Urban75 Home About Offline BrixtonBuzz Contact

Modern cameras have no soul

FridgeMagnet said:
Faking the EXIF data is child's play. Actually faking the effects of the lens and CCD and so on would be a little trickier.
Click to expand...

You can enlarge the image if you go for something that has large out of focus areas like a portrait. Once you get the image into your photo editing software it should not be that hard. Producing the correct bokeh on out of focus area might cause a few problems. However some the multi element modern Leitz optics are quite harsh in the out of focus areas :D
 
My favourite old camera is this:
35.jpg


I bought it in 'fresh from the factory' condition (apart from a messy prism - easily fixed). It 'clunks' beautifully, ways a ton and was engineered to last more than a single lifetime. I love it.

I also love my much more modern Contax Aria's and RXII's. Again, they'll last well beyond my own lifetime and are beautifully designed and engineered.

RX2_2.jpg


Not so old, but I appreciate the thought that went into manufacture just as much as with older cameras.


I think the rush to be first in a digital age is spoiling the consideration and due to the advances in technology few cameras are designed to be good beyond Three, or Four years.

35mm film SLR's reached perfection with the Contax Aria for me. Fantastic little camera.

Again, not so old, but built on old principals:

571849.jpg



I'm keen to get a play with the new magnesium bodied Sony a900 mind. That may go some way to persuading me that new isn't always disposable crap.
 
I was always partial to my old Kodak Instamatic model 60 which took 110 format film and flash cubes:

in60b1.jpg
 
I picked this up at a car boot this morning.

200809_7040.jpg


A Mamiya 35 EE Super Merit, circa 1962 [?] complete with a manufacturer's case (upon which there's a sticker for the 'Sydney Opera House Trust' - I guess it's got around). 40mm f/2.8 fixed lens.

Very tidy to look at (almost like new) and pleasant to hold in the hand. Shutter priority AE onboard (or manual option)- the Selenium cell metering seems to be working and the shutter sounds about the right speeds when fired.

The vertical alignment on the rangefinder patch is a little out, but that can be worked around I guess.

Bought some film this afternoon to see how accurate the focus and metering are, but lack of film scanning facilities means I may not be able to post the results.

Oh, it cost me £7.50 :D
 
cybertect said:
I picked this up at a car boot this morning.

200809_7040.jpg


A Mamiya 35 EE Super Merit, circa 1962 [?] complete with a manufacturer's case (upon which there's a sticker for the 'Sydney Opera House Trust' - I guess it's got around). 40mm f/2.8 fixed lens.

Very tidy to look at (almost like new) and pleasant to hold in the hand. Shutter priority AE onboard (or manual option)- the Selenium cell metering seems to be working and the shutter sounds about the right speeds when fired.

The vertical alignment on the rangefinder patch is a little out, but that can be worked around I guess.

Bought some film this afternoon to see how accurate the focus and metering are, but lack of film scanning facilities means I may not be able to post the results.

Oh, it cost me £7.50 :D
Click to expand...

Nice one :D

http://herron.50megs.com/rangefinder.htm
 
stowpirate said:
How can any plastic, we are out of date at point of sale digital compare to something like this? What camp are you in high tech bin it as the new model appears, or do any urbanites see the beauty in a classic camera like this. Should we not be trying to disentangle ourselves with the modern obsession with technology?
Click to expand...

BTW, I don't see any contradiction in enjoying the respective virtues of both.
 
A *brand new* modern camera just for Stowpirate, that's recently moved from demonstration prototype to real product status. :D

Voigtländer Bessa III 667 aka the Fuji GF670 for the Japanese market: a 120/220 6x7 folding rangefinder with aperture priority AE. :cool:

Available next spring, apparently. No indication of price yet, though :hmm:

Hopefully, the fact that they're releasing a new film body for the formats also indicates that Fuji will continue producing 120 and 220 roll film for the foreseeable future.
 
cybertect said:
A *brand new* modern camera just for Stowpirate, that's recently moved from demonstration prototype to real product status. :D

Voigtländer Bessa III 667 aka the Fuji GF670 for the Japanese market: a 120/220 6x7 folding rangefinder with aperture priority AE. :cool:

Available next spring, apparently. No indication of price yet, though :hmm:

Hopefully, the fact that they're releasing a new film body for the formats also indicates that Fuji will continue producing 120 and 220 roll film for the foreseeable future.
Click to expand...

Film has made some sort of comeback in Japan and maybe even Germany going the resurrection of iconic names :D

I like the idea of a new folding MF camera but it needs to have chrome, leather covered metal body and not plastic. I have a Bessa R body which i use with old Soviet LTM 39mm lenses. Its a nice camera but the plastic makes it feel like some sort of toy compared to the classics it is trying to copy.
 
The idea that "old" things have more charachter is very adopted by photographers, faced with a choice of subject between, a rusty bit of ancient farm machinery or a modern mid range car most photographers I know would be all over the ancient tractor like a rash.

It does not mean however that the tractor actually has charachter.
 
I was having a re organize of one of my photo cupboards yesterday & found my old F4.
I'd really forgotten just how fucking solid it is (it has literally bounced of concrete in the past).
They don't make 'em like they used to actually, do they :D

Nikon.jpg
 
Should we not be trying to disentangle ourselves with the modern obsession with technology?
Click to expand...

What do you think a fucking camera is you muppet? A branch from a fucking tree? Cameras ARE technology, from the very begining a technology requiring a relatively high level of productive capacity in society as well as a whole host of supporting materials science, chemistry and engineering to make one. Indeed, cameras were and are one of the most enduring obsessions of modern technology.

Fucks sake...
 
weltweit said:
The idea that "old" things have more charachter is very adopted by photographers, faced with a choice of subject between, a rusty bit of ancient farm machinery or a modern mid range car most photographers I know would be all over the ancient tractor like a rash.

It does not mean however that the tractor actually has charachter.
Click to expand...

No, but it usually means that because of the nature of rust, the tractor's parts will appear more textural, far more so than a shiny new car body. :)
 
kyser_soze said:
What do you think a fucking camera is you muppet? A branch from a fucking tree? Cameras ARE technology, from the very begining a technology requiring a relatively high level of productive capacity in society as well as a whole host of supporting materials science, chemistry and engineering to make one. Indeed, cameras were and are one of the most enduring obsessions of modern technology.

Fucks sake...
Click to expand...

kyser gets into Grinch mode, ready for the festive season!! :D:D
 
kyser_soze said:
What do you think a fucking camera is you muppet? A branch from a fucking tree? Cameras ARE technology, from the very begining a technology requiring a relatively high level of productive capacity in society as well as a whole host of supporting materials science, chemistry and engineering to make one. Indeed, cameras were and are one of the most enduring obsessions of modern technology.

Fucks sake...
Click to expand...


Yep I've had to learn that! Once you get your head round digital properly and don't keep thinking 'it's not like film' it's actually very enjoyable, and the possibilities are endless! :)

The idea that "old" things have more charachter is very adopted by photographers, faced with a choice of subject between, a rusty bit of ancient farm machinery or a modern mid range car most photographers I know would be all over the ancient tractor like a rash.

It does not mean however that the tractor actually has charachter.
Click to expand...

Much like Dj's and vinyl. ;)

I'm pretty sure though, when the first 35mm cameras came in you didn't have a load of people saying 'it doesn't have any character' it's just called moving with the times. :)

In fact this quote from wikipedia says a lot about adavancement and the evolution of photography.

The early acceptance of 35 mm as a standard had momentous impact on the development and spread of cinema. The standard gauge made it possible for films to be shown in every country of the world… It provided a uniform, reliable and predictable format for production, distribution and exhibition of movies, facilitating the rapid spread and acceptance of the movies as a world-wide device for entertainment and communication.
Click to expand...

You could easily say something similar about digital bringing photography to the masses.
 
cybertect said:
A blast from the past has just resurfaced

http://www.lomography.com/lubitel166+/classic-features

Intriguingly, it will also shoot 35mm.

However, it costs considerably more than the £18 I paid for a new Lubitel 166 Universal from a shop in the Castle Arcade in Cardiff in 1986 - £250! :eek:
Click to expand...

They're rubbish, too. If you want a cheap TLR, get a Seagull.

Of course, for the "lomographers" out there, rubbish is exactly what they're after. But even so -- £250 for a £20 camera?
 
untethered said:
They're rubbish, too. If you want a cheap TLR, get a Seagull.

Of course, for the "lomographers" out there, rubbish is exactly what they're after. But even so -- £250 for a £20 camera?
Click to expand...

I disagree with this association of the Lubitel TLR with lomography. The lens was probably derived from pre-war Voightlander Brilliant as the camera design was spoils of war. I think you are confusing the lomo brand and the diabolical Lomo LC-A/M with its cult following? The camera that also sometimes gets dragged into this is the Smena/Cosmic which has a similar triplet lens and shutter. Anyway if you manage to get hold of a Lubitel or earlier Komsomolets or even 35mm Smena/Cosmic that was constructed within the design specification they can take perfect photos.

http://www.flickr.com/groups/lubitel/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/smenamania/

Then there was this LC-A rubbish

http://www.flickr.com/groups/lomolca/
 
cybertect said:
A blast from the past has just resurfaced

http://www.lomography.com/lubitel166+/classic-features

features_0.jpg


Intriguingly, it will also shoot 35mm.

However, it costs considerably more than the £18 I paid for a new Lubitel 166 Universal from a shop in the Castle Arcade in Cardiff in 1986 - £250! :eek:
Click to expand...

It also takes Leica filters/hoods as the screw thread is 40.5mm which gives some idea of the real potential of these cheap cameras :)
 
Of course it's no Rollei, but for less than twenty quid it was an absolute bargain. I took some reasonable pictures with it round Cardiff.

At £250 I'm afraid it looks more like a fashion accessory. :hmm:

I found my 166 in a box the loft on Sunday (I thought I'd lost it years ago) so I may bring it out of retirement. :)
 
cybertect said:
Of course it's no Rollei, but for less than twenty quid it was an absolute bargain. I took some reasonable pictures with it round Cardiff.

At £250 I'm afraid it looks more like a fashion accessory. :hmm:

I found my 166 in a box the loft on Sunday (I thought I'd lost it years ago) so I may bring it out of retirement. :)
Click to expand...

The Lubitel is an odd camera as it does feel like a plastic toy albeit with a coated glass lens. Then to make things difficult trying to focus it is near on impossible except in bright light resulting in loads of out of focus photos. In reality it is right up there with the best TLR on a good day. I cannot see the snobs or even some urbanites aknowledging this camera has real potential :)

The Kiev-35 is another lomography type that has to be the worst camera ever made?

kiev-35a.jpg


Faults required to give that lomography look are light leaks not through the normal gaps but right through the plastic which can be cured by painting it! Apparently it has plastic or very thin metal shutter blades that allow light to leak through. Then there is the unreliable shutter! Being Russian the lens is probably if mounted in a perfect camera capable of good results.

It is sort of a Minox 35 copy.

http://www.photoethnography.com/ClassicCameras/index-frameset.html?Minox35GL.html~mainFrame

Apparently Kiev 35 was also inspired by the Balda 135 but I cannot find any images does anybody have any links?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

editor
Why are official companion camera apps always so crap?
Replies
2
Views
499
weepiper
weepiper
editor
One Month Two Cameras - superb site about 'old' digital cameras
Replies
6
Views
467
MBV
M
I
Beginner-friendly video camera recommendations
2
Replies
45
Views
2K
iona
I
editor
Pentax 17 - a new, half frame film camera for the Instagram age
Replies
3
Views
705
editor
editor
sim667
Anyone else ever get overwhelmed by their camera gear?
Replies
13
Views
1K
Virtual Blue
V
Back
Top Bottom