Expedition Photography

If you are like me, you've been in this situation more times than you remember. Strolling through a flea market, scavenging the thrift store, just looking for a nice case that says " film camera - $25 " and are greeted with a glorious Nikon rangefinder with 2 lenses and host of accessories, donated by some clueless person. It will glow upon upon it's opening as you salivate over your treasured find. These are very nice dreams I have late at night, in my deep slumber. Reality is of course is that you walk into a second hand store, and look at some old Polaroid camera's and maybe a "Sears Super whatever the hell they called those things".  Hopes and dreams absolutely shattered. NOW, don't get me wrong, I have found some very nice things for very cheap, but it only happens once in a blue moon, so when the time comes when you do come across something decent, your reaction is to buy. But I discourage this behavior. I have been burned and stuck with junk

Old digital cameras just do not get the same love as old film one's. Why is this? Are they really that out of touch with the current line up out of Japan? (I know cameras are from other countries as well, but mostly insanely expensive ones such as Leica and Hasselblad). Of course older, vintage type film cameras will be sought after because of their historical value, but even the film cameras of the 90s and 2000s are still demanding a rather respectable sum. But early digital? Prices for these cameras have tanked, possibly even to their lowest levels currently (January 2017). Let's compare two film cameras from the two Japanese Giants: Canon and Nikon. The Canon 1V was released in 2000, after the first generation of digital SLR cameras had been released. You would imagine this would make this film camera rather unwanted, correct? Wrong, the Canon 1V is a minimum of $500, with really mint ones closing in on $1,000. Compare that to the Canon 1DS, the first full frame Canon

For the last 5 years or so, I have concentrated a lot of my photography efforts on shooting film, mainly 35mm. My favorite part of shooting 35mm film is the whole slew of options for cameras and lenses. From rare and elusive rangefinders, to my coveted Nikon's and Minolta's. When I first ventured into photography 5 years ago, using film wasn't a big deal. I could shoot a role, take it Walgreen's, and a hour later I had my negatives and a CD. It was great. I loved it. Fast forward a few years and everything has changed. One day I took my rolls up the Walgreen's counter and was informed that film processing is no longer in store, and I would have to wait about a week. Living in a northern Midwest state, in a town of about 20,000, I soon found myself with few options. I found a store at my local mall that developed a roll for me for $1.50! I blew a sigh of relief as I had found an affordable, local film lab. I went there a few weeks later to drop more film off to fin

A Nikon system has been looming over my head for the past year. I have always liked the underdog, and that is why I have centered my film camera system around Minolta's. However, I have been planning eventually to acquire a full frame DSLR and I like to use prime lenses. Prime lenses for DSLR's are typically very expensive and since I already have a rather large collection of manual focus prime lenses, why not use those? My original idea was to stick with my Minolta lenses, and use a Sony a7 with an adapter and use the focus peaking feature. The more I researched this possibility, the more I realized the pain it would be. First I read about issues with focus peaking, then battery life issues with the a7, and finally the fact that the Sony has an electronic viewfinder. I have tested camera's with EVF's and I don't find them a replacement for a large, full frame optical viewfinder. After these considerations, I axed the A7 off my wish list. This is where the Nikon s

Minolta XE-1 w/ Rokkor 35-70mm f3.5 Macro  One of the prettiest cameras to come out of Japan, the Minolta XE-1 is the European version of the Minolta XE-7. I bought an XE-7 a few months ago, unfortunately an inoperative example. I loved the looks and feel so much though that I just had to get another.  If you saw the preview from last week, you'll know that this camera was brought back from the dead, and now works pretty well.  In my hands, this is one of the most comfortable manual cameras. The heft is just right, and it's a tall camera, which means that my somewhat large hands fits comfortably. A person with small hands will find this camera possibly a bit too big. The controls are all just where you would want them to be. I love all the features this camera offers yet keeps the body from looking too busy with buttons and switches all over the place. The shutter release is towards the front of the camera with the advance lever being positioned just so that makes thi

Someday, every camera meets the end of it's life. Whether that's being dropped off a cliff in heroic fashion or being left in a dark closet for 30 years, rotting away, every camera will eventually hit the bone yard. But every now and then, a camera is brought from the dead to be given a second chance at life. I'm giving a sneak preview of a camera I brought back from the dead. It was purchased off of a popular online auction site as for parts or repair  for a relatively small amount of money. The seller said the camera was untested and for parts, and the lens was damaged and scratched. When the camera arrived, the seller had wrapped it via Russian nesting doll style with countless USPS bubble wrap sheets. Oh well, it was safe. When after I reached the end of the hunt for my camera and lens, I looked at the lens first to delay any disappointment for the actual camera. The lens was filthy and had two big dents in the filter threads and was a little loose but other than t