The Analog Journey Continues
So i’ve been on this analog journey for around 10-11 months now and i must say its had its ups and downs. Ups are definitely the moments when you get your scans back and you have some gems. Downs were when i came across those scans that i didn’t quite nail and didn’t understand why.
Before i get onto that lets talk about the new cameras i’ve added to the list. Let me start with “gear does not make you a better photographer”, but i love talking about it. Hey i’m in I.T. and love gadgets and photography gear is one of the things i love to have, know about and talk about (feel free to skip further down if gear isn’t your thing :-P). Like many others i cant afford to upgrade my camera body to every new body thats released, so i weigh up my needs and see whether i would actually benefit from the upgrade. Film SLR’s are no different (sometimes cheaper is the only diff).
So the first SLR i bought when getting back into this analog game 10 months ago was the Fujica AX-1, which is an entry level SLR in the AX range not sporting a full manual mode. I originally went for this camera as i honestly wasn’t 100% sure whether id get back into it or not, and didn’t want to spend too much money on an SLR. It didn’t take me long after buying the Fujica that i knew i wanted to continue on this analog journey, so i started looking into a 35mm SLR body that i could invest in that i knew would last me for a long time which also had a lens range i would be happy with.
I came across this video on youtube by Kyle McDougall, he opened my eyes to some brands i hadn’t really heard too much about like Yashica and Contax. He also had this great video about the amazing range of lenses that these cameras supported.
I knew i wanted my next SLR camera body to tick the following boxes:
To have full manual functionality (with no add ons parts)
Have a max shutter speed of at least 1/2000 of a second
An internal light meter
Fully mechanical
Have a great range of lenses
Reasonably priced
What SLR body and lens range did i settle on you ask? My next purchase was the Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 with a Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f1.7, i found it for a super cheap price (pun not intended). The Yashica ticked all the boxes, except for one which is why there is a 3rd and final 35mm SLR purchase. Before we get onto that camera, the Yashica allowed me to use any lens in the Carl Zeiss C/Y mount range or Yashica C/Y mount range which you can find the list for here. Im sure you’ve heard of Carl Zeiss if you’ve been in the photography game for while, they make some amazing glass, this was a range of lenses that wouldn’t disappoint. As for the body it had everything you could want in an SLR body, it was also light and as mentioned by Kyle in the video above it sits very nicely in your hand due to the nice ergonomics.
Now why did i buy a 3rd 35mm SLR, as good as the Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 is you do notice the lack of precision with it. It has a metal frame but has a plastic body, so wouldn’t handle the rain or being knocked around very well. The film advance lever doesn’t feel sturdy along with the rest of the body. I wanted something that again ticketed all the boxes in my previous requirements but also adding one extra box. I wanted something that had a little more precision to it, that had better build quality and that would potentially last me forever. The type of SLR i was thinking about was to the calibre of the Canon F1 & Nikon F3 ranges, sturdy well built and renowned for their build quality and durability.
I chose the Contax S2b, this thing is a tank. It is fully mechanical and has a max shutter speed of 1/4000 of a second, only needs battery for the light meter, has centre weighed metering and of course supports the amazing C/Y mounted Carl Zeiss lenses. Oh and its very pretty.
The Contax S2b is definitely my go to 35mm SLR, i cant see me purchasing another 35mm SLR unless its purely to add to my collection but definitely not to replace it.
As for lenses, the Carl Zeiss list of C/Y mounted lenses is very large. At the moment i have invested in the Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f1.7 as mentioned above as well as the Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f2.8. The other lens id like to eventually invest in is the Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 28mm f2.8, these 3 lenses are great to travel with as they aren’t big like the extremely desirable bigger brothers Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f1.4, Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 35mm f1.4 and Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 28mm f2 (maybe one day).
Thats the gear out of the way, how about how I’ve been going with it all. Initially i was into the Fuji film stock, since then i have discovered Kodak and haven’t gone back since. I think i initially tried a roll of Kodak TMax 400 which i really liked, i was reluctant to do much of anything in colour based on some early result not turning out how id liked. But again ive started shooting alot more colour and been shooting a lot of Kodak Portra 400, 800 and recently 160. I love the colours from Portra and think i’ll stick to that range. I have since shifted to Kodak Trix for black and white, I’m liking the slightly more contrasty look the TriX gives over the TMax.
As some more experienced film photographers would understand, film tends to handle highlights much better than shadows. When starting off its something you don’t really understand or know about, i understand now why a lot of photographers choose to rate film that is 800 speed at 400 or 400 speed at 200 so they can stay within the threshold the film best performs in. Knowing this from the beginning or at least knowing to overexpose shots, i think I could have saved a lot of images.
I feel i still have plenty to learn when it comes to film stock which is why I’m trying to stick to Kodak Portra and TriX to try and get consistent results across different lighting situations (i fear this will take sometime). With time I hope to become more familia with these film stocks and know what kind of results I’ll get for each shot.
Hear are some of my favourites over the past 6-7 months from both the Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 and the Contax S2b. Film stock varies with Kodak & Fujifilm.
Thanks for visiting.