To filter, or not to filter, that is the question.

I am a member of several vintage camera and general photography groups on Facebook and there are two “conversations” that always amuse me.

The first is around the subject of mechanical cameras that require no batteries and those that do. I am fascinated by the numbers of photographers who go on and on about how mechanical cameras that do not require batteries are so much better than those that require batteries for their shutters or metering. The standard line is that if you are out in the field shooting with a purely mechanical camera, you’ll never have to be concerned about not being able to take a photograph because your battery died. Honestly, I’ve been taking pictures with film cameras since 1975 and I have never had a battery give up on me while out shooting. And even if that happened, I always have a spare in my camera bag. I mean, how hard is it to carry around a little button cell battery? I pay far more attention to the battery level in my Fujifilm X-T1 or even in my iPhone than I ever have with any old film camera. But I digress.

The other Facebook interaction, which happens often whenever I post a picture of one of my cameras with a UV filter on the lens, are comments around my use of protective filters. “Please take that filter off of that lens!” Or, “Beautiful lens ruined by that filter—take it off now!” If I engage in any of these conversations, most of these people tell me how clear protective filters degrade the image quality or cause reflections. It is possible that adding another piece of glass in front of a lens might degrade the image quality in some barely perceptible way, but in all my years of photography, I’ve never noticed it or had any problems with reflections.

I take a great deal of care in finding nice examples of lenses for my cameras and feel that a clear protective filter is cheap protection for my investment. If I get dust on my filter, it’s easy to clean and I don’t worry about leaving cleaning marks on the front element of an expensive lens. I see so many otherwise fine old lenses for sale on eBay that have cleaning marks and scratches on them.

So, I use protective filters on my lenses. Do you?

Looking for Light: Little River Inn

I first read the phrase “looking for light” on the blog of my photography friend, Amanda Creamer. Amanda creates some stunning, dreamy images with her film and digital cameras. I loved “looking for light” so much, I wrote and asked her if I could borrow it and use it here from time to time. Photography is, at its very basic level, the art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light. As a photographer, I find myself looking at the world around me in terms of light and shadows.

Right now, I am focusing my efforts and honing my skills in black and white photography, but not too long ago, my wife and I spent a lovely weekend up the California coast near Mendocino. I brought my Nikkormat FT3 and Pentax Spotmatic with me, both loaded with black and white film. We stayed at the Little River Inn just south of Mendicino and on our first night, we had dinner in the hotel’s restaurant. Our host seated us at a table with a view of the Pacific. It was the magic hour and as I looked out the window, I was awed by the palette of colors. After many years of living at the coast, my experience is that my iPhone rarely gets it right, but this night it sure did. The sky, the ocean and the artificial light from the porch of the Inn all worked together, perfectly. Even the reflection of the restaurant’s chandelier in the upper left is a nice touch I think. I make it a practice not to bring my phone with me for relaxing dinners out, but on this night, I am glad I broke my rule.

The Nikkormat EL

I consider the 1970s the golden age of 35mm SLRs. Canon, Minolta, Pentax, Olympus and Nikon were all in fierce competition to create the very best machines possible. Photographers benefited from this competition with a wide choice of great cameras and amazing lenses. This was still the era of mostly metal and glass and a testament to the quality of camera manufacturing from this time is the fact that many of these machines remain viable, functioning and serviceable today.

I stumbled across this nice example of a Nikkormat EL in my local camera shop. I went to browse on my lunch hour and walked out with a new camera and a thinner wallet. The Nikkormat EL was introduced in 1972 and was one of Nikon’s first attempts at a camera with an electronically controlled shutter and aperture-priority auto exposure. Around the same time, an all-black body ELW was available which is the same camera with the exception of its ability to add an AW-1 auto winder. The EL is a pre-AI body which means that Nikkor lenses need to be manually indexed to the body using the Nikon twist; move the body indexing pin all the way over to the right (looking at the camera body), set the aperture on the lens to f/5.6, mate the lens to the body and then twist the lens to its smallest aperture and then to its widest. This sounds way more complicated than it is but necessary so the camera “knows” which lens you have on. Everything after that is typical 1970s SLR.

The EL is basically a large Nikon FE. The viewfinder read out is the same as the FE and FE2 with a big analog needle. This display is my favorite of all of the Nikon SLRs of this era—it’s easy to read and makes total sense. Other than having to index the lens to the camera, the EL’s other quirk is the battery. The EL takes a type PX28/4LR44/544 battery which looks like a little AA battery. The battery chamber is behind the mirror so you need to take off the lens and lift the mirror to insert the battery.

My EL is almost pristine. I cannot see any scratches or scuffs anywhere. I wonder if it was ever used? As I inspected the body inside and out, I did notice the seals were original and deteriorating pretty badly which is pretty common for a 50+ year old camera. My plan was to put a test roll through the EL and see if everything else was working and if I enjoyed shooting it. If it passed those tests, I’d sent it out for new seals and a general look-over.

I found a roll of Kodak Portra 400 in the back of my fridge and shot it over a weekend in March. I rated the film at 200 ISO which I always do with Portra 400. On a walk around my neighborhood, I discovered some spring color.

I connected my Aodelan wireless flash trigger to the hot shoe of the EL. The receiver and my Vivitar 283 flash were mounted on a tripod. Orvie, our Golden Retriever, is always a willing subject. The EL’s shutter synchs at 1/125th of a second.

Willing, but quickly bored of Dad’s photography.

I follow a number of Facebook groups for vintage camera collectors and users and I find it amusing when someone buys a camera as old as this EL, especially one with electronics, and are surprised when the machine doesn’t perform as if it were brand new. How many 50 year old cars can chug along for decades without service? In the back of my mind, as I was shooting with this camera, I wondered how the auto exposure was working and whether or not those crusty old seals would give me any problems. My fears were confirmed when this roll came out of the lab. Some of the shots showed signs of a light leak but the meter did a fine job of handling most everything I threw at it.

Yes, someone had a bay cow on a leash.

I enjoyed shooting the EL and I am impressed enough with the results I got from this hobbled camera to send it off for new seals and meter calibration. The fit and finish of this camera is exceptional, as are the other Nikkormats I have tried; the FTn, FT2 and FT3.

The EL and ELW were the last cameras to carry the Nikkormat name. Nikon had wanted to differentiate between their advanced amateur and pro bodies; Nikkormat for the former and Nikon for the latter. In 1977, Nikon was proud enough of their Nikkormats to throw the Nikon nameplate on the final camera in this series, the EL2.

The price of film cameras has increased substantially over the past few years, but it seems that these Nikkormats have flown under everyone’s radar. I paid $75 for this one and with a basic CLA, I will be all in for under $200 making Nikkormat one of today’s best vintage camera investments.

Ferrania P33

I had big plans to take my Nikon FE everywhere with me for a couple of weeks as I tried my first roll of Ferrania P33 black and white negative film. I had been reading good things about this film and wanted to give it a proper test drive. Fate had other ideas. A friend was looking for a nice FE and asked if I would sell mine. Just about the time I was asking if I could finish off the roll of film I had in the camera, he sent the PayPal payment. So, I clicked off a half a roll at my desk and around the house, rewound the film and packed up his camera.

Ferrania P33 is an ISO 160 film manufactured by Film Ferrania, an Italian company that has been making film since 1923. Film Ferrania calls P33 “a breakthrough in black and white photography blending innovation and tradition.” From the few shots I made with my test roll, mostly close ups of some of my gear on the white surface of my home office desk, P33 may become my go-to black and white film. I like it a lot.

The film has very little grain and and a pleasing range of tones; inky blacks, subtle mid-ranges and crisp whites. The speed of this film is perfect for me as I shoot a lot of 100 speed black and white film. Kodak’s Plus-X Pan 125 was one of my favorite films when it was in production, so P33 hits a special sweet spot for me. At $11.99 per roll, Ferrania P33 falls right into line with a number of similar black and white emulsions. I liked it so much, I ordered a few more rolls from Freestyle Photo. I am excited to try more.

Fear of Flash (Or, how a 50-year old Vivitar 283 helped me conquer it)

I’ve always had a fear of electronic flash photography and I admit, it was a fear of the unknown. My experience with flash photography was limited to flashcubes on Kodak Instamatic cameras, flashbars on Polaroid instant cameras and the SB-24 Nikon Speedlight I bought for my Nikon N90s back in the 1990s. I never got good pictures from any of those set-ups, mostly because I really didn’t know what I was doing. Many years ago, a friend hired me to shoot his wedding. To this day, I still cannot figure why he did or moreso, why I agreed to do it considering I didn’t have a clue. It was an outdoor daytime wedding and the available light stuff was pretty acceptable. The few flash shots with my N90s and Speedlight were horrible. The marriage didn’t last but my friend, who is still my friend, said it had nothing to do with my photographs. Thank goodness for that.

The rest of my portfolio of flash photographs consisted of over-exposed and washed out shots of my kid’s birthday parties or similar results from other family gatherings. I don’t think I had ever taken a flash photograph that I have been happy with. My history, coupled with what I perceived as the complicated process of achieving good results with flash, has contributed to my fear.

A recent acquisition of a Fujifilm X-T1 digital camera prompted me to starting wondering again about trying some flash photography. With the X-T1, I could experiment, learn and see my results immediately rather than incur the expense of film and processing while I fumbled my way around. I was also very curious about off-camera flash, both for still subjects and maybe even some portraiture. The most important part of this fear-conquering journey was not spending tons of money doing it. So I began my research and ended up going back in time 50 years.

The Vivitar 283 electronic flash was introduced in 1970 and quickly became the most popular professional and advanced amateur flash of its day. Vivitar sold more than 3 million units by 1973 and the 283 remained in production, on and off, for nearly 30 years. The power and dependability of the 283 along with a wide range of accessories, made it the choice of wedding and studio photographers. Because of the vast numbers of 283s produced and their outstanding reliability, you can pick one one up today for around $10, which is what I did. Mine came in its original box with instructions and shows little signs of use. The day mine came, I quickly installed four AA batteries, turned it on and pushed the test button. It worked!

One of the things you will read if you begin to research older flashes is the danger of high trigger voltages. Today’s electronic flashes use very low voltage at the hot shoe to trigger the flash; usually under 10v. Some of these older flashes, some 283s included, create trigger voltage as high as 250v which could damage the electronics in newer film and digital cameras. My Fujiflim X-T1 allows for a trigger voltage as high as 300v according to the manual. Since I was going to use my 283 off camera or with one of my old mechanical film cameras, I was really not concerned about the higher trigger voltage, but out of curiosity, decided to see what my 283 tested at.

Checking the voltage per some instructions I found online, the trigger voltage on my 283 was just under 8v which is fine for any film or digital camera. Even if you find an older flash with high trigger voltage, you can use the flash with a remote trigger, which is what I intended to do. For my set up, I found this AODELAN wireless flash trigger and receiver on Amazon for $42.

You simply mount the transmitter on your camera’s hot shoe and the flash mounts to the receiver. I mounted my receiver and flash to an old Bogen tri-pod. This inexpensive wireless set up triggers my 283 flash like a dream with the Fujifilm X-T1. I swapped out the digital camera for my Nikkormat EL and the set up worked just as well with the old film camera.

You can use the 283 in auto or manual mode. In auto mode, you twist the little calculator dial on the side of the flash to whatever film speed you are using, seen on the lower part of the dial.

Vivitar 283 flash calculator. This dial evens lights up with a cool green backlight.

You adjust the distance from flash to subject on the Auto Thyristor sensor on the front of the flash. If your subject is up to 15 feet away for example, select the blue color and then read your f/stop off the calculator. In this example f/8. If your camera is set at whatever shutter speed it synchs electronic flash with, you should get a good exposure.

The Auto Thyristor sensor

Side of the Auto Thuristor sensor set to BLUE

Like I mentioned above, Vivitar made all sorts of crazy accessories for the 283. One is the VP-1 Vari-Power module which replaces the Auto Thyristor sensor on the front of the flash. With the VP-1, you can manually dial in just the right amount of flash you want for your subject from full down to just a splash of fill. I found my VP-1 on eBay for $8.

Vivitar VP-! Vari-Power module

A family member wanted some portraits taken for a work project. I knew I could get some decent available light shots outdoors with my X-T1, but I thought this might also be a good time to experiment with off-camera fill flash using the 283, VP-1 and my camera set on manual mode. I set the camera to 200 ISO and the shutter speed to the camera’s 180th of a second synch speed. It was a bight sunny day. I put the tripod-mounted flash off to one side of my subject. Full power was way too much but as I dialed the output power back to 1/16th of full, the results were outstanding. I shot a series of portraits which looked amazing. My subject has not given me permission to share those headshots at this point, but I intend to shoot some more I can share here with permission as well as enlisting Orvie, my Golden Retriever, who loves to pose for portraits.

The Vivitar 283 also gave me an opportunity to try out my Minolta IV-F Autometer, taking flash readings. I connected the Minolta meter to the flash using a PC synch chord, held the meter near my subject pointing back towards the camera. Pressing the button to take the reading fires the flash, giving me the proper exposure setting. I did feel kind of like a pro photographer with the Minolta Autometer dangling from my neck.

I am encouraged by the results from my first experiment with the Vivitar 283. For around $60 all in, I have a really nice flash set up which can help me overcome my negativity and fear of flash photography. I am sure there are newer flashes that do all of this and more and probably do it easier than this set up. But in the doing, I am learning. And that’s a very good thing. I will share some results here soon and in the meantime, hope to hear from any of my readers who know more about this subject than I do.

The Vivitar 283 is a very powerful, versatile, well-built, affordable flash unit that is helping to teach this old dog some new tricks.

10 Years of The Fogdog Blog

When I began dabbling in analog photography again in 2010, I started writing my thoughts about the old cameras I was trying in a paper journal. A few years after that, I launched a Flickr account and began sharing pictures of my old cameras and the photographs I made with them. Other Flickr members commented on my gear or complimented my photos and that felt good. I enjoyed the connection with other photographers. About the same time I launched my Flickr account, I came across Jim Grey’s Down The Road blog. As I browsed through his posts, I found we were on similar paths, navigating life after the end of difficult marriages and discovering the joys of old cameras. Jim’s blog became an inspiration for me to start one of my own.

I began the blog over on WordPress in 2014. I lived in Bodega Bay, CA then. Bodega Bay is often foggy. Sometimes the sun would break through the fog in interesting ways. These bright or clear spots in breaking fog are known as fogdogs. Photography has been, in one way or another, always a part of my life. During some very dark and difficult times, it was my way of coping, giving me a bright and clear path forward. I decided to call my online place The Fogdog Blog.

For a reason I cannot even remember now, I became frustrated with WordPress, had a tantrum and moved my blog over to Squarespace in 2015 where it lives today.

I do admit, there have been times when I have considered turning the thing off, but then someone will comment on a post or send me a nice note through email telling me that they Googled a certain old camera and found the site and how helpful my information was to them. Or that they enjoyed one of my photographs. And even though I’ve never really worked at building an audience, it is gratifying to see some of my camera reviews show high up in the search rankings.

Honestly, the best part of all of this are the friends I’ve made here. Kind, thoughtful, curious, generous people who all share a love of analog photography. Thank you, all.

No connection to the blog but Joseph Phelps Vineyards in Freestone, CA used to make a wonderful Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir called Fogdog which l loved so much, I bought the hat.

Rollei RPX 400

This is not a proper review of Rollei’s RPX 400 black and white film. This is a grumbly review because while shooting this roll during my recent weekend in Mendocino, my Pentax Spotmatic decided to jam up on me. The film advance just stopped dead winding from one shot to the next. Grrrrr! I got about a dozen frames into the roll. Rather than tear up the sprocket holes, I rewound the film back into the canister and called it a day. Oddly enough, when I got back home and fiddled with the Spottie, everything seemed fine.

Rollei RPX 400 is a high speed black and white negative film that was recommend to me by fellow photographer Gregory Gross. It’s distributed by Maco (Hans O. Mahn GmbH & Co. KG, Maco Photo Products), a Germany-based supplier of photographic films and chemicals, licensing the Rollei brand name. The company says that Rollei RPX 400 is a new film that is based off of the original Agfa APX emulsion. Some digging revealed that this film is most likely made by Ilford. Whatever the truth, I loved the old Agfa APX 100 film and was anxious to try RPX 400 and the slower, finer grained RPX 100. I only wish my Spotmatic would have cooperated.

Here are the frames that were salvageable.

The shot below was a difficult one for the Spotmatic’s basic TTL meter. I was afraid if I metered for the shadows, the Pacific beyond would have just blown out or I would have lost the clouds entirely.

As I said up top, my review of this film is tainted because I get cranky when one of my old cameras lets me down in the field, especially when I’ve traveled so far to make photographs. But there is something interesting and a bit haunting about this emulsion that makes me want to try it again. I’m glad I have another roll of the 400 speed and two rolls of the 100 speed in the fridge. Next time I’ll pop the film into my trusty Nikon F and bring along a Minolta Autometer IV F that I just picked up my local camera shop. The meter came with attachments for incident, reflected and spot metering.

Double X in Mendocino

I had a pleasant weekend up the California coast in Mendocino a few weeks ago wandering about with my Nikkormat FT3 loaded with Eastman 5222 Double X film.

Mods

I’ve been on a bit of a Nikkormat kick recently and picked up a very nice, nearly new in appearance FTn body for cheap. The FTn, like many of the vintage cameras I have used over the years, has a micro prism focusing screen that is not interchangeable by the photographer. My aging eyes prefer a split image screen so I’ve managed to have several of my old cameras modified from micro prism to split image. Eric Hendrickson modified my Pentax Spotmatic SP and K2 bodies during a CLA which greatly improved the user experience for me.

I am currently running a test roll of Kodak Tri-X through the Nikkormat. I’ll post a full review once I’ve finished and developed the roll, but I will say that this is quite an enjoyable camera to use. I think these Nikkormats are often overlooked for sexier cameras and that’s a shame. Although it’s a heavy camera, there’s really nothing not to love about a Nikkormat.

To make this camera a true keeper, I do want to invest in some modifications. First, the FTn uses banned 1.35v 625 Mercury batteries. For my test roll, I’m using a 1.5v 625 alkaline cell. Many FTn users say there’s really no difference with forgiving print film, but I’ll want to have this camera’s meter modified to use the 1.5v battery nonetheless.

In addition to the battery mod, I would really love to have a split image focusing screen installed. This is definitely a job for a skilled tech, so I’ve reached out to Jim Holman at ICT to do a CLA, the battery mod and the focus screen swap. In order to do that, I needed to find a donor camera with a split image screen.

There are always quite a few Nikkormat FTn bodies for sale on eBay, but it’s difficult to find one that has a split image screen. The screens from the later FT2 and FT3, which are split image, will work in the FTn but those bodies are more expensive…more than I wanted to invest just to harvest the focus screen. I discovered during my “research” that the later FTn bodies with a plastic tip film advance and self-timer levers from the F2, often came with the split image screen, also called the “K” screen. Since most of the listings did not mention what type of screen was installed and none of them had pictures that included a clear shot of the screen, I had to contact the buyers and ask.

After several weeks of browsing, I came across a “parts only” FTn that came with its original box and sticker on the rewind lever that identified this camera as having the Nikon K screen. I offered the seller $20 for the camera and the offer was accepted.

Nikkormat FTn box with K screen identifier

Faded but still readable K screen label on the film advance lever

I really prefer the plastic tip advance lever over the plain metal one, so I am going to ask Jim to swap those out as well. When I make these requests, Jim always says “I’ll see what I can do” and then delivers results that exceed my expectations.

I am excited to see the results from my test roll. My FTn looks hardly used so it will be interesting to see how the camera will perform pre-CLA. After that, she gets packed up and, along with the donor camera, it’s mod time at ICT.

One Photograph: Dial O for Operator

I heard a story on NPR driving to work the other day that AT&T has asked state regulators at the California Public Utilities Commission to phase out its obligation to provide landline telephone service. They estimate less than 7% of California households in its service area use traditional copper-based landline phones. 7% doesn’t sound like much but in a state as big as ours, that’s a lot of people. AT&T’s proposal has generated over 2,600 public comments online ahead of hearing before a judge on the matter.

I personally have not had landline service since 2010 but there have been instances since then when, during big storms and wildfires, the electricity and internet were out as well as some cell towers. During one of the big fires, lots of folks I know found it difficult to connect a call. It sure would’ve been nice to pick up the receiver and hear a dial tone.

My parents still have an old black rotary dial wall phone in their basement. It was installed by New York Telephone in 1966 and for 58 years it has always worked no matter what.

I made this photograph of my old Western Electric rotary dial desk phone seven years after I gave up my landline. I used my Nikon F2AS, 55mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkor and Kodak TMax 400 film.

Can you even get an Operator by dialing “O” anymore?

Provenance

Over the years, I have built up a sizable network of photographic friends. My network consists of fellow bloggers, professional and amateur photographers, camera repair technicians, suppliers of accessories, current and former camera shop owners and people who buy and sell cameras online. I say “friends” because truly, these are all wonderful people who are enthusiastic about keeping analog photography alive. I feel very fortunate to call them my friends.

Recently, one of them—a trusted seller, offered up a very nice, boxed Nikon F2 Photomic A. I’ve really been trying to thin down my collection of cameras so I spent a good weekend mulling over whether or not to purchase this Nikon. My friend and fellow blogger, Jim Grey recently did a podcast about buying old cameras on eBay. You can listen to it here. Jim offers up some solid tips on buying old cameras online. I will offer one more—the crazy inner voice, the gut feeling that tells you that this is a good camera and that it should be yours.

Besides my inner voice, two other factors influenced my decision. First, the camera was really in lovely condition with a working and accurate meter and second, it came with its original numbers-matching box and paperwork. I’ve never had a vintage camera with its packaging this complete and original. Even the serial number on the Photomic finder is matching to the serial number on the box which is rare because many F2s had them changed out over the years as the finders evolved. It’s cool to have a camera and finder that left the factory together. The serial number on this F2 dates the body to the latter half of 1979, just a year before Nikon stopped building the F2.

I am always fascinated with the provenance of old cameras I buy and for the most part their history and their previous owners are mostly a mystery to me. But the romantic in me always wonders. I tend to buy cameras that are nice condition, so I can only assume that the ones I have purchased either saw very light use or were well cared for…or both.

When this F2 arrived, it was as the seller described. Only very faint signs of use, a very clean and clear finder, a good, strong shutter with speeds that sound pretty reasonable and a meter that matches the readings from my hand-held Sekonic. I opened up the back and the film chamber looked as clean as the outside of the camera—almost like new. And there was a surprise inside. A sales sticker from Shutan Camera Company in Chicago.

Shutan Camera Company was a legendary camera store that closed in 2008 after 90 years in business. I can only assume that 45 years ago, my F2 was on the shelf at Shutan. While the retail store is no longer around Shutan still offers some photographic services and their website includes catalogs and commercials from days gone by. I found their 1979 catalog with prices on the F2 with a 50mm f/1.8 Nikkor-E lens…$599.95. Adjusted for inflation, that would be about $2,700 today.

Image courtesy of Shutan.com

Image courtesy of Shutan.com

It was great paging through the old Shutan Camera Company catalogs and watching some of their television commercials featuring many of the vintage film cameras I have owned over the years. As a photographer, I always appreciate it when someone asks permission to use one of my images, so before using their catalog images on this post, I called the number on the website and left a message asking for their ok.

I was delighted to receive a call back from Bob Shutan whose father owned the camera store. Bob told me that it was part of the store’s marketing to put the little sticker inside the camera so that every time you popped a new roll of film in your camera, you thought of Shutan Camera. We had a nice chat about old cameras, film photography and my blog. He also sent me a very nice note after looking at some of my past posts.

I will never know who bought this Nikon at Shutan Camera forty some years ago or how it made its way from Chicago to the San Francisco Bay Area, but the good feeling I got in my gut when I decided to buy it that day was confirmed when I opened the back and saw that little sticker and made a new friend.

A Chicago Tribune photographer snaps a photo to accompany an article being written about the store on West Wacker Drive. Courtesy of Shutan.com

The End of AM Radio

This is mostly a blog about film photography and old cameras, but I occasionally write about radio because that’s where I started my career. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, I worked as a disc jockey at a number of radio stations in Upstate New York and later, in Phoenix, Arizona.

My very first paying radio job was at a small, daytime only 5000 watt AM station in Owego, New York. The station also simulcast its programming on FM. Owego was a small town, less than 20,000 people, on the banks of the Susquehanna River. We were what was called back then a full service radio station playing adult contemporary music, news, public affairs, even live high school sports. There were a half dozen disc jockeys, a two person news department, copywriter/traffic director, a full time engineer and several salespeople. That’s a pretty decent size staff for a small town radio station and I am not sure how it penciled out, but we all got paid each week and the two local owners lived a pretty decent life. A lot of people in town listened to and depended on the station to get their news and information. I remember doing a live remote at a feed store and enough people showed up to clean me out of station t-shirts and free movie tickets.

There were little stations like that in lots of towns in those days and big powerhouse stations too, like WABC in New York City, WLS in Chicago, KFI in Los Angeles and others. The AM band was alive with music in all formats, talented announcers, jingles and tons and tons of commercials.

For some reason, this morning on the way to work, I did something I haven’t done in years. I switched the car radio over to AM and tuned across the dial, wondering what I’d find. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Like most big cities, San Francisco has a news/talk station-KCBS. KNBR is all sports. Legendary KGO switched its format to sports/gambling a while back. I listened awhile to those big three and noticed a proliferation of ads for firms that provide relief to people who are behind on their taxes, treatment for erectile dysfunction and companies that buy houses in most any condition. None of the advertisers sounded local. As I scanned from 540 up to 1700, there was a mishmash of fading and staticky signals; mostly talk, a couple of religious stations, two Spanish language stations and one in Chinese. The bright spot on the dial was 1530 KFBK, a station out of Sacramento. They had a live and local morning show, traffic, weather, news and commercials for car dealers and local businesses. The station had a clean, clear signal and all of the content was well produced. In a major market, in morning drive, only one station compelled me to listen for more than a minute or two. Only one sounded live, local, fresh, engaging.

I get it. AM radio is a 100-year old technology. FM is better. Satellite even better with no commercials. Some of my co-workers listen to podcasts on their way into work. Audacy, the third largest radio company in the US just filed for bankruptcy. Auto manufacturers are talking about not even putting an AM radio in cars anymore. And I’m not sure how many commercials for ED drugs and tax relief it takes to keep paying the electric bills for a 50,000 watt AM transmitter. I don’t think AM is dead, but it’s certainly dying. And that makes me misty.

Growing up in the 1960s and 70s, all I ever wanted to do was work on the radio and I feel very lucky, I guess, to have been part of radio when it was live and vibrant and healthy. I follow a few Facebook groups where grumpy old radio dogs like myself reminisce and someone posted this picture of a disc jockey, headphones on, playing records, probably at nine o’clock at night and probably on AM.

Late night DJ. I would love to credit the person who took this picture or owns the rights. Please pardon my use here.

One Photograph: Channeling Vivian Maier

Ever since Vivian Maier’s amazing body of work was discovered in 2007, I’ve been a fan. I especially enjoy her whimsical selfies.

I began doing selfies as a way of identifying which camera I was using. I save the last few frames of each roll and shoot a mirror selfie. On occasion while out on a photo walk, I have come across a window where I can snap a good reflection of myself or a mirror in a shop. This is one of my favorites. I happened down an alley that had facing mirrors and took a selfie with my Pentax Spotmatic SP with a 55mm f/1.8 Takumar on expired Agfa APX 100 film.

Mirror Selfie, Yountville, CA, 2019

A Camera I Really Wish I Could Use

A friend who knows I love old cameras gave me this Polaroid Big Swinger 3000. I have the box and the original manual. Unfortunately, I have no film for it. Polaroid discontinued peel apart 100-series pack film a long time ago. There are alternatives from Fuji that have also been discontinued, but are insanely expensive. There was another Swinger model that used Polaroid 20-series roll film, which was the first Polaroid film to develop outside of the camera. You can’t get that film anymore either.

Growing up, several of my relatives had Swinger cameras. They were pretty popular then and the $19.95 price tag was somewhat affordable. I remember that the black and white photos that camera out of the Swinger looked pretty darn good. It would be fun to shoot mine, even once, although I would imagine that I would be disappointed in the results. It seems no one has been completely able to duplicate Polaroid’s instant film stock like the original.

The television commercials for the Swinger starred a young Ali MacGraw. Barry Manilow sang the tune. Here is the commercial. Be careful, the tune and the words can get stuck in your brain.

Meet The Swinger

30 Film Cameras You Should Try Before You Die

Ok, the headline is a bit dramatic, I admit.

I am wrapping up 2023 with a list of the top 30 cameras that I have experienced since I started this blog. What I liked best and least about each of them, their quirks and anything I learned that might be helpful. Try one. Try six. Try all 30 if you’re a nut like me.

CANON P: This is a well made rangefinder from the 1960s, before Canon started making SLRs. It’s one of the least expensive ways to try out LTM (Leica Thread Mount) or M39 lenses. Canon also made lenses for their rangefinders. I had a 50mm f/1.4 that made gorgeous pictures. The Canon P is a delight to shoot. The only pitfall is that the shutter curtains are made of thin metal and are prone to wrinkling.

The Canon P with 50mm f/1.4 Canon LTM lens

CANON NEW F-1: Canon’s professional grade SLR circa 1981. It competed with Nikon’s F3. This was the last version of the F-1 series after the original F-1 and F-1n. Very robust SLR with aperture-priority metering. Uses Canon’s FD mount lenses which are exceptional and reasonably priced. The finish on this camera is unique and very attractive.

Canon New F-1 with 50/1.4 Canon FD lens

CANON A-1: Another FD mount SLR, the Canon A-1 is the ultimate point and shoot. In program mode, just focus and shoot. The A-1’s metering system will take anything you can throw at it. It also has a variety of other shooting modes too. Only drawback to the A-1 is the annoying Canon shutter squeal which can be remedied with a professional CLA. Do it yourselfers have spoiled lots of A-1s trying to squirt oil into the camera’s body. Use a pro.

The Canon A-1 with breech-lock mount 50mm f/1.4 Canon FD lens

CONTAX RX: The Contax RX is a very interesting camera, released just as the world was beginning to embrace autofocus. While it is not an autofocus camera, it has “autofocus assist”—a little display in the viewfinder that tells you when you’ve nailed your focus. It really works! The RX has every shooting mode you could want, has a very cool shutter sound and uses the amazing Carl Zeiss C/Y mount lenses. I took some beautiful pictures with mine. The RX has loads of electronics inside. I am not sure how well those electronics will age, but when this camera is working, it’s a joy to shoot!

Contax RX with 50mm f/1.7 Zeiss Planar

HASSELBLAD 500C/M: Two medium format cameras made my list, both SLRs. The first is the Hasselblad 500C/M. Shooting a Hasselblad is truly an immersive experience. From loading film to composing an image, tripping that amazing shutter and winding on the next frame…nothing is fast about a Hasselblad. But is it fun! And did I mention those Carl Zeiss lenses!

The Hassey with 80mm Zeiss Planar

LEICA M2: Of all the Leica rangefinders I tried, the M2 was my favorite. For pure minimalistic photographic joy, there’s nothing like an M2 with a 50mm or 35mm Summicron lens and some Tri-X film. The M6TTL would be a close second to the M2, but only because of a built-in light meter. My recommendation on buying Leica rangefinders is to only buy from reputable dealers and expect at some point to invest in a CLA.

Leica M2 with 50mm Rigid Summicron

LEICA R SERIES: Leica made SLRs too and my favorites are the R4, R5, R6 and R7. These cameras were the result of a partnership with Minolta and like other Minoltas that I will talk about in just a bit, some of the Leica R bodies suffer from various electronic gremlins. None of mine ever did. These Leica SLRs are one of the most affordable ways to experience the amazing quality of Leica lenses although prices have increased recently as cinematographers have discovered Leica glass. The R4, R5 and R7 have auto exposure modes. The R6 is completely manual. Leica SLRs have big, bright, beautiful viewfinders.

Leica R4s MOD-P with 60mm f/2.8 Macro-Elmarit

LEICAFLEX SL2: The 1973 vintage SL2 was the last of the Leicaflex cameras, predecessor to the R-Series. It might be the smoothest, sweetest sounding, most confidence-inspiring camera I have ever shot…period! There’s a story around the internet that Leica over built this camera and lost money on every copy sold. Their rationale was that people would buy lenses and that’s how they’d make money. I am not sure if this is true or just an urban legend, but I will tell you that the SL2 is over built. Every single part. The fit and finish on the SL2 is extraordinary. Every knob, lever and dial moves with perfection and authority. It’s a camera you want to shoot with and fiddle with when you’re not. You can find these cameras for sale in the $300-$500 range, but buyer beware. My SL2 required an extensive CLA and conversion to modern batteries. Don Goldberg at DAG did the work and when I got the camera back, it was a work of art. Expensive, but worth it.

Leicaflex SL2 with 35-70 Vario-Elmar zoom

MAMIYA 645PRO: Only two medium format cameras made the list and this is one of them. The 645Pro is a system camera, very modular. This camera handles like a 35mm SLR, has oodles of lenses and accessories and is easy to use. With finder and power grip, it's a big and heavy beast. Strip it down to the basic waist level finder and crank-style film advance and it's very portable.

Mamiya 645Pro with power grip and AE finder

PENTAX MX: This is a very small, simple, manual everything SLR that takes Pentax K-mount lenses. The MX was the professional model in a line-up that included the ME and the ME Super consumer models. The size and weight of this camera makes it an ideal companion for hiking or photo walks.

Pentax MX with 50mm SMC Pentax-Z f/1.4 lens

PENTAX ME: The Pentax ME is my 35mm point and shoot. Aperture-priority auto-exposure is the only mode available on the ME. Some might see that as a limitation, I see it as liberation. Mount your favorite Pentax K-mount lens on the front, drop in some film, go shoot!

Pentax ME with 85mm f/1.8 SMC Pentax-M lens

PENTAX LX: I’ve had four of these. Two worked flawlessly, two gave me all sorts of fits. Needless to say, I still think everyone should try this amazing camera from Pentax that was in production from 1980 to 2001. The LX was a professional grade system camera. It was weather-sealed, had very accurate off-the-film-plane metering and feels just great in the hand. Do some research on the LX and you will read about its “sticky mirror syndrome” as well as issues with its aging electronics. Pentax guru Erick Hendrickson used to service the LX. He doesn't anymore. I am not sure anyone does. Pity as the LX is about as good as it gets.

The author with his LX on Portra 400 film

PENTAX K2: The K2 was the top of the line in a post Spotmatic series of cameras that included the K1000, KM and KX. The K2 offered aperture-priority auto exposure and was considered a pro-level body. It was only in production for a few years prior to the introduction of the LX. The only thing bad I have to say about this camera is that the ASA setting is done via a ring around the lens mount. Over time, these get very difficult to turn. A tech can remedy this during CLA.

The Pentax K2

PENTAX SPOTMATIC: The Pentax Spotmatic was the first 35mm SLR with through-the-lens (TTL) metering. I also think it is one of the nicest looking cameras ever made. In 1960s advertisements, Pentax invited photographers to “Just Hold a Pentax.” Indeed, a Spotmatic feels just great in your hand. I have to admit that I was put off by the things I read about the Spotmatic for quite a while. First, the battery needed to power the camera’s meter was no longer available and second, the camera required stop down metering. When I finally decided to try one, the body I bought off of eBay arrived with tons of corrosion. Eventually, I came across a nice Spotmatic. I discovered the battery issue is a non-issue. And after a few shots using stop down metering, it became second nature. Later Spotmatic F models eliminated the need for stop down metering with SMC Takumar lenses. While cameras in my collection have come and gone, there’s always been a Spotmatic around.

Pentax Spotmatic with 55mm f/1.8 SMC Takumar

NIKON F: Nikon turned the photographic world upside down in 1959 when they introduced the F body and the Nikon F mount lens, which is still used on Nikon DSLRs. The F is a legendary camera and I only came to appreciate it this year when I acquired several with the non-metered prisms. Like the Leica M2, I find this version of the Nikon F pure, minimalistic photographic joy.

NIKON F2AS: The F2 was the follow up to the Nikon F. Introduced in 1971, it would stay in production until 1980. All of that time, the camera body stayed the same. Nikon introduced several new prism heads with auto-indexing and more sensitive meters. The last version was the Nikon F2AS. Some people call the F2 Nikon’s best mechanical SLR. Some say it is perhaps the best mechanical SLR period.

Nikon F2AS with 55mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkor

NIKON F3: The F3 was Nikon’s third professional camera and the first with an electronic shutter that required a battery. Hard to imagine today because everything runs on batteries, but professional photographers at that time were very hesitant to buy into a camera body that required batteries. It turned out that the F3 was just as dependable as the F and F2 and would stay in production the longest of any of Nikon’s professional cameras. The F3 is a great camera and has the nicest film advance, I think, of any 35mm SLR.

Nikon F3HP

NIKON F4: The 1988 F4 introduced Nikon photographers to autofocus. It’s also one of Nikon’s most flexible camera bodies, accepting every Nikon lens made since 1959 with certain limitations. The F4 is a beast. It’s big and heavy but feels really amazing in hand. There are several different battery grips available for the F4. The photo below shows the F4 with the MB-20 grip, allowing for the smallest and lightest F4 configuration.

NIKON FM, FE, FE2, FM2: All of these are essentially the same camera. The FM is the first in this series of cameras first released in 1977. The FM and later FM2 were manual everything cameras. The FE and FE2 offer manual plus aperture-priority auto exposure. In 2001, Nikon released the FM3a which incorporated all of the best features of all of its predecessors.

The Nikon FM

MINOLTA XD: Of all of the Minolta cameras I have tried, I liked the XD best. The XD was called the XD-11 in the US, the XD-7 in Europe and just XD in Japan. The XD is a historically significant camera because it was the first SLR to offer both aperture-priority and shutter-priority auto-exposure modes. More important still, the XD had a built-in, simple but effective microprocessor. In shutter-priority mode, if the photographer selects a speed that the camera determines is outside proper exposure parameters, it will automatically select another one that will deliver a good exposure. This was the first ever "program" mode on a camera. The XD also offers a fully manual exposure mode. The XD was made in a joint venture with Leica and it just oozes quality. There was also a XD-s which offered built-in diopter correction. Some Minolta photographers report electronics issues with the XD line, the same gremlins that infect the Leica R cameras perhaps?

Minolta XD. Leica hiding inside.

Olympus OM-1 and OM-2: 35mm SLRs were big and heavy until Olympus changed the game in 1972 with the introduction of the OM-1. After that, Nikon and Pentax scrambled to downsize their SLRs to compete. In previous posts I have called these Olympus cameras “jewel-like” and they really are wonderful to shoot. The Zuiko lenses are pretty amazing too. The OM-1 uses mercury batteries so you will have to use a Wein cell or have it converted to take modern 1.5v batteries.

Olympus OM-1n with OM Labor 50mm f/1.4 Zuiko

There are a few cameras which are too new to me to make this list. I am currently shooting three different Nikkormat cameras; the FTN, FT2 and FT3. I am very impressed with all three. My Nikkormats will definitely make next year’s list.

Happy New Year from the Fogdog Blog!

Winter Storms on The Sonoma Coast

Gale Warning…Wind Advisory…High Surf Warning…Coastal Flood Advisory. All of these weather alerts are in the forecast this week here in Northern California as a series of winter storms roll through. For the ten years I lived in Bodega Bay, I got used to hunkering down and letting nature do her thing. After the storms had cleared, I loved grabbing a camera and heading down to the beach to see what had washed up. What shapes had been carved in the sand.

This series was shot on Eastman 5222 film with my Pentax Spotmatic and the 55mm f/1.8 Super Tak.

Toyota's New TV Commercial Stars the Pentax Spotmatic

I work in retail automotive, managing the marketing for a company that owns a number of luxury car dealerships, so I pay attention to car ads. Recently, Toyota debuted a very well done television commercial just in time for Christmas featuring the Pentax Spotmatic.

In the commercial, a woman has received a box from her grandmother containing a number of old photographs and the camera she took them with; the Spotmatic. As the commercial continues, the woman embarks on a journey to duplicate the same scenes her grandmother photographed, even developing her photographs in a bathroom darkroom.

You can see the commercial here.

Interestingly enough, just about the time I saw the Toyota commercial, I received a very nice copy of the same camera from a collector friend of mine. He wrote and told me that he had a nearly mint early SP and offered it at a very attractive price. The temptation was too much and I bought it. The camera is cosmetically nearly perfect, the shutter sounds good and strong and surprisingly, the meter is active and very accurate when I compare it to my handheld Sekonic Twin-Mate.

Over the course of my 14-year journey back into film photography, cameras come and go…but it seems there’s always a Spotmatic in my camera bag. Hmmm.

One Photograph: Merry Christmas

All through December, 2017, I was shooting up a roll of Kodak Portra 400 in my Pentax Spotmatic F with the 55mm f/1.8 SMC Takumar lens. After the roll was finished, I decided to try the in-store photo lab at the local camera shop for developing and scanning rather than one of the mail order labs I usually used. When I went to pick the processed roll up right after the New Year, the lab tech told me that that something wonky happened during processing. He apologized and gave me a free roll of Portra 400 in compensation.

The image above of my Christmas tree that year was one of the few that came out fine. It was one of the first frames I shot on that roll. As I got closer to the end of the roll, the processing error was more evident as you can see from the beach image below, shot on New Years Eve.

With all of the film I’ve had processed since getting back into film photography, only two rolls have been messed up at the lab. I think that’s a pretty good track record.

As my blog begins its ninth year, I want to say how much I appreciate all of you who read and comment. Merry Christmas and best wishes for a great 2024.

One Photograph: Analog on Analog

Since my days of working as a disc jockey on the radio in the 1970s and 80s, I have always had a turntable of one sort or another in my house. I like relaxing after dinner with a nice glass of wine and putting on an old classic rock album or some jazz. There’s something about plucking an LP from its sleeve, placing it on the platter and dropping the needle into the groove that warms my heart — just like using an old film camera does.

My audio equipment has changed many times over the years. I’ve had some decent receivers and amplifiers over the years and some real crap. Good speakers and bad. As life goes, I sold, gave away or threw away gear. My set up right now is a Yamaha amplifier that I am not at all impressed with. I bought it on the cheap five years ago and you really get what you pay for. My speakers are vintage Klipsch Heresy II which the Yamaha huffs and puffs trying to drive. I’ve been seriously thinking lately about buying a vintage Marantz receiver to compliment the Heresys. I remember listening to the old Marantz receivers back in the day…warm, rich and powerful. There are a number of people that recondition these old receivers. Maybe a 2235B…or even a 2270 to make my speakers happy.

I shot this picture using available light back in 2014, listening to albums and sipping wine. The camera was my Nikon F4 and Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 AF-D. The film was Cinestill 800T. The Pioneer turntable was damaged beyond repair during a move a few years later.

One Photograph: Embarcadero Pedi-Cab Ride

A stroll along San Francisco’s Embarcadero is one of my favorite things to do whenever I visit the City. I’ve walked the almost three miles from touristy Pier 39 to the Giants ballpark on several occasions. Good exercise and lots of photo opportunities.

In September, 2013, the America’s Cup came to San Francisco. I spent a nice afternoon in the City enjoying the festivities. By the late afternoon, all the walking and the crowds got the best of me and for the first time, I grabbed one of the many Pedi-Cabs that run up and down the waterfront.

I snapped this with my Nikon F2S as my driver peddled me back to the parking lot and my car. I was using Kodak Tri-X film that day.