Each month for a year I will use one pair of cameras, then next month switch to another pair. They are all fixed-lens compact cameras. I will use the same film stock in both cameras. Each month I will share my impressions from using the cameras, while showing the photographs I make. Part #1: May 2021 Film type: Fomapan 400 The first one is my Yashica 35 YL It's a 1959 rangefinder camera with a f/2,8 45 mm lens. Then there is Fujica 35 Automagic. The basics The YL has a rangefinder, the Fujica doesn't. The YL is a straight-forward manual exposure camera with no light meter. The Fujica is more quirky, to say the least: Focusing is done using a small tab on the front face of the lens. The front lens element moves in or out when this flimsy little thing is rotated. When I got the camera the ring holding the tab came off so I had to glue it back for the focusing to work. Well, so far it's been pretty straight forward. As you can see I've added some scribbles with a marke
Now that I've worked out a routine exposing on photo paper and paper positives I feel I have reached my intent of making cheap almost-instant photography. I can now - when conditions are good - expose & develop + scan a 9x12 paper photograph within 25 minutes. In theory I could print it - i e hold a finished photograph in my hand - within that time (if I had a printer). I think that's rather 'instant'! The costs involved, per photograph, are as approximated: almost nothing for 7x11,5 cm very expired photo paper bought in several packs of 100, or €0,3 apiece for 9x12 cm Harman Positive Paper cut into size almost nothing for developer (rosemary tea or instant coffee base with vitamin C and washing soda) almost nothing per negative for fixer (Ilford) Total cost: Almost Nothing . Of course there is the cost of the scanning equipment if you want decent photos to edit. There are free apps like Filmlab which will reverse your negative photos, so you can see them in posi