Film What FILM (!) photography related item did you buy this week?

Bought myself an Agfa Record III with Solinar lens and Syncro-Compur shutter in pretty amazing condition.

I’ve had for a while an Isolete III with the same lens and shutter combination. Results were great but square is not my favorite format and it had a bit of smoke smell. The Record was the natural evolution.

In the meantime I’ve tested a Bessa II with Heliar, but condition was quite poor and I’m not sure the Heliar is that superior to the Solinar...
 

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Nice, my Record III had the typical problems, stuck focus, stuck rangefinder knob, sticky shutter, and a light leak when I bought it at a flea market a few years back. It took me two attempts to get it to working condition. But that lens is definitely worth it. Very capable :)


I just bought a Folmer Graflex No.1 Crown Tripod for my Speed Graphic set.
Now all that I need are the proper side flash, 5" reflector and the cables
 
I've actually acquired quite a lot of items for film development (bigger bottles, clips, hangers, a new thermometer - as well as something really interesting I'll post about once I've had an opportunity to test it), but they don't make for a very good shot - though it might be fun to just heap everything up and take a picture, but I'm in no mood for that kind of trouble (I'd have to put everything away again afterwards), so here's this instead:

DSC_2972.jpg
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I've so far considered the Sofort the "better" Classic Neo 90. It's the same camera at its core, but Leica decided to completely redesign the shell as well as one major element when it comes to user experience: The almost useless "menu" dial around the lens of the Fujifilm camera was transformed into a quick way of changing focus. Getting to infinity focus on the Classic Neo 90 requires several key presses and/or fiddling with the "menu" dial (which, infuriatingly, not even activates the menu on its own - you have to press the button on the back first). On the Sofort, you just click to the right for standard (0.6-3m, the default on switch-on) or "infinity" (3m-infinity) - simple, and eminently useful because it's important to get the focus right with these otherwise extremely simple cameras.

The landscape orientation enabled Leica to model the shell after a rangefinder camera - the "selfie" mirror sits in the place of the rangefinder. It's a bit gimmicky - but it looks surprisingly nice; they could have left out the completely redundant (and certainly non-functional) "focus tab" - that's just bling, and it actually makes for a slightly *worse* handling experience (because you'll feel it under your middle finger when holding the camera - it's not comfortable, full stop). On the whole, I actually prefer the portrait orientation of the Classic Neo 90 in the hand, but the Sofort handles well enough, and its display is more to my taste, as well as the button layout. To be fair, neither camera is great in the hand anyway. The only "real" downgrade: Leica decided to actually take away one of the exposure compensation options of the Classic Neo 90, so it's a bit harder to work contre-jour - beats me why they did this (the Fujifilm Instax films don't take well to overexposure anyway, though). Otherwise, the cameras feel much more similar than their appearance would suggest, in spite of the redesign.

So, is the Leica Sofort the "better" Classic Neo 90? For me it is - because of its focus dial; all else being equal, that alone transforms the shooting experience for me, and it single-handedly solves the only real worry the Classic Neo 90 ever caused for me (unsharp images are very expensive and really irritating). I'll now shoot the two side by side to find out if there's any tangible difference in image quality (I doubt it). And then I'll give the Classic Neo 90 away - I know just the right recipient ...

M.
 
The Sofort is so beautiful, they really got the design right with that one. It is a little discouraging to hear that they took the exposure compensation feature away - my wife has the Neo 90 and I've made use of that feature many times in taking pictures of her and friends when requested. All in all I'd kind of like to see the Instax Mini format fade away in favor of newer and better Instax wide and/or square cameras. The mini format has always been a little too small. I keep getting ready to pull the trigger on a camera in one of the larger formats to replace my wife's Neo 90, but none of these cameras have won me over yet.
 
The Sofort is so beautiful, they really got the design right with that one. It is a little discouraging to hear that they took the exposure compensation feature away - my wife has the Neo 90 and I've made use of that feature many times in taking pictures of her and friends when requested. All in all I'd kind of like to see the Instax Mini format fade away in favor of newer and better Instax wide and/or square cameras. The mini format has always been a little too small. I keep getting ready to pull the trigger on a camera in one of the larger formats to replace my wife's Neo 90, but none of these cameras have won me over yet.
Sorry, I was not precise enough: The Classic Neo 90 has *three* exposure compensation settings, one of which is "strong overexpose" (really only about +1) - that's missing on the Sofort. It has "standard" over- and underexpose, like some of the cheaper Fujifilm cameras. I think it's about +-3/4 of a stop - but given the very limited latitude of the Instax film, the quarter stop actually can make a difference. However, it's not that big a deal.

As for the size: The film *and* lenses are usually not that sharp to begin with - so bigger images don't yield that much of a benefit in *most* cases; something like the MiNT InstaKon RF70 *can* make a difference for the Wide format though (at least when it's stopped down to f/11 or more), and for the Mini format, the Lomo'Instant Automat Glass (the super-wide variety!) is sharpness king so far. That camera is fantastic, by the way, even though, like all Lomo'Instant cameras, it has its own quirks you have to work around (see below).

That doesn't mean that the Classic Neo 90 isn't capable of pleasing shots, and I'm okay with the small format; it doesn't hold up to close inspection anyway - so it's about other things ...

I agree that there's no *affordable* camera for the larger formats out there that's really convincing. I own the Lomo'Instant Wide - it's a fun camera, but very flimsy, and the lens isn't up to much (it *can* be just about sharp enough in good light, stopped down, but you have a hard time controlling that). Anyway, it's way(!) more satisfying to shoot with than Fujifilm's Wide 210.

The key problem is that the Lomo'Instant cameras are crippled by a limited shutter - it only goes to 1/250s, that's not fast enough for shooting in sunlight with an ISO 800 film if the lens only stops down to f/22 ... At least you can use filters on all of them; I *always* carry an ND4 when using them. It's fiddly, but it works.

M.
 
[thinks] Wish I had a Leica M7 like that guy. But, I've got some black gaffer tape and he doesn't, so I guess we're equal.

I wish I had some funds for a good gaffer tape, but I spent all on a camera and lens! :)

Just received a cheapish Caruba but leaves residue and has a weird texture. Apparently the best , both as lack of residue and finish match, for the black M6 and M7 is Permacel P-743 / Shurtape CP-743 Matte Black. However best price I could find in Europe so far is 33 Eur delivered via eBay...

If anyone has other brand or sourcing alternatives, I'd be keen to know.
 
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