Links

Link: When Fred Herzog Saw in Black and White

The Tyee reminds us of When Fred Herzog Saw in Black and White.

Celebrated as a master of colour, the Vancouver photographer had a different side, now on display.

New a new book show the work he was less known for: black and white. Work published posthumously as Fred Herzog passed away in 2019. This last article shows you a good sample of his colour work, and also relate of the difficulty of shooting in colour.

I discovered Fred Herzog through one of his books at a barber shop in Vancouver when I lived there. What fascinated me was the colour photography of Vancouver, from a time where black & white was the dominant form of photography, mostly due to technology and cost. Pictures of an ever changing city, where heavy transformations make large parts of a city disappear, to be replaced. It showed us the city as it was, and the colour offered us a more realistic feel.

It inspired me.

News: Pixii move to full frame

I talked about rangefinders and mentioned the Pixii, and how it being APS-C sized sensor was, an issue given that it uses Leica M-mount lenses.

Turns out as DPReview tells us that Pixii launches 24MP Pixii Max, its first full-frame rangefinder:

The Pixii Max (Model A3410) is the company’s fifth camera and the first to move from an APS-C sensor to full frame.

Feels like a good revision. At €3999 without taxes (about CA$5900), it’s less expensive than a Leica M.

Link: Fujifilm once struggled to sell cameras…

Reuters: Fujifilm once struggled to sell cameras. Now, it can’t keep up with demand

After it sold out last year, the company increased production in China to double the launch volume for the VI that debuted in March,

The X100 VI is still not available anywhere as I’m pondering a Fujifilm upgrade. They claim to have manufactured even more.

But the long waitlists and steep prices may drive customers to competitors, such as Canon’s G7X

Pardon? Can someone tell me where the G7X MkIII is available? I can’t find it anywhere from B&H to my local camera stores. And don’t mention the scalpers on Amazon.

Anyway good on Fujifilm with their success. I love my X series not everybody like Sony.

News: Fujifilm Set to Restart Color Film Production in China

PetaPixel inform that Fujifilm Set to Restart Color Film Production in China:

Fujifilm reportedly held a color film launch event in China where it announced it would restart the production of its C200 and C400 color negative film through production partner Yes!Star.

C200 and C400 are the successor of the Superia line of films: consumer grade (but high quality) colour negative film. With film prices rising, and choice reducing, it seems like good news.

More supplies is better. With Ricoh releasing a new film camera, it seems that film is not dead.

Pentax 17

I previously mentioned the Pentax film renaissance. Today Pentax announced the Pentax 17 (via DPReview).

This gives the details we didn’t previously have.

It’s a vertical half frame (17 mm wide, 24 mm tall) 35mm millimeter compact camera, with a manual focus fixed prime lens. It has program exposure with a few modes, and built-in flash with sync at 1/125. It will be priced at USD$499.95, to be available in late (aren’t we already in the second half?) June 2024.

The manual focusing is zone based, reminiscent of non auto-focus compact cameras, and the viewfinder is parallax corrected, and centered on the lens in the middle of the camera. This is neither a reflex (through the lens) nor a rangefinder.

The body construction has metal, i.e. it’s not a cheap plastic blob. The leaf shutter goes from 4 sec to 1/350 sec, with also a bulb mode. The lens is a fixed 25mm (37mm equivalent) with f/3.5 aperture closed down to a max of f/16. Film advance is mechanic with a lever, so is ISO setting (no DX). The camera uses a CR2 battery for the metering and the flash.

The half frame allow 48 and 72 shots on 24 and 36 exp rolls respectively. If you want to shoot in landscape mode, just flip the camera.

This camera could totally be from the late 1970s, minus a couple of things. According to Ricoh-Pentax, the lens is based on the 1994 Pentax Espio Mini, but using the same attribute as was used on the 1962 RICOH Auto Half

At USD$500 I am not sure whether this is right-priced or not.

Link: why i love hong kong

Winnie Lim: why i love hong kong

I have only seen Hong Kong through the lens of other, a lot because of the Kai and Lok era of Digital Rev TV. It feel like a very photogenic place, probably because of its contrast of style and urbanism.

Published
Categorized as Links Tagged

Where to buy in Canada

I have put up a curated list of Canada camera stores and film processing labs. This came from the need to know where I could get film processed, or get supplies for it.

There is a lot of reasons why you’d want to buy from a Canadian store (when living in Canada), including that some of the supplies, like chemicals for film processing, are not easy to import. Also the prices are mostly MSRP which mean that patronising a local business won’t cost you more.

I hope this is useful.

Link: Pentax film renaissance

DPReview has an interview with the team behind Pentax upcoming film camera:

Everything analog is suddenly cool again, and photography is no exception: There’s an incredible renaissance happening in film photography, led by a generation who grew up never knowing anything other than digital cameras.

Yes. There is room for a few new film cameras that produce quality images (that’s a stab a Lomography). While things are moving in the world of film supplies, not always to the taste of aficionados, the stock of used film camera is just getting older. And older mean breakage, difficult to repair.

The first announcement came in December 2022, but in April 2024, the publication date of the interview, we have a bit more detail. It will be a half frame 35mm camera, vertical, in a compact format. But every other details remain elusive, including exposure modes.

To be continued…