The Massive Film & Conventional Camera Review Thread

[Andysnap]

Andysnap submitted a new resource:

The Massive Film & Conventional Camera Review Thread - The Massive Film & Conventional Camera Review Thread

Well as I suggested it I'd better be the one who starts it off.

This is intended as a thread where the good folks of TP F&C can review new equipment whether its lenses, cameras, software, film or any other of the multitude of different bits, bobs and gewgaws that we collect and use.
If its just a quick first impression of how the kit performs or an in depth, detailed warts and all review this is the place to put it. Hopefully it will build into a useful resource for newcomers or old hands and...

Read more about this resource...

 

[Andysnap]

As promised here's my first review. The Ross Ensign Selfix 16-20 a medium format 6 x 4.5cm camera.

A brief history. Ross Ensign was a company formed slowly over the years out of numerous other British camera and film/plate manufacturers and it was not until the early '50's that they became Ross Ensign. They produced a variety of cameras, all medium format and all with excellent lenses. Sadly, they failed to catch on that 35mm was the coming thing and in 1961 they went bust. They developed the 16-20 as a competitor to the small 35mm cameras that were flooding the market at this time but it wasn't enough and although their cameras and lenses were considered to be on a par with Leica and Zeiss they sank into the history books.

This is my 2nd 16-20 and I also owned the 12-20 (6 x 6 negs, there is also an 820 which shoots 6 x 9's) but I always struggled to read the numbers in the red window so sold them both. Nick (Raglan Surf) suggested a small red light torch (which he also donated) and now I can read the numbers perfectly so I thought, 'time for another one'.

They really are a neat little folder which can easily slide into a coat pocket and even when open are smaller than e.g a Nikon FG but they are really well made, proper engineering in chrome and leather.

Front by andysnapper1, on Flickr

Front-Open by andysnapper1, on Flickr

Rear by andysnapper1, on Flickr

Rear-open by andysnapper1, on Flickr

They are an un-coupled rangefinder so you need to guess the distance but I have found that this is actually a reasonably easy trick. There is no device for stopping double exposures though which can be a nuisance as I always forget at some point during a film roll. As always with folders you need to make sure that there are no light leaks in the bellows, mine are perfect and always make sure the back is correctly closed as sometimes they catch a little and don't snap shut.
The shutter goes up to 1/300 and there is a bulb and T setting and provision for a remote release. The lens on mine (the Model IV) is a Rosstar 75mm f4.5 (the more expensive Model II has a Ross Xpress 75mm f3.5 lens) which is sharp and quite contrasty for an uncoated lens and goes to f22.

So, a cracking, simple little MF camera which can be picked up for very little, mine was £30 (inc postage) and came boxed with the original receipt, a sharp lens and nice size for carrying around.

Hopefully someone will find this useful, if not I actually enjoyed writing it anyway.

Cheers

Andy

 

[stevelmx5]

Excellent idea for a thread Andy. I've been lucky enough to borrow/own a selection of cameras so have decided to write a review on the Kiev 80.

Arsenal Kiev 80

Maker/Provider: Arsenal Camera (Ukraine)

Product: Kiev 80 (also covers Salyut 80 & Kiev 88)

Price New: Unknown

Current Guide Price: £80 for an "untested" through to £200 or more depending on accessories included.

Overall Rating: 7/10

Overall Summary: An excellent 6x6 Medium Format camera in the same style/layout as a Hasselblad 500 series but a quarter of the price.
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Detailed Review

View attachment 5494

This range of cameras started as the Salyut and also includes the Kiev 88, all affectionately known as "Hasselbladski's". If you look around, there are numerous rumours and stories surrounding the heritage of the Salyut/Kiev cameras but I think it's easiest to assume they're a classic Eastern European copy (sorry, homage..) of an existing product. In this case, the Hasselblad 500 range of medium format cameras. The Kiev delivers 12 6x6 negatives on a standard 120 roll and uses interchangeable backs with darkslide. It shoots up to 1/1000 of a second and uses a standard screw thread remote release for long exposure.

View attachment 5495

There are numerous lenses available in a selection of mounts depending on the age/model. The most common kit lens is the 80mm 2.8 but mine had the 90mm 'Vega 12B' which delivered excellent, sharp results;

View attachment 5496

View attachment 5497

If you read up on these, there are a lot of scare stories surrounding reliability. The most critical point to remember is to NEVER change the shutter speed without cocking the shutter first! Also, loading the film into the back is a manual wind until you see the number 1 in the rear covered 'porthole' then you simply close that and never use it again as there's an actual film counter on the side of the back. Lastly, there are two small dots on the right side of the body and film backs. When the shutter is cocked with the back attached properly, both dots will be white. If the shutter is not cocked and the film not wound on, they are both red. These must always match before fitting the back to ensure the gears line up correctly. The shutter can be cocked and fired without the film back in place to allow the colours to match.

View attachment 5498

Other than that, standard checks apply as with all film kit to ensure you don't get a beaten up version.

On the whole I really liked the Kiev and the Vega lens delivered really nice images. The waist level finder is also bright compared to other similar cameras. So much so that it's often recommended to swap out Mamiya M645 focus screens with those in the Kievs!

The only issue I had with it was sticky aperture blades but I knew that when I bought it. So long as you're comfortable with a screwdriver and take it slowly, the Vega lens is easy to take apart from the mount side and the aperture blades can be accessed and cleaned.

I hope this is useful for someone considering a Kiev. As a poor man's Hasselblad I think they hold their own and offer a considerable saving over them too!

Cheers
Steve

 

[TheBigYin]

Voigtländer Perkeo I

Maker/Provider: Voigtländer

Product: Perkeo I
Production Years: 1951 - 1955

Price New: £17 15s plus £7 13s 10d purchase tax. (thanks to @StephenM for the info)

Current Guide Price: £25 for a "untested" (read broken) through to £75 or more

Overall Rating: 7/10

Overall Summary: A neat, tidy, fully manual square format folding camera, small enough to drop in your pocket, but with nice big 6x6cm negatives.
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Detailed Review

There are quite a few variations on this particular camera. From 1951-52 the cameras came without double-exposure prevention, but for the rest of the production run there is an interlock on the shutter release and winding mechanism. My particular camera is of the later persuasion, and is fitted with the Prontor-S clockwork shutter and the Vaskar 1:4.5/75mm lens. The Prontor-S Shutter gives speeds between 1/300th second down to 1 second, plus B. Apertures of f:4.5 to f:16 are covered by the Vaskar with a 5 bladed shutter. The -S designation also gives the clue that there is a P-C "Synch" socket should you wish to use flash. Additionally, there is a Self Timer mechanism - probably more useful on the tripod as a delayed release than for taking "selfies"

Other variants of the camera are fitted with Vario, Pronto, Prontor, Prontor SVS or Synchro-Compur shutters, and alternative lenses of either Vaskar f4.5/80 or Color Skopar f3.5/80. So, as you can see, there can be quite a variety of different combinations. For the purposes of this review, obviously, I will confine myself to commenting on the one I have

The Camera Itself is, as is usual in this era, an all metal construction, solid and robust, without feeling like you're carrying a lump of pig-iron around (anyone say "Fed" at that point...) - Basic design is a folding arrangement, with self-erecting bellows, winder and shutter release on the top plate, along with a cold-shoe to fit either flash units or (probably more sensibly) a rangefinder device.


Voigtländer Perkeo I by The Big Yin, on Flickr

Closed, the camera is rather neat looking, and frankly would be easily mistaken for a 35mm folding camera (12cm x 8cm x 4cm).

Opened up, and it's still difficult to believe that it's a full 120 6x6 camera.


Voigtländer Perkeo I by The Big Yin, on Flickr

Thanks to @StephenM there's a review from the British Journal Photographic Almanac 1953 here

In Use

Loading and operating the camera is simple enough, grab the manual from here and just follow the instructions. Anyone who's used a fully manual (including manual wind shutter) camera will feel completely at home in minutes of getting hold of the camera.


Strengths & Weaknesess

Personally, I think that the Vaskar lens is more at home with Monochrome work - indeed I believe Voigtländer shared this view, and sold the camera with the Color Skopar 1:3.5/80mm lens as the preferred option for colour shooting. Frankly, I don't really care, as I'm quite happy with B&W, especially if it'll come out like this...


Perkeo at YSP by The Big Yin, on Flickr

It's not all good news sadly, as with lots of older lenses, they aren't quite as comfortable with dealing with shooting into the light - modern lens-coatings and such make quite a difference - and, compounding the fact, the lens requires a dedicated 32mm press-fit hood (which needs to be removed before folding) and is somewhat rare to get hold of.

My camera also had a slightly slow and occasionally sticking shutter - which I sorted by using the old watchmakers trick of leaving the shutter mechanism in a sealed bag overnight with a small dish of parrafin. The Vapours from the parrafin softened the dried up lubricants in the shutter enough that it started to move again. A hour or so of cocking and releasing the shutter cleared any residual problems and my camera now works pretty much as it should.

As with all folding bellows cameras, there is always the issue of light-leaks from the bellows - mine wasn't too bad, and a couple of applications of black-latex fabric paint in the offending areas cured the odd pinhole, but as always - ask the question before parting with your money - or preferably buy it face-to-face and check it for yourself.

 

[TheBigYin]

Holga 120-WPC

Maker/Provider : Holga (various anonymous factories) / My version sourced via eBay

Product: 120-WPC (120 film, Wide Pinhole Camera)

Production Years: In Current Production

Price New: £30-£40 from eBay depending on "bundles" and country of source

Overall Rating: 3/10 with the head, 8/10 from the heart.

Overall Summary: Wide Angled plastic box with a hole at the front and a back that falls off if you don't hold it in place with Gaffa Tape. Needs a certain degree of modifcation "out of the box" but as with most of the Chinese Plastic Toy Cameras, can actually produce some very acceptable results if you work WITH the limitations of the hardware. Comes with film masks to produce either 8 - 6x9cm frames or 6 - 6x12cm frames per roll of 120 film.

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Detailed Review

Lets just get this out of the way first of all... this is a cheap, plastic, mass produced toy camera - and conventional assessments of build quality and so forth are pretty much out of the window here. They are built in various factories using a cheap injection moulding process, and as such the sample deviation from one camera to another can be incredible. Some versions suffer horrendously with Vignetting - especially with the 6x12 mask, others suffer not at all. My particular example is somewhere in the middle - with the 6x12 mask fitted, there's a little light fall-off in the corners of the frame, perhaps half to one stop worth, but nothing that can't be "fixed in post" should you wish. The 6x9 mask just works.

So, to the camera itself... well - it's a pinhole camera, so there's no lens, just a plate with a 0.3mm diameter hole in it - this equates to something like f135, so, basically you can expect 2 things - 1) incredible depth of field, removing the requirement for actual focusing and 2) long exposure times, ideally requiring the use of a tripod.

As mentioned above, there's no requirement for focusing. Also, there's no real facility for completely accurate framing either! The top plate of the camera has a couple of guide lines that allow you to point the camera in roughly the correct direction, but it's something you sort of get a feel for after a couple of rolls anyway. Also on the top-plate is a embedded spirit-level to try and at least not get the camera on the squint as well. Other external features are

• a winder knob on the top panel
• an untimed "press and hold" shutter release (while ever you hold the shutter button in, the shutter is open) that's also compatible with a old-school bowden cable type cable release (generally bundled with the camera).
  
• Standard Tripod mount threading at the base of the camera
• A detachable camera back held in place with 2 metal clips (and plenty of gaffa tape if you don't want light leaks)
• A "sliding cover" red-window for viewing the film frame numbers (sliding to select depending on the mask used)
• A "exposure guide" on the back - a table giving estimated times. Don't trust this any further than you could comfortably spit out a large rat. Instead use a lightmeter and use the table on here instead
• A cheap and nasty nylon "strap" that attaches to the clips holding the back on, again, don't use it, it'll only unclip the back and ruin your film.
• A "press fit" cover for the pinhole "lens" area. Incredibly easy to forget to remove.

In Use

One slightly strange thing is that when a shot is taken, the film is then wound on to the next odd number frame so for example when using the 6×12 cm mask, you would shoot at frames 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 & 11 (with the arrow pointing to 12 on the slider) or at frames 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13 & 15 (with the arrow pointing to 16 on the slider) when using the 6×9 mask . Multiple exposures are possible (some would say inevitable at some point!) by not winding on between shots.

Loading the film is the usual routine for 120 roll film. The film is reasonably securely held, with the tension on the film maintained by the typical Holga method of a couple of bits of sponge. Eventually, these WILL become detatched and roll into the film, destroying/giving happy accidental effects (depending on your outlook on these things) to the images on that roll. After this point, it's probably a good idea to wedge a little bit of cardboard under the roll-spindles to provide enough drag to keep the film plane flat over the frame mask - it is after all a big old length of film to be left loose and flapping about. Set the "sliding window" to the appropriate frame mask as fitted, and wind on to frame 1. Ensure the lens cap is securely attached at this point.

Once loaded, the routine I normally take is this.

• decide on the "framing" (I use the term loosely)
• Attach the camera to the Tripod.
• Fit the cable release
• Tweak composition
  
• Take light reading and adjust via the conversion table as linked above
• once again check the lens cap IS IN PLACE
• take hold of cable release and verify that it operates correctly (including the "lock" if the timings are something silly like 30 minutes...)
• set timing device (or prepare to "count elephants" ) as appropriate
• REMOVE THE LENS CAP
  
• take the picture
• replace the lens cap
• wind the film onto the next ODD number

And that's pretty much it. Repeat a few times and wind to the end of the film. You'll probably forget something or other, either you'll leave the lens cap on and not realise, and get a blank frame. Or you'll wind to an even number and overlay one frame on another. Or you'll forget to wind on and get a double exposure. Or you'll possibly do something else that's dumb. That's okay - it's a Holga, there SHOULD be a sense of adventure when the film comes out of the soup.

One thing about processing. If you're getting them processed at a lab, it may well be a good idea to state very clearly in the processing instructions that the roll has been shot on a Holga Pinhole Panoramic Camera, and if at all possible, could the film be returned to you "uncut" in case of overlaps etc. At least that way YOU make the value judgements on where to separate frames...

Usability Modifications.
This is possibly half the fun of the Holga's - they're cheap, so you don't feel too bad about taking a Dremel to them if needed.

In the case of my camera, the Film Frames were very nasty indeed - not in terms of being out of square or anything, they were just covered in sharp "moulding flash" edges which required a little gentle application of 3200 grit wet-and-dry and a wipe with a tack-cloth to remove any dust.

Also, as said above, the back is poorly attached via 2 spring-steel external clips. I took the simple expedient of a couple of strips of black gaffa-tape, which pretty much also removed any potential for light-leakage.

The Lens Cap as supplied is AWFUL and falls off at the slightest provocation. I decided to kill two birds with one stone and create a more secure attachment for the lens cap AND a facility to mount filters. Obviously with such a wide angle setup it was key to get as wide a filter on there as possible - A 52mm-77mm filter adaptor ring like this was purchased and attached to the front of the camera. It DOES slightly vignette on the 6x12 frame but works perfectly on the 6x9 - and allows me to use my existing contrast filters for shooting B&W film.

Holga WPC120 Pinhole Camera by The Big Yin, on Flickr

I also came up with a real cheap and nasty "lens cap indicator" which basically consisted of a black drinking straw taped to the lens-cap which stood up and was noticeable from behind the camera - reminding you to take the lens cap off... Here's a photo of Helga the Travelling Holga sporting a similar contraption...


Holga Lens Cap by The Big Yin, on Flickr

As far as the "dark corners" or vignetting problems - my example didn't really suffer with it, however there are a number of guides as to what to do to fix the problem - here's one of them.

Output

So, what can you expect in terms of output. Well - there are far better examples of the kind of things people have done with this little camera than anything I've shot, but even with my meagre allotment of talent and abilities I've come up with the odd enjoyable shot...


Spurn Point Pinholes by The Big Yin, on Flickr


Ribblehead by The Big Yin, on Flickr


Spurn Point Pinholes by The Big Yin, on Flickr


Barlow Common by The Big Yin, on Flickr

 

[medwaygreen]

Here goes:

I was very lucky to buy The acclaimed Voigtlander Bessa R3A on e-bay,but,from our favourite friend Andy(snap) and what a treasure this camera has been. First the history.

The Bessa R3A is one of the consistent further developments of Bessa R2. Launched around 2006 and still available as a new purchase.

The determining advantage is the aperture priority. You choose the requested aperture and the camera shows you automatically in the view-finder LED the adapted shutter speed. The Bessa R3A with its 1:1 finder is particularly suitable for bright telephoto lenses if required.

Lenses with M39 mount do need an adequate adapter,which I have together with adapters for Nikon and M42,so currently I can use upwards of twenty top class lenses with the body albeit some without range finder capability,but,an old rangefinder mounted on the hot shoe solves that problem.

Type35mm camera with focal plane shutter an TTL metering system
Film Format35mm film, 24x36 mm
Lens MountVM Mount
Shutterelectronically vertical moving metal focal plane shutter B, 1-1/2000sec.
FocusingCoincidence type. Infinity – 0.7m
Finder magnificationX 1.0
Bright frames40mm, 50mm, 75mm, 90mm
Exposure displayBy LED indicator in view finder
Exposure Metering SystemCenter-weighted average metering.
Exposure Coupling RangeEV1 - 19 (ISO100, F1.4: 1sec.- F16, 1/2000sec.)
Flash TerminalX synchronic contact, synchronized at 1/125 sec or lower speed
Film AdvanceBy single and/or multiple racheting lever action. Double exposure lock system. 120 throw and 45 stand off. Trigger winder available as optional extra.
Film RewindBy film rewind button and film rewind crank
Frame CounterAdditive type with autoreset by opening the back cover
Film Speed RangeISO 25 - 3200 by 1/3 steps
Power SourceTwo 1,5V Alkaline batteries (LR44) or Silver batteries (SR 44)
Dimensions135(W)x81(H)x33(D)mm
Weight430g





well before we start,lets just say,wow what a beauty.

It is after all a rangefinder,simple,well built and I mean well built and best of all for a world class camera affordable, it is fantastic in every way. Mine is all black.

I would say that the size of the body is on par with the leading mirrorless camera,s only of course it is full frame and film to boot.

The bessa is easy to carry either in hand or with a neck strap so the choice is your,s and of course being film there is no need to rush,pick your shot think.

This camera matched with the Nokton 40mm classic is a joy to use for general photography,just a little wider than 50mm and very versatile.

The metering is almost faultless even shooting in almost dark conditions in aperture priority it give outstanding results.

The only thing that would snatch this from my hands is a very high price and I doubt that will ever happen.

All in all at the price as good as if not better in some area,s as the Leica M7 the Bessa R3A is comfortable and well built and a joy to use.

Should you wish to experience a good quality rangefinder do not hesitate.

Sorry forgot to add some shots the camera is capable of:

#1.


#2.

 

[stevelmx5]

Fujifilm GA645 Professional

Maker/Provider: Fujifilm Cameras

Product: GA645 Professional

Price New: Unknown
Introduced: 1995

Current Guide Price: £200 for an "untested" through to £300 or more depending on accessories included. The GS645Zi is the later 'zoom' model which provides 4 stepped zoom positions and is generally approximately £100 more than the prime lens version.

Overall Rating: 9/10

Overall Summary: One of the simplest 6x4.5 Medium Format cameras available. Offers point and shoot usability with a stunningly sharp 60mm F4 lens and a lightweight body.

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Detailed Review
Fujinon Super-EBC f=60mm 1:4, 6 components, 7 elements.

• 120/220 film, 6x4,5cm 15 or 30 exposures

• Hybrid active/passive auto-focus, focus lock and manual zone focus.

• Program, aperture-priority and manual mode.

• Shutter speed 2" - 1/700

• Exposure compensation +/- 2 EV.

• Bright viewfinder with automatic parallax correction.

• Auto-loading with film sensing.

• Automatic 120/220 switchover.

• Data printing outside the frame, date/time/shutter speed/aperture/exposure compensation.

• Built-in pop-up fill flash (GN 12).

• 815g without batteries.

Fuji GA645 by Aninda Gupta, on Flickr

The Fuji GA645 is the simplest film camera I've used yet delivered some of the sharpest negatives too. A slightly unconventional looking body which is a result of being designed for the 90's but the camera overall is relatively light and fits easily into the hand. The large grip and autofocus means that one handed operation is possible for both portrait and landscape images. One point to mention is that the 'standard' view offers a portrait image so to shoot a landscape shot, the camera needs to be held on its' side. Although slightly odd at first, this soon becomes manageable.

The camera offers both Aperture and Shutter Speed priority (AV/TV) so is as flexible as any digital camera with regards to shooting style.

The autofocus is a little clunky and sounds quite loud but is fast enough to capture general action shots. As an example, this was shot with 3 kids jumping on a trampoline and is probably better than my Sony NEX digital would offer!


Medium Format Kids by Steve Lloyd, on Flickr

The 60mm lens gives an excellent field of view for portraits and delivers a flattering image. The F4 aperture is wide enough for most situations and can be stopped down quickly using the thumb wheel on the top of the body.


Jake with Fuji GA645 by Steve Lloyd, on Flickr

As a walkabout medium format camera it delivers excellent results without being heavy or in the way. The only real issues I found were that the AF is slightly noisy, only centre point focus is available and if anything it's 'too easy' to use so there isn't the same connection as I've felt with other medium format kit. There are also reports online and this forum of electrical issues being common and as this camera is no longer serviced by Fuji it is a risk to buy but, as with most film cameras, buying a good condition camera from a shop offering a warranty is the best option. However, I took a gamble and bought mine with a broken battery door cover from a seller in Florida and got lucky ;0)

Another really useful feature is that the GA645 can embed analogue EXIF details outside of the images on the negative itself. There are multiple options regarding what is stored but this shot shows Year, Month, Day, Aperture and Shutter Speed;


Example GA645 Data Print by Steve Lloyd, on Flickr

In summary, I've said it before on here, this is the only film camera I've really regretted selling and would probably buy again. It has its' faults like all cameras, the biggest probably being its simplicity which can make it feel a bit 'boring' but at the same time, that's also one of its' biggest strengths!

These are some more of my shots taken on the GA645. As an example of simplicity, this shot was taken handheld at F11 as a point and shoot image. The detail in the negative is stunning (and this was scanned taped to sheet of plain glass sat on the bed of a V700 as I didn't have the proper Epson negative holder)


Fuji GA645 by Steve Lloyd, on Flickr

This is a crop of the clock face on the building;


Crop of Clock Face by Steve Lloyd, on Flickr



Medium Format Kids by Steve Lloyd, on Flickr

Cheers
Steve

 

[ChrisR]

Pentax MX review

Maker/Provider: Asahi Pentax

Product: MX
Production Years: 1976-1985

Price New: Not known

Current Guide Price: £40-£100 or so
Overall Rating: 8/10 (but I’m biased!)

[EDIT: Other reviews: http://www.pentaxforums.com/camerareviews/pentax-mx.html 30 reviewers rated it an averge of 9.5/10!]

Overall Summary: Brilliant little 35mm SLR, great viewfinder
-----------------------------------------------
Detailed Review:

My SLRs have all been Pentaxes, back to a Spotmatic II, so colour me biased, but I love this camera. I came to it late, after 35 years with a Pentax ME which served me extremely well. My first MX (black and silver, shown below) was from a local charity shop and came with the standard focusing screen; my second is all black, bought last year via TP, with a clear focusing screen and a winder. Here is the MX with a Tamron 135mm lens on:



The MX is manual focus, with the basic Pentax K-mount bayonet, taking the wonderful Pentax-M lenses (and any other K-mount lenses that allow manual focus, AFAIK). You can mount M42 lenses via an adapter if you’re careful with choice of adapter; the registration distances are the same, so you need a well-engineered adapter to achieve infinity focus.



Exposure is totally manual (no A-mode, which would have earned it a 9 from me), but it does have TTL metering. The viewfinder is large and bright; one of the best in the business. As hinted above the screens are inter-changeable, but there are not so many variants as for the LX. I’ve heard that you might be able to adapt LX screens with a bit of DIY work, but the metering might be off. It only has the basic prism finder as well, not the many variants the LX has… but it’s a lot cheaper and I haven’t hear of any sticky shutter problems on the MX!

The viewfinder has a telltale window at the top that shows the aperture for Pentax lenses; it doesn’t show anything much useful if you have Adaptall lenses! To the right of the viewfinder it shows the current shutter speed (as selected in a rather stiff and poorly placed dial on the top of the camera) and 5 LEDS that light up when the shutter is half pressed; they stay on if the wind-on lever is slightly out (“stand-off”?). If the middle (green) LED lights, matching the current shutter speed, then the centre-weighted meter judges the exposure as correct. If either of the top or bottom (red) LEDs light, then the exposure is at least a stop off, while if one of the other two (orange) LEDs light, then the exposure is half a stop off (this from my memory of the manual; I’ll correct it if it’s not right). No exposure compensation dial; this is manual, work it out in your head… I can sometimes spend a minute or so saying to myself things like “now it’s the orange light against 1/125 so it thinks I need more light, so I’m under-exposing, which is what I want… I think”. I tried to get a shot through the viewfinder but my skills are not up to it!

[EDIT: forgot to mention, if the self-timer lever is pushed towards the lens it stops down, so you can (sort of) judge depth of field. I find this quite useful.]

The MX is basically a smaller version of the K series cameras, but no less robust as far as I can tell. Build quality is great. Small size suits me. It weighs 495 gm, and feels nicely balanced with most [SMC] Pentax-M lenses, but not at all balanced with my Tamron 75-210 zoom (which itself weighs 750 gm). Not much of a grip, but with manual focus and exposure it’s a two-handed job anyway. It takes two LR44 batteries that you can expect to last a year or so if you don’t leave the wind-on lever poking out. [EDIT: Since all shutter speeds are manual, the MX operates fine if the batteries fail. You just have to meter separately or use Sunny 16.]

The top plate has the rewind knob at the left (viewed from the back), which lifts to open the back. At the right is the wind-on lever (which falls nicely to the thumb), the shutter speed dial (where a lift-and-turn ring also sets the ASA/ISO speed), and the threaded shutter release with lock. Speeds from 1 second to 1/1000 plus B; flash sync is a poor 1/60, but I’ve never tried flash with it, so no idea what that implies. I find the shutter speed dial awkward to turn, but that may be more due to problems with my hand than anything else.



When you open the back you see the famous “white needle” easy loading system on the take-up spool. For some reason I find it slightly harder to use than the apparently identical equivalent on the Pentax ME. You just poke the film leader through the needles at the left of the take-up spool, and wind on. If you’re adept you can easily get 38 shots from a 36-shot film, but I always wind on and fire until the film appears round the spool. The focal plane shutter is cloth; I prefer the shutter sound on my ME, but it’s still really nice.



As mentioned you can attach a winder and grip that takes AA batteries; it rather changes the balance and you can get through a lot of film very quickly!

If you’re buying one check the seals (but they can be easily replaced), and run through the shutter speeds to gauge them by ear. My charity shop one had a bit of crud on the focusing screen that didn’t cause any image problems but was distracting in composition; Miles got most of it off in a CLA.

So as well-built, dead simple all-manual cameras with TTL metering go, this one is the dog’s dangly bits. But what makes such cameras more than an open-ended light tight box with some complicated spring-loaded bits, is a set of great lenses, and the [SMC] Pentax-M lenses are just that. And although they work on modern Pentax DSLRs, there are shortcomings compared with the later Pentax-A lenses, so most are reasonably priced. However, you can easily pay £200 or more for a good f/2 85mm lens! I like all the lenses, except for the 40mm pancake, which is so compressed that it’s hard to use.

I love mine!

 

[steveo_mcg]

Noon Pinhole Panorama 6x12
Maker/Provider: Noon Pinhole
Product: Panorama 6x12

Production Years: Current (2014)

Price New: £85 plus postage (£15 currently) direct from manufacturer in Poland.

Overall Rating: 6.5/10

Introduction: It’s a big block of wood with a pinhole and tripod mount, using 120 roll film to take either 6x12 panoramas or conventional 6x9 and 6x6 shots. The film take up has a fairly serious design flaw where the exposed film is not wound tightly, without modification, this limits the camera somewhat.

Detailed Review:
The Noon Pinhole is about as simple as a camera can be a wooden slider controls the shutter, a pair of rollers advances the film and a red window lets you read the frame number. The camera comes with a pair of wooden masks to allow exposures in 6x9 or 6x6 and get more shots per roll, these simply slot into guides in the camera but cannot be adjusted once the film is loaded.
The Noon constructed almost entirely of walnut, only the fitting and fixtures are not wood. The camera is very well finished externally and painted matt black internally. Due to the materials and construction method it’s incredibly sturdy, I’ve dropped mine from a tripod on to concrete and the noon only had a small scuff.

The shutter is a wooden slider across the front of the pinhole which is moved out the way to start exposures and slid back at the end. The camera comes with an exposure compensation card for Illford FP4+, due to manufacturing tolerances leading to slightly different apertures for each camera this card relates to your camera. Generally exposures are multiple seconds so the slider is accurate enough.

The film take up mechanism is not ratcheted and both spools are attached to rollers atop the camera so if the film is accidentally over wound it can be wound back to the source spool. Employing a bit of a turn to both can help to tension the film which is important with 6x12 due to the long length of film. There are three red windows to read the film numbers from, one for each supported format. In 6x6 or 6x9 the film numbers are read as one would on a folding camera or a holga; for 6x12 there is a second red window on the 6x6 row and the film should be wound on so even number can be seen.

The design flaw mentioned before limits the cameras use as changing rolls in the field runs a very high risk of losing the shots due to the film not being wound tightly. This can be mitigated either by only unloading in a darkbag. Alternatively some foam in the take up side of the camera can help the roll wind up tighter replacing the spring in a conventional roll film camera.


In Use
In use the camera is a little awkward due to being bulky, lacking any sort of view finder and having to relate to the compensation card post metering. After a couple of rolls framing improves and due to multiple seconds exposure being common it’ll only really be used on a tripod so the fact its nearly the same size as an RB67, if much lighter, isn’t too much of an issue. You tend to look a little silly with what is for all intents and purposes a wooden block on a tripod.
The sliding shutter is also a little awkward in a couple of frames some “camera shake” has been introduced by trying to get the shutter closed. Whilst it moves freely enough its not easy to handle from behind the camera.

As is common with red window cameras; it’s very easy to miss the number whilst winding on, this seems to be accentuated by the 6x12 but if one notices before shooting this can be rectified with a few turns of the other roller. There is also no double exposure prevention so care must be taken to avoid double exposure or, as I managed on more than one occasion, winding on after a shot then winding on again prior to the next shot.

Summary
Overall it’s a very simple camera to use, well it is a pinhole, let down out the box by a fairly serious design issue. The shutter takes a bit of practice to avoid shaking the camera during operation. Having said the camera works out the box without modification, takes surprisingly good pictures and is much cheaper than similar pinhole cameras


Output


Noon Pinhole in action by steveo_mcg, on Flickr


2013-11-FP4-Noon001 by steveo_mcg, on Flickr


Field of Crosses by steveo_mcg, on Flickr


Tramlined by steveo_mcg, on Flickr

 

[ChrisR]

Olympus mju review

Maker/Provider: Olympus

Product: mju II and also stylus (mju 1)
Production Years: 1995-2005?

Price New: £100?

Current Guide Price: £20-£50 or so
Overall Rating: 5/10 EDITED TO ADD: 9/10 reviewed as a point and shoot film camera

Overall Summary: Great pocket full-frame camera, foolproof and sharp, but a tad too auto for me
Detailed Review:

I have an Olympus mju II, and my wife has an Olympus Stylus (the American name for the mju 1). Both have exactly the same shape and form factor, that is: small. VERY small! This isn’t the smallest 35mm film camera, I understand (one of the Rollei’s might have that honour), but it has to be the best for slipping into a pocket. It’s just the right shape, nice and smooth. The pic below might suggest it’s quite large, but it’s well in front of the MX!



The main difference appears to be the lens; both are 35mm lenses, but the mju 1 is f/3.5 while the mju 2 is f/2.8, reputedly notably sharper. (Don’t confuse these with the mju zooms, which are around the same size, but with lenses that are not nearly as good. Some fleabay sellers don’t know the difference, or so they claim.)

The good things: small, very pocketable, sharp lens, in-built flash, easy to load, simple to use…

The bad things: absolutely completely auto, no controls other than the shutter (plus the annoying date function button on the back). No battery, no action… It can be fiddly; I keep pressing the edge of the sliding lens cover rather than the shutter button.



It’s dead easy to load: open the back, put the film canister in, pull the leader out a little bit, close the cover. Cue whirring noises for a bit, then silence.

To take a shot, slide the lens cover to open it, which also uncovers the viewfinder window (so you can’t take a shot with the lens cap on). Frame through the viewfinder, press the shutter. Cue more whirring noises as it advances the film. You can tell the number of the next shot on the LCD window on the back of the camera. When you get to shot 36, you’ll get a LOT of whirring as it (slowly) rewinds back to the start (counting down as it goes); there’s no way to rewind before the last shot. [EDIT: no longer sure of this...]

The viewfinder has >100% view, with frame lines, and a small indicator for closeup framing (t account for parallax). No indication no how close, though. There is a green light if exposure is OK, plus a red light for under-exposure, in which case the flash will fire. [EDITED TO ADD: apparently there's a spot metering capability, will add more when I know more...] It’s autofocus, and usually does a pretty good job on anything in or near the centre of the frame (not always what you want, see the first pic below).

I did say it’s foolproof. It isn’t… the date function had us completely bamboozled for ages. Turn it off, it’s bad for the pics and REALLY hard to clone the dates out.

One day we’ll see a full-frame dijical camera around this size… maybe. Likely cost around £2 grand, though!

This is the mju 2, attempting to take elements for a proposed POTY “Clockwork Orange” poster (that never happened). Focus is on the right orange, not the knife, but no way of knowing until you see the results after processing.



Mju 2 again, Edinburgh Parliament and Calton Hill. It does take nice snaps.



Stylus (mju 1), taken in autumn 2004. Nice moody pic from near Salzburg. Pity the nasty date thing was 15 years and some out! Lens not noticeably worse than the later version… but this is cropped as there was a bit of a light leak developing.



E&OE... please let me know on the Discussion thread!

 

[Andysnap]

Make - Nikon

Model - F100

Produced - 1999 to 2006

Price New - about £800 ish

Price now - £100 -150 (a little cheaper if you are lucky)

Rating - 8/10

I'm going to try and do something very difficult here and review the Nikon F100, one of the most popular and reviewed cameras in history. But I'll give it a go from the point of view of someone who learnt photography in the digital age and sort of went back to film later.

To begin with I want to say that the Nikon F100 is the camera I will be buried with, its simply good at everything. The autofocus is so fast and accurate that after a few trips out you simply forget that you need to focus and let the camera do it for you, it shoots at up to 5 frames per second, its built to last but doesn't feel to heavy and ergonomically it fits the hand like a well made Italian leather glove. It has a full feature set and does everything that a modern digital can do, in fact it is the camera upon which all of the following digi cams were designed. As you can tell I flippin' love it.
Many people will tell you the F5 is better, bigger, faster, stronger but it also 4 times the price and twice the weight and if I'm going to lug something that heavy around I want massive negs at the end of it.
Shutter speeds range from 30 seconds to 1/8000th, fast enough to catch a Hooley exiting the bar when its his round

It has a couple of things you could pick a nit at, no mirror lock up, no rear dust seals (although this isn't an issue in most circumstances), the plastic rewind fork is prone to snap but most of the cameras out there now have probably had this changed for a more robust one by Nikon, it has a brass lens mount unlike the stainless steel of some of the older professional Nikons but again this is only a problem if you are shooting the F100 professionally every day and constantly changing lenses, not all that likely to affect us.

In use its layout is typically Nikon, everything to hand and where expected. There are two control wheels which are generally used to change shutter speed (rear wheel) and aperture (front wheel). There is a mode button to set PASM setting, exposure compensation button +/-5, AE-L/AF-L button, rear AF button and on the top left the flash/bracketing/ISO button with the shooting mode wheel beneath. Oh and it will work with every Nikon lens going back to the 1950's.


Nikon-F100 by andysnapper1, on Flickr

Taken with the F100 and Nikon 24mm f2.8

Pretty-Girls2 by andysnapper1, on Flickr


Ice-Cream2 by andysnapper1, on Flickr


Shades by andysnapper1, on Flickr

Summary
Just a great camera that does everything well. You can be as manual as you like or let the camera do the work and whichever you chose you will not be let down by this classic of modern film camera design. Get one and you will instantly become taller, stronger, better looking and more intelligent and will be vastly more attractive to the opposite sex....sorry I may have gone too far...again.

 

[AshleyC]

Make: Leica

Model: M3

Produced: 1954 - 1967

Price: Body only circa £600
Lens: 50mm summicron circa £650-700
21mm Voightlander f4 circa £250

Rating: 8 / 10 if you dont mind full on manual effort, the film loading is daft so i cant justify a higher score.

Weight:
body only 584g
with 50mm lens 903g
with 21mm voightlander 735g




So much has been said about this camera. What more can i add. Its such a lovely camera to use with several caveats that a potential buyer may be unaware of which we will cover soon. So lets just cover some basic descriptive of it first them i will go into its particular character traits!

Its a solid brass camera and it feels it. This has both a postive and minus, obviously its a lump but the weight of it actually helps with shooting. It sits so solidly in your hand that you really have to have wobble issues to take blurry shots with it. Ive only covered the 2 lenses that i own for it, the 50mm Summicron is equally made of brass the voightlander plastic and metal and as shown above you can see the weight differences. With the 50mm it really is a chunky monkey.

Operation couldnt be simpler with a totally manual camera, you have a single dial on top for shutter speed with the rest of the controls being on the lenses. The M3 comes as a dual stroke and single stroke model, meaning that the film wind arm has to be wound once or twice to advance the film on 1 frame. I think the dual stroke was envisaged as putting less stress on the film as it wound on, im prepared to be found wrong about that though. This model is a single stroke. Gorgeously fluid in its movement, you simply cant wait to take the next frame to feel the action of the winding arm against your thumb. Weather this is a peculairity of Leica's or all 35mm film camera i dont know, but the arm never returns to be flush against the body unless you push it there, it always sits just away from the camera after each wind making it more easily available to the thumb for the next shot.

Ok now for some of the quirks. The most obvious being its a rangefinder meaning that 2 images are superimposed on each other within the viewfinder and focusing brings them together. The whole of the viewfinder doesnt display the superimposed images, just a small square in the centre. The viewfinder is very large, not quite 100% but certainly big enough.

Now i mentioned before that it seemed to have been designed with specific lenses in mind. THis being a 90mm a 50mm and a 135mm lens. The reason i say this is that the frame lines within the viewfinder will adjust based on one of these lenses being bolted on. There is a small lever on the front left of the lens that, when slipped over, will adjust the frame lines within. You can roughly see the effect here...

50mm frame....


90mm frame...


The 135 is a smaller square still. The viewfinder doesnt zoom, it just displays the appropriate framing lines.

Now this does pose the problem of what happens when you stick a lens on without an "approved" focal length. Well in the case of the 21mm Voightlander, it comes with a replacement viewfinder that you slip onto the hotshoe....


Focussing doesnt work through this viewfinder, just framing. You can still focus the lens perfectly well through the regular viewfinder but you obviously have to look through the top one to frame. Once youre used to things you could no doubt leave the spare off and know how the view frames through the regualar finder.

Also with a fully manual camera there is no lightmeter built in. Again you can get a Leica meter that slips into the hotshoe or, like me, just leave it in your pocket and hand meter it. Or use any lightmeter that youre comfy with. The Leica one does hook up to the shutter dial though which will convert the M3 into an Aperture Priority mode.



Film loading is another little oddity of Leica. Frankly you couldnt design a more awkward system. The baseplate essentially unscrews and you slot the film into the camera then bolt it all back up again. Not the quickest system but ive got it down quite quickly now. To unwind there is a clutch lever on the camera front that you can slip things into reverse to wind the film back off. ..




The 50mm Summicron also turns into a "macro" lens of sorts as it has a close focus mode which reduces its minimum focussing distance down to 21" Again this alters the viewfinder so what you do is apply a lens pair to the camera which sits in front of the viewfinder and rangefinder window like a pair of contact lenses ensuring that what you focus on is indeed what youre focussing on..





Despite all of this, the fiddling about, the extra bolt ons. The camera is a joy to use. German hand built engineering at its best. This camera is 60 years old and everything on it works so smoothly. The focus ring has the perfect feel to it, the winder is a joy, the shutter click just such a positive happy noise. No its not cheap but the minute you pick it up and shoot with it you realise every penny is well spent. This and a lens is still cheaper than a full frame digital lensless camera and this will be used long after the digital has been consigned to the scrapheap with the next newer model. Like a Stradivarius, you dont own one, you just look after it for the next owner.

 

[stevelmx5]

Make: Bronica & Mamiya

Models: S2A & M645J

Produced: Bronica S2(a) 1965 - 1980 - Mamiya M645J 1979 - 1987

Lens: Bronica S2A - Zenza Bronica Zenzanon 75mm F2.8
Mamiya M645J - Mamiya Sekor C 80mm F2.8

Rating: Bronica S2A - 7/10, Mamiya M645J - 8/10

Weight:
Bronica S2A, with Lens and 120 Film back - 1828g
Mamiya M645J with Lens and integral 120 holder - 1396g


Bronica S2A vs Mamiya M645J REview by Steve Lloyd, on Flickr

I've decided to put together a slightly different review to the rest in that it's a direct comparison of two similar but different Medium Format cameras. As these are both parts of larger systems with numerous lenses, adaptors and viewfinders I'm focussing specifically on the setups I currently own. I also don't have any developed rolls from either camera as yet so will focus entirely on the usability and handling of each, rather than their actual output. However, a quick search on Flickr will bring back thousands of shots from each camera system and the biggest difference is their negative size. The Bronica delivers square 6x6 results and the Mamiya 6x4.5, but the actual image output from both lenses is very similar with equal sharpness meaning that both are more than capable of delivering stunning results 'out of the box'.

Comparison 1 - Physical Size/Handling

When comparing both systems side by side, the immediate difference is in the styling. The Bronica is classic 60's with lots of chrome/black leatherette along with a removable film back which can shoot both 120 and 220. The WLF has the strong 'Z' logo on the top along with the faceplate above the lens displaying the complete "Zenza Bronica" branding. The lens itself is also much shallower than the Mamiya due to the internal focussing helicoid which moves the entire lens forwards and backwards. To do this, it uses a more complex mirror assembly which slides the mirror down and forwards below a shield rather than the more usual 45 degree drop/rise.


Bronica S2A vs Mamiya M645J REview by Steve Lloyd, on Flickr

In comparison, the Mamiya is more '80's modern', employing a plastic external body over a cast metal frame along with an internal film holder. By utilising this design, the Mamiya is smaller in all proportions and also almost 450g lighter. The difference in size/weight is noticeable and makes the Mamiya easier to handhold than the Bronica although I still use a BlackRapid style strap on both with no handling issues. The 80mm Sekor-C lens on the Mamiya is more like current lenses today (except for there being no autofocus) with a fixed lens mount on the front of the body and internal element movements to focus. This produces a smaller diameter lens with a 58mm filter size compared to the 67mm front mount on the Zenzanon.


Bronica S2A vs Mamiya M645J REview by Steve Lloyd, on Flickr


Bronica S2A vs Mamiya M645J REview by Steve Lloyd, on Flickr

Comparison 2 - Film handling

As above, both cameras can shoot 120 or 220 roll film. The Bronica can also shoot polaroids using a separate dedicated back. Film loading is similar on both in that they use a removable film carrier which clicks in to the camera. The main difference is that the Bronica allows for mid-roll changes using multiple pre-loaded backs, whereas the Mamiya can only shoot one roll at at time.


Bronica S2A vs Mamiya M645J REview by Steve Lloyd, on Flickr


Bronica S2A vs Mamiya M645J REview by Steve Lloyd, on Flickr

Although beneficial if you shoot multiple rolls at the same time (e.g. colour/B&w or Fast/Slow), the removable back adds weight and complexity in the internal design so can be a risk on 60 year old cameras (although mine is smooth and clicks nicely).

Comparison 3 - Quality of WLF

The first obvious difference between WLFs is the size. Being a 6x6, the Bronica has a larger WLF and ground glass screen compared the Mamiya's 6x4.5.


Untitled by Steve Lloyd, on Flickr


Untitled by Steve Lloyd, on Flickr

However, being a newer camera, the Mamiya's ground glass is brighter and sharper so is easier to focus without using the magnifier. There are reports online of the Kiev WLF ground glass being a good replacement option for the Bronica's as they are brighter and sharper. The glass is held in with a metal frame and foam (which can deteriorate) so is simple to remove. On the Bronica, the ground glass is separate from the fresnel screen so can be cleaned independently whereas the Mamiya offers 5 different focus screens ranging from plain glass, Rangefinder and gridded.

Final Conclusion

I've shot various different film cameras over the last 18 months, in various sizes, styles and weights but had always wanted to try both the Mamiya and Bronica WLF systems. After initially purchasing the Mamiya in favour of a tired looking Bronica I was really impressed with the build quality, handling and functionality of the M645J. However, I still had an 'itch' to try an S2A having already shot a Kiev 80 which, although very similar in styling, is a generally less robust! After being offered the S2A at a good price I decided to buy it so I could run this comparison side by side and make a decision myself.

Overall, I will be keeping the Mamiya system because it fits my current shooting style more being lighter, smaller and self-contained as most of the photography I do at the moment is 'run and gun' shots of family days out rather than focussed landscape shooting. If I shot more landscape work so therefore multiple film types depending on the lighting, I would use the Bronica with its' film back flexibility as I would be shooting on a tripod so the weight difference wouldn't be an issue. The reason I've scored the Bronica 1 point lower than the Mamiya is simply down to its' age/weight/complexity and the increased risk of faults as a result.

I hope this is some help for anyone considering either of these cameras and not too long winded! There is a full set of comparison photographs HERE

Cheers
Steve

 

[AJQS]

Pentax ME

What you need to know:

K mount camera in permanent auto priority mode with bulb and fixed 1/100 shutter speed (Flash sync) options. +/- 2EV compensation and max ISO of 1600. Batteries required for AE operation, but not for bulb or 1/100.

This is the smallest M series SLR, yet boasts a massive clear viewfinder, in which is displayed the metered shutter speed along the edge with a red LED. Nothing else is displayed in the finder. It is incredibly light, feels a little tinny but the mechanicals are all smooth and precise in operation.

Metering is of the centre weighted variety, generally very good but easily fooled by backlighting, where 2EV is not enough compensation to avoid a dark image. There's not really much to review - you turn the dial to A, focus and away you go!

In short it's a fantastic piece of kit for unhindered shooting, you focus and you click without the need to be constantly twiddling a dial or fine tuning this or that. Obviously it's not the tool for you if you're working with complex lighting, but for a relaxing day of shooting nothing much in particular, I'd find it hard to choose something else.

 

[AJQS]

OM2 Spot Program

Now this is a much more serious bit of kit.

Based on the OM2 the Spot/Program model adds spot metering and programmed auto to the basic OM2. It's electronic so requires batteries and is well known for eating them! Bulb and 1/60 (flash sync) are mechanical.

The camera has an unusual layout, the OM shutter speeds being selected by a ring around the bayonet which I don't have a problem with, it's a good idea and works well with OM primes having the aperture ring at the front of the lens. The lens release and stop down buttons can get in the way, but you get used to it fairly quickly.

The ISO and compensation dial is on the right next to the shutter release, so you cannot thumb in compensation without taking the camera from your eye. On the left you have the mode selector: Manual/Spot, Auto, Program and Battery check. Battery check does not have a detent, it's just for checking the batteries (it'll beep if they're OK till you release the lever)

The film rewind release button is located between the advance lever and the Compensation/ISO dial. On the mirror chamber on the right is a button which activates viewfinder backlighting. There are sockets for PC flash sync and a 5 pin terminal whose function escapes me. There is a little release button on the bottom corner of the mirror chamber which allows the shutter speed dial to travel to the mechanical speeds.

The self timer is activated rather than the usual lever, but by pulling up a little tab above the front red LED and turning it away from the mirror chamber. Pulling it up and turning it towards the mirror chamber puts the camera in silent mode, which means you won't hear any of the beeps even in battery check.

Manual/Spot is where mine lives permanently. In this mode the metering is permanently set to spot, and shutter speeds are controlled manually. The viewfinder display in this mode is a bargraph which you aim to level between an indicator along the side of the display. I like this readout, it's simple and effective. The spot area covers the circular portion of the viewfinder, so you have a good idea what you're metering off.

In Auto mode, you are in Aperture priority, and the viewfinder display changes to display the camera's selected shutter speed.

In Program mode you get the same display, it just says program above the shutter speeds, There is no indication of what aperture the camera will choose

In all modes, overexposure is warned by an audible beep and a visual warning in the viewfinder.

Metering in Auto mode is centre weighted, measured from light reflected from the film during exposures. The exposure therefore can be any value and not just a fixed one. This makes the camera ideal for Infra Red and long exposure photography.

Quirks

This camera has a couiple! Firstly the battery drain. The metering is always active, as long as the shutter speed ring is set to an electronic speed, regardless of operating mode. The only way to turn the camera off, is to select bulb. There is no way to lock the shutter from firing either.

In manual mode you are shown exposure in 1/3 EV increments - yet you can only select full stops of shutter speed and aperture (on Zuiko lenses at least).

The self timer is fixed at 10 seconds.

Conclusion

I love this camera despite it's quirks. The spot metering is accurate and very simple to use. This is my preferred camera for more in depth use as it's just so easy to use in manual mode, and at a flick of a lever I can have excellent long exposure performance. I know not everyone gets on with the layout of OM cameras, and the build quality whilst it is actually very well put together feels like it isn't - the film advance in particular feels horrendous!

 

[AshleyC]

Make: Fuji

Model: GA645Zi

Price: £250-500 depending on import or UK prices

Rating: 8 / 10 with a few if's but's and maybe's

Weight: 922g




There was a post earlier regarding the Professional version of this camera, ive been looking for something similar for a while for a specific use and after a lot of thinking decided to pick one of these up.

Although ive a few other cameras I really wanted the "ultimate" in walkabout landscape cameras for hill walking. Lightweight with good image quality.

So what does it offer me and is it the "ultimate"

Pro's
1. Medium format, 6x4.5
2. Auto focus with a manual mode
3. Exposure modes, AE, Manual, Program
4. Lightweight - ish
5. A small bit of Zoom, 55-90mm (27 to 45 in FF comparison)
6. Superlative lens (but try and find one with the hood and make sure you dont fingerprint the glass!)

Cons
1. Pretty poor viewfinder. Could of been bigger.
2. Noisy, not for sneaky candids
3. Not really a con but youre commited to a roll of film once its in. Traditional MF will let you swap backs. So make sure you definitly want 16 shots of whatever.
4. The grip is a little awkward. Compare it to the D800. The grip is a lot longer on the Nikon and the button just falls under your finger, the fuji's just feels a little small in my hands. A good chunk of my hand is off the base of the camera which doesnt help with stability / comfort
5. A minor con im sure but after constant manual shooting with other cameras i just felt a little disconnected from the process with this, point and shoot and away you go.

It doesnt have the fastest lens in the world, 4.5 to 6.9 but with a monopod / tripod its more than fine. I even spent a week hand holding shots in various light conditions and it was fine. You probably wont shoot a church interior but for my needs (outdoor landscapes) its more than enough.



You get 2 dials on top, the settings dial for selecting Manual mode, AS mode, Aperture prority, Program Mode and ISO setting. The off setting is also on this dial.

The second dial is a command dial. This changes whatever setting you have the setting dial at and also controls focus distance in manual mode and shutter speed. Since there is only 1 command dial you change different things by holding down different buttons as you turn it.

A quick word about the "Manual" modes. Dont bother using them! Seriously. This camera wasnt designed with the manual shooter in mind. SInce you cant see the effect of focus through the viewfinder you can only set the focus distance on a sliding scale which isnt too bad i guess for you Hyperfocal types. For manual exposures you require the dexterity of a ninja to keep various buttons pressed while twisting the command dial. Dont bother, its not worth it. Slap it in Aperture Priority mode and enjoy life.

Build quality is pretty solid, hard plastic textured grip with a metal body, not sure what metal but its not iron or brass.

Although it has auto and manual modes its noway near the useability of modern cameras. Its bare bones to say the least. It has auto focus but you dont see the focus through the viewfinder. Its just a hole in the body. It does zoom with the lens, there is a focus square in there to aim at and exposure info is digitally displayed in there too which can be hard to see on bright days. The screen on the back shows basic info, ISO, frame count, battery life, shutter speed and aperture.

Make sure the LED is all working should you buy one, ive seen examples with a knakcered LCD panel marked up as mint!

Youll see a button marked "Data" on the rear. This lets you set date and time and will print exposure information along the side of the film strip for each shot, very useful!



The zoom isnt really a true zoom. It just advances the lens along 4 preset focal lengths. Not as constricting as it sounds since the lens doesnt really zoom that much from wide to "tele"

Size comparison, well it is medium format after all so you have to expect a chunky camera. Its not too bad. here are examples with a standard 35mm and a Nikon D800






This is also a noisy camera. Dont expect to be able to carry out sneaky candids in silent situations. The camera motor is a noisy beast each time it winds a frame on and you get a beep on every shot which you cant seem to turn off. The shutter itself is silent. No mirror slap, yay!

but is it any good! well , yes it is. The lens is beatifully sharp. Fuji have been making decent gear long before the X series made an appearance and you could slice bread with this lens. I can only imagine what the prime version are like on the other 645 models. Is it the ultimate that i was after, if it had a better viewfinder then yes, 6x6 would of been nice but im slowly coming round to 6x45

 

[steveo_mcg]

SHANGHAI GP3 120 B&W Film

Maker/Provider: SHANGHAI Photographic

Product: 120 B&W Film

Production Years: Current (2014)

Price New: £1.80 to £3 a roll depending on volume

Overall Rating: 7/10

Introduction: Cheap functional B&W film grainer than more expensive 100 iso film and curly as a curly thing. The low price, consistent response and ready availability make it ideal for testing cameras or experimenting with new techniques without worrying about wasting more expensive film.


In Use:

Film choice is a personal thing one person’s too grainy is another’s classic look so I’ll not spend too long on that. It is grainer than FP4+ but in 120 I don’t find it intrusive enough to be a problem. The 100 iso rating is probably a little optimistic and whilst good results can be had it is a little better at half box speed. Image quality is also pretty subjective and dependant on post processing but the film has a decent dynamic range and fairly smooth tones so can be made to match a users prefers.

Whilst the film might not match Ilford’s standards it is internally consistent which means it can be used to test cameras without worrying that the film is one of the potential sources of failure as expired film can be.

Comparisons to Illford or other first tier manufactures is a little unfair as the GP3 can usually be bought direct from China for less than £2 a roll making it less than half the usual price of better films. By purchasing in lots less than £15 there is no duty or VAT to be paid on delivery after that odds are the seller will mark the value lower than the duty threshold and your package will also be delivered without being accosted by the tax man.

The film is readily available from eBay sellers based in China or Hong Kong it is occasionally available from UK or EU sellers but usually at inflated prices comparable to Fomapan or even Ilford depending on the seller.

It is worth noting is the grey text on the black backing paper can be very hard to read through the red window of older, simpler cameras with some users finding it impossible to read the frame number when winding on.

Finally when unloading film have an elastic band or a bit of masking tape to hand as GP3 has no way of securing the exposed roll and quickly unravels if not bound in some way


Developing:

First thing you notice getting the film on the spiral is that it is curly, it almost loads itself. To be fair I’ve never had any problems loading it but others have reported it difficult to load. For scanning the problems with curl can be reduced by rolling the film tightly in the reverse of the way it has been rolled for a few hours after it has been dried and loaded into sleeves.

A prewash is absolutely essential with this film without it the ink from the backing paper can be “baked” into the emulsion during developing adding a texture to the results and in worst cases the frame numbers can be very evident in the shadows. I usually use the Ilford wash method before I begin developing; this gets rid of most of the anti-halation layer and any residue from the backing paper. The waste water is a very deep blue colour.

I usually use Rodinal for developing either 1+50 or 1+100 if the light has been a little difficult or the film has been in an older or simple camera. Rated at 50 iso and developed in 1+50 the gives my preferred results, nice tones and contrast without generating too clumpy grain. At 1+100 and stand developed the negatives end up with very low contrast and require a bit of post processing to get the best results and I expect the negatives would be very difficult to wet print but usually fine when scanned. I stick with stand developing when I’ve used the film in a box camera or one of my older folders with less control than I’d expect from the RB67.


Summary

As second tier film go it has all the usual draw backs, curly base, more prominent grain and optimistic ISO ratings but it is cheap, consistent and readily available. With a little work it is possible to get excellent results from it.


Output
Shot at 50 iso through the RB67

Granddad! by steveo_mcg, on Flickr

Rated at 100 and developed in RHS.


2-Ikonta001 by steveo_mcg, on Flickr

Stand developed from a box camera


Sky line 1 by steveo_mcg, on Flickr

 

[ChrisR]

Leitz Minolta (Leica) CL Review
Maker/Provider: Minolta, licensed by Leitz
Product: CL
Production Years: 1973-1976

Price New: Not known
Current Guide Price: £150-£280 or so body only

Overall Rating: 7/10
Overall Summary: Excellent little 35mm rangefinder, great viewfinder
-----------------------------------------------
Detailed Review:

This is a lovely little rangefinder, small and light. With the minute 40mm f/2 M-Rokkor lens (designed for the somewhat later Minolta CLE), the combination is small enough to put in a coat pocket, but large enough to hold comfortably (for me, at least):



The body is all black, and my copy has worn very well given it is about 40 years old. Originally released as the Leica CL, they were made by Minolta and released in Japan as the Leitz Minolta CL “licensed by Leitz Wetzlar”. My copy says Made in Japan, but I understand other copies were made in a Minolta factory in Portugal.

Front of the camera has the lens mount for M lenses, the rangefinder and viewfinder windows, and the shutter speed dial, mounted vertically in an unusual arrangement, but one which means the shutter speed can be changed with the forefinger without taking your eye from the viewfinder. Shutter speeds go from 1/2 to 1/1000 seconds, plus B. The centre of the dial allows setting the ISO/DIN setting for the film; it’s easy to read the main stop settings (100, 200 etc) but intermediate positions are more tricky.

Top of the camera has a hot flash holder, wind-on lever, and threaded shutter release. I found the latter a little low, and it works much better for me with a soft release screwed in.

The camera back lacks the film indicator holder that I’m used to on 35mm SLRs. There is an indicator on the base that can be turned to show the type of film (eg colour or black and white), although not the brand, make or ISO. The rewind handle is also recessed on the base, rather than the top as usual on SLRs. The base also has a standard tripod mount aligned with the lens centre, and a semi-circular fold-out latch that opens the camera and latches it closed.

When the latch is folded out and twisted, the back slides down and comes off. It is possible to close the camera without latching it properly; this happened once to me when holding the camera via a monopod screwed into the tripod socket, and the back detached from the main body with a film inside! Luckily the body was on a wrist strap at the time. (There are two strap lugs on the left side of the camera, looking at the rear; one lug is on the main body, the second on the separable back. The official strap is a continuous loop, so that when the back is opened it can hang from the strap while the film is changed.)



Film loading is by a unique system, as far as I know. Open the back and in front of you is the rear of the pressure plate. You need to fold that towards you and load the film behind it. Take-up spool is to the right, cassette goes in the slot to the left. There is a system of slots in the take-up spool to take the film leader. The best approach seems to be to slot the leader first, then place the cassette in the slot, before folding the pressure plate up and replacing the back. Make sure you check the back is firmly in place!









EDIT: Sorry, tried to replace that last Photobucket image but I have hit upload restrictions on TP. Please click through to see the final image.

The camera is small, and the rangefinder effective base is quite short, but the rangefinder window is excellent and the patch in my version is clear. It is not reckoned to be accurate for lenses longer than 90mm, or for any lenses wider open than f/2. I found it very accurate and easy to focus with the Minolta 40mm lens on my copy.

The CL has framelines for 40mm (always present), plus either 50mm or 90mm (the latter selected when a 90mm lens is mounted). The 50mm framelines are present with a 40mm lens mounted, which I found occasionally confusing. The chosen shutter speed is indicated along the top of the viewfinder window.

The CL has TTL metering, again in a rather unusual system. The meter cell is on an arm that drops into place in front of the shutter, when the film has been wound on, the wind-on lever is at “stand-off”, and the camera is held in landscape orientation. Occasionally you might need to tap the camera to get the cell to drop into place, although I found on most occasions when I was having difficulty, that I had left the lens cap on! This construction means the meter is spot rather than centre-weighted. In the viewfinder, meter indication is via a needle on the right of the image; you need to adjust the exposure to get the needle at the centre. Above centre means under-exposed, below centre means over (when the meter is off, the needle sits at the top). I found this system a bit contrary! There’s no numerical indication of how far off the exposure is. At first I thought this a disadvantage, but when using the Bessa Voigtlander R3A alongside it (the Bessa having an indication of shutter speed in digital form along the bottom), I found the CL’s analogue needle more intuitively helpful in terms of how “far out” the exposure was. The battery was originally a mercury cell, now a Wein cell works fine, and mine has lasted at least 6 months.

This is a simple camera, but effective and very good quality. The viewfinder is bright and clear, the rangefinder patch is very clear, the shutter is quiet. It is a pleasure to use.

(PS there used to be an associated discussion thread for any comments about this review (no discussion in this thread!). If I find it again I'll link it from here, else please PM me any comments so I can improve it.)

 

[ChrisR]

Clearfile negative folder review
Maker/Provider: Clearfile, via Firstcall-photographic
Product: Negative folder
Production Years: Current

Price New: £7.99

Overall Rating: 8/10
Overall Summary: Looks a really useful folder for storing negative sheets

I guess we all have a lot of negatives, and various solutions for storing them. My "solutions" are so ad hoc as to be beyond comical; basically a couple of large book boxes with negative envelopes from various commercial processing labs, plus a few heaps on the desk and nearby shelves. And then there are the negative holder sheets since I started devving my own. So I decided to buy one of these Clearfile negative storage folders. I just got it a week or so ago, and started filling it today. I thought it might be worth a quick review; it's inexpensive, but the postage from Firstcall-photographic is as much again, so buying one on the off chance it might be fine is bit of a push at £15.98 (thanks to @desf I got mine pretty much free of postage costs).

First off, it looks pretty nice:



Second it's considerably bigger than your standard 4-ring lever arch binder:



(Both taller and wider, though the pic doesn't show that quite as well as it might... if I get the chance I'll put the comparative dimensions here tomorrow.) EDIT: that pic really doesn't show the comparison well, does it!

So far I've added all the negative sheets from 35mm films I've devved (they're the Glassine ones that @RaglanSurf told me about), plus one Jessops one that I got from someone here a while back. I've also added all the negatives I got back from Peak this year. I've labelled each sheet with a code and brief description, that matches the Aperture folder names (and also the scan folder names where appropriate). All these different sheets went in fairly easily; the Glassine sheets have more holes and are easier to get on the clips than the Peak ones, but the latter work fine.



Most annoying was the films I got back from Photo Express in Hull; I don't remember looking at those negatives as I generally just use the CD with their scans. Sadly, the negatives are in strips of four with no punch holes, and the sheet is considerably longer than the folder is tall. It looks like I'll have to re-sleeve them if I want to use the same folder. And what would I do with the CDs? [EDIT: On reflection, I think I can use those A4 plastic display folder sleeves to take the existing Photo Express negative sleeves, folded up. And I can get some CD envelopes and put them in the same display sleeves. I would work out quite a bit thicker than the existing negative sleeves, but much less bulky than stacks of PE envelopes, and easier to find within the same sequence.]

I've not tried any 120 film yet.

I think this is a pretty good solution. There are several different colours, and I could easily see myself buying one every year (or maybe two; it looks like they could store a LOT of film!). I've given it 8 out of 10, as I'd prefer to have a box file rather than open ends, but I've not seen anything suitable in that form. Meanwhile, these will do nicely (I might even manage to buy myself some without postage next time I'me down staying with my sisters near Taunton!).

 

[AshleyC]

This thread should be a sticky really, any chance of it?

Anyway, here is a mini review of....

jumble film scanner

scan 35mm, slides, super 8 and 110 film




I gave up with 35mm film for a while due to the fact that my Epson v750 scanner would only produce around a 9MP image from the film. But after seeing one of these scanners go cheap in a sale I thought i would give it a go since it has a 14 mega pixel sensor, in theory giving me around 50% data from a negative.

The other plus's for me are that it's portable, you can sit on the sofa with it in your hands dragging film through while you watch TV. It has a little bit of built in memory, capable of holding around 40 shots but it has an SD card slot. Once plugged into your PC it is treated as external storage for you to download any pictures stored on the device. Its pretty fast albeit all manual and very easy to use. Its small, the Epson is a large, blukly flatbed with cables at either end, thats great for medium and large format film but, as mentioned, a bit of a let down for 35mm.

Its not automatic. You slide the film in one side, you can see the frames advance through on the display and then you push it through for the next frame. What i have noticed is that a 35mm frame doesnt fit fully on screen. The screen is a little smaller than the width of the film frame which is a little annoying.



There are also very limited adjustments allowed. You can adjust the overall exposure for instance but there is no Highlight or Shadow recovery option.



Resolution toggles between a native 14MP and an interpolated 22MP. If you want a software zoon you are probably better off enlarging the image in your computers image editing software, it probably has better algorithms. I havnt tested it myself as i dont see the point of software zooms, but the option is there. The only other options you have are to flip the image horizontally and vertically pre capture. But the end result is a nice scan. JPEG still gives you control over colour although you lose the data of a nice TIFF file and its a shame that option isnt there. But im happy with it. It solves a problem in a reasonably cheap manner.

 

[ChrisR]

Time for a revival...

Comparative review of Ilford HP5+ and Rollei Superpan 400 single use black and white cameras






Last year in the “Numpty behind the camera” challenge, I used two single use cameras with “proper” black and white film in them, for the first time. One was an Ilford HP5+ camera, the other was labelled as a Rollei Superpan 400 camera. I thought some comments on the differences might be interesting.

Results would not be directly comparable, as I taped a red filter onto the front of the Ilford (see above), but shot the Rollei without a filter. Both cameras offer 27 shots on a nominal 24-shot roll, and both have a flash. With one of them, I had some problems with the flash continuing to fire for several shots once selected; can’t remember which (sorry).

The cameras are fairly similar in size, although the Ilford is fatter. While the Rollei is slimmer, it has a little bump to act as a grip for the right hand, and its lens protrudes a little more. I suspect the lens to film plane distances are the same.

The viewfinder on the Ilford is a nice, flat representation of the scene in front. The viewfinder in the Rollei is not so nice, with quite strong barrel distortion However the Rollei viewfinder offers a slightly wider view than the Ilford. I did not test how close either view is to the shot actually taken.

I found the Ilford quite hard to open; I pretty much destroyed the camera opening it (truly single use!). The Rollei opened quite easily with a fingernail under some clips at the side. It looked very possible to reload it, given a dark bag and suitable manual dexterity (which I don’t have).

The Ilford film is standard HP5+; very easy to find development times for it. However, the Rollei film was more difficult. It appeared to be Rollei Retro 400S rather than Superpan 400 (if I remember correctly), and I had to extrapolate to get the times for Ilfosol 3. The film also has a much stronger than usual polyester base. This would not bother those using a normal development tank, but I use an Agfa Rondinax tank, and the built-in guillotine could not cut the film. I didn’t have a dark bag at the time, so had to retreat to the cupboard under the stairs, hide under a winter coat, open the tank and cut it off the reel with scissors! It seemed to come out alright after that.

Results from the Rollei were quite soft at most normal distances, and most shots were not acceptable to me. A shot of tracks left be a large tractor tyre, downwards from about 5 feet, was sharp in the centre but notably soft at the edges:



Results from the Ilford were also a little soft throughout, less so than the Rollei, but perfectly acceptable for this type of camera. Only at the extreme edges did it get softer still. With the red filter, some very good results were obtained:



Overall, I was happy with the Ilford, and would use it again (good job, as I have a spare!). I would not recommend the Rollei. YMMV, of course!

 

[Andysnap]

Good stuff Chris. I've been meaning to do a couple of reviews myself, I shall try and do so over the next week or so.

 

[AshleyC]

Make: Mamiya 6

Price: at the time of going to press (2016), 700-1000 for the body, 50mm around £500, 75mm around £300, 150mm around £200

Rating: 9.999r / 10 (nothing is perfect)

Weight: see below

Ok, in my never ending quest for finding the best walkabout medium format solution I have sold off my old fuji (see review above) and shocked my wallet into picking up the highly regarded Mamiya 6.



What this gives you is an interchangeable lens, 6x6 medium format film rangefinder camera with the little trick up its sleeve of having the lens collapse into the camera body by about 3cm to save a little on space. The posh exterior hides the fact that this is using old fashioned technology of a bellows to allow the front to shrink. Build quality is very rugged, a hard plastic and textured outer shell with a metal frame. Weight and size wise it compares quite favorably with the modern DSLR type camera, here we have a comparison with a Nikon D750




The weights of the body and lenses are:
Body: 917g (The D750 is 935g for comparison)
50mm Lens: 364g
75mm Lens: 243g
150mm Lens: 513g

The 75mm is a lot smaller than the 50 which seems a bit odd, but there you go. Here we have the lens lineup



The lens hoods are all detachable and the 150mm comes with a little built in "lip" rather than a full on lens hood which is a little shame if you like them. As mentioned, this is a rangefinder which means that when you look through the viewfinder you see a ghost image which you have to line up with the main image to ensure focus. You can also just set the distance range of what you want in focus on the lens distance scale too which makes for easy quick fire shooting for that "moment".

This is a really heavy safety focused camera, you cant do a lot with it unless you have it set correctly. There are several buttons around the body that you must have in the right position before it will let you do anything. Example, the body wont let you detach a lens if the interior curtain is open. It wont let you take a shot if the curtain is closed. It wont let you open the back door if the curtain is open. Its trying to look after you and save you wasting film, your camera loves you and cares! Here you can see on the base the circular curtain controller and the open and closed positions of the curtain. (you can do what you want with the curtain if the door is already open, the camera has given up all hope on you by this point so is just letting you get on with it) On the back you can also see the self timer button and a flash sync cable socket.





and proof that this is little bellows camera after all



The top of the camera is fairly plain and fuss free, just the one dial that sets ISO, shutter speed and Exposure mode, AEL (lock exposure so you can move and reframe) or A which will exposure on where youre pointing when the shot is taken. Exposure compensation dial and wind on lever.



Overall impressions for me is that its as good as its going to get for walkabout medium format. I love the 6x6 format, it gives me around 25 megapixel scans from my Epson v750 which is plenty to be going on with. Its not cheap which is the main downside to the camera, but you are paying for quality. The lenses are all fantastic although i've not used the 150 too much, the 50 or 75 seem to be perfect walkabout lenses. There is a Mamiya 7 which is more of the same really, a slightly different lens lineup with one wider and the lens doesn't collapse into the body which attracted me to the 6.

 

[Andysnap]

Excellent review Ashley and a camera I am still lusting after.... it is a nuisance only having 2 kidneys.

 

[Emeness]

Zeiss Ikon Contaflex Super

Please understand this review is based on my opinion of this camera only.

Made by Zeiss Ikon Stuttgart West Germany and launched in 1959
Leaf-shutter Single Lens Reflex with a 50mm f2.8 Tessar lens as standard - there were three interchangeable lenses available when new, 35mm f3.2, 80mm f4, and 115mm f4 unfortunately not readily available today.
This camera has a coupled selenium exposure meter, easily recognised by the aperture setting wheel on the front plate. The meters match-needle instrument is visible in the view finder as well as on the top plate from the outside.
The speed setting ring has two grips to provide lever power for exposure setting which is needed since turning the speed ring automatically turns the the aperture ring into the opposite direction.

When I first picked up the Zeiss I thought wow this is chunky but having said that, it feels really good in the hands. This is a well made metal camera with a real solid feel to it not a bit of plastic in sight and the shutter release sounds amazing. It came with a hard leather case which screws to the camera using the tripod thread, the camera can be used when in the case as the front part folds down.
I think this is possibly a camera you will love or hate as it does take a bit of getting used to, but I love it. The automatic exposure control ( coupled to the shutter) takes a while to get your head around but is fairly straightforward once you understand the logic.
I've been very lucky with this camera costing only £40 from my local Antiques shop ( you pay your money and take your chance) it has obviously been well looked after and cared for by the previous owner.
I know it can't be compared to the modern singing and all dancing digital cameras but considering its 50 years old still takes decent photos and everything works on it, says something about the build quality. Wonder if my Digital SLR will still be around in working order in 50 years time. I doubt it.
I must admit I use digital as well for convenience but to me there is nothing more satisfying than loading your camera with film, developing the film, scanning images to the Pc, filing and printing as required.
This camera will become a favourite of mine to use I'm sure.



Zeiss Ikon Contaflex Super





Hard leather case with Zeiss


The following images were taken with this camera using Kodak ColorPlus 200

 

[Harlequin565]

Did a review of the Goodman Zone here: https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/goodman-zone.717888/

Posting as suggested by @ChrisR @Andysnap feel free to update the OP with the link if you see fit.

 

[Andysnap]

I've been meaning to do this for a while but age, infirmity, laziness and forgetfulness have all conspired to make me fail. However, thanks to a nudge from @ChrisR and @Harlequin565 I've gathered my thoughts and resolve and decided to review my newest old camera the remarkable Voightlander Bessa 1 6 x 9 camera. It wont be an in-depth review just my thoughts about it in the real world. So, here we go.

Dimensions :
Weight - 769g Length - 165mm Height - 95mm Depth - 45mm closed 135mm open

This is a 6x9 camera that originally came with a 6x4.5 mask (which mine doesn't have) and a choice of two lenses, a 3 element f4.5, 105mm Vaskar and the one I have, a four element f3.5, 105mm Color-Skopar and a variety of Prontor and Compur Rapid or Synchro-Compur shutters. It was made from 1949 until about 1957 when the significantly more expensive Bessa 11 was released. Shutter speeds run from 1 second to 1/500th with a bulb setting and aperture runs from f3.5 to f22. Film counting is done via a red window in the back and there is double exposure prevention system.
In use I have found it very reliable, easy to load with film and robust, My only real niggle is the tiny viewfinder which if you wear glasses can be a bit irksome to use, I intend to get and exterior viewfinder to use for composition. There is a cold shoe mount on the top plate.
So, the important bit, the lens. Super sharp even to the edge and I have found that it renders colour film exceptionally well and I haven't noticed any vignetting.

DSCF4331 by Andy, on Flickr

Some examples

Barge 1 by Andy, on Flickr

BM 3 by Andy, on Flickr

Esthwaite 2 by Andy, on Flickr

In conclusion if you want a really good 6x9 camera at a reasonable price (mine was £53) you wont go far wrong with this beauty.