The film journey continues...

I have run a roll of Fuji Superia 200 colour film through my Minolta Dynax 7 over the last couple of weeks, but haven't processed it yet. I will probably wait until I have a few to develop all at once, since I will dev-only and then scan the negs myself.

Since my last post talking about getting back into film this year, I have purchased a few more items to add to my Minolta and Canon film kits. One is a Minolta 75-300mm f4.5/5.6 D lens. Yes, I know I already have the 70-210mm f4.5/5.6. But it was a great price ($40.00NZ), and I wanted to see if it was worth getting the extra reach over the 70-210mm.

I have also branched out and made my very first purchase on AliExpress! As a hobbyist getting back into film, I shudder at the prices being asked for film here in New Zealand. One roll of standard Kodak Gold 200 is about $40.00NZ in camera stores - $40.00!!! Bugger that. So after a quick look an AliExpress, I purchased 5 rolls of Lucky Black and White 400 film for just under $48.00NZ delivered. That's basically five rolls for the price of one! 

I'll see how it goes shooting and developing it, but at that price, you can't really go wrong?

And speaking of what can go wrong.... you know that Canon EOS 5 I purchased (see last post) for $35.00? Turns out there was a very good reason for it going so cheaply. Yep, it doesn't work. Pop a fresh battery in, turn it on, and press the shutter... and nothing (except a very weird electronic grinding noise). Oh well, it was worth a shot I guess. Although having said that, these EOS 5's seem fairly dodgy, reliability-wise. All sorts of things can go wrong with them (a very weak command dial for a start). So that's it with me and the EOS 5. I'm done with them.

That's not it for me and Canon though. Far from it! Canon and me go way back with film. In fact, when I think of film photography, I really think in terms of Canon. My first camera was a Canon T70, followed by the Canon T90, and then a procession of Canon EOS cameras (100, 10, 50, 30, 1), until I changed to digital in the early 2000s and switched to Nikon. I only really shot film on Canon cameras, so to not have a Canon now that I'm giving film a serious look again would be sacrilegious!

The EOS 300v is one of the last film cameras Canon produced (the 300x was the last), and is jam-packed with modern features and up-to-date autofocus from the digital era. It's a bit of a plastic-fantastic (although it does have a metal lens mount), and because it's not a trendy, all mechanical, traditional-looking film camera, it tends to be ignored by the hipster film community. Suits me. I'm old, and so are my eyes. I need all the help I can get. So modern auto-focus with modern EF lenses will do me nicely thank you. 

It's also a bit of a love it or loath it looking camera. And actually, I quite like the look of it. If you are going to go modern, then by Jove's go all-out!

At the moment I have an early production 35-70mm EF to go with it, but I hope to rectify that in the not too distant future. It will take all Canon EF lenses (including L Pro glass), although of all the brands, Canon's EF lenses seem to retain their value the most. So it might take a while to get some truly decent glass for it.

Fun in the Snow, Arthur's Pass. Kodak Gold 200.

I thought I would finish this post with a photo shot on film - taken about 20 years ago! I don't remember what camera I used, it could have been any number of different options - but to me it brings back so many memories, and has the unmistakeable 'look' of film.

For our kids 21st, my wife and I put together photo albums of their life for them (up to 21yrs obviously). We looked through boxes and boxes of negatives and prints to fill the albums, and probably 95% of the images we used were shot on film. Yes, that's partly because digital only really became viable around 20 years ago, so a lot of their early life was documented on film. But it also had to do with how easy it was to go through them and choose the images we wanted to use. We didn't have to find x,y or z old hard-drive and go through hundreds (if not thousands) of files to find images. We literally picked up a box and flicked through the prints.

Archiving of memories is very important. And I think it could be argued quite seriously that the best way to archive images is with film. How many of us have 'lost' photos to corrupt cards/drives/computers? And how many will continue to do so? Every digital photographer will tell you it's a matter of when, not if. Sure, you can 'loose' film negatives. But baring fire (heaven forbid), if they are kept in a box in the dark, they will last forever. And will print up as good as the day they were taken. Worth thinking about...

2025 - The Year of Film!?

I love black and white photography. Always have. It's what I cut my teeth on when I first started learning all about photography (way back when). It's classic, the images often have a timeless feeling and there's something 'evocative' about monochrome that color doesn't match.

Perhaps that's why I enjoyed shooting the Fujifilm cameras and playing around with the film recipes so much? At least half of the recipes I programmed into the cameras were black and white (mostly trying to replicate Acros - my favorite b&w film). And shooting with all these 'film stocks' on a digital camera was a heap of fun (and a huge rabbit-hole it turns out).

Aailyah. Lumix S5 with Panasonic S 50mm f1.8. 1/60th sec @ f2.8, ISO 100. 

Shooting black and white with digital is a simple matter of choosing a monochrome profile instead of color. Then, if you shoot RAW, you get a b&w image in the viewfinder (if you're shooting with a mirrorless system), but the RAW image still has the color information attached if you change your mind.

You can also choose to shoot in RAW + JPEG, in which case the jpeg will have the b&w profile 'burnt' into the file, while the RAW will still retain the color. The best of both worlds. 

I don't shoot Fujifilm cameras anymore, having moved to the Panasonic Lumix S5 full-frame camera. But when I did shoot with Fujifilm, I would often only shoot in JPEG - meaning that the resulting image would only be monochrome. No color info - no going back. It was a bit like shooting film, but with digital. 

Some are very happy with this work flow - creating 'pretend' film images on digital. Heck, you can even add grain to the image at the point of capture to further enhance the film look. 

Say 'Cheese'. Lumix S5 with Panasonic S 50mm f1.8. 1/60th sec @ f2.8, ISO 100.

The portraits in this post were all taken on the Lumix S5 using the Monochrome S profile. The S5 has a variety of monochrome profiles you can choose, with the 'S' profile seeming to give the best rendition of skin colors. But since they were all shot in RAW, they were infinitely 'tweakable' in post-processing anyway. And as much as I do like the final look, there is a part of this jaded old photographer that thinks to himself "If you want the film look to your images, just damn well shoot film"!

Storytime with Grammy. Lumix S5 with S 50mm f1.8. 1/60th sec @ 4.5, ISO 1000.

So that's exactly what I've decided to do in 2025. Shoot some film.

Early last year, a very good friend gifted me a Minolta Dynax 7 film camera body (thanks Stew) and I've meant to shoot it ever since. The time for thinking is over, and it's time to get doing! 

First step was to actually get some film for it. Given all I've said in this post so far, I was only going to be looking at monochrome film - for two reasons. Firstly for all the reasons I've given in this post 😁(didn't I just say that?), and second - the cost. B&W film is cheaper to buy and, if you have your own processing tanks and chemicals (which I do), cheaper to develop. Much cheaper. 

I brought some Rollei APX 25, 100 and 400 ISO film, and then actually scored some cheap expired color film online, just for giggles. Don't know when I'll use the color (especially since one of them is a slide film which is horrendously expensive to develop), but it's there just in case.

I then decided to get a 'standard' lens for the Dynax 7, and I knew just which one to get; The Minolta 35-70mm f/4 macro. It's a lens I've owned before and used with Sony A-mount digital cameras. It's a great performer, very sharp wide open, with a constant f/4 aperture.

The 35-70mm f/4's come up reasonably regularly, and are a fairly cheap price for such a good lens. The one I bid on was actually attached to a Dynax 7xi, so I got another film body as a back-up to the Dynax 7.

When Stewart gifted me the Dynax 7 it came with a 50mm f2.8 macro lens, so I decided my new film kit would be complete with a telephoto lens. Enter the Minolta 70-210mm f/4.5-5.6. I had actually purchased a 70-210mm f/4 'beercan' but had to send it back because it wouldn't focus to infinity! Damn... I might get another one later, but for the meantime the f/4.5-5.6 will do.

With the Minolta in the bag I thought I was now sorted for a film kit. Turns out I was wrong! Since I was looking through all the listings for film cameras on our New Zealand auction site (TradeMe), I was seeing other cameras that were catching my attention. I had my eye on a Canon EOS5 body that looked like it might go cheaply, so I put in a 'low' bid and left it at that. And yes, I won it (for the princely sum of $35.00NZ).

Film cameras (and film) have experienced something of a resurgence in the last 5 years, which has seen the prices go up considerably. Film itself is eye-wateringly expensive (which does give pause when looking at getting back into shooting film), while old film cameras that used to be given away (or thrown out), are now going for more that older digital camera bodies. Crazy...

But there are still bargains to be had (can't complain about $35.00NZ for a Canon EOS5) if you look out for them and are patient. Strangely enough, it's the older, more manual film cameras that are the most popular. The more 'modern' looking film cameras tend to go for cheaper prices. Suits me.

I'm looking forward to getting a bit more 'hands on', a bit more 'tactile' with my photography this year. Not in a hipster, 'look-at-me-aren't-I-cool' sort of way (I'm middle aged, bald and fat - hipster I ain't) - more in a photography as 'craft' kind of vibe. I'll let you know how it goes....

A new Vlogging setup

As well as writing about photography on this blog, I also happen to have a Youtube channel (Lorimer Photography).  It hasn’t been updated for a while, for a couple of reasons.

First, this whole worldwide pandemic quarantine thing has kind of put a halt to travel of any kind, so it’s been a bit difficult to actually get out and shoot some content. I’ve also been very busy working from home through the lockdown here in New Zealand. So while others may have been able to take the opportunity to slow-down and explore some creative pursuits, that hasn’t been my experience.

Second, and perhaps even more importantly, my iPhone 6 that I use to create and edit all my videos on has tragically died! It had been struggling for a while to be honest – losing battery power at an alarming rate until it was virtually unusable for video. I did replace the battery in it, which revived the phone and gave me some hope that it could last me another couple of years. But then, out of the blue, it just stopped working altogether. Nothing – nada – dead.

I’m now limping along with my wife’s old iPhone 5s (which has its own battery issues), until the end of the year when I will probably ‘inherit’ my sons iPhone 7 when he upgrades to the new iPhone 12?

All of which had made me a: frustrated, and b: realise that I actually needed a dedicated vlogging camera instead of using my phone. Sounds simple enough, right? Just buy a vlogging camera – for cheap – on a small budget. Let the fun begin…

In my previous post I mentioned that I had sold a few items I had been testing. So I did have a little money in the kitty. And in terms of a dedicated vlogging camera, I didn’t want (or need) a state-of-the-art Sony A7 RIII or Canon 90D system. In fact, I wanted something that was as small and light as possible. Something as similar to the iPhone shooting experience as I could get, yet in a compact camera format. But even so, it would have to be cheap. Very cheap.

My other list of ‘wants’ wasn’t very long either. It had to have a flip-out screen so I could see myself when vlogging, shoot at 1080p 30fps (I don’t want or need 4k), and image stabilisation. And really, that was it.

Jumping back on Trade Me – NZ’s answer to ebay and my go-to site for buying camera gear – I narrowed it down to two choices that fit within my price range and specs. One was the Canon SW730 HS Powershot superzoom compact camera, and the other was the Sony a5000 mirrorless. Both ticked all my ‘wants’ in a vlogging camera, and both could be had for around my budget.

Canon SX730 HS vlogging camera

I was leaning more towards the Sony, with its interchangeable lens system and larger APS-C sensor, and I made a couple of enquiries to see if I could lower the ‘but now’ price on a couple of auctions. I started looking more into the Sony alpha mirrorless system, and the more I did, the more I went down the rabbit hole of lenses I could get, accessories available etc. I started thinking of it as a replacement for my Fuji mirrorless system – and that’s when I stopped myself! I love my Fujifilm X-E2, and have no intention of replacing it. So I re-focused (excuse the pun) and reminded myself what I actually wanted the camera for. A ‘dedicated’ vlogging camera.

That’s when an auction for a very lightly used Canon SW730 ended, didn’t sell at auction, and was offered to watchers at well under the initial reserve price. It was an offer I couldn’t refuse. I accepted the ‘buy now’, saved myself some money in the bargain, and am now the very excited owner of a Canon SW730 HS Powershot vlogging camera!

The reviews of the SW730 from vloggers on Youtube are glowing, with one caveat – audio. Not that the in-built stereo microphone is awful. It’s not. But it doesn’t have an input for an external microphone (neither does the Sony a5000), so you’re stuck with the on-board sound. Unless, you come up with another audio recording solution. Enter the lavalier microphone.

With my iPhone rig, I had a Rhode micro attached that I use to record the sound. It was ok, but even with a fluffy dead-cat attached, it still picked up a considerable amount of wind noise at times. On a couple of my vlogs the wind noise is so bad that I’ve had to apologise for the poor audio quality. I knew I could/should do better with my audio recording and had already been considering going to something like a lavalier microphone instead. Getting the Canon SW730 HS has made the decision for me.

I’m almost ashamed to admit that I’ve had an Olympus LS-14 external audio recorder for quite a while now, and have never used it to capture audio for my vlogs. It’s basically plain laziness, although I did think that by using the Rhode video micro I was at least capturing better audio. As I discovered on a few occasions using the Rhode micro though, better does not equal best. So with some of the money I ‘saved’ getting the Canon, I have re-invested it into picking up a (cheap) lavalier microphone that I can use to capture better audio. It can be plugged into either the Olympus recorder, or even my iPhone 5s, to record better sound than will come from the camera’s own in-built microphone. Hopefully that will help to elevate my videos to the ‘next’ level?

My final purchase for vlogging was a bit of an impulse buy. But I’m hoping it will actually work out to be worthwhile? I mentioned earlier that one of my criteria for a vlogging camera was IS (image stabilisation). And the Canon SW730 HS does have very good in-built optical IS. But…. when shooting HD video and using the ‘dynamic’ stabilisation, the camera will crop into the image for the stabilisation to take effect. This means your 24mm wide angle field of view will effectively become a 28 to 30mm fov when using image stabilisation in movie mode. I don’t want this! I, and most other vloggers, like to have as wide a field of view as possible, especially when doing walking and talking pieces to camera. I’ll have to test it out to see how bad the crop actually is, but in the meantime, I’ve gone ahead and brought a (cheap) camera stabilising rig that may get around the issue?

I’m a bit unsure about it for a couple of reasons – chief among them is that I will probably feel a bit of a geek using it!? I’m also not sure how effective it will be when used turned around 180 degrees to face me when talking and walking? A quick Q&A search about a similar product seemed to suggest that it was possible to use it that way, but I’ll have to try it out for myself and see. And finally, although relatively light, it does add some bulk to the whole setup. Maybe the positives of getting stable footage will be worth the trade-off of weight and bulk? I’ll see once it arrives and I’ve had a chance to test it out. But even if I end up not liking it, it really didn’t cost much in the first place.

This has ended up quite a long post, but it outlines quite a few big changes to my vlogging equipment. Hopefully it will also translate into better video all around? Head on over to my Youtube channel here and check out some of my latest videos. Eventually I’ll get some content up using the new gear, and then you can let me know if you notice a huge quality difference? Here’s hoping…Head o