Classic Camera Revival

Today, Alex is joined by David Smith, a Biology professor and researcher at Western University in London, Ontario. While we mostly talk about cameras on the show, David has something unique: microscopes. As many history nerds know, many camera companies we know and love today began producing optics, including microscopes. Dr Smith came by this affinity for collecting honestly, as his mom is an antique dealer. David talks about his microscopes, how he started the collection, and how it led to film photography and a fantastic collection of Leica rangefinders, lenses, and medium-format cameras.

You can find Dr Smith online.
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/arrogantgenome/?hl=en

Last year, we were so caught up in our own tenth anniversary that we completely forgot about the fifth anniversary of the K-Mount! While the K-Mount is most often associated with Asahi/Pentax, it was a joint invention by Asahi and Zeiss Ikon. Like the M42 mount, the K-Mount was intended to be a universal, open-source lens mount. But the partnership never materialised, and the two companies parted ways, with Pentax retaining the mount and one Zeiss lens design. Since its introduction, the K-Mount has changed slightly as technology advanced. To celebrate, the team is here to discuss the cameras and lenses for this iconic mount, from K to K-AF4!

Last year, we chatted with James McFarlane about his journey and pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. What we did not count on was finding a second film photographer who took his own film on his pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago. Today, Tyler Cahoon of the Retro Film Project joins Alex and John to talk about his Camino journey, the reasons behind his pilgrimage, the people, the photos, the cameras, and the film that came along.

You can find more from Tyler online...
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@retrofilmproject
Watch Tyler's Camino Journey Here: youtu.be/uOl7Dkm9VEE
Instagram: www.instagram.com/retrofilmproject

We're back for Season 12! While we wanted to include a Mystery Camera Challenge as part of our 10th anniversary season, it just didn't work out. So James, Alex and Bill head into Toronto to kick off the new season with another Mystery Camera Challenge, our sixth! This time around, we each drew a name and used that person's camera, and then grabbed a roll of film from the other person! The cameras in this episode include Alex's Nikon F65 with a 24mm f/2.8 lens, which James used, and a roll of Ilford HP5+. From Bill came the Nikon F90x with the 35-70mm f/2.8D, which Alex shot on a roll of Bergger Pancro 400. And from James came the Nikon F6, which Bill used and loaded with a roll of Ultrafine Extreme 400. Also of note: this episode was recorded live on location at Union Station in Toronto!

Well, we all made it through another season, and not much worse for wear. The team had a relaxing time sitting around the table and discussing everything they did this year, the gear they acquired, the films they tried, and the developers they worked with. Plus a brief discussion of social media, AI, and more. Just some middle-aged guys chatting about photography. It's a little bit of everything to wrap up the year.

The one thing that will always keep a photographer humble is that we all make mistakes, some big, some small, some fixable. So join the gang as they talk about foul gear, forgotten steps, chemical mix-ups, and general issues that keep us humble. Yes, mistakes were made.

It's been a while since we've done one of these shows. It was back with the Nikon FA, and in that case, we just passed the camera around the table. But today we have something special, the Pentax MZ-S, the last professional camera from Pentax/Asahi with a rich history. The camera was provided by John Roberts (who is back on the show today). It was used by Alex, James, and Bill, along with the three limited-edition lenses that were released with the camera.

It's still 2025, and it's still Leica's 100th birthday. And as part of the global celebration, they recently released their first Leica-branded film, Monopan 50. And the Internet was abuzz with speculation about what the film was under the cover. Well, all signs point to Adox HR-50, which makes sense. HR-50 is sharp, fine-grained, and high-resolution. That got us thinking: why not discuss other ASA-50 films? This includes Ilford Pan F+, Adox HR-50, Ferrania ORTO, Velvia 50, and even a mention of Efke 50! We also discuss overexposure and pulling film in development, mainly because there are more 100-speed films out there these days that you can shoot at ASA 50!

Our co-host Chrissie did something to push themselves out of their comfort zone and decided to take a solo trip to Iceland. Armed with a Samsung phone, Sony A7 and a Polaroid I-2 in an effort to rekindle a passion for photography. Join Chrissie and Alex as they discuss the trip, including the reasons, gear, and of course, the photos.

Here in North America, we're fortunate to have several camera and photography stores dedicated to keeping film shooters like us happy. However, today's guest recognised a need for such a store in the city of Porto, Portugal. Fourteen years ago, Pedro started a small shop dedicated to selling cameras, watches and other antique technologies. Calling it Máquinas de Outros Tempos or Machines Out of Another Time. Today, they sell cameras and film the hungry population of the city, and business is good. In addition to sales, they also handle film developing and scanning. Every camera sold is refurbished by an in-house technician. But that isn't all, there's also Cinemot. Cinemot started as selling respooled Kodak Vision3 motion picture film, complete with a custom-built remjet stripping machine, but today sells exclusive emulsions manufactured in the EU for Cinemot. More recently, they started reusing disposable cameras, loading up Cinemot films, putting their film into these cameras, branding them and giving them a second life away from the e-waste bin.

You can visit Máquinas de Outros Tempos in person at: Rua dos Mártires da Liberdade 154, 4050-359 Porto, Portugal
Máquinas de Outros Tempos: https://www.maquinasdeoutrostempos.pt/onlinestore/
Máquinas de Outros Tempos Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maquinasdeoutrostempos/
Cinemot: https://cinemotfilm.com/
Cinemot Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cinemotfilm/