Classic Camera Revival

Classic Camera Revival - Episode 170 - Do You Want to Buy A Nikon

When it comes to Nikon, tons of cameras and lenses are available, and you might feel a bit frozen when making that choice and where to jump in. Well, we aren't going to hide that we're a bunch of Nikon fanboys, so Bill and Alex sit down for a bit of a meandering episode talking about some good places to start when buying Nikon cameras. From the original rangefinders to the mechanical and hybrid SLRs of the 1950s to 1980s. And, of course, the brilliant AF models of the 1990s and 2000s. There's something here for everyone.

Classic Camera Revival - Episode 169 - Baby It's Cold Outside II

Even though this year's winter has not exactly been the best so far, with the lack of snow and almost a continuation of the weather we expect through  November, the CCR gang isn't letting that stop them from getting out and enjoying the weather put also preparing for when we finally do get some wonderful winter days with sun and snow. From film to cameras, clothing to best practices, James, Alex and Bill break it all down for when it's cold outside.

Classic Camera Revival - Episode 168 - Date Your Cameras, Marry Your Lenses Pt. II

As part of revisiting some of our classic episode topics, this episode traces itself back to Season 2, Episode 13. The idea is that it is more important to invest in a lens system for your interchangeable lens systems; camera bodies are often cross-compatible once you're in the mount. Camera bodies come, and camera bodies go, but lenses are forever. In today's episode, each host will discuss a lens system they invested heavily in for their 35mm and 120 systems. While many of us have multiple systems, it would be an incredibly long episode if we all discussed every system. Today, we're talking about two Nikon systems, the autofocus and manual focus (mainly AI(-S)), Canon FD system, Olympus OM-System (manual focus), and in medium format, Pentax 67, Mamiya RB, Mamiya C-Series (TLR), and Mamiya m645!

Classic Camera Revival - Episode 167 - Would you Like to Play a Game?

We're kicking off season ten with a little game, which is much harder than it sounds! Join Alex as he sits down with Daren from Learn Film Photography, Dmitri from Analog Cafe, and Yvonne Hanson, a fashion photographer and YouTuber who are the force behind the online game "What the Film", a game that pits your knowledge of film stocks against the images created by members of the online community. The conversation also spills over into discussing everyone's plans for 2024, what got them into photography and a little tasty camera made from Gingerbread.

You can play the game at https://www.analog.cafe/app/what-the-film and see how you stack up.

You can also find a couple of demos online:
YouTube (Learn Film Photography): youtube.com/watch?v=4yVNyTqXerQ
YouTube (Yvonne): youtube.com/watch?v=VBjHHT9dI5k

Darren
Web: www.learnfilm.photography
Instagram: instagram.com/learnfilm.photography
YouTube: youtube.com/@LearnFilmPhotography

Yvonne Hanson
Web: yhansonphotography.ca/blog
Instagram: instagram.com/yhanson_photography
YouTube: youtube.com/@YvonneHansonPhotography

Dmitri 
Web: www.analog.cafe
Instagram: instagram.com/analog_cafe
YouTube: youtube.com/@analog_cafe

Classic Camera Revival - Episode 166 - Resolved:2023

Well, we made it to the end of another year, and the whole team is back around the table for one final episode, including a special guest, John Meadows. If you remember, at the start of the year, we all shared some of our photographic and personal goals, so we're coming back around and sharing how we all did. Not to feel guilty if we didn't make it but rather to be encouraging. The team also discusses the joy of photography and what photography can bring during the holiday season.

Here are some handy links for those new to the show this season!
CCR Episode Archive: alexluyckx.com/blog/classic-camera-revival-episode-list
CCR Facebook Page: facebook.com/classiccamerarevival
CCR Instagram: instagram.com/classiccamerarevival

Our host's Instagram Accounts
John Meadows (Emeritus): instagram.com/johngmeadows
James Lee: instagram.com/james.lee.photo
Bill Smith: instagram.com/wbsmith200
Jess Hobbs: instagram.com/jesshobbsphoto
Alex Luyckx: instagram.com/alexluyckxphoto
Chris Wu: instagram.com/wutography

 

Classic Camera Revival - Episode 165 - Frugal Film Project Roundtable

The Frugal Film Project is a collective photography challenge to help reign in the cost of photography. Starting in 2018, it encourages using budget cameras, lenses, and film over a year. The framework in which those participating work includes a camera/lens that costs no more than 75$ (USD) and a relatively inexpensive film (no Portra). And shooting one roll of film a month. Bill has been participating in this for several years now. This year marked the first time Alex joined in, so we're bringing in a small cross-section of those who participated in a couple of chats on today's episode. This is the first time CCR has done a round-table 'open source' style episode, so it is split into two parts recorded on two separate days. If you want to join in on next year's FFP, you can head over to the Facebook group and join in the fun!

To Find the Frugal Film Project...

Facebook: Official FFP Facebook Group
Instagram: instagram.com/frugalfilmproject
Web: rr1photography.com
The Original 'Zine: magcloud.com

Classic Camera Revival - Episode 163 - The Other Nikons

Throughout its history, Nikon cameras have been primarily aimed at the professional market, from their stunning rangefinders in the S-Range to the original Nikon F and beyond. However, the mid-century and post-war economic boom brought a new group of photographers, the advanced consumer. Now, hobbyist photographers have always been around. These new photographers want access to the same quality cameras and optics as the professionals. And while Canon and Minolta were certainly starting to fill that gap, Nikon wanted a piece of the action. While their initial offerings under the Nikkorex line fell flat, save the Nikkorex F, it was their second attempt, the Nikkormat or Nikkomat line of SLRs, that proved to be successful. And these lovely cameras make for an excellent addition to any Nikon photographer. What set these cameras apart is that Nikon went with the Copal Square shutter for each camera, starting with the Nikkorex F rather than building in-house shutters. Also, the Nikkormat EL is the first Nikon camera with a semi-automatic exposure system. Overall, the Nikkormat line was replaced by the small-form-factor SLRs of the FM and the FE.

Nikkormat FT (1965) - The Original Nikkormat body that featured a full F-Mount (Pre-AI) and a metered prisim using the same metering technology as the Nikon Photomic T metering head.
Nikkormat FS (1965) - An unmetered version of the Nikkormat FT.
Nikkormat FTn (1967) - An improved version of the Nikkormat FT, it now uses a classic 60/40 center-weighted metering. An improved match needle display in the viewfinder. The FTn underwent a number of changes over the course of the camera's production that lasted for nearly a decade.
Nikkormat EL (1972) - Uses a CdS meter cell and provides semi-automatic aperture priority auto-exposure.
Nikkormat FT2 (1975) - Rolled all the improvements of the FTn into a single camera, and changed the power source from a mercury cell to a silver oxide cell.
Nikkormat ELW (1975) - Basically the same camera as the EL, but added the contacts for the AW-1 autowinder.
Nikkormat FT3 (1977) - Basically took everything from the FT2, but updated the mount to accept the new AI lenses natively.
Nikon EL2 (1977) - An improved ELW, with a SPD metering cell, AI lens support (native).

Classic Camera Revival - Episode 162 - In the Loupe: Suzanne Pedersen

It's been a while since we've interviewed a fellow film photographer, and today, joining Bill and Alex, is Suzanne Pedersen, a Colorado-based photographer who loves film! And you may have heard her on the Gen-X Photography Podcast! In the episode, we talk about Suzanne's journey as a photographer, a little Nikon GAS and some talk about going to a large format camera.

You can find more of Suzanne's Work Online

Web: https://www.suzannepedersen.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/b.roll.backup/

Gen-X Photography Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gen-x-photography/id1494585131

Classic Camera Revival - Episode 161 - Unlucky

In my experience, there's no such thing as luck - Obi Wan Kenobi

From an RB67 purchased behind a Tim Horton's Dumpster, a sketchy FM, endless Polaroid Cameras, and an over-engineered German Camera, the team at CCR have had some bad luck. So today, for our Friday the 13th Episode, we're digging into our unlucky cameras, films, and developers. But we're also discussing ways to make our luck through careful planning, strategic retreats and experimentation.

Classic Camera Revival - Episode 160 - The Little F’s Pt. 2

Everyone knows and loves the various cameras: FM, FE, FM2, FM2n, and FE2. But there are a series of cameras that are part of the minor F's that make some significant technological splashes and some belly flops that are generally not as well known or are out of reach of the average photographers. These cameras were used to experiment with new technologies before they hit the big times with professional cameras. First is the Nikon FG, produced from 1982 to 1984; it was the first camera from Nikon to have full auto-exposure and semi-automatic and metered-manual modes. The Nikon FA, released in 1983, had a new matrix-metering system that used an internal CPU to determine the exposure based on multi-pattern detection. Produced from 2001 to 2006, the FM3a is the perfect hybrid of the FE2 and FM2n; it is a fully electro-mechanical camera with semi-automatic aperture priority metering and functions as a manual camera when no battery is present. And then there is the FM10, a camera in Nikon name and mount only, aimed as back-to-basic student cameras that were contract builds from Cosina and based on the Cosina CT1 Super but with several customizations not available on the stock model. These included the Nikon F-Mount, depth-of-field preview, meter activation button, and multi-exposure override. Released in 1995, they remained on the market until 2015.