Kevin Pack Photography

Trying out the X100

I charged up the battery and brought the Fujifilm Finepix X100 away with me this weekend to try and work out he best way to use it.

There is a lot of talk on the net about this camera being ideal for street photography. So I've started testing the camera with this first.

After spending the day shopping in Liverpool I've now returned to my hotel to download the images onto my iPad and recharge the batteries ready for tomorrow.

I'm now going to go down to the restaurant and grab some dinner while I look through the shots. But here is the first "proper" shot out of my new camera.

Camera. Camera? Camera!

I think this year I've acquired more cameras than in the rest of my life added together.

To begin with I've "invested" in a number of old obsolete Polaroid instant cameras. I've been specifically looking at Polaroid Spectra cameras. Depending on where you are in the world, these cameras are also called Polaroid Image or Polaroid 1200 cameras.

I bought my first Polaroid directly from the Impossible Project, but since then I've made a few more purchases on EBay. You can read about my adventures with my instant cameras on a separate blog I've set up just for that purpose.

My next purchase was at the Focus on Imaging camera show at the Birmingham NEC where I splashed out on a medium format film camera! OK it is actually a cheap Chinese toy made of plastic.

I have only just started using the Holga so don't really know how I'm going to get on with it yet.

Today I have taken delivery of my latest camera (pictured left). This is a Fujifilm Finepix X100.

I first had a chance to hold and try the camera at Focus on Imaging back in 2011 and I loved it straight away. However it was very expensive and the early reviews made it quite clear the camera had problems. Later in the year I had another chance to try it for a while, and I was still very impressed.

A year after I first tried it and the price has been reduced. Firmware updates have solved some of the most important software issues and I understand the common issue of sticky aperture blades now has a solution.

I can't wait to take it out and see how I get on with it this weekend.

 

2012 Project

It may already be February, but I've been organising a new project for 2012.

During the last couple of years I've been concentrating on portraiture, and improving my gear. But now it is time for a change of direction.

Starting at the beginning of 2012 I want to start a project using obsolete technology which used to be cutting edge, but has been left behind in the digital age.

I've looked into Polaroid cameras, what and where to buy, the old and new films, and of course the results.

You can follow my progress at Project Polaroid.

Project Polaroid - Spectra Camera

Yesterday I spoke about why I had become interested in Polaroid instant photography, and a little about how this obsolete format was being revived by The Impossible Project.

I didn't say anything about my own plans.

The Impossible Project appear to be making film for three main groups of Polaroid cameras; 600, SX-70 and Image/Spectra. So it made sense to me to buy one of these type of cameras.

The only time I've used a Polaroid instant camera in the past was during a teambuilding exercise while I was still working for Accenture, which was a 600 camera (I don't remember exactly which model).

After looking at the various different options I decided to go with the slightly larger prints created with film for Image/Spectra cameras. The model I was interested in has a self timer, tripod point, an electronic flash, exposure compensation and (most interestingly) is also able to create multiple exposures.

 

So where do you buy a Polaroid Spectra camera?

 

As was mentioned yesterday, even though no new cameras are being manufactured it is believed there are over 300,000,000 working examples spread out across the world. You can often find them in charity shops, car boot sales, or online from Etsy or Ebay.

The only problem is knowing whether you have a good working model.

I tried a couple of times to buy a camera from reputable sellers on Ebay, but I kept getting outbid at the end of the auction (probably from people using sniper programs).

If you watched the video on the last post, you will have seen that The Impossible Project factory have repaired/refurbished some old cameras.

When I logged onto their website last week and made my purchase, there were a few Spectra and 600 cameras available.

At the time of writing this post they still have twenty-six 600 cameras at £113, but there are now only two Spectra cameras at a very reasonable £68.

I ordered my camera on Wednesday 1st February. It arrived in the United Kingdom on the following day and it was delivered to me Friday morning. I'm amazed they got the camera to me in less than three days. Very impressive.

The Impossible Project website did say these cameras show some signs of their former use, but are carefully refurbished, tested and in excellent working condition. My example has scuffs all over the body, and the hand strap is very worn. But apart from this cosmetic damage everything appears to be in good order. I've also noticed this camera is fitted with an Impossible Project frog tongue (more about this in a later post).