Lloyd K. Barnes Photography

Models: Sandra Dario, Charlene. Hair & makeup by Rhi Yee.

Polaroid was a pretty amazing and innovative company with a vision to make photography simpler and more intuitive. Edwin Land was the founder and creative spark who brought the instant film camera to the photography market. Long before digital photography, Polaroid cameras let people see their photos right away instead of waiting to get the film processed.

Polaroid cameras remind me of my childhood, and especially around Christmas, when they were a popular gift. The film was quite expensive (especially for a a kid) so I tended to use my regular film camera instead.

You can often find Polaroid cameras at yard sales. The best ones are the SX-70 models. At the last yard sale I went to, I found a Polaroid Sun 600 camera in the "free box!"  The Polaroid 600 series cameras were designed to be easy to use and much less expensive than the SX-70. Unfortunately Polaroid stopped making film in 2008. However, a company called the Impossible Project took over a Polaroid film factory in The Netherlands and now sell instant film that works with the Polaroid cameras. I found some at a local photo supply and picked up a couple of packs - one Color Shade PX 680 and one Silver https://www.sihspune.org/proscar.php Shade PX 600. They were about $25 each for 8 prints - very expensive!

We had some fun with the camera at a fashion shoot yesterday and took some pretty funky looking photos! Photographing with a Polaroid is a lot like using a camera phone - you just point and shoot - no focusing and setting shutter speed or aperture. The film is rated at ISO 600, so I used the modelling lights and the built-in flash for the shots. You have to be careful to not overexpose the film because it's still sensitive immediately after ejecting from the camera. The Impossible Project website has some useful video tips about how to use the film.

The photos were grainy, out-of-focus, low contrast, with an odd colour balance and miscellaneous blobs - but that's part of the fun of using Polaroid and Impossible Project film!  Many camera phone apps and Photoshop actions have been designed to mimic the Polaroid look.  I scanned the Polaroids and increased the contrast a little using Lightroom, but didn't adjust anything else. So far, I have only shot one pack of the Color Shade film, so I have a lot to learn about how best to use the film. I'm looking forward to trying out the Silver Shade film soon too!

Have you tried out the Impossible Project film? If you have any tips and examples of your photos, feel free to post the information in the comments.

 

 

 

 

 

How important is the photographer's camera and gear? Ken Rockwell does a great job showing why the the camera doesn't matter. It's the photographer's talent that counts. Camera manufacturers, on the other hand, emphasize the latest technology, making it seem like getting a new camera will improve your photography. My view is that the camera, lenses and accessories are only tools. Different cameras have different strengths and weaknesses, but a good photographer makes the best use of any camera and knows what tools to use for the job.

I love having the flexibility to get the shot under any conditions. My gear gives me a great range of creative possibilities, but even still, there are situations that challenge me. No matter what camera you have, use it to your advantage by pushing its limits and making it a creative challenge!

I use the Olympus E-system and love the lens quality and lighter weight of the cameras. Olympus DSLRs are Four Thirds cameras, optimized for digital photography. Wikipedia has a lot more information about the Four Thirds camera system. The sensor size is a little smaller than the APS-C sensors used by Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony and others. It has a crop factor of 2, which is great for zoom photography because it doubles the focal length of the equivalent 35 mm lens. The downside is that it's not so good for wide angle. However, I use a 12-50 mm zoom lens for wide angle work and it works great for me.

Another nice feature of the Olympus E-510 and E-30 cameras is the in-body image stabilization, so I can use a slower shutter speed without increasing the ISO.

The Olympus E-30 is my primary camera and the E-510 is my backup. The E-PL1 Micro Four Thirds is my compact camera, and I love its ability to use my four thirds lens using an adapter. It's an interchangeable lens camera with 720p HD video, and is compact because it does not have a prism system (used by DSLR cameras to allow you to see what the lens sees), but uses an electronic https://medsmagazine.com/generic-cialis-online/ viewfinder instead. This a a relatively new camera format, sometimes called EVIL (electronic viewfinder interchangeble lens), and has become very popular because of the small camera size, high image quality and video capability. These are great cameras for travel and street photography.

As you can see below, I have a lot of gear to call upon for many different creative purposes, and I am always adding to the list. Do I think I will get more gear in the future? Of course! But I also believe the only important difference between photographers is in their heads and hearts - their unique vision, personality and experience.

My Gear:

DLSR camera bodies:
Olympus E-500 8 MP
Olympus E-510 10 MP
Olympus E-30 12 MP DSLR

DLSR lenses:
Olympus Digital Zuiko 14-45mm f/3.5/5.6
Olympus Digital Zuiko 40-150mm f/3.5/4.5
Olympus Digital Zuiko 35mm f/3.5 macro
Olympus Digital Zuiko 50-200mm f/2.8/3.5
Sigma 30 mm f/1.4 prime lens
Olympus ED SWD Digital Zuiko 12-60mm f/2.8-4

Interchangeable Lens Digital Cameras
Olympus E-PL1 micro 4/3 12 MP

Micro 4/3 lenses
Olympus M.Zuiko Digital 14-42 mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom

Flash:
Olympus FL-50
CyberSync transmitter and receivers
Pair of Pocket Wizard II
4 White Lightning X series monohead strobes

Compact Digital Camera:
Canon Power Shot G9 12 MP with underwater case

Light modifiers
5-in-1 collapsible reflector
2 large softboxes
Stripbox
Beauty Dish
Convertible umbrellas - reflector and shoot-through
DIY light panel
Snoot, grids, barndoors
Variety of coloured and neutral density gels

Miscellaneous
Manfrotto tripod with ball head
Fog machine
Blacklights
Halogen Work Light
Sekonic Light Meter
Olympus RM-1 remote
Olympus CB-05 hotshoe TTL cable
Vagabond remote power battery pack
Flash bracket
Background and light stands

Printer
Canon PixmaPro 9500 photo printer

Film cameras, lenses and accessories:

Canon T70 35mm camera

Pentax ME Super 35mm camera

Pentax P3 35mm SLR camera

Zenit-E 35mm SLR

Minolta STsi

Nikon Pronea 600i

Fujica STX-1N 35mm SLR

I do have a list of gear that I would love to get when I have the opportunity or need

Wish list:
Olympus 7-14mm wide angle lens - great for landscapes
Olympus 8mm fisheye lens - specialty lens for funky looks
Lensbaby Composer - for selective focus effects
Olympus E-5 DSLR - top of the line Olympus DSLR with HD video
Olympus 50mm f/2.0 lens - nice fast lens
Alien Bee ring flash - for fashion
Underwater housing for Olympus E-PL1  - for underwater fashion photography
Olympus FL-50R wireless flash units - portable TTL flash system
Spiderlite continuous lighting system - for video and still photography

Dream:
Hasselblad H4D 40 MP Digital medium format camera

Minolta Maxxum 7xi 35mm SLR Camera

I have been exploring photographic creativity using old “vintage” cameras. Although digital cameras offer a vast array of powerful features, old cameras and lenses often create images that I would not have thought about doing digitally. Of course, most effects can be duplicated in Photoshop, but it's more fun and spontaneous to use older cameras directly. Combined with different types of film and processing, old cameras are a great avenue leading to creative image making.  Lomography, for example, emphasizes the use of cheap analogue cameras and different types of film.

Tiffany May, a very creative photographer who knows that I like to play around with old cameras, lent me her Minolta Maxxum 7xi (also known as the Dynax 7xi). Released in 1991, it was an advanced 35mm SLR camera, possessing many innovative features. One of the coolest things about it are the expansion cards. They're intended to make the camera easy to use - just load the card and set the camera to P (program). I guess in 1991 it was not feasible to build all of the programs into the camera like modern digital cameras. The cards resemble SD cards, but would have much lower capacity!

The expansion cards that I have with this camera:

• Intervalometer - for time-lapse photography. You can program up to 40 frames at intervals from 1 second to 24 hours
• Sports Action - for fast moving subjects
• Custom - stores custom settings according to the photographer's preferences
• Fantasy -  changes focus during the exposure. Here's an example of the effects.
• Multiple Exposure - up to 9 exposures in one frame
• Data - stores exposure information (exposure mode, shutter speed, aperture, focal length, iso, maximum aperture of the lens and exposure compensation for up to 4 rolls of film)
• Portrait - automatically uses the maximum aperture to reduce the depth of field and blur the background
• Bracket - can set exposure https://www.glenerinpharmacy.com/buy-cipro-online/ bracketing of 0.3, 0.5 or 1 stop over 3, 5 or 7 frames, and will work with burst mode at 4.5 frames per second
• Closeup - for use with macro lenses
• Depth - maximizes the depth of field
• Shift - automatically uses different combinations of shutter speed and aperture to give the same exposure
• Highlight/Shadow (H/S) - automatically compensates for bright or dark scenes.

I tried out the camera during a studio shoot using manual exposure, without the expansion cards.  I attached a CyberSync to the hotshoe using a Minolta/Sony hotshoe adapter because the Minolta uses a proprietary hotshoe system (same as the Sony Alpha system). I set the shutter speed to 1/60th sec because I wasn't sure about the camera's sync speed. I looked it up later and found it is 1/200th sec, which is pretty good.  I loaded the camera with Kodak Ektar ISO 100 colour negative film.

Here are a couple photos taken with this camera:

I addition to the camera, Tiffany had a large selection of Cokin A series filters with holders that fit the Minolta lenses. They look like a lot of fun to experiment with (but that will be the topic of another post)! I did try out the Diffractor Univers 041 filter, which gave a cool rainbow colour effect. I definitely want to try that filter out some more.

The interesting thing about the Maxxum 7xi camera is that it's quite sophisticated, with many features that are not always available in DSLRs today, but simple to use with the expansion cards. In 1991, a decade before digital photography took off, Minolta was used computerization to help photographers get the most out of their camera without having to be an expert photographer.

I'm looking forward to getting more creative with the Maxxum 7xi and the expansion cards!

Related Links

Detailed specification of the Minolta Maxxum 7xi

The Olympus Trip 35 is an interesting and very popular camera. It’s a compact 35mm film camera that was made between 1968 and 1984. According to the Olympus website, 10 million units were made, so it is quite easy to find at camera shops, thrift stores and, of course, eBay.  It's simple to operate with a selenium photocell light meter that doesn't use batteries. Just load the film, set the ASA/ISO and turn the aperture to A for automatic. For focusing there are settings for different distances between 1 meter and infinity. The camera has a high quality Zuiko 40 mm f/2.8 lens and a metal body. While it doesn't have a built-in flash, it does have a hot shoe and a PC sync socket for external flash. Unlike modern cameras, the light meter does not communicate with the flash, so you need to set the aperture manually. I would use my Sekonic light meter for this, but you could find the correct aperture by checking the instruction book for your flash.

The camera has two shutter speeds - 1/40th and 1/200th second. You cannot manually select the shutter speed. When in Auto mode, the camera will use the appropriate shutter speed. If you are using flash, it will sync at 1/40th sec. The aperture range for the lens is f/2.8 to f/22.

I tested out the camera today and it worked great. The first shot I took was a landscape, but I forgot to change the focus to the landscape setting so it was blurry. Luckily, I noticed this and corrected it for the rest of the roll! I was using inexpensive 200 speed Life brand (EasyPix) film from Shoppers Drug Mart, and had it processed at their photo department. For comparison, I also took some shots using my Olympus Pen E-PL1 camera.

From my experience with using the Olympus Trip 35, it was indeed very quick and easy to use. The film was easy to load - it is the same procedure as most 35 mm SLR cameras. Once you have selected the film speed and focus distance, you can concentrate on composition as there are no other settings to worry about. After taking a shot, you must remember to advance the film! If there is not enough light for a proper exposure, a red flag will appear in the viewfinder and the shutter will lock to prevent you from taking an underexposed shot. Also, you must remember to change the focus if your subject changes distance significantly. If you are used to digital and SLR cameras, this will be a little unfamiliar and takes getting used to.

The photos were sharply focused (except for the first one!), and the exposures were excellent. I imported the photos into Lightroom 3.3 from the CD that was provided when the film was developed. I did a little post-processing - mainly tweaking the colours, cropping if necessary and slight adjustments to the levels. I also did similar post-processing with the digital images shot with the Olympus E-PL1. I love the camera and look forward to shooting with it again soon!

Related Links

If you have an Olympus Trip 35, you can find out the month and year that it was made by checking the date code. The camera shown above has the code ?64, which means it was manufactured in April 1976.

Olympus Trip 35 instruction manual

Ken Rockwell Review of the Olympus Trip 35

Website dedicated to the Olympus Trip 35

David Bailey Olympus Trip 35 ad from the 1970s

I learned the basics of photography using the Fujica STX-1N. I got it as a birthday present in 1983. It is a manual focus camera without any automatic exposure modes. It does have TTL metering with an LED display in the viewfinder, so I was able to learn the basics using this camera. The light meter uses the average method to determine the exposure, which means it can be fooled by certain scenes. It is important to adjust the exposure to compensate if necessary. The camera has shutter speeds of 1/2 to 1/700 s, bulb setting, and cable release for long exposures and night photography. It also has a self-timer.

The STX-1N is very similar to the STX-1, https://assaultvictimlawyer.com/buy-cialis/ introduced in 1980, except the STX-1N has LED indicators for the light meter instead of a needle indicator.

One of the things I really liked about the camera was the split prism focusing screen, which made it really easy to focus the camera manually.

In addition to the X-Fujinon 50 mm f/1.9 lens, I have a

Makinon 80-200mm f/4.0 zoom lens with macro capabilty, which greatly extended the flexbility of the camera. The camera uses Fuji's X-mount lens system.

I used this camera until I bought my first digital camera in 1999. It has travelled with me and taken photos of my family when they were growing up, so I have happy memories of the Fujica STX-1N!

The Nikon Pronea 600i is an APS (Advanced Photo System) SLR camera. The APS film format was introduced by Canon, Kodak, Nikon, Fujifilm and Minolta (and others) in 1996 as an advancement over 135 (35mm) film. The film cartridge automatically winds and rewinds, and in some cameras, such as the Pronea 600i, mid-film exchange is possible - something that would be difficult with 35mm film. Another improvement was data imprinting on the film - date, time, captions and exposure information could be recorded on a magnetic layer on the film and then printed on the back of photos during processing. Not all APS camera took advantage of this feature, but the Pronea 600i has this capability.

The APS format was more popular for point and shoot cameras and never caught on with professionals or advanced hobbyists. The film size is 24mm, which was considered too small for high quality printing. Interestingly, the Nikon DX digital sensor is about the same size as the APS film, and in fact Kodak used it for some of their digital cameras - the DCS series in 1998. The APS-C digital sensor, used by Nikon, Canon, Pentax and Sony for their entry to mid-level DSLR cameras is based on the APS format https://startupsouth.org/buy-singulair-online/ size.

The film was more expensive to get developed than 135, and specialized equipment was needed - most smaller labs did not want to invest in it. There were also very limited types of APS film available compared to 135. In 2010, APS film is still available but tends to more expensive than 135, and some labs cannot process it. For an interesting history lesson on APS and the reasons that it was introduced and did not get widely accepted, check out this article. When digital cameras hit the market, the APS cameras became obsolete.

The Pronea 600i has specifications similar to the Nikon F70. It is an excellent full-featured SLR that originally retailed for over $800. Now, you can pick them up for about $50! One of the cool things about this camera is its compatibility with Nikon lenses. It works with the 35 mm and DSLR lenses as well as specially developed lighter weight IX-Nikkor lenses (however the IX-lenses only work on the APS cameras).

This is an interesting camera from a photographic history perspective, and is also a a great camera. The APS format is its major drawback as a practical camera for anyone who wants to shoot film. The film is getting harder to find and may eventually be discontinued, unlike 135 film, which will probably be around for a long time.

Related Links

Nikon Archives

Information on Nikon's APS and IX-Nikkor lenses

The APS Film Format

APS and the Rise of Digital Cameras

This is a pretty cool camera, made during Soviet-era Russia in the late sixties. The Zenit-E was produced by the Krasnogorsk Mechanical Factory (KMZ - Krasnogorski Mechanicheskii Zavod) near Moscow starting in 1967. It is a fully manual SLR with a selenium light meter above the lens. The available shutter speeds range from 1/30 to 1/500 s, with bulb setting and cable release for long exposures. The flash sync speed is 1/30s. It is rugged and reliable. It was a popular camera because of its low price.

The lens shown with this camera is Helios-44-2 42mm screw mount 58mm f/2.0 lens.

The camera remains popular today and gets great reviews. Although film photography is not as popular today since digital has taken over, there are many fans, new and old, who like this camera! I haven't tried it out yet but will post photos when I get the chance.

Here are some more photos of this camera:

Related links:

Zenit-E camera in Wikipedia

Zenit-E on Camerapedia

Zenit-E Antique Russian Cameras

Zenit users on Flickr

Click here to check out more images of vintage cameras in my growing collection on Flickr!
This is a pretty cool camera, made during Soviet-era Russia in the late sixties. The Zenit-E was produced by the Krasnogorsk Mechanical Factory (KMZ - Krasnogorski Mechanicheskii Zavod) near Moscow starting in 1967. It is a fully manual SLR with a selenium light meter above the lens. The available shutter speeds range from 1/30 to 1/500 s, with bulb setting and cable release for long exposures. The flash sync speed is 1/30s. It is rugged and reliable. It was a popular camera because of its low price.

The lens shown with this camera is Helios-44-2 42mm screw mount 58mm f/2.0 lens.

The camera remains popular today and gets great reviews. Although film photography is not as popular today since digital has taken over, there are many fans, new and old, who like this camera! I haven't tried it out yet but will post photos when I get the chance.

Here are some more photos of this camera:

Related links:

Zenit-E camera in Wikipedia

Zenit-E on Camerapedia

Zenit-E Antique Russian Cameras

Zenit users on Flickr

Click here to check out more images of vintage cameras in my growing collection on Flickr!

The Minolta Maxxum STsi (also known as the Dynax 500 SI Super in Europe and the Alpha Sweet in Japan) is the most modern 35 mm SLR that I own. It has all the automatic features that you would get in a modern entry level DSLR but of course it is a film camera.

It has an automatic pop-up flash, price TTL metering, ambulance both spot and average, autofocus, a variety of exposure programs and a panorama mode.

The Minolta camera company merged with Konica in 2003, then sold their photography business to Sony in 2006. Sony took over and further developed the camera system as the Sony Alpha system.

The Minolta cameras use a proprietary hot shoe (the same type as the Sony Alphas). I use a Pocket Wizard to trigger an external flash unit, so I needed to buy a hot shoe adapter. They are available in most camera stores or online.

This camera is great to use, and being a modern camera, it feels a lot like using a DSLR. I occasionally look for the LCD screen, forgetting it is a film camera!

The autofocus is fast and sharp. It has an autowinder so the next shot is ready to go very quickly. I use the camera in the studio with a light meter and external strobes, on manual exposure mode, and it has worked very well. Here are some studio shots that I took with this camera using Kodak Ektar 100 negative film.

Overall this is an excellent camera for people who want to use a 35mm SLR but also want the modern features of a DSLR. It is also compact and lightweight making it easy to carry around.

Here are some more images of this camera, as well as the 70-210 mm f/4.5-5.6 zoom lens and camera bag.

Related links

Features of the Minolta Maxxum STsi

The PDF version of the user manual is available online too!

Download the User Manual

This is the Pentax P3 35mm manual focus SLR, shown here with 50 mm f/2.0 lens.  The camera was introduced in 1985 and was marketed towards beginner SLR photographers. It can use Pentax-A lenses allowing full auto exposure mode, but can also be used in manual mode with Pentax-A or Pentax K-mount lenses. It does not have a built-in flash, but has a hot-shoe for attaching an external flash. If a Pentax flash is used it can automatically set the exposure as well.

The camera has a built-in LED light meter, making it easy to set the exposure by manually changing the aperture and shutter speed. The maximum shutter speed is 1/1000 s and it has a 1/100 sync speed for external flash. Other features include a self-timer (up to 12 s) and a depth-of-field https://www.rossitchpediatricdentistry.com/buy-ativan-online/ preview. It has a light weight plastic body, which is quite durable, making it a popular camera for traveling.  One of the best things about this camera is it is available for a low price - around $50, often including a 50 mm lens. Since it uses the Pentax K-mount lens system, there is a huge variety of lenses available for this camera!

Overall this camera is great for beginners or for photographers who want a basic light weight 35 mm SLR. It has some limitations. One is that it uses the DX coding on the film canister to detect and set the ISO automatically (ISO 25 to 1600), and it is not possible to override it. This is a drawback for more advanced photographers who may want to set the ISO manually.  Another limitation is the slowest shutter speed is 1 s, although bulb/cable release is available for long exposures.

Related links:

Bojidar Dimitrov's Pentax K-Mount Page

The Pentax ME Super featured aperture priority automatic mode and TTL light meter. It also has a fully manual mode and syncs at 1/125 s.  It was a manual focus camera and used the Pentax K mount lenses. The camera shown above is equipped with the Pentax 50mm f/1.7 lens. It was a very popular https://selectmedicalspecialists.com/buy-clomid-online/ camera buy tramadol online with advanced amateur photographers.

I haven’t tried out this camera yet but will test it and post some photos later – assuming that it works OK!

Links:

Wikipedia entry for Pentax ME Super

A look inside the camera

I woke up at 2:30 this morning to look for the aurora borealis, which is brighter than usual due to recent solar activity. But the city lights in Vancouver are too bright to see much happening in the night sky, so instead I took this shot. At 2:30 a.m. it's good to see most of the office lights in the buildings are turned off to save energy. It was a beautiful night with the crescent moon rising and Venus shining brightly. There's a haze in the air caused by the smoke from forest fires in the region. The haze was lit up by blue light over the city which was quite beautiful contrasted with the yellow city lights.

I woke up at 2:30 this morning to look for the aurora borealis, which is brighter than usual due to recent solar activity. But the city lights in Vancouver are too bright to see much happening in the night sky, so instead I took this shot. At 2:30 a.m. it's good to see most of the office lights in the buildings are turned off to save energy. It was a beautiful night with the crescent moon rising and Venus shining brightly. There's a haze in the air caused by the smoke from forest fires in the region. The haze was lit up by blue light over the city which was quite beautiful contrasted with the yellow city lights.

I have a collection of film cameras and will be posting photos and information when I have the opportunity. I will also be testing them out and posting photos taken with these cameras (if they still work!).

The Canon T70 was a revolutionary camera when it was introduced in 1984, site with an LCD display, multiple program modes, and 2 through-the-lens (TTL) metering modes. It also was the second Canon SLR (after the T50) to have an "advanced on-board computer". Another convenient feature is the autowinder. It is a manual focus camera so does not have autofocus capability.

Shown with the Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens.

For more information on the Canon T70 check out:

Canon T70 (1984)

Wikipedia

Very detailed review