Vintage ‘postcard’ views of this historic Episcopal church on Florida’s Atlantic coast.
Camera: Yashica L AF 35mm compact w/ 35mm f3.5 lens
Film: Fujifilm Fujicolor Superia X-TRA 400
Location: Fernandina Beach, Amelia Island, Florida
Thanks for taking a peek!
Chris
At a Glance
The Fujifilm GF670 Professional 6×7/6×6 dual-format folding camera is another shining example of Fujifilm’s unwavering commitment to preserving and nurturing the culture of photography. Designed with the traveling professional in mind, the GF670 is lightweight and sports a Gauss-type EBC Fujinon lens allowing the photographer to not compromise quality for ease of travel.
It’s amazing to think that Fujifilm USA recently found an undisclosed amount of these beautiful cameras in their warehouse. They were then sold (as best as I can tell) to B&H in New York for sale to the public. It looks like the first guess pricing was around $1899 then quickly up to $1999 and now on B&H’s site they’re at $2199 or so. They’re taking pre-orders now with availability in February. Released in early 2009? and discontinued in 2014. I would love to be able to put one of these in our collection – but it’s not gonna happen!
Maybe for you? Check out B&H’s site for more.
Chris
Just back from the Fujica’s first photo assignment in the US. What a simple and fun camera to use! The viewfinder (rangefinder) is super bright and big! It made it easy to compose my images and focus.
Yeah the leaf shutter going off isn’t going to get a bunch of oohs and ahhs from the crowd – it works and that’s what matters. The shutter sounds just like our Fujipet from 1958. Stay with what you know Fuji Photo!
It took up the entire camera bag! I only had room for some lens wipes and the lens cap. Just back from its test shots.
The camera did draw some attention from the tourists that were downtown. It’s fun to answer their questions about film vs. digital (we love both) and the most common question – why would you take pictures with such an old camera? The weather was gorgeous too today – bright blue sky and and plenty of strong Florida sunshine. It took no time for me to burn through the 8 exposures!
When I advanced the film after exposure number 8, it took only 5 strokes (maybe only 4) of the film advance lever to free the film fully from the supply roll. Thinking that I’d better be cautious, I decided to remove the film in my dark bag at home.
All went well in the dark bag. The roll had properly wound itself.
We wish Fujifilm still made Neopan 400.
Now that the first part of the test is done, time to send off the roll to ‘The Darkroom’ for processing and digital scans. We should see something online from them by late Friday afternoon (it’s Tuesday now). Time to head to the post office!
Check back soon to see the finished results. Thanks for your visit!
C&C ^.^
It’s tough to think square again! I’m spoiled (aren’t we all) by the ease of digital photography – nice proportions – wide screen – big images – bold colors – lots of megapixels. Exposures? Shutter speeds? Composition? No worries – the technological gems we hang from our necks will think for us. I’m as guilty as anyone – I love what digital can do and what it can’t.
Now try to think of the world in little squares – 6 x 6 centimeter squares to be exact. It’s hard to do – modern formats are always elongated squares. Who loads square images on their blog? The square format went out with the Instamatic! But if you’re lucky enough to own (or have access to) a medium format (6×6) camera then you too can shoot in squares.
I recently took one of my Yashica TLRs out on a date – threw in some fresh Fujifilm and off I went. I must confess – I love color! Sure I like an occasional fling with some black and white (Neopan 100 Acros) but color gets me going. Not “computer generated color” – the subtle color you see only on film. It’s there (just like in real life) but it doesn’t tackle you to the ground like some overly saturated digital image. Just nice and easy color.
These following images were taken with my Yashica-Mat EM twin-lens reflex (TLR) camera. Exposures were determined (suggested actually) by the EM’s on board exposure meter. Yashica claims that it’s built-in but it’s really just attached to the left side of the body by three screws and a wire. No TTL or coupled metering here… just a bunch of tiny numbers on top of more tiny numbers with an almost invisible pointer pointing at those tiny numbers. I chose Fujifilm’s Fujicolor PRO 400H color negative film because I enjoy shooting with Fujifilm and usually like the results. I will point out that no post production was done on these images. No cropping, no color adjustments – they’re just as they were when developed and scanned by the lab (which was The Darkroom).
This is actually image 12 on the roll. Taken on day 2 of my travels. Perfect small town America shot. I lost my bright sun from the day before but the Fujicolor 400 made up for the dull sky. Is it properly exposed? Probably not. Off by about 1 stop or so.
Day 1 – image 7 on the roll. The Fujicolor handled the strong contrast between the sky and building. The Yashica’s meter did a fantastic job. About 1/500 at f/ 16-22.
Faded Florida – along U.S. Highway 17 in North Florida. High contrast with strong shadows. f/ 16 at 1/500.
A nice test for the Tomioka 80mm lens. No flare and some nice highlights on the water. 1/250 at around f/ 11-16. I metered to the left of the bridge. Looking south into Florida from Georgia. Highway 17 bridge over the St. Marys River.
Looking north towards Georgia. The Yashica’s meter did a wonderful job suggesting the proper shutter speed and aperture setting. 1/250 at f/ 16.
Shooting in squares can be fun and challenging. Do I think some of the images would be better in a 6 x 4.5 or 6 x 7 format? Yes – definitely. Can I learn to enjoy squares again? Yes – definitely.
Comments are always appreciated and welcomed. Thanks for your visit!
Chris
Nothing like a fresh roll of film in your camera. The possibilities are endless – the results, well I’ll have to wait a week for those. Could be the reason digital became so popular so quickly. Could be why people still load cameras with instant film.
Some Fujicolor Pro 400H color negative film.
It’s a beautiful sight…
Thanks for your visit! Now load up some film!
This month’s assignment (actually from September) is to load some Fujifilm into our Yashica-Mat EM and enjoy the benefits that only medium format film photography can fulfill.
Oh the joys of composing 6 x 6 cm images through a pop-up viewing hood in bright sunlight. What I do find nice is that the focusing dial is on the camera’s left side… a natural place for it to me. The EM has a built-in exposure meter and a ‘computer’, slide rule actually, to adjust the aperture and shutter speeds which you then set by using the two thumb wheels. I’ve learned over the years to use the guess method of focusing – I’ve learned how to judge distances by eye and then I set the focus on the marked dial. If you’re shooting in bright light and use the smallest apertures then the dept of field will cover most inaccuracies in your focus guess. Saves time and frustration. This month the Yashica-Mat EM (this one is from 1964) I will be using is in perfect condition… all shutter speeds sound correct and the aperture blades behave as they should. The meter does not require batteries and I’m sure most of my bright and sunny shots will be f/ 11 and 16 and f/ 22 for the Fujifilm 400. Below is my favorite one camera-one day bag. It’s made from vintage washed canvas material and is super soft inside and out. I trust it not to scratch my cameras going in and out and once inside, they’re safely cushioned.
My day bag – one camera only. The bag is super soft vintage cotton canvas and has a cushioned liner to protect its precious cargo.
The bag is 100% cotton and made by ‘Rothco’. It was stitched in India which makes me feel a bit better about it. It was purchased at the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum in Ft. Pierce, Florida which helps support this awesome museum. The desert toned U.S. Flag was also purchased there and was added to the bag by me. No worries when I travel with it. No matter what I wear, I’ll always look like an American. I mention this only because when I was a Sailor in the U.S. Navy (a long time ago) we were often told to not look American while travelling overseas – which is a hard thing to do when an aircraft carrier is in a foreign port and 5,000 Sailors were out on liberty.
I plan on shooting two rolls of Fujifilm – gorgeous Neopan 100 Acros and a roll of PRO 400H color negative film. The Yashica has Tomioka Optical made Yashinon 80mm lenses with a fairly bright f/ 3.5 taking lens. The glass is crystal clear and always produces sharp details. The image is nice and bright on the focusing screen and the red grid marks help to keep things straight. I’ll tote along the lens hood just in case. No tripods needed but I may bring along my monopod.
We hope to post our images soon. Now that the fall weather has given us a brake from the oppressive heat and humidity of summer it will be fun to roam about our little town and the adjacent countryside.
Fresh roll of Fujicolor PRO 400H color negative film.
And some of the results…
Purposely pointed into the low angled sun – great way to test how the lens is going to look. The stars from the highlights on the water was a nice plus. Also a great test for the EM’s exposure meter. I metered off the water well left of the bridge. About 1/250 at f/ 11 maybe f/ 16.
The Fujicolor did well here. Big contrast in this image between the stark beige of the building and the deep blue sky. Shot at 1/500 around f/ 16-22. No post production of this image. As framed in the focusing hood on the EM.
Dat two of the photoshoot. I lost the bright sunshine and the sky turned rather blah. Small town America at its best. 1/250 at f/ 11-16. No post production. As developed.
The EM performed beautifully – the built-in exposure meter was spot on and the shutter was accurate. These images were focused at infinity so no real chance to test the accuracy of mid-range focusing. Another time.
Thanks for your visit!
Chris & Carol
I’ve always been a fan of Kodak film. Living in the United States it was hard to find anything else to buy at the corner stores – even in New York. Every now and again I’d pick up a roll of Fujifilm and was always impressed with the results. I’ve always liked the little green boxes too… they catch my eye.
While our main collecting focus has been Yashima-Yashica cameras and gear, there’s always been a little offshoot into the world of Fuji. Partly because we lived in Japan – Yokohama to be exact, and Fujifilm was more available and there were labs nearby to process the film. Kodak processing was via handy but slow mail back to Palo Alto, California if I remember correctly.
So on this end of the week Friday, we thought a little Fujicolor was in order.
We’re thinking of a color. Can you guess?
The 12 exposure Fujicolor 100 rolls are all expired (2010) but they usually produce good results if you treat them like they’re ASA50. The Acros 100 is a fresh roll and you can’t beat it for good looking black and white prints. The little XP100 is our go to all weather camera. It has a bright screen (for the beach) and is great in the surf for some wave pics. 1080p video and stereo sound too.
We’ve added a nice Fujica ST701 and Fujipet to our collection but I think were done. Oh, I almost forgot – my primary digital camera is a Fujifilm FinePix S9900W so that’s another Fuji. Oh and I bought my daughter a Fujifilm XP too. Okay, but that’s it. No more Fuji Photo Film Company cameras for us die hard Yashica fans. Well except for a nice Fujicaflex TLR, and the Fuji Photo GS6x9 sure looks great. I’d better stop now!
Thanks for your visit! Comments and likes are always appreciated.
Chris & Carol
I wish Yashica was still around… the ‘real’ Yashica from Japan not H.K.
But they’re not so what’s a Yashica freak to do if you want to review new gear and new film formats? Well you turn to my go to camera makers (for the record; Yashica, Canon, Fujifilm)… Fuji Photo Company as they used to be known. Now just Fujifilm. I do appreciate the Fujica line of cameras and would love to own a Fujicaflex and a Fujicarex! But I wander as I often do.
I’ve had my eye on the line of Instax film cameras from Fujifilm ever since they introduced the Instax film (I might have been a little behind the times here). Anyway, since I’ve almost always have had an instant film camera… Polaroids and the Kodak EK4, I decided to splurge and get the Fujifilm Instax Wide 300. Why? The format. I like wide shots and the Wide 300 gives a nearly 62 x 99mm image in bright color.
The Instax Wide 300… a simple camera… clean lines and has a nice feel to it.
Plenty of places to get a good grip on this camera… the large handle on the camera’s right side is just the right size (for me) to get a grip. With the camera in off, the built in lens shield slides into place. The shutter release button is in a good spot… my only complaint is that it lacks feedback when you push it. Only the actual sound of the shutter firing inside (if you can hear it) lets you know it’s tripped. Of course the picture does pop out immediately on top with the typical motor noise of an instant camera which confirms the shutter was fired. Minor detail.
Lens extended in its fully open position (close-up photography).
Once you get the feel of where the viewfinder is in relationship to your right eye it’s actually very bright and gives a good view of the actual lens image.
The access to the film compartment couldn’t be easier… it opens a full 90 degrees to make loading film quick and easy. The LCD shows basic info… flash on, image number and the plus or minus exposure compensation.
Open back with empty film pack.
Pictures pop out via this slot on top of the camera.
A small sample of the images taken today with the Fuji. Shot at around early afternoon in bright Florida sunlight. The colors are vivid and because the film speed is 800 the sharpness and detail are nice.
Back inside for a studio shot.
It’s a big camera (really big) and has some heft to it. I had more than a few looks as the picture ejects from the top with that familiar instant camera sound. That’s not the standard strap… it’s a little thing and I like to have something wider around my neck.
Bold colors under bright sunlight. An excellent daylight film.
Back to the future with instant film. The Fujifilm Instax Wide 300 is a hit with me.
The camera is a point and shoot… well OK it does have two settings on the lens… 3 meters to infinity and 3 meters to 0.9. It does have an auxiliary close-up lens that I’ll try out next pack of film. It has a built in flash that worked great for daytime fill ins and you can adjust the exposure plus 1 or minus 1. Takes 4 AA batteries (which I love).
It would be cooler if it sported this logo!
So would I recommend the Fujifilm Instax Wide 300 camera? Yes and Yes! Mine was purchased online for around $86 from B&H and another $10 for two 10 exposure film packs. It was a great deal and it included free shipping. At fifty cents per image you can’t go wrong!
Enjoy!
Thanks for the visit!
Chris and Carol ^.^
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