of this video is to show how tedious the process can be. There’s a lot of downtime involved, a lot of counting minutes. It reminds me a lot of when I worked overnight security for a big tech company. I did in the 1990s so I could go to school during the day.

There was a lot of downtime, free time with that job. Often I would read books, eat, call friends, exercise or get lost in thought. Anything to past the time. And the same goes for developing film.

When I started relearning the process over a decade ago, it was fun, fascinating and I did a lot of it. Today, I still find the results fascinating but I don’t quite enjoy the process as much. My mind wanders.

And even though it doesn’t take all that long to do one roll of film, it feels like forever sometimes but no it’s not. Actually yes, when you factor the scanning and processing thereafter, it does feel like forever!

In the video, I exaggerate some of the things I might do while waiting but there’s a lot of truth to those exaggerations. It is a deeply personal process. Some people put music on, some might do their bills, meditate, etc. It takes a patient person to want to develop film but the results, especially when good, are most worthwhile.

Also to keep it fun, I reveal in this video a camera I’ve been shooting with a lot the past couple of months. Can you guess what it is? 🙂

Thanks for watching and feel free to leave a comment about your experiences, I love to hear from you!

Lost Files: “Saturday Cookie Chill” 😀 Contax N Digital

Good morning guys! I know I’ve been gone for way too long but I’ll explain it more below. But first I recently found a bunch of lost files so let’s start with this one:

A wonderful Saturday morning to do nothing but chill and eat chocolate chip cookies 🍪😍😀

This was shot with the Contax N Digital and 50mm f/1.4 N Zeiss Planar. The N Digital as you may remember is the world’s first 35mm full frame digital camera.

If you remember my review you know the sad fate of this camera. But when it worked, it was awesome within its limits especially for a DSLR from 2002! My original 2014 review can be found in the link here:

https://cameralegend.com/tag/contax-n-digital-review/

A LOOK AT GEAR FROM 1996

Recently I was clearing out a lot of junk I’ve been hoarding. A large amount of that “junk” happens to be photography magazines! Hey, that was the only way to get my photography fix pre internet era!

Anyway, with so many magazines to throw away, I appreciate more and more the internet. Even though I’m old school, things weren’t necessarily better back then. These physical magazines take up a lot of space man!

Here’s my latest YouTube video and it was all sparked by going through just one magazine. It’s not a good idea going through them because it just makes it harder for me to throw them away!

Also on the video, I’m letting the people know, as I’m letting you guys reading this know that I’m just burnt out! It’s not even so much the blog but it’s life. And I put myself in a hole because doing videos and the blog at the same time is what’s killing my passion for it. Not my passion for photography or cameras. Just my passion for blogging, YouTubing, etc.

There must be a happy medium. Any suggestions?

I also want to apologize to my fellow bloggers. I don’t want to be seen as one of those guys who just “like” your postings to get “liked” back. When I’m burnt out, I close out completely. If I’m off WordPress, I’m really off. If I’m on, I’m on! That’s just the way I am, sorry about that 🙂

As always, I thank you for your time and your support!

Photo Of The Day: “Cold Cold Morning” Agfa Ambi Silette & 55mm f/2 Solagon Lens Plus New YouTube Video

The above photo was taken on a cold overcast day in 2018 using a vintage Agfa Ambi Silette 35mm camera and the mythical Agfa 55mm f/2 Solagon lens. The film was Kentmere 400 developed in D76 developer.

I got the camera outfit primarily for the lens which is like a scarce cult favorite not known by many. There’s just very little on the web about it and I would like to add to that knowledge base if I could.

The internet has a way of distorting reality and since there’s so little on this lens, I was well prepared to shoot down all the praise I read online as maybe “over enthusiastic” love from a handful of people. Not that I didn’t believe them but there’s just not enough of them.

But now that I’ve seen the results for myself, I’m inclined to say they might be right! Even in the above photo, the lens shows excellent sharpness and very little distortion. Considering it’s an older vintage lens, I think it’s performance is quite exceptional!

Now I haven’t shot enough rolls to make a full judgement but for now I think it’s safe to say, it’s a great lens!

NEW YOUTUBE VIDEO

As I mentioned here before, the slowdown in my postings here has a lot to do with me making it a priority to provide new content to our Camera Legend YouTube channel.

Today I posted a video on one of my favorite cameras of all time, the Rolleiflex 2.8C with the Schneider Xenotar lens. Consider it a complement to our 2017 review of the camera.

You’ll see some additional photos including one I took while having dinner in 2009 with famous photographer Manuel Libres Librodo, aka Manny Librodo. Great guy!

Eventually, I hope to have most of the cameras I’ve reviewed here on YouTube as well.

Making these videos AND writing a blog while also managing work and family can certainly burn you out and I discuss that as well in this video. This is why I’m seemingly only online when I post something 🙂

I do apologize for that! Do not run too many projects, it’ll burn you out!

It’s a one man operation but I’m determined to give you the best I got. Thanks for your support!!

YouTube Video Update: The Canon EOS-1 Film Camera

The Canon EOS-1 from 1989 is a modern day Camera Legend that had a titanic effect on the world of photography and camera design.

Just giving you guys an update that I have just uploaded a companion video for our 2015 review of the Canon EOS-1 film camera review. I will be moving it to update that review at a later time. I’ve cut off some of the intro here but it’s still a long video so if you have the time, grab a cup of coffee and a donut and indulge in a little camera geekery 🙂

I think it’s been slightly understated by many writers, but to me the Canon EOS-1 is among the most important and influential cameras of the past 50 years, easily as influential to cameras of the 90s and up until today, as the Nikon F was influential to cameras of the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

The way Canon gelled the use of buttons, dials, and wheels and implemented custom functions to personalize the camera to suit one’s individual tastes is something seen on nearly all serious cameras today. In 1989, the EOS-1 was one of the few cameras that had all these things together in one package.

Anyway, YouTube is a tough nut to crack. You don’t know what people will like! People love reaction videos, watching people eat, watching people pick pimples, etc, etc 🙂

But slowly, I’ll just keep adding videos as I can for all you hardcore camera lovers! Thanks for watching and I’ll see you guys soon!

-Sam

Flashback Friday March 2018

Just a couple of random items for your Flashback Friday…,

I saw this photo on my desk. It was from a few days shy of 2 years ago, “3/26/16” and I was a bit surprised that it was not one, but two years ago!

It felt like yesterday when I shot Baby Zayda cheerfully eating her Cheerios. I also used this image in my Fuji Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic review. As I said in that article, I was not fond of the wallet sized photos but this shot is my favorite from it. Upon close inspection, Instax Mini files are sharp!

Anyway, the photo got me thinking about today’s subject…

Ah friends, is it springtime already? As the years go by and as you grow older, do you ever say to yourself…there are just so many springs left in your life?

“Cheeri-O” 2016. Fuji Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic.

As a kid and young adult, life seemed timeless and full of possibilities. As a middle aged man, the realities to what may lie ahead seem more real and though not yet urgent, the feeling is there that I have to do what I need to do and do it soon…whatever it is I need to do! I really am not sure what that is! 😊

Someone once said I was a nostalgic fool and indeed I am! But if memories are all we have, then what is a person to do but look back?

The beauty of looking through the eyes of a child is that you kind of relive at least some of your youth through their experiences.

“Sunset Park” 2018. iPhone 6s Plus, Argentum b&w filter.

I don’t know friends, I just see life flashing before my eyes. Kids growing up. Years going by faster and faster. Is it just me?

CONTAX AX VIDEO REVIEW

As a complement to our 2016 review of the CONTAX AX, the camera from 1996 that tried the titanic attempt to “autofocus” manual focus lenses, I have added a short YouTube video review of the camera.

You may remember the article as part of the “Tuesday Titans” series. On the video, I have changed it to the “Camera Legend TITAN” series so as not to be tied down to a Tuesday timeframe 🙂

The video does include additional features such as tips on using the AF, and a video view of the ingenious autofocus drive mechanism. Hopefully it helps anyone who is looking at buying one of these cameras.

I plan to do more of these YouTube videos for other cameras already reviewed on our blog, if and when I can and then embed them directly into those specific articles.

Speaking of YouTube, I can tell you this will be an uphill climb. So many photography related channels! But I’m not so much concerned about the views or number of subscribers at this early stage because just like this blog, I am looking at it as a long term project.

Just like the articles here, I figure whoever will be interested in the cameras we have profiled will eventually stumble upon the video, as they have with the article since YouTube is apparently the second largest search engine.

Staying for the long haul is not a problem for me. I have dedicated myself to do this. Creating the videos, the editing, the time taken, even for my low budget videos? Now that is a little troublesome!

Anyway, this written blog will always be my base and so I thank you all so much for your support over the past few years. I wouldn’t be doing all this if there wasn’t anyone to write for! THANK YOU! 🙂

Fuji Instax Mini 90 Neo Classic

Fuji Instax Mini Kit