Half the size & twice the fun
June 20, 2024 10:04 PM Subscribe
Half-frame cameras have been around for long time, early examples date back to 1915; half-frame cameras allowed two photos in a standard 35mm frame - you traded a little fidelity and sharpness for more photos on a roll of film (72 photos on a typical 36 exposure roll) and a more compact camera. Arguably, half-frame cameras peaked with the Olympus Pen F line in the late 60's/early 70's, packing a lot of mechanical clock-work beauty into a small interchangeable lens camera package that still has a fan-base today (just look at that engraved gothic 'F'!) Once considered a film-format blip (although not as blippy as some), half-frame is now back in the photography news in 2024 as Ricoh/Pentax release a new film-camera; the first announced by a major brand in almost two decades, and it is a half-frame camera - the Pentax 17.
The last major film-camera manufactured by a large consumer brand was a point-and-shoot in 2005 by Canon; although apparently Nikon was still making and selling their flagship film Nikon F6 up until 2020.
Making cameras and knowing how to create a film camera from scratch are two different things, so Pentax reached out to retired engineers to aide in the creation of the Pentax 17. Amusingly, this is not the first time this has happened in the industry, Nikon released a special edition of its S3 Rangefinder camera in the year 2000 and had to reverse engineer, as well as relearn manufacturing and assembly techniques to build them.
Will the Pentax 17 be well received in 2024 and see an upswing in the use of film, or will it fail in a misguided attempt to breathe life into a dead format?
The last major film-camera manufactured by a large consumer brand was a point-and-shoot in 2005 by Canon; although apparently Nikon was still making and selling their flagship film Nikon F6 up until 2020.
Making cameras and knowing how to create a film camera from scratch are two different things, so Pentax reached out to retired engineers to aide in the creation of the Pentax 17. Amusingly, this is not the first time this has happened in the industry, Nikon released a special edition of its S3 Rangefinder camera in the year 2000 and had to reverse engineer, as well as relearn manufacturing and assembly techniques to build them.
Will the Pentax 17 be well received in 2024 and see an upswing in the use of film, or will it fail in a misguided attempt to breathe life into a dead format?
Phoblographer's review:
So what is the Pentax 17? It’s a camera for the new film-photographer. A decade and a half ago, folks would label these people as hipsters. But there’s a new generation of them who want to experience film photography and embrace the authenticity, vibe, and look that film delivers. These folks also can’t afford to spend a whole lot of money. They’re probably not very experienced with settings, light meters, etc. Alternatively, they might be too nervous to mess with the manual settings of a film camera because they consider each frame to be very precious.posted by Fiasco da Gama at 11:02 PM on June 20 [2 favorites]
If digital is a conversation with success and film is a conversation with failure, the Pentax 17 is a conversation with how to overcome failure.
Fascinating. My modern sensibilities would prefer a horizontal split but I'm a little outside the target demographic.
posted by neonamber at 11:06 PM on June 20
posted by neonamber at 11:06 PM on June 20
I don't shoot film often, but I love my little AGAT 18k. 72 exposures per roll. Fully manual, no batteries required. Fits comfortably in a pocket.
posted by She Vaped An Entire Sock! at 11:44 PM on June 20 [1 favorite]
posted by She Vaped An Entire Sock! at 11:44 PM on June 20 [1 favorite]
Apparently the vertical split was partly due to the prevalence of portrait style vertical phone-cam pictures and a concession to the price of film/development - so you can take plenty of photos and be budget conscious as well as shoot pics for insta in a style the younger generation are used to.
I have several Olympus Pen cameras from the 60's and its a fun format. I find the biggest hassle is that it can take a long time to shoot 72 frames on a typical 36 exposure 35mm roll. As several reviewers have pointed out, the half-frame format may encourage more diptychs (two related photos in a frame) which means you fly through the roll fairly quickly if you decide to take multiple shots of the same subject (either varying the framing, perspective or exposure).
posted by phigmov at 1:37 AM on June 21 [1 favorite]
I have several Olympus Pen cameras from the 60's and its a fun format. I find the biggest hassle is that it can take a long time to shoot 72 frames on a typical 36 exposure 35mm roll. As several reviewers have pointed out, the half-frame format may encourage more diptychs (two related photos in a frame) which means you fly through the roll fairly quickly if you decide to take multiple shots of the same subject (either varying the framing, perspective or exposure).
posted by phigmov at 1:37 AM on June 21 [1 favorite]
I'm excited! Started shooting film again and have absolutely rediscovered how much joy i get from thinking about, working at, and ultimately taking a picture. It filled a gap I hadn't identified in my life that was there for a LONG time.
I had never shot half frame so I bought one of these surprisingly decent very inexpensive little Kodal licensed brand new half frames (that everyone keeps forgetting in their pentax articles) and although I haven't gotten the hang of half frame yet and don't give a flip about posting to Instagram I have enjoyed the format!
posted by chasles at 1:40 AM on June 21 [4 favorites]
I had never shot half frame so I bought one of these surprisingly decent very inexpensive little Kodal licensed brand new half frames (that everyone keeps forgetting in their pentax articles) and although I haven't gotten the hang of half frame yet and don't give a flip about posting to Instagram I have enjoyed the format!
posted by chasles at 1:40 AM on June 21 [4 favorites]
When I see people having affection for film cameras or analogue sound systems, it's understandably for the hobbyist/enthusiast level products. To see something making a selling point of its fixed focus/tiny aperture/low resolution film/1960s consumer grade specs…I'm surprised.
posted by brachiopod at 4:00 AM on June 21 [1 favorite]
posted by brachiopod at 4:00 AM on June 21 [1 favorite]
My dad back in the 60s made a 1/4 frame camera, mostly I think to save money - he was using a colour slide film/camera that was twice the size of standard colour slide film - he made a 1/4 size mask that he put in the camera in front of the film exposing 1/4 of the top half, he would shoot a roll advancing 1/2 a slot at a time (getting twice as many pictures). Then he'd go into a dark room, rewind the film, flip the mask upside again and shoot twice as many pictures again ending up with 4 times the number of pictures.
He'd get the film developed commercially but he cut the developed films up by hand and put them into glass slides.
posted by mbo at 4:06 AM on June 21 [6 favorites]
He'd get the film developed commercially but he cut the developed films up by hand and put them into glass slides.
posted by mbo at 4:06 AM on June 21 [6 favorites]
I bought a bunch of film cameras in the early 2000s when everyone was dumping them for digital. Those days are long over. While I'm not a fan of half-frame 35mm, given the price of film and developing (if you don't do it at home) I think this camera makes sense. Older cameras are fine if they're in good shape but they can be temperamental and parts/service may not be available at any price. I hope more manufacturers get back into the film camera game.
posted by tommasz at 5:34 AM on June 21 [2 favorites]
posted by tommasz at 5:34 AM on June 21 [2 favorites]
Point of correction from a previous comment- this is zone focus not fixed focus. Rangefinder cameras are a joy to use and I recommend people try them out; after prolonged use it’s quite easy to estimate settings without using a viewfinder or meter.
posted by q*ben at 6:11 AM on June 21 [1 favorite]
posted by q*ben at 6:11 AM on June 21 [1 favorite]
My wife took some film photography classes years ago, set aside her camera, but is now interested in photography again and very hesitant to use one of my digital cameras. The instant feedback bothers her. I even have a FujiFilm X-Pro3, with its "anti-chimping" fold-in screen and its optical viewfinder. I set it up to offer as little digital feedback as possible, and it still didn't work for her, maybe because there's nothing tactile to replace the digital feedback we took away. I've got a Canonet sitting on the shelf, but the rangefinder patch focusing didn't work for her.
She saw me watching some reviews of the Pentax 17 and was instantly interested, but the price tag was pretty shocking to both of us. We're just going to go to Blue Moon to look at a Pentax K1000, a Minolta X370 (which she shot with for her class), or a Minolta X700 (which I used for a newspaper job in the early '90s). Between body and lens we'll still be around the 17's price tag, and it's great having a local presence still keeping these cameras going.
I'd love for the Pentax 17 to do well enough to encourage a K1000 revival model, though that'd be a much bigger production bet. I wish I could see their market research. One of the people interviewed in Samuel Streetlife's review seems to think the timing is just about right as the vintage mechanical camera supply dries up.
posted by mph at 6:15 AM on June 21 [2 favorites]
She saw me watching some reviews of the Pentax 17 and was instantly interested, but the price tag was pretty shocking to both of us. We're just going to go to Blue Moon to look at a Pentax K1000, a Minolta X370 (which she shot with for her class), or a Minolta X700 (which I used for a newspaper job in the early '90s). Between body and lens we'll still be around the 17's price tag, and it's great having a local presence still keeping these cameras going.
I'd love for the Pentax 17 to do well enough to encourage a K1000 revival model, though that'd be a much bigger production bet. I wish I could see their market research. One of the people interviewed in Samuel Streetlife's review seems to think the timing is just about right as the vintage mechanical camera supply dries up.
posted by mph at 6:15 AM on June 21 [2 favorites]
Other companies have started making new film cameras in the past few years. A reconstituted Polaroid (which doesn't have much to do with Edwin Land's Polaroid, except maybe a plant or two, and a handful of former employees) has introduced new instant cameras. Fuji never stopped making instant cameras. A Hong Kong company called Mint has also been producing Instax cameras.
And now Mint is coming out with their own 35mm camera later this year, using the defunct Rollei badge, the Rollei 35AF. This camera has better specs than the Pentax, full-frame with autofocus, and a 5-element lens instead of Pentax's weak-sauce 3 element lens.
And Leica (which never really stopped making analog cameras) recently reintroduced a model from the 1980s, the Leica M6, in case you have a spare $6000 lying around.
But kids these days have a different relationship with film photography than older folks do: they take their film to the lab, download the scans, and never pick up the negatives, which to people who grew up with film, is Not How Things Are Done.
And now Mint is coming out with their own 35mm camera later this year, using the defunct Rollei badge, the Rollei 35AF. This camera has better specs than the Pentax, full-frame with autofocus, and a 5-element lens instead of Pentax's weak-sauce 3 element lens.
And Leica (which never really stopped making analog cameras) recently reintroduced a model from the 1980s, the Leica M6, in case you have a spare $6000 lying around.
But kids these days have a different relationship with film photography than older folks do: they take their film to the lab, download the scans, and never pick up the negatives, which to people who grew up with film, is Not How Things Are Done.
I simply cannot believe people do this. You’re supposed to store your film in a box, put it in the garage, forget about it and ultimately burden your friends and family members with it after you die. That’s just how photography works!posted by 1970s Antihero at 7:11 AM on June 21 [8 favorites]
This camera reminds me of when HD TV came in and the video cameras weren’t good enough so suddenly everyone was shooting Super 16.
Only now the market is for real snapshots of a moment rather than images assembled by software.
posted by Headfullofair at 7:14 AM on June 21
Only now the market is for real snapshots of a moment rather than images assembled by software.
posted by Headfullofair at 7:14 AM on June 21
And now Mint is coming out with their own 35mm camera later this year, using the defunct Rollei badge, the Rollei 35AF.
Went to check, and yeah I still have the original Rollei 35 with the Carl Zeiss lens which was excellent.
Full frame . It is small, surprisingly heavy . It is quite rugged.
It was easy to carry unlike a full size SLR
posted by yyz at 7:28 AM on June 21 [2 favorites]
Went to check, and yeah I still have the original Rollei 35 with the Carl Zeiss lens which was excellent.
Full frame . It is small, surprisingly heavy . It is quite rugged.
It was easy to carry unlike a full size SLR
posted by yyz at 7:28 AM on June 21 [2 favorites]
Saw announcement: oooooo …
Saw price: ffffffff …!
Will have to make do with my old Pentax MX + 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens, which is around somewhere here.
posted by scruss at 7:54 AM on June 21 [1 favorite]
Saw price: ffffffff …!
Will have to make do with my old Pentax MX + 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens, which is around somewhere here.
posted by scruss at 7:54 AM on June 21 [1 favorite]
I don't see an upswing in places to process C-41 around me. Is everyone doing it by mail order or something?
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:38 AM on June 21
posted by JoeZydeco at 9:38 AM on June 21
Mail order, or developing themselves at home.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 9:58 AM on June 21 [2 favorites]
posted by 1970s Antihero at 9:58 AM on June 21 [2 favorites]
Okay that's pretty cool. Never thought about using a sous-vide circulator to maintain the bath. And then using a simple smartphone filter to digitize the result? I'm an old.
posted by JoeZydeco at 10:28 AM on June 21
posted by JoeZydeco at 10:28 AM on June 21
phigmov: Apparently the vertical split was partly due to the prevalence of portrait style vertical phone-cam pictures and a concession to the price of film/development
It's much more straightforward. In nearly all full- and half-format 35mm cameras the film is moved past the image frame horizontally. Because of the perforation there is 24mm available vertically to record the image; Oscar Barnack[0] decided that the horizontal image size should be 36mm, double the size of a movie frame. Because of the horizontal transport the most straightforward way to record half-frame images would be to halve the horizontal movement on each transport stroke, and thus you get an 18x24mm portrait-mode image. The only half-frame 35mm camera I know that takes landscape-mode images is the Canon Dial 35, which is just like every other half-frame camera mechanically but rotated 90 degrees with some ergonomic changes to accommodate holding it that way. Half-frame was already used to double the number of images per roll a century ago with 120-format rollfilm and others, reducing film and processing costs,.
Changing that to two 11mm high images over each other, width to taste might be feasible with today's micro-actuators as you'd have to move the image mask and the lens but it would introduce a wholly new analog image format (not that that hasn't happened before, though) which would certainly cause a disconnect with the original half-frame.
[0] designer of the first 35mm photo camera, the Leica. 35mm film was already available, used in movie cameras.
posted by Stoneshop at 12:42 PM on June 21 [6 favorites]
It's much more straightforward. In nearly all full- and half-format 35mm cameras the film is moved past the image frame horizontally. Because of the perforation there is 24mm available vertically to record the image; Oscar Barnack[0] decided that the horizontal image size should be 36mm, double the size of a movie frame. Because of the horizontal transport the most straightforward way to record half-frame images would be to halve the horizontal movement on each transport stroke, and thus you get an 18x24mm portrait-mode image. The only half-frame 35mm camera I know that takes landscape-mode images is the Canon Dial 35, which is just like every other half-frame camera mechanically but rotated 90 degrees with some ergonomic changes to accommodate holding it that way. Half-frame was already used to double the number of images per roll a century ago with 120-format rollfilm and others, reducing film and processing costs,.
Changing that to two 11mm high images over each other, width to taste might be feasible with today's micro-actuators as you'd have to move the image mask and the lens but it would introduce a wholly new analog image format (not that that hasn't happened before, though) which would certainly cause a disconnect with the original half-frame.
[0] designer of the first 35mm photo camera, the Leica. 35mm film was already available, used in movie cameras.
posted by Stoneshop at 12:42 PM on June 21 [6 favorites]
scruss: Will have to make do with my old Pentax MX + 40mm f/2.8 pancake lens
Couple of months ago I picked up an old hobby, repairing photo cameras. Scouring the various local marketplaces for defective stuff has netted me, next to a sizeable pile of Nikon SLRs, a Yashica Half 17 and a Fujica Drive needing some care and adjustment.
posted by Stoneshop at 12:56 PM on June 21 [2 favorites]
Couple of months ago I picked up an old hobby, repairing photo cameras. Scouring the various local marketplaces for defective stuff has netted me, next to a sizeable pile of Nikon SLRs, a Yashica Half 17 and a Fujica Drive needing some care and adjustment.
posted by Stoneshop at 12:56 PM on June 21 [2 favorites]
Went to check, and yeah I still have the original Rollei 35 with the Carl Zeiss lens which was excellent. Full frame . It is small, surprisingly heavy . It is quite rugged.
The Minox 35EL was really popular among motorcycle riders: even smaller than the Rollei, and when closed the lens is covered. However, motorcycle jacket pockets occasionally harbour fine metal filings, and those Minoxes do not deal well with that as they have two small magnets as part of the shutter mechanism. Back then I cleaned out the bad stuff from at least a dozen owned by motorcycle-riding friends, some more than once.
The Rollei 35SE I bought around that time has worked flawlessly, living a similar life in motorcycle jackets.
posted by Stoneshop at 1:16 PM on June 21
The Minox 35EL was really popular among motorcycle riders: even smaller than the Rollei, and when closed the lens is covered. However, motorcycle jacket pockets occasionally harbour fine metal filings, and those Minoxes do not deal well with that as they have two small magnets as part of the shutter mechanism. Back then I cleaned out the bad stuff from at least a dozen owned by motorcycle-riding friends, some more than once.
The Rollei 35SE I bought around that time has worked flawlessly, living a similar life in motorcycle jackets.
posted by Stoneshop at 1:16 PM on June 21
I bought my Rollei 35 in 1974, so it's 50 years old.
Still works fine mechanically.
I guess the heavy metal body was a good idea.
No wonder they are trying to revive it.
Just don't expect things to last that long.
posted by yyz at 2:52 PM on June 21
Still works fine mechanically.
I guess the heavy metal body was a good idea.
No wonder they are trying to revive it.
Just don't expect things to last that long.
posted by yyz at 2:52 PM on June 21
Novelty cameras are my weak spot. Seriously. I like fancy cameras too, but camera that does unusual things? give that to me.
I spent a good deal of the pandemic shooting Polaroids. It's still something I love but I think I also kind of exhausted most of my range of artistic ability. That's fine! I took a lot of great ones I still love (and I gave a lot away/etc.). That will be there!
I bought a Camp Snap (it's a screenless digital camera) and I like it so far although I just need to find more opportunities to use it. I do like the quality of images it produces, though.
I've dabbled in shooting on film again but I don't love it. I am 100% tempted by one of those half-frame Kodaks chasles linked to. I'll probably cave in on it around my birthday because I know myself.
posted by edencosmic at 6:56 PM on June 21 [1 favorite]
I spent a good deal of the pandemic shooting Polaroids. It's still something I love but I think I also kind of exhausted most of my range of artistic ability. That's fine! I took a lot of great ones I still love (and I gave a lot away/etc.). That will be there!
I bought a Camp Snap (it's a screenless digital camera) and I like it so far although I just need to find more opportunities to use it. I do like the quality of images it produces, though.
I've dabbled in shooting on film again but I don't love it. I am 100% tempted by one of those half-frame Kodaks chasles linked to. I'll probably cave in on it around my birthday because I know myself.
posted by edencosmic at 6:56 PM on June 21 [1 favorite]
I'm pretty sure it's not for me, but if you are interested in newly-manufactured film cameras with a similar degree of (i.e., a lack of) precise control to fret over, the Lomomatic 110 looks worth a look. It's a fraction of the price.
posted by Western Infidels at 10:09 AM on June 22
posted by Western Infidels at 10:09 AM on June 22
I bought an Elgar but haven’t been able to load film in it, panicked ad gave up.
posted by Iteki at 10:47 AM on June 22
posted by Iteki at 10:47 AM on June 22
The only half-frame 35mm camera I know that takes landscape-mode images is the Canon Dial 35....
posted by Stoneshop at 3:42 PM on June 21
In the late '80s/ early '90s, Yashica put out an entire series of Samurai half-frame auto-everything zoom-lens (3:1 or even 4:1) cameras, which also ran the film vertically for default 'landscape' photos. They were pricey - and a little unconventional in both appearance and handling - but they were EXTREMELY capable.
posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 5:32 PM on June 22 [1 favorite]
posted by Stoneshop at 3:42 PM on June 21
In the late '80s/ early '90s, Yashica put out an entire series of Samurai half-frame auto-everything zoom-lens (3:1 or even 4:1) cameras, which also ran the film vertically for default 'landscape' photos. They were pricey - and a little unconventional in both appearance and handling - but they were EXTREMELY capable.
posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 5:32 PM on June 22 [1 favorite]
Iteki: I bought an Elgar Ektar but haven’t been able to load film in it,
For someone who's never loaded a 35mm camera the instructions in the manual are rather opaque, and the process is somewhat fiddly anyway. Camera manufacturers have tried to deal with that in several ways such as Canon's QL (Quick Load) cameras, APS cameras, the Agfa Rapid series, or by creating a film format with the film entirely enclosed in a cartridge: 126 ('Instamatic') and the smaller 110 ('Pocket Instamatic'). Except 35mm and one type of 110 film none of them have survived the change to digital, so 35mm is what manufacturers have to use for new designs.
posted by Stoneshop at 11:25 AM on June 23
For someone who's never loaded a 35mm camera the instructions in the manual are rather opaque, and the process is somewhat fiddly anyway. Camera manufacturers have tried to deal with that in several ways such as Canon's QL (Quick Load) cameras, APS cameras, the Agfa Rapid series, or by creating a film format with the film entirely enclosed in a cartridge: 126 ('Instamatic') and the smaller 110 ('Pocket Instamatic'). Except 35mm and one type of 110 film none of them have survived the change to digital, so 35mm is what manufacturers have to use for new designs.
posted by Stoneshop at 11:25 AM on June 23
Fully automatic point & shoots (and SLR's) from the mid/late 90's onward are pretty simple to load - usually just extend the film-leader to the opposite spool, close the film-back and the camera will wind the film on and move the film-counter to '1'. If the film can't be wound-onto the opposite spool, the counter won't increment until you open it up and extend the leader over to where the sprockets can get a hold of it. But agree, the manual load process on earlier cameras can be tricky. I suspect almost everyone has inadvertently taken multiple shots before realising the counter hasn't incremented and all those photo-opportunities you thought you'd captured have been missed. I've also had the opposite occur - accidentally double-exposing a roll by re-loading a roll I'd already shot because the tail of the film was still out when I removed it and popped it into the fridge to await developing only to reach for it again and load it into a camera months later (doh!)
I finally completed a roll on a Nikon F4 on the weekend (What a beast! Avoid it and go for an F100 or a simple F/F2 or FM) and have just started a roll of Agfa Precisa 200 on a Pentax MZ-5 (they're meant to be nice SLR's but suffer from cheap plastic components prone to breakage; they're so cheap I'd just buy another one if it died).
Theres also Medium Format (or even Large Format) for those that find the limits of 35mm too confining. I have some unshot 6x6 120-film frames to shoot that have been sitting in my Rolleiflex TLR & Bronica S for several months that I really need to wrap up and get developed.
posted by phigmov at 10:15 PM on June 23 [1 favorite]
I finally completed a roll on a Nikon F4 on the weekend (What a beast! Avoid it and go for an F100 or a simple F/F2 or FM) and have just started a roll of Agfa Precisa 200 on a Pentax MZ-5 (they're meant to be nice SLR's but suffer from cheap plastic components prone to breakage; they're so cheap I'd just buy another one if it died).
Theres also Medium Format (or even Large Format) for those that find the limits of 35mm too confining. I have some unshot 6x6 120-film frames to shoot that have been sitting in my Rolleiflex TLR & Bronica S for several months that I really need to wrap up and get developed.
posted by phigmov at 10:15 PM on June 23 [1 favorite]
Fully automatic point & shoots (and SLR's) from the mid/late 90's onward are pretty simple to load - usually just extend the film-leader to the opposite spool, close the film-back and the camera will wind the film on and move the film-counter to '1'.
Loading the Kodak Ektar is more like the 1960's/1970's: guide the film leader over the sprockets and stick it into a slit in the take-up spool where a hook engages the perforation. As it doesn't have a motor winder those 1990's autoloading features are out of the question, but still there are better, more foolproof ways for the loading. Like on the 1970's Praktica SLRs: two small spring-loaded metal brackets across the spool, which rotates in the opposite direction from the sprockets. One of those will catch the leader, folds it and pulls it against the spool; I've never seen it fail.
IMO the Nikon FE and FM, the Pentax ME and MX and the Canon AE and AT are about the sweet spot of durability (metal bodies, production quantities so repair shops have plenty access to parts for repair, and they take standard batteries), availability and choice of lenses, and ease of use when you're looking for a decent SLR.
In the late '80s/ early '90s, Yashica put out an entire series of Samurai half-frame auto-everything zoom-lens (3:1 or even 4:1) cameras
The name rings a bell, but that corner of the camera market was something I wasn't interested in; it's just now I learned they're landscape mode half-frame.
posted by Stoneshop at 4:10 AM on June 24
Loading the Kodak Ektar is more like the 1960's/1970's: guide the film leader over the sprockets and stick it into a slit in the take-up spool where a hook engages the perforation. As it doesn't have a motor winder those 1990's autoloading features are out of the question, but still there are better, more foolproof ways for the loading. Like on the 1970's Praktica SLRs: two small spring-loaded metal brackets across the spool, which rotates in the opposite direction from the sprockets. One of those will catch the leader, folds it and pulls it against the spool; I've never seen it fail.
IMO the Nikon FE and FM, the Pentax ME and MX and the Canon AE and AT are about the sweet spot of durability (metal bodies, production quantities so repair shops have plenty access to parts for repair, and they take standard batteries), availability and choice of lenses, and ease of use when you're looking for a decent SLR.
In the late '80s/ early '90s, Yashica put out an entire series of Samurai half-frame auto-everything zoom-lens (3:1 or even 4:1) cameras
The name rings a bell, but that corner of the camera market was something I wasn't interested in; it's just now I learned they're landscape mode half-frame.
posted by Stoneshop at 4:10 AM on June 24
Oh I've shot hundreds of feet of film up to the nineties, but for some reason I just noped out of this at the time, and wallowed in helplessness for.a year. But this thread inspired me to have another go and it's fine now so thank you very much I'm off to shoot some bw all through the summer!
posted by Iteki at 10:07 PM on June 24 [2 favorites]
posted by Iteki at 10:07 PM on June 24 [2 favorites]
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I love shooting with full manual controls, but it tends to irritate my wife when I'm with her, as it means that I'm distracted and not present with her, which is an issue when I'm trying to take pictures when we're out as a family. Something that is mostly automatic, something that can be focused quickly and without much thought; that kind of sounds like exactly what I need right now. And half frame means I'll loosen up and have more of a hair trigger on taking pictures, rather than constantly question whether it's worth an exposure.
Hopefully, if it's simple enough, I can con my wife and son into wanting to use it.
As much as I would love to see a new SLR, it makes sense that they would start with something more simple. If we have a new mechanical SLR (heck, I'd gladly take a rangefinder) by the end of the decade, I'd be ecstatic.
posted by ersatzsapience at 10:51 PM on June 20 [2 favorites]