There are endless amounts of posts/forums where you can read up on every little detail about each camera etc. but, both of these cameras have bit hit with the hype machine recently and the prices have been steadily rising, so we figured we would give our two cents.
Here at Safelight we have the unique opportunity to be able to try and shoot many different cameras and over the past few weeks, after shooting both the T2 and µ[mju:]-II, both of us came to the conclusion, fuck a T2 just get a mju.
That said, and given the reactions on Instagram, we thought that an explanation was due.
First of all, two lines on the history and specifications of both models (info from Camerapedia):
The Olympus µ[mju:]-II (US: ∞ Stylus Epic) was an award winning 35mm compact camera issued by Olympus in 1997. Its small splashproof body, accurate autofocus, fast and sharp prime lens, and integrated auto-flash, led to it becoming something of a modern classic. It was originally available in black or silver. Around 3.8 million examples were sold.
Specifications:
Released in 1990, the Contax T2 was the second of the Contax T series of high-end compact film cameras targeted at the professional and luxury consumer markets. It was offered in in champagne silver, black and gold plated finishes. The Contax T2 was renowned for its Carl Zeiss T* multi-coated Sonnar 2.8/38 lens comprising 5 elements in 4 groups and user friendly controls. While it offered full automation, including Autofocus and Program AE, the Contax T2 was one of the most readily user-controllable cameras of its era, featuring Aperture Priority AE selection on a dial on the retracting lens body, and manual focus on a thumb dial. Exposure compensation of +/-2 EV in 1/2 EV steps is controlled by a dial at the top left and the EV compensation is given in a small window. Shutter speed and focus lock confirmation is given in the viewfinder.
Specifications:
What we think a Point & Shoot should be:
Our criteria for what makes a good point & shoot is exactly in the name just point and shoot, and the result should be a properly exposed and in-focus photo. When people are using these types of cameras they should be good "all around" cameras. Most of the time these cameras are the one you have in your pocket/bag all the time.
You should be able to just use the camera at a moments notice with out any thinking, shoot, and the result should be that of a useable photo.
Our photographic style, with point & shoots, is quite intrusive, unpredictable and the time to seize the moment is always quite minimal.
When we are using these cameras, usually it is with out any plan or project in mind per se, they are merely in our pocket to collect any interesting things that happen in our daily life, snapshots.
We shoot photos of our home family life, or the streets on the way to the office, or when we go out for some drinks for friends.
You know the saying, "the best camera is the one you have on you."
So, why do we consider the µ[mju:]-II a sort of definitive point & shoot?
Simple. For those of us who want to have a small, easy to use, responsive, and reliable camera, the Mju II wins across the board, atleast in our eyes. Moreover, in addition to having the aforementioned features the 35mm f2.8 lens (focusing from 0.35m-infinity 4 elements in 4 groups) is by far one of the fastest and sharpest of the genre (not sure what the genre is, maybe cameras your mom would use) and it is supported by an active "multi-beam" autofocus with focus lock that, very rarely is completely out of focus.
For us, Mju II is the ideal companion, in a moment is ready to shoot and the results are mostly of the time excellent.
The following are a few photos from the µ[mju:]-II with Kodak Tri-X pused to 1600: (sorry for the lo-res images, anything we upload on here gets some weird compression put on it)
Now for the Contax T2:
The photos you will get from both cameras are excellent, defined and sharp, but.... a very analytical eye with a professional scan/print at hand, can notice that the Contax T2 has something more to give...cough Carl Zeiss cough... but what we want to tell you is: do you really need to spend more than three times for a little improved printing image quality? Most people are just scanning with a pretty mediocre scanner, probably from the Epson V series, or getting the "standard" scans from their local lab and posting on instagram.
If you need a camera for your Instagram account, blog, Facebook or similar social media, our suggestion is to buy a Mju II or basically any other point & shoot with a decent lens, including the Konica Big Mini, Canon Sprint, Mju I or Sure Shot Supreme and so on.
With the money you save you will have the opportunity, to buy more film, or print your photos, or put out that zine, or travel.
The Contax T2 is not a piece of crap, let's be clear. We love the T2, but...we do not love it at 700-900 euros. It is a great camera with an impeccable design, a robust body and features that make it look more like its "cousins" the G1 and G2.
But it also has many flaws, at least for us and for the way we see and we want a point & shoot to be.
The main things that do not do it for us are, for example, the size, even if it is similar size to the Mju II, the "brick" shape of the T2 is definitely less pocketable than a Mju II.
The grip is not so great and you have this constant feeling that it will slip out of your hand, and what makes it worse, the lens is closer to the side of the grip so you really just have the tips of your fingers to hold it. Lots of times our fingers were kind of hitting the edge of the lens barrel when shooting.
The camera is incased in metal, but does not mean it is more durable. To be honest we have had way more T2's with problems in the shop in comparison to Mju II's.
If you drop the camera and there is a problem, you have a 700 euro brick, or a repair that is probably the price of just buying a normal point & shoot.
Regarding the usability/readiness, the T2 is not really immediate, in comparison to the Mju II, we speak of tenths of a second, but still you've got to spin the little thumb wheel and wait for the lens to go out. Once the lens goes out, if you did not leave the camera in "auto" then you have to pick the aperture, and if you forget this sometimes can mean messing up photos. (we messed up a few photos by leaving the camera at f/4 by accident and shooting in bright sun)
Another thing is that the shutter is flat, smooth, and very sensitive. Sometimes when shooting on the street or in any circumstance under pressure it can be hard to get the shot. Many times we had photos where the camera "missed" focus....but this is probably our fault as we need more time with the camera to get the feeling of the half press down.
The Contax T2 is for sure a better camera in every sense, on paper, it's metal, you can choose the aperture, it has exposure compensation, there is also an "auto" mode, and the main draw is the Carl Zeiss lens.
But overall we felt like, maybe we were missing something? Why are so many people going crazy over this camera. Our shooting experience was more like...ehhhh? And then when we scanned our photos and saw them we had the same kind of reaction. There was not this "WOW!" factor that we had expected.
Images compared:
Conclusions:
In conclusion, we are not arguing that the Contax T2 is shit, we are just trying to put it in perspective. We get to shoot and see alot of cameras that come through the Safelight office and for the amount of hype around the T2, we do not know if it is justified. In reality you can get a camera that costs 1/3 of the price and shoot great photos.
We think that the extra money you would spend on that T2, use it to do something more creative. Go on that trip you have been meaning to take, print those photos, make a zine.
Both the Olympus Mju II and Contax T2 are great cameras but perhaps, due to the nonsense hype that hovers around both of them, we have lost a bit of the real purpose of a camera: taking pictures.
We have teamed up with FOTOIMPEX and will be doing a pop up shop on the first saturday of every month! The first one is this Saturday April 7th!
We will have our selection of cameras, expired film, and accessories, and as always you can find everything else analog photography related at: www.fotoimpex.de
]]>Coming up on Friday we have our next pop-up shop! This time we are doing it in collaboration with Analogue Now. We will have our full stock of cameras and accessories there for you all.
This time we are doing something a bit different and getting all of you involved. Anyone in Berlin with a photo zine or prints is welcome to bring some to sell! There will be table space for everyone!
The event will take place at Ida Nowhere, Donaustr. 79 in Neukölln.
The event starts at 7pm and is just one night only.
There will be beer and kombucha for sale.
Please contact us if you would like to be involved!
Here is the facebook event link Safelight and AnalogueNow Pop-Up Shop.
Hope to see you there.
]]>This is one of our favorite ways to shoot 400 speed black and white film.It is probably one of the most popular ways of pushing film as well.
This works best with Ilford HP5 and Kodak Tri-X but basically with any 400 speed black and white film.
Above are a few samples of 400 ISO film being pushed to 1600.
The idea behind pushing is to be able to shoot at a 1600 ISO but without having to use 1600 speed film. Many people use this when shooting manual focus street photography, so that one can zone focus, using smaller apertures and faster shutter speeds.It can be handy if you are shooting in a darker environment.
It also adds a nice bit of contrast to the film too.
The way it works is that you are underexposing the film by 2 stops of light and then over developing the film.
Remember if you do not develop the film yourself to tell your lab that it is pushed 2 stops!
There are a few ways to set your camera up to shoot 400 speed film at 1600
If you camera allows you to set the ISO manually then you would just change it to 1600.
The second way to do it is if you have an exposure compensation dial on your camera you can just set it to Minus 2 (-2). Remember to check that this does not reset every time you turn off your camera.
The third way, which is the most popular because a lot of point and shoot cameras do not have either of the above options, is to DX code hack your film.
All you need it something with a nice hard edge, like scissors, a knife, or a coin would probably work too.
It is super simple, you just need to scrape off a little square of the DX “barcode” on your film canister.
If you look on the canister it is divided up into a grid. Basically all you have to do is edit this grid by taking away one “square” to change the film from 400 to 1600.
If you look below I have scraped away the third square from the top on the right side.
When you put it into your camera, there are these little metal contacts that will read the canister and think that the film you have put in is 1600 ISO.
Boom, that’s it. Super simple. Just about 1 minute of work and you have “hacked” your film to shoot at 1600.
There are all different ways you can hack your film, changing 400 to 1600 is probably the easiest.
I have attached the chart of DX Codes for every ISO to show you the other options.
Good luck and have fun, you can experiment with just about any type of film this way, by pushing or pulling film. It does work best with black and white, but also it is possible to push color film too.
Feel free to contact us with any questions!
All pictures by Chris Morgan
]]>Yes, Reflex is a modern update of the timeless manual SLR 35mm film camera.
The camera has been developed by the creative team behind If You Leave, the renowned photography publisher and social community, founded by Laurence Von Thomas in 2009.
Laurence, CEO of Reflex and creator of If You Leave, first had the idea to create a modular, modern update on the manual SLR camera years ago.
And here we are. Reflex is distinctive in its modular design, it combines contemporary mechanical and electrical engineering with the classic design of an analogue camera, making it the first newly designed manual SLR system in over 25 years.
Film photography, much like vinyl amongst music lovers, has proven timeless with a large, loyal and constantly growing fanbase of photographers and enthusiasts who cherish the tangible format of film. Despite the vast selection of digital cameras on the market and the rapid advancement of smartphone camera quality, analogue photography has proven irreplaceable.
Reflex pairs the nostalgia of film with high-quality technology, to bring the experience of shooting on film to a new generation of photographers.
Inspired by modern design and technology, Reflex I has a number of key features which update the classic SLR system:
I-Plate - Interchangeable Lens Mount
Previously, buying a camera from a particular brand meant people were locked into buying and using lenses from the same manufacturer. This can be frustrating and costly. Reflex’s Interchangeable mount plate makes shooting with lenses produced by other brands possible, meaning photographers can continue using the products they already own and don’t have to purchase expensive new kit. Reflex ships with a universal M42 mount. Alternative mounts are available for Nikon F, Olympus OM. Canon FD and Pentax PK.
I-Back - Daylight Changeable Film Back
The Reflex camera’s interchangeable back makes the process of changing film easier than ever. This feature gives photographers the option of having a roll of film pre-loaded, so they can quickly change to a different film mid-shoot. It is also a much more convenient way to load film onto the camera.
Flash and LED
Reflex is the first analog camera to have both flash and continuous light source (LED) on board giving photographers the freedom to choose their preferred method of lighting. Both flash and LED have 3 intensities.
The Reflex app (only if *£150k STRETCH GOAL)
Analogue photographers are familiar with the situation. You take a great shot, but you cannot remember what camera settings you used to capture it. Our plan, if we reach our £150,000 stretch goal, is to develop the camera to be connected to an accompanying Reflex app, which will automatically log the settings of each film loaded and each shot taken and will send a push notification to your phone - giving the option to make notes and describe the shot you’ve just taken.
Camera Specifications:
From professionals who have been using analogue cameras for years to photography newcomers keen to explore using film to students learning about the format, Reflex aims to make film photography accessible to anyone.
From its sleek and compact casing, to its interchangeable back (which makes it easy to load film rolls and allows to change backs mid-film) - Reflex has been designed with simplicity and modularity in mind. Analogue is a versatile format, perfect for shooting all manner of subjects, from portraits to landscapes. And, with an accessible price tag, Reflex aims to open up the experience of shooting on film to everyone.
Reflex team of photographers has been out and about testing the Reflex I. Below are some of the shots they have taken with the camera. Other test shots can be found on our Instagram page: www.instagram.com/shotonreflex
Current state of development - At the point of launch there are two stages of prototypes, a design and a mechanical prototype. These two being separate units is because for the design prototype Reflex wanted the actual dimensions and weight so they could test the ergonomics and represent the final design. Tight CNC machining and 3D printing tolerances of the body and chassis however don't allow for all parts to fit. This is why they built a second mechanical prototype based on the same chassis, on Reflex team assembled all of the mechanical parts, both of-the-shelf and custom made. Examples of photos taken with this prototype can be found on our Instagram page.
If you want to support Reflex's project check their Kickstarter campaign. There are many components to purchase in wholesale quantities, and so many aspects that we simply can’t manage without support from the film photography community.
You can also find Reflex on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook here:
Support them, support analog photography!
]]>The Silberra company announced 3 new 35mm (135) black and white film stocks and new photographic papers for amateurs and professionals alike. They begin an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign on 25th of October to upscale manufacturing and fund the continuation of their R&D work.
The 1st new film stock is Silberra PAN. They have already produced and begun worldwide testing of this new panchromatic film series, which includes: Silberra PAN50, Silberra PAN100, Silberra PAN160 and two limited editions: Silberra PAN200 and Silberra Ultima200.
You can easily find Silberra PAN images from different photographers on Instagram using the #silberra hashtag. You’ll find many examples of results from these films, as we’ve already provided samples to several black and white photographers around the world.
The Silberra PAN series is derived from technical and surveillance films by Agfa. In order to adapt the emulsions for everyday and professional use, several amendments were made to the original emulsions: contrast has been lowered, acutance set higher, and the dynamic range has been increased. One special property which was left unchanged however, is sensitivity to the IR and near-IR spectrum. Due to higher sensitivity in the IR range the films can be used as pseudo IR stocks and some IR effects can be achieved in certain light scenes in landscape photography without any filters at all.
But Silberra PAN is just part of the story. There is also a second new film series: Silberra ORTA: a totally brand new orthochromatic emulsion, which is available in sensitivities of ISO 80 and ISO 50. ORTA is currently subject to beta-testing and the emulsion itself is almost ready for general release. Since the number of orthochromatic films currently on the market are very limited, we truly believe that Silberra ORTA will be able to find its own special place on the market.
A third film-related announcement covers the Silberra IC series, which is isochromatic black-and-white film, and Silberra PAN II series. Both new film stocks incorporate new emulsions, which are currently in the chemical engineering phase. They should be ready to test these new films in approximately six months.
The final announcement - the “one more thing” - is the Silberra RC photo papers. Well, when you have developers, fixers and films it’s obvious that you should have photo paper too! The emulsion is ready and the company will start to place the order at manufacturing facility to start coating and packing.
Silberra have been focusing a lot of efforts on new emulsions and not on their mass production. They still hand rolling those films into cartridges and use reliable bulk loaders for that operation. They also use recycled cartridges, which makes Silberra a bit more eco-friendly and gives them an opportunity to offer to future backers at Indiegogo real rewards within a reasonable timeframe and not years of expectations.
Funding the ability to start manufacturing these films in serious volumes is the primary goal of Silberra's Indiegogo campaign. There are many components to purchase in wholesale quantities, and so many R&D aspects that we simply can’t manage without support from the film photography community.
You can also find Silberra on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook here:
Support them, support analog photography!
]]>
The Contax T2 doesn't need a lot of introduction. Thanks to public figure such as Kendall Jenner and family this little gem of mechanics reached peaks of unimaginable hype and, in our opinion, also a bit too overestimated. But don't get me wrong, the T2 is one the best cameras of the high end point-and-shoot market but as its characteristic and features we prefer other cameras (matter of taste).
Handling the camera can be positive at the very beginning but while you will start to take your first pictures you'll realize how close your finger will be to the lens. Once you will understand how to pur you middle finger on the grip this will be not a problem anymore, but you have to bear in your mind that the lens can move against it.
Specifically the camera has great features such as a bright and clear viewfinder that doesn’t seem to suffer in the same way as many do with flare or blackout. The frame lines are maybe slightly prone to disappearing on a bright background and to have some kind of aquarium effect, but that is to my eye one of the only flaws of the VF. The live metering information is really cool and well done, when the camera is switched on, the metering is on, and is constantly updated.
The Contax T2’s shutter button and the focusing are also two great positive points for this camera. Brief and quiet sound while you are shooting (be careful, the shutter button is super sensitive, if you press it to much there will be no AF but straight away you'll take a picture - feature that can be perfect if you will already set the focus manually) and a really fast AF that could be also Manual.
The lens is a Carl Zeiss Sonnar 2.8/38 T*, a sharp and amazing lens that yes, deserve all the hype that there is around this camera. Of course there can be a little of aberration and distortion but nothing really strong that can affect your composition.
Our final thoughts about the Contax T2? We can say that the main highlights are the body, in titanium, the simplicity of the settings, easy to reach and intuitive, and all the features that combine make that camera an excellent and reliable tool for photography.
For some more info about this camera you can check here in our shop.
All pictures by Davide Soldarini
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The Klasse S is a modern and compact point-and-shoot with all the features of a proper 35mm camera (just to give you an idea, I used to take it with me as a back up of my Contax G2, loading a different film, and I've been always happy of its results).
I tried the camera during a trip in Paris, and since is Paris (for me the city has to be shoot in bw) I used a black and white film, a Kodak Tri-X 400.
Its 38mm f/2.8 lens offers crisp photos through the well-built viewfinder and their superb EBC Fujinon lens. One of the core features that made the Fuji Klasse cameras a great competitor in the high end point-and-shoot market is its ability to adapt to various ISO shooting modes. I pushed the film for +1 step (800 ISO) and the results were perfect, giving the picture more contrast and dramatic feeling but still detailed and sharp images.
The camera is light and pocketable (265g w/o battery), grip side is rounded, the lens barrel is more centered, so there is more place to hold it and the shutter button is bigger and placed in the right place. The Klasse S is an easier camera to bring with you, it’s comfortable to hold in hand and operate. The top control thumb dial are easy to use, convenient and logical. You can choose automatic exposure control mode (program), or if you will turn dial further, in aperture priority dialing in the desired aperture.
The exposure compensation control is placed on the front of the camera, close to lens and it's easy to use without the need to double check if the settings are right.
Other interesting and useful controls are an autofocus lock button, and a mode dial with an integrated button. With the mode dial it is possible: set flash modes, bracket AE, manual focus, use bulb mode (or manual slow shutter speed), set self timer, adjust film sensitivity, turn on or of NP mode. Maybe this kind of control is the only thing I did not find intuitive, but still is another feature that can be useful, especially if you don't want every time you turn on the camera to select/deselect the flash mode.
The focusing is quite fast but has always a sort of delay after you push the shutter. Can be a problem if you are searching for a fast and immediate street photography camera, it can happen that you will miss the shot. In the other hand, compare to other P&S such as the Contax T2, the focusing ability can focuses down to 40 cm instead of 70 cm. A big difference if you are interested to have detailed subjects with an amazing bokeh.
The Fujifilm Klasse S is put alongside the ranks of the Contax T3 series, Ricoh GR-1, and Konica Hexar cameras.
Overall I can say that the Fujifilm Klasse S is not just a point & shoot camera but a fine instrument for professional photography with an easy and intuitive approach. You can use either the camera without thinking too much, shooting and enjoy the process or, using all the settings that the camera offer, trying to create the picture in a more professional way, in order to obtain your perfect picture.
For some more info about this camera you can check here in our shop.
All pictures by Alessandro Iotti
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In all honesty if I have to think of a SLR model the first to come to my mind is the Nikon F3 and, maybe, the Canon AE-1. Probably because they are definitely more common and they’ve been the flagship of this genre of camera system for decades.
But, in the last few weeks, I have been lucky enough to shoot with this beautiful model of a Contax 167MT and I’ve to say that I’m impressed. I was completely unaware of the existence of this series of reflex produced by Kyocera under the name Contax and so I went a bit more thoroughly and it seems they were reliable cameras made, especially, for professional photographers in search for a fast (supeeeeeeeeeeer fast!) and solid SLR.
This model was made in the 1986 and the main features were program, shutter and aperture priority, manual modes, spot metering, permanent AE-lock, automatic bracketing, in short, a real modern reflex with all the features still present in the digital ones. This particular model has a super sharp and amazing lens, a Carl Zeiss Planar 1.4/50, one of these kind of lenses that you are sure the results will be great.
On the practical side the camera responds beautifully. In every kind of situation and subject it takes amazing pictures and thankful for a huge viewfinder the composition is easy to create and the focus is smooth and super precise. I didn’t find particular difficult the settings, they are quite basic and everything is showed on a screen (ISO, Manual, Av, Tv, Normal, Low and High shutter speed program) and also inside the viewfinder. The motorized film transport supports three types of drive modes, S: single, C: continuous and S-T: self-timer mode. And this feature impressed my a lot. When you shoot in C the camera is super fast and you can easily take pictures of sport event or other things in movement without loosing a frame!
For some more info about this camera you can check here in our shop.
All pictures by Alessandro Iotti
]]>For the past few weeks I have been shooting with an underwater camera from Canon called the Canon Prima AS-1 and I guess it had a few different names in other parts of the world including Autoboy D5 and Sure Shot A-1.
]]>For the past few weeks I have been shooting with an underwater camera from Canon called the Canon Prima AS-1 and I guess it had a few different names in other parts of the world including Autoboy D5 and Sure Shot A-1.
This camera is awesome, it looks like a toy and is super small, which for an underwater camera that can handle diving to 5 meters is really cool. The camera is super fun to shoot with, the shutter and winder are very silent and the autofocus is not bad either.
The front of the camera has a nice dial with a few different shooting modes.
There is Auto, which seems to get everything correct most of the time, apart from a few backlight situations, it did pretty well.
If you need to make sure the flash goes off you can put on the flash mode.
There is a no flash mode which is cool if you are pushing some film and trying to do some street photos without the flash going off. I was able to shoot the photo of the man at dusk this way.
The last mode is a sort of Macro mode, that focuses between .45-1 meter with a forced flash. I thought maybe the photos would be blown out being that close but I was really surprised when I saw the negatives and how well the exposure was. The portrait of the women on the escalator is with the “macro” mode.
Sadly I did not have a chance to try it underwater, but maybe if it still around when I go on vacation in a few months I will take it with me.
For some more info about this camera you can check here in our shop.
All pictures by Chris Morgan
]]>This past week I had the pleasure of shooting a Yashica T2. I have always heard good things about all of the Yashica T series cameras, so I figured I would give one a shot. I was looking online for some good deals and came across a guy selling two in very good condition.
My first impressions were that it looks super 80s style and more chunky than I had first imagined, but once I got it in my hand, I really liked it. It has a nice grip and a simple on off switch that you can control with just one hand, which is really nice if you are using this as a quick street shooter.
Other than that there really is only two other buttons on the camera labeled ‘daylight flash’ and 'no flash’. The daylight flash is a cool thing when you want to add some fill flash during the day. I used it on the photo of the shoes in the grass, and I think it is a very nice feature, not too overpowering.
The best thing about this camera is the amazing 35mm carl zeiss lens. I was curious how sharp it really is, and when I finally got around to developing them I have to say I was very impressed. Super sharp and detailed. I am a Leica shooter, and I have to say there is not much difference between the detail of the this and something I shot on my m6.
Does the 80s style plastic body look a bit cheap? Yes, but overall this camera is a fun point and shoot, very easy to use, and the picture quality is awesome.
The photos I shot here were with Kodak Tri-X 400 pushed to 1600 iso developed in HC-110.
For some more info about this camera you can check here in our shop.
All pictures by Chris Morgan
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