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The #FrugalFilmProject, June 2025: Oh, I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside (Part II)

After last month’s mixed results from the Golden Wonder (a.k.a the Welta Penti II, half-frame Rapid camera), I loaded the it with a canister of Harman Phoenix and we went to Costa Nova. It was the perfect opportunity to have a fabulous lunch at the Marisqueira Costa Nove, and to play tourist with the unique buildings that form the ‘seafront’ along the estuary of the river in Costa Nova.  The…

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In Costa Nova with the Chaika II half-frame camera and some expired (c.2004) Konica VX-100 colour film. #ShittyCameraChallenge #CrappyCommieCameraParty

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A summary of the results from the DIY Deakinizer and the Zenit 11 for the #ShittyCameraChallenge #CrappyCommieCameraParty

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Gearing up for the Crappy Commie Camera Party: The Pentacon Electra 2, #CrappyCommieCameraParty #ShittyCameraChallenge $PentaconElectra #EastGermany

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The #FrugalFilmProject, May 2025: WTF?

I been a bit tardy with posting my May entry for the Frugal Film Project. The weather in our region was unpredictable for the best part of the month, and the forecast was unsettled. But the last week of May the rain stopped, the skies cleared, and we had a few days of really nice weather. This also coincided with a need for a trip to Coimbra, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to take…

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In Costa Nova and Vagueira With The Horizon 202 Panoramic Film Camera

A couple of weeks ago I took the Horizon 202 panoramic film camera to Aveiro and had a wonderful time. Since then I’ve been desperate to take it out again, and last week was the perfect opportunity. For several years, perhaps over a decade, every time we go to Vagueira, or leave Costa Nova, we pass by a couple of locations that I’ve always wanted to stop and take a photograph, but have never been…

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Filling in the Gaps: The Zeiss Ikon Nettar 518/16, A Medium Format Folding Camera

Sometimes I pick up a camera that I’ve been really keen to get a hold of and then, when it arrives I’m already sidetracked with something else and the camera ends up ‘filed away’ for later use. The Bencini Koroll 2 medium format half-frame camera was one such example, and the Zeiss Ikon Nettar 518/16 is another. I have a fair number of cameras now, film and digital, from 110 to large format, but…

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More Macro Photography With The Holga 25mm Lens For Micro Four-thirds Cameras And A Close-up Filter

A few days ago, I came across a blog post from Dave’s Place about his close-up photography with a Holga film camera and a +4 close-up filter. I have a Holga lens for my micro four-thirds mirrorless cameras, and I wondered if such an arrangement would work with the Olympus Pen E-PL2 with the plastic Holga lens and a cheap Jessops +4 close-up filter.  With the Holga lens set to the portrait…

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Further and Further Down the Rabbit Hole: The Voigtländer Vitoret D Rapid

Every time I say to myself, ‘I have enough cameras now,’ somehow another one always seems to grab my attention. I wasn’t looking for another Rapid camera, but then a Voigtländer Vitoret D popped up during a random browse on eBay, something, ‘Inspired by your recent search ‘. It was reasonably priced, and with several days to go before the auction came to an end no-one had made any bids. I added…

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A Diamond In The Rough? How A Plan For A Full-Spectrum Conversion Went Astray

I’ve been doing a fair bit of film photography just lately. There’s a new Shitty Camera Challenge coming up in June, and my participation in the Frugal Film Project with the Rapid format Welta Penti II led me down a Rapid film system rabbit hole that I don’t think I’ll ever escape from. But there’s always a technique that’s near and dear to my heart, making digital aerochromes, and sometimes the…

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Gearing Up For The Crappy Commie Camera Party, Part III: The Zorki-6 Rangefinder Camera

I’d never imagined needing another Soviet era camera for the Crappy Commie Camera Party (CCCP). After all, I have the Zenit 11 SLR and it’s collection of lenses, the Chaika II Half-frame, umpteen Smenas to play with, and the supremely dodgy KMZ Horizont panoramic camera. Surely that’s enough? But then a mutual on BlueSky posted about his Zorki-6, and, well, I’m sure that you can guess the…

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A Karat Film Camera That Wasn't Made By Agfa: The Bilora Radix 35 BH

I came across an odd one the other day. I was searching for some history on the Karat film system, the original version of Agfa’s Rapid system launched (or relaunched) in the 1960s, and naturally Chrome suggested an article by Mike Eckman. Keppler’s Vault 84: AGFA Rapid Film, is a thorough history of the Rapid film system. It delves into the history of the format, notably that the Rapid film…

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Taking A fresh Look At That Expired Redscale Film

Recently, I took a trip to Aveiro to try out the KW Patent Etui 9×12 folding camera with the Rollex 118 film back for Folder Week, a celebration of folding cameras. I also brought along an Agfa Silette Rapid F camera from the 1960s, loaded with expired (c.2002) Konica VX-100 colour film. I wanted to use the Silette for the week’s Lens-Artists Challenge, which this time was ‘Go-To Places’. To…

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Folder Week: A Trip to Aveiro With The KW Patent Etui 9x12 Folding Camera

The week beginning 14 April was Folder Week, a Challenge that was new to me but was a great incentive to use some of the many folding cameras that I seem to be accumulating. According to Tom North, the brains behind Folder Week, ‘The rules are loose. If it folds it’s a folder.’ Well that seems straightforward enough. The plan was to use the KW Patent Etui from the 1920s with a roll of 120…

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The #FrugalFilmProject, April 2025: A Morning Out in Aveiro

This month with the Golden Wonder (a.k.a the Welta Penti II, half-frame camera) we had a morning in Aveiro. The actual plan was to test out a new (to me) Horizon 202 panoramic camera, but of course I had to bring along with me the Golden Wonder and a roll of Harman Phoenix. No redscaling this month, just a leisurely walk around the city. I was dropped off near the hospital in Aveiro, which is…

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The Zenit Horizon 202 Panoramic Film Camera

This was supposed to be a ‘Gearing Up For The Crappy Commie Camera Party’ post, but I quickly discovered that the Zenit Horizon 202 panoramic film camera was not a Soviet-era camera, and so is not CCCP compliant. I guess that the prominent stamp ‘Made in Russia’ should have been a bit of a giveaway, but digging into the history of the Horizon 202 suggests that it was launched in 1993, a few years…

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A Day Out in Nazaré with the Bencini Koroll 2

There are a few cameras in my collection of the weird and wonderful that I keep telling myself to use and never get around to doing so, and the Bencini Koroll 2 is definitely top of that list. The Koroll 2 is a heavyweight aluminium Italian camera from the 1960s. It’s an ugly, stocky beastie, really, and it certainly won’t win any prizes, but what sets it apart from other 120 cameras is that it’s…