Mixed results with the film cameras the last few months. The Yashica FX-D looked fab, worked a treat and sold easily. Even the tatty looking ones seem to be rising in price, so maybe people have realised they’re easy to overhaul if they work in the first place and an excellent camera for those new to 35mm.
The Cosina CX-2 appeared to be working fine, it certainly went through the motions when you used it and made all the right noises. Pity then the roll of Kodacolor 200 came out blank! So that’s going back on eBay to see if anyone who knows how to fix it wants a go at it.
The Chinon Bellami has had a roll of Fomapan 400 monochrome film through it and I’m expecting the results next week. It was sold as a worker but untested with film, so we’ll see what comes back. That too will likely depart either way, it’s a nice little camera but feels odd to use, the picture quality (assuming that doesn’t come back blank too!) will likely determine it’s fate.
My Konica 35EF which provided the roll of images with the delightful blue caste due to the age of the film I used, has now turned out a rather better set of images, all taken during a film photo walk around Sheffield city centre, arranged by Analog Wonderland and sponsored by Pentax. I took this and the Nikon FG along with me, which gave me some flexibility in lenses and a chance to ensure the Konica actually worked properly. It also allowed some comparison in end results between the two, bearing in mind the Konica is a relatively budget end compact, whilst although the FG was Nikon’s budget end SLR, the Nikkor F mount lenses it uses, again the cheaper E series, are still good quality “glass”.
Both shots are low res scan that I’ve not touch in Lightroom or any other software. One is taken with the Konica, the other the FG with a 28mm E Series lens. Which is which is at the bottom of the page.
I’ve wandered around Sheffield city centre a few times with a camera, some friends and I did the first Sheffield Photo Marathon back in 2016, a night shoot whilst at college before that, as well a lots of photos of the big wheel which stood at the top of Fargate for some time, which ended up as one big “joiner” image. I also did quite a bit of wandering around for my Seeing A City project which became my A2 coursework in 2011. But going around now, fourteen years later, I realised the place had changed once again. The empty spaces of 2011 had now been filled in most cases, yet there was more building work in progress in general, with more apparently to come. But, what struck me most though was the lack of people and the huge reduction in the volume of traffic, as well as the lack of “real” shops, not vape bars, pop-ups and lots of empty sites.
Fargate was one of the city centre’s busiest thoroughfares for generations, yet I stood at one and of it close to midday on a Saturday and it was virtually empty, I came back along it’s length about two hours later and it was just the same. The cafes and bars around town had customers, but there was no hustle and bustle like years of old. Later on we walked across The Moor, yes, more people but nothing like the volume from the day of the Photo Marathon just under 10 years ago, let alone the throngs I remember way back in the 80s and 90s.
Traffic is now limited to the outside of what’s left of the shopping area, which itself has shrunk considerably with the demolition of the old Castle Market at one end, whilst even the busses have been pushed out of the main routes in favour of allowing only pedestrians and cycles.
The photo walk prompted me to dig out my Seeing A City book and compare the images I took in 2010/2011 with the two rolls of Kodak I used on the day as well as think about the state of the city; as someone who’s lived here most of his life, it’s scary. Consequently, I think it’s time to revisit the work I did for what in essence was my first book I suppose and do a then and now. I might even post the result as a PDF on here.
As for Vol.2 of my actual book…who knows, still nothing from the publishers.
The first photo of the University building is taken with the Nikon FG and 28mm E series lens, the second is off the Konica 35EF with its Hexanon 38mm lens. Both are Kodak 35mm film, Pro Image for the Nikon, Kodacolor 200 the Konica. I think the Konica holds up quite well and it’s nice to use too, so that will be staying; just wish I could get the flash to work.
Meanwhile, I really do like the Deep Tone Mono preset on the Nikon Zf, as well as having a dedicated B&W mode at the flick of a switch.
