I Have a Hybrid and Support your real mom & pop store...

 

Ordered the new Instax Evo Wide today from the gang at FIRESIDE CAMERA in San Francisco. 
The camera above is not that one - but more on this camera in a minute.

Anyone looking for gear and want to support a REAL local small business (not another chain store with multiple locations) - pay them a visit.  Fireside is in the Marina District so there's tons of things to photograph and a lot of food and bars and stores to visit AND.... sad to say.... You sorta feel safe in the area unlike most parts of the city.

The camera above is the junior version of the new Instax Evo Wide.  The Mini Evo.  

Both Evo cameras are out of stock everywhere.... so I did the old "camera quest" and believe it or not, WalMart had two in stock.

Granted this is a pure point and shoot.  A hybrid because it is a digital camera with an Instax printer built in.  The plus.... see before you print, apply electronic do dads and effects.

It's sorta analog in that the image is on Instant Film.  One thing, I am having a blast just snapping away!

Learning the gear and finding the one...

 So far this quest has been slow thanks to the flu bug that really has hit hard this time around.

Here's where I am at on the quest.

The Mint designed and manufactured cameras have been great.
However, because the wide is a rangefinder style, my minimum focal distance is about 3'.  Ok for some stuff but the power of the image sometimes requires you to get close.  This reminds me of all the Leica rangefinders I use to shoot.  Love a majority of it but not being able to get close is a pain.

The TLR gives me that style of photography which is in itself a lot of fun.  I can get really close but only after clipping on a macro lens.  Almost like the Rangefinder, the parallax issue is there.

The original Polaroid SLR690 (which will need some repair thanks to me dropping it and knocking the mirrors out of adjustments) still works and that sonar autofocus is still unbelievable and so damn accurate.  But not being able to focus does have it's drawbacks.

The i2.  I really want to love this camera but it's a viewfinder/rangefinder sort of affair and mastering the parallax is difficult.  Also this camera needs a lot of light in order to produce a good image.  Even with the flash on, it's been a challenge.

The winner is Dr.Land's SX70.  This one is the modified Mint version called the SLR670.  The time machine attachment adds to the fun of using it, however with a flash (like the image above), I have to allow the SX70 to do it's thing.

Being an SLR, I can accurately see what I am going to get in terms of framing and depth of field.  It comes down to the "using of the camera", the SX70 can get within 7" without any attachments and super close with the close up lens (which I bought years ago when an SX70 accessories kit in mint condition became available).

So the 50 year old design that is still super cool and still in some ways ahead of it's time is still the best tool so far.

and the quest continues....

Comparison - Mint RF vs Fuji X100V w/ Instax Wide printer

 

The journey continues.  Since I am homebound due to not being able to talk (damn cold), I decided to venture to my backyard again and do some of that photo learning stuff.

The images on the left were taken with the Mint RF70 and using the built in meter to tell me what settings to select.

The images on the right were taken with the Fujifilm X100V transferred to Lightroom and then exported to Gmail and then printed on the Fujifilm Instax Wide printer.  This is to keep to the theme of using Instant Film

Keep in mind these photos are only minutes old and will improve over the next few hours.

I expected the X100V images to be overall far better since it's a digital camera.

What I didn't expect were the clarity of the Mint images.  Granted exposure and time the photos were taken varied widely but I was impressed with what the Mint was able to produce.

And so the learning curve continues on....

Light Meter time...

 Photography is Photo (light) + Graphy (writing) = Light writing or Writing with Light.

So for those new to this.... proper exposure requires knowing, film speed (ISO) & lens opening (aperture or f stop) & shutter time (seconds). 

A light meter will let you know typically a missing variable such as what shutter speed or lens aperture.

All the instant cameras that I have has some sort of built in light meter.  However light meters are not perfect in Instant Cameras.  They don't have a sensor (unlike a digital camera) and thus metering happens with some sort of reflective meter attached somewhere on the exterior.

Learning this photography thing again reminded me that this is FILM and not DIGITAL and you expose for the shadows and not the highlights unlike digital (or slide film) where it's the opposite.

I went back to old school and the king of metering is still the spot meter (item on the right).  It's cool because I had to use the old zone system of metering (for another day).  Fun because I had to think about the results I got and apply it towards getting the exposure I wanted.  IT WORKED!!!

However walking around with a spot meter sometimes will make you look like a director or pro photographer wanna be and I wanted something small.

The item on the left is a digital mini meter made by Keks.  It's ok but because of it's design, it's easily fooled in terms of what to expose for.  Bright day with a subject in the shadows - the shadow item will be too dark.

The old school meter by Sekonic has a bit of the same flaw as Keks.  I stopped using it because it was metering about 2-3 stops TOO bright.  Thanks to the power of YouTube, I found someone who had a home DIY calibration of this meter.  Without a lot of detail here, it worked.  Verified with 3 digital cameras (Leica, Fuji and Nikon), I took it out and it works well.

This journey is still full of fun and adventure once again.  There is just more enjoyment and joy with analog.

Fujiroid Mint adventure - film and gear - update

 

If only Fuji and Polaroid (Impossible) could play nice with each other.  

It is obvious that Fuji still knows the "secret sauce" and have continued to get their version INSTAX to work well.

So far the results between Fuji and Polaroid.

The Polaroid film has come a long long way and the reasons why I am shooting it once again.

The best way to describe Polaroid images is this... artsy, dreamy, muted, soft, etc...

It's great when I am after that look.

The Fujifilm Instax (all sizes) is the closest or even at where the original Polaroid (before Impossible) film was at.

Crisp, vibrant, bright, snapshots, etc...

Gear wise

Love the SX70.

It's being an SLR, close focus and just so cool to use.

The Mint RF and TL+

Outstanding

The Instant Family...

 and this is just the Instant cameras!

My former (and I do say former) Leica collection of M, Q and SL models were even more massive at one time.

The TOP 5
of the Instant Collection

The favorite is....

The Polaroid Alpha 1 Mint SLR670-X Ming Edition iType 

(That's one hell of a name)

The runner up...
Mint TL70+
(Twin Lens, Instax Square, Fully Manual)

Followed by...
The Polaroid SLR 690
(Considered by some as the holy grail of SX-70's) 

Mint RF70
(The best Instax Wide Camera, Fully Manual)
It has the limitations of a Rangefinder Camera of a close focus of 2.5-3.5 ft

Polaroid i2
(Modern Version of the OneStep with full manual or automatic controls)
Capable, modern, new but something about it missing a "soul" that the SX-70 has.

and for the one left behind....

The Kodak EK6

The camera that caused the monumental lawsuit that took years and essentially damaged both companies.

This was Kodak's middle finger response to Polaroid saying they could care less about those patents.

The one thing about the Kodak is that they did develop the wide format film and with a satin finish versus the glossy finish of Polaroid.

Too bad they couldn't have co-existed.

The outcome would have been so different.

Film and Amazon...

 One thing about Analog Film is that it's about chemistry and not 1's and 0's.

That said, film has an expiration date.  Typically, you can get by if it's not too expired.

Instant film - especially Polaroid is really expensive.  The great deal on Amazon generally means the film has already passed its expiration date.  

So, a word to the wise, unless duly noted on the expiration date, buyer beware.

I think I'm good with the film expiring only a few months ago.  The old rule is that a year is perhaps still ok depending on how you store it.