Is this the best Film Camera, Lens & Film combination for a classic look? Captures with a Nikon FM3A, Zeiss Distagon 2/35 ZF and Kodak Tri-X in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina | Summer 2024
I was itching to hit the streets of a City with a combination I’ve long been wanting to try out. I recently acquired a copy of the beautiful Carl Zeiss Distagon 35mm F2 which I’d previously borrowed from a friend and loved when shooting colour emulsion - I knew this lens packed a 3D pop but I hadn’t yet had the chance to use her with a nice contrasty grainy film like the classic Kodak Tri-X and to crank things up a notch I used a medium yellow filter on the front of the lens, which whilst taking almost a stop of light transmission made the blacks that bit more inky and the contrast and grain a little more accentuated.
We’d already crossed Georgia, Turkey and Europe from Tbilisi to London and then headed down to the Alps and Slovenia when we made a new friendship one evening that piqued our interest to visit Bosnia & Herzegovina on our way towards our intermediate destination of Athens, Greece. After a little colour 120 film photography in London and Tyrol I was itching to hit the streets of a City with a combination I’ve long been wanting to try out. I recently acquired a copy of the beautiful Carl Zeiss Distagon 35mm F2 which I’d previously borrowed from a friend and loved when shooting colour emulsion - I knew this lens packed a 3D pop but I hadn’t yet had the chance to use her with a nice contrasty grainy film like the classic Kodak Tri-X and to crank things up a notch I used a medium yellow filter on the front of the lens, which whilst taking almost a stop of light transmission made the blacks that bit more inky and the contrast and grain a little more accentuated.
Habsburg Empire Grandeur
Art Deco detailing
Bauhaus Modernism
I already knew that the Nikon FM3A would perform admirably, whilst lacking the 100% viewfinder coverage of the F3 she replaced I know I can always be confident that I’ll get the shot thanks to the ingenious hybrid shutter that works electronically in Aperture Priority mode (often my preferred method because I want to concentrate on composition and I trust the light meter) or if necessary manually at all speeds when shooting full manual - something that gives confidence if you should happen to run out of LR44 batteries or be in a freezing cold environment - I think the FM3A is one of those bodies you could happily take to Siberia in Winter and be sure you’ll make the photos you want without any worries.
I adore the shadow graduations in this image
Whenever I’m working with negative process film I set the camera to EV +1 - the reason I do this is that negative vilm has a habit of losing detail in the shadows - something you can easily recover on digital, not so on film… so where I shoot my Pentax K1 habitually at EV -1 because she has the habit of blowing highlights the converse is true when shooting an old-school SLR like the Nikon, of course because I’m using the in camera meter compensation is made by the meter as I’m taking the shot
Strong Brutalism
Muslim Tourists file past one of the famous Bars of Sarajevo
The majority of images on this roll were shot at apertures around F5.6, some were F8 or F4 but my aim was to stick around the sweet-spot of sharpness to make the most of the famous 3D Pop this Zeiss lens produces - I’d argue that the look created is very close in terms of quality and character to Leica lenses.
Buildings still pock-marked with bullet holes, yet peace is the main thing in Sarajevo these days
Carl Zeiss Distagon 2/35 mounted on my nicely worn-in Nikon FM3A (yes I use a lens-hood and the yellow filter is missing here)
The later models of FM3A - Serial Number 300xxxx+ produced in 2005/6 don’t have leatherette, instead Nikon used a grippy rubberised finish, whilst this doesn’t wear so well it does make the camera easier to handle; with a front-heavy lens like this I could really do with a nice wooden handgrip like I’ve seen on eBay recently - whisper it, but I’ve noted that some Chinese manufacturers are producing what look to be really nice grips - I’ll have to buy one and let you know how it feels… I mean, I already have a fair idea how this will improve the handling because I shoot big-gripped cameras on digital with big heavy lenses and that extra purchase you get is essential - so yes, if you’re considering using the Distagon 2/35 on a classic style SLR from Nikon, Canon or Pentax (the main mounts these lenses are made with) then yes, you may well want to think about a handgrip of some description.
1970's functionalism
As always reviews like this are totally unscientific, my aim is to give you an impression of the sort of photos a combination produces so that you can develop a subjective impression as to whether you like this look or not, as part of my photographic practice I spend a lot of time developing my taste in equipment because at the end of the day once you’ve mastered technique - yes it really does matter what equipment you use, camera bodies matter less, but lenses, filters and film or sensors really do make a difference. So if you’re here because you’re curious - you’ve come to the right place. I also like to give props to my local Lab - Qwerty Film Lab in Tbilisi, Georgia who did the whole dev & scan - thanks guys.
Washing Day
Finally let’s talk about the film stock… Kodak do make a finer grained 400 ASA film stock, that is called TMax - if you want the smoothest possible look, go for that, I think that’s a really nice emulsion that delivers beautiful results, yet for me that classic slightly rougher and larger grain of Tri-X has a more “emotional feel” for me… pore over the images I’ve shared and I think you’ll see what I mean.
If you’d like to support what I do, why not get yourself a print? You can find what I believe to be the best capture from this roll right here, alternately you can find a wide range of film images I’ve shot here…
If you have any questions about what I’ve written here - hit me up in the comments! Ax
Street Photography - Station Square
The Heroes of Everyday was the way someone described this set of photos I shot at Station Square - my aim was to show the spirit and soul of the people who work tirelessly to keep the bazaar working day after day. Shot simply on the trusty Fuji XPRO 1 and Zeiss Touit 32mm F1.8 at 400 and 640 ISO to make sure I had enough shutter speed to grab the shots unnoticed. This series of markets is already much cleaned up compared with when I first came 10 years ago and is changing rapidly. For me it’s still a classic Asiatic experience and an absolute essential to get a real feel for life in Georgia because people from all over the country congregate here.
The imperfection of memories
I often talk about painting with light because in essence that’s what we’re trying to do with our cameras. We have a photosensitive media, be that a CMOS or CCD sensor or a sheet of silver halide emulsion and we use available light to freeze a scene that we compose through a lens - what results is the capture of a memory, we record how we see something - which may reveal something about us and how we felt in the moment that we pressed the shutter, it may also convey some feeling to a viewer of the image at a later date. Photography is by its very nature a nostalgic exercise. The choices we make as to how we post-process images in the case of digital photographers using mirrorless and DSLR cameras say as much about the feeling we wish to convey as the choices of a film photographer selecting a film stock or deliberately choosing to use a grainy and out of date black and white film stock.
Fomapan 100, a relatively cheap Czech produced film that I used to buy in the late 1990s, I seem to recall that it came in at around $1.50 a roll of 36 shots on 35mm format - at the time I thought that was ideal so I used to buy in packs of 10. Fast forward 25 years and I discovered that I have a few rolls in my cupboard that are dated as expiring February 2002, given that I only had 120 film for the Rolleiflex felt in there I decided that despite the fact I hadn’t always got the best results with expired film I’d give it a go as a way of taking a look at the way the Carl Zeiss Distagon 35mm F2 I’d just acquired to pair on the trusty Nikon FM3A renders on film.
An early 2000’s dream line-up - Nikon FM3A, Zeiss Distagon 35mm F2 and Fomapan 100
The big mistake I’d made before was not pushing the film enough to compensate for the loss in sensitivity in the film emulsion resulting from being expired and not really that well stored. The last film that I’d tried from this batch I shot in Athens 2 years ago and everything came out misty and totally underexposed. Determined not to suffer the same fate again I decided to override the DX Coding of the film and manually set the sensitivity of the camera at 50 ASA - one stop more than the 100 ASA box speed, this made the film already a little uncomfortable to use on the streets but in the middle of the day now that we’ve passed the equinox in Tbilisi I felt that there would be enough light to play with.
A timeless peaceful empty balcony scene in Kala, Old Tbilisi
Together with the lab technicians at Qwerty Film Lab we decided to push the film 1 more stop to accommodate the degradation of the film and it turns out that this was about right. You can find a lot of information about relatively recently exposed films online but not so much about more out-of-date ones and certainly not so much about Fomapan - which is one of the reasons I’m. mentioning this here - I think a solid run of thumb for a 100 ASA film is 1 stop per 10 years to slow down (push) so in this case I did one stop in camera and one stop in development = 2 stops so essentially the 100ASA film was treated like a 25ASA.
No straight lines in this Kala Courtyard just off Kote Apkhazi Street in Tbilisi
This year, after a hiatus of a few years I’m back teaching a photography group - this is always a solid challenge to break down the many years of learning I’ve done myself and try making it accessible to those at the beginning of their photographic careers. I often talk about painting with light because in essence that’s what we’re trying to do with our cameras. We have a photosensitive media, be that a CMOS or CCD sensor or a sheet of silver halide emulsion and we use available light to freeze a scene that we compose through a lens - what results is the capture of a memory, we record how we see something - which may reveal something about us and how we felt in the moment that we pressed the shutter, it may also convey some feeling to a viewer of the image at a later date. Photography is by its very nature a nostalgic exercise. The choices we make as to how we post-process images in the case of digital photographers using mirrorless and DSLR cameras say as much about the feeling we wish to convey as the choices of a film photographer selecting a film stock or deliberately choosing to use a grainy and out of date black and white film stock.
For me the transition between sharp and out of focus on the Zeiss Distagon 35mm F2 is magical
When I got to posting the first images from the film I got back 3 days after shooting to Instagram I found myself reflecting on the imperfect nature of memories and how these often felt similar to the results we can get from expired film stocks. So accustomed have we become to sharp, perfectly exposed, hyper-saturated images that when we now come across these imperfect emulsions there’s a different emotional connection we feel, and this is amplified when these photos are printed and we can see them up close. For those who enjoy such visual pleasures do go and check out Fotografia in Tbilisi - you may even find some of my work on display there.
What I’m looking for in a lens is this lovely sharpness and then the way the out of focus areas fade
The wrought ironwork is a particularity of Tbilisi that sets it apart from other cities
Overall I was pretty pleased with the results of the 20+ years expired Fomapan 100 experiment but I will of course go back to shooting finer and more colourful film stocks as we enter the tremendous Tbilisi springtime when so many courtyards and buildings are enveloped in blossom and the colours pop with the radiant southern sun. I’m glad that I’ll now be able to capture this on 35mm with a classic 35mm lens which gives just that little bit more width than the 50mm I usually shoot on. Watch this space for colourful updates!
Worth climbing the 3 floors to get the perfect angle for this shot.
Spring Courtyards of Tbilisi
One could be excused for not discovering the magical semi public, semi private spaces that the courtyards of Tbilisi represent if no-one were to show you these; after all they are hidden from view and if you come from Europe or North America you’d perhaps be too polite as to push that mysterious door and start exploring a place that you weren’t sure you should really be. The thing about visiting Tbilisi is that the city challenges you to get out of your comfort-zone. What was considered the second-most bohemian city in Europe at the turn of the 20th century is arguably now the most - there’s a can-do spirit in the air gayly infecting all-comers whether that’s gastro-hounds, crypto-bros, bon-vivants, intrepid-travellers and all those just curious to take a look.
First-time visitors to Tbilisi often try to orientate themselves by comparing the city to other places they’ve visited, cross-referencing the visual clues in an attempt to understand the world into which they’ve been plunged. Thankfully after a few days most relent and freely admit that “Tbilisi is so Tbilisi” because the unique mix of Art Deco and Art Nouveau, Sovietica, Persian, Turkic, Russian and Modernism combine to make the place that is not only the Capital of Georgia but the Capital of the Caucasus feel at once homely and comforting yet somehow exotic and undiscovered.
One could be excused for not discovering the magical semi public, semi private spaces that the courtyards of Tbilisi represent if no-one were to show you these; after all they are hidden from view and if you come from Europe or North America you’d perhaps be too polite as to push that mysterious door and start exploring a place that you weren’t sure you should really be. The thing about visiting Tbilisi is that the city challenges you to get out of your comfort-zone. What was considered the second-most bohemian city in Europe at the turn of the 20th century is arguably now the most - there’s a can-do spirit in the air gayly infecting all-comers whether that’s gastro-hounds, crypto-bros, bon-vivants, intrepid-travellers and all those just curious to take a look.
Caught in a seemingly perpetual struggle between a controlling past in the Russian sphere-of-influence and a flourishing future as part of a wider-European future as the most Easterly member of the European Union we find Georgia thrust into the headlines each year as the government tries pushing unpopular reforms that echo laws enacted in Russia over a decade ago with the aim of stifling foreign influence Tbilisi feels like a cauldtron of emotions and competing interests. The courtyards of the Old Town show us the artistic attention to detail and plus-ça-change attitude of Tbilisilebi who’ve definitely seen this all before.
Spring often starts a little later in Tbilisi than in Central Europe but once the sun passes the Spring Equinox the mercury often rises rapidly after sometimes torrential April showers; those two elements combining to engulf buildings and courtyards in blossoms and bloom, late April into May is absolutely one of the highlight times to visit; you get pleasant daytime temperatures, a city that remembers much of life is lived outside and perfect conditions for exploring courtyards and making discoveries.
Modern cities often feel quite prescriptive and indeed, even here in Tbilisi the inexorable creep of AirBnB-ification and the homogenisation of exteriors and interiors to some beige-ennui of commercially-driven copy-paste continues unabated. The lockdowns and Ukraine War took some of the edge off of this development meaning there are still many places untouched by the prescriptive and unimaginative waves of gentrification - so if you haven’t yet beet to Tbilisi - there’s a great time to visit and that time is: right now.
Website relaunch - A Focus on Prints
Here we are, the end of 2023
Whoever chooses a path in the creative arts needs to be aware that there are always choices to be made - photography is no different. As a generalist in life this is something that has also been reflected in my photographic output; specialists tell me this is much to my detriment and indeed as they plough the deep furrows of their niches for the past 10 years I’ve skated between genres by taking commissions as a commercial photographer in segments as broad as portraiture, food and interiors whilst also developing a body of work as a fine art photographer selling prints - either via galleries or as private sales. As we come to the close of 2023 I’ve taken a decision to focus my attentions on the creation of prints, which is something that is reflected in the reorganisation of this website.
I’m pleased to be able to offer prints such as this one of Mount Kazbeg under a Full Moon which represents a highlight of my work late this year. This was taken after an annual party held by my good friends at Georgia Adventure Club who use photos I’ve created to promote their tours - if you’re looking for safe and responsible guides to show you the amazing places Georgia has to offer then these are your people - please tell them I sent you.
At the same time I’m also free to sell compositions like “Tulips” as an affordable piece to brighten up your living space - I’ve had this on my wall a few years and I never get tired of seeing the beautiful textures of the leaves and petals; believe it or not this was taken as a test-shot whilst setting up a food shoot and yes, it’s absolutely only natural light.
If you prefer something more low key then this timeless shot of a V60 taken on Ilford Film on my old Hasselblad might be something you enjoy - this is another shot I’ve had on my walls a few years - I just love the beautiful grain and tonality of this film when shot through a classic Carl Zeiss lens.
Another print that might work well as a present for someone who loves Tbilisi could be “Blue Door” which is actually the door of a famous Tbilisi Restaurant taken in the depths of midwinter - which is why the skies are so clear and the blues so blue
As a contrast to the Blue Door there’s not much that’s as bursting with life as the scene of the Dry Bridge Antiques market which is pleasurably chaotic and overflowing with vibrant colours
Finally I’ll finish off this blog post with a photo of the city I’m from: London. I’m looking forward to shooting in London a lot more in the coming year so watch this space for updates - come to think of it, I’ve just remembered some beautiful photos I haven’t yet featured on this website so maybe I’ll go and dig those out now. Thank you for your support - for December I’m offering friends a 15% discount on all orders over $50 - just use the voucher code “DECEMBER” at checkout, Cheers - Adrian x
23 in 2023 with an 11 year old Camera
I’ve been pretty sad about the price rises of 35mm film (in particular) and also the discontinuation of my favourite film stock - Fuji Pro 400h. At the end of 2022 I sold off some 35mm cameras and also some digital to consolidate on a very pared-down daily carry that gives the look and feel of film - that combination is a mint condition Fuji XPRO 1 from 2012 along with a Carl Zeiss Touit 32mm F1.8 which is the equivalent of a 48mm in full frame
I haven’t shot nearly as much as I would have liked this year, some years are like this and I don’t feel this diminishes my worth as a photographer - for me accepting the less creative times and treating them the same as the periods of great creation is pretty important. I’ve been working on lots of exciting things that aren’t photography related - which keeps me fresh and means that when I do make time to shoot more I’ll feel fresh and ready. All the same I did try and document some beautiful things I saw around Tbilisi when out and about and I find the results to be aesthetically pleasing.
Tbilisi Queen Tamar Avenue
Quiet photography is something I’ve been thinking about a lot this year, I recently discovered that this isn’t something I’ve thought of alone - clearly others have been thinking about and practicing this too, indeed I recently found a great article about this - all the same I have been very aware that this is what I’m into in this phase of my photography journey. The main idea is that the contemplative act of creation is relatively silent and that the art itself is strong enough to stand on its own without a whole load of noise being made. The output should have a quality of something that people want to keep coming back to again and again.
Baywatch Varketili
I’ve been pretty sad about the price rises of 35mm film (in particular) and also the discontinuation of my favourite film stock - Fuji Pro 400h. At the end of 2022 I sold off some 35mm cameras and also some digital to consolidate on a very pared-down daily carry that gives the look and feel of film - that combination is a mint condition Fuji XPRO 1 from 2012 along with a Carl Zeiss Touit 32mm F1.8 which is the equivalent of a 48mm in full frame. This setup clearly has a lot of limitations - firstly it’s not very fast at all, the lens isn’t that fast in terms of light transmission but also not shabby, the autofocus is limited and sometimes the exposure is frustrating… however what I hope you’ll see in the images I share here is the beautiful colour rendition, nice grain, good sharpness and lovely fall-off from in to out of focus areas. It’s a shame Zeiss don’t make more lenses for Fuji X mount but as it is they are expensive and the Fuji lenses are great - but they don’t have that Zeiss pop that I like so much. I should admit that there’s one image here taken on the Contax Zeiss Planar 50mm F1.8 and that’s the one above - what I find interesting is that the glass and coating has such a similar rendition
XPRO 1 with Zeiss Planar 1.8/32 and leather case - a classic and understated daily carry
I’ve chosen images from Tbilisi because that’s where I’ve spent the majority of 2023 - I am always amazed and how I still find beautiful details and scenes some 10 years after I moved here, this city truly is a photographic treasure.
Temka Nights
Sololaki Street Sales
Is it bad that I can’t remember the name of this restaurant?
Didube Charm
Dadi Wine bar where the wine we make is enjoyed
The wine
Didi Lilo Skies
Asatiani St Laundry
Boss Cat
Amaghleba Stairs
Why good Headshots matter and how can you get them?
With the recent Pandemic changing the way we do business with far less in-person face to face meetings, less travel, more video calls having a good Headshot that makes a solid first impression is increasingly important.
Why Headshots matter:
“With the recent Pandemic changing the way we do business with far less in-person face to face meetings, less travel, more video calls having a good Headshot that makes a solid first impression is increasingly important.”
The word “Headshot” alone is enough to strike fear into the seasoned corporate warrior - after all it does sound all rather violent. In reality there’s an increasing need to have decent quality headshots that serve as your avatars be that on company websites, social media and networking platforms, on print materials or perhaps with press releases or in the media. With the recent Pandemic changing the way we do business with far less in-person face to face meetings, less travel, more video calls having a good Headshot that makes a solid first impression is increasingly important.
Nathan is an author from New Zealand - he uses his headshot on book covers
Control is Key:
The beauty of the headshot is that you, the person sitting, can control all aspects of - that means you can choose your outfit, the type of lighting, the vibe that the photo gives off and of course you have time to get it right. Actors are often cast for roles based on headshots - so it absolutely makes sense to have photos that are engaging.
Irrational fear of Photos
“Let’s be honest; most of us don’t like having out photograph taken ”
Let’s be honest; most of us don’t like having out photograph taken - if we stop to think why then we might find some clues: often in our childhoods parents or relatives would involuntarily shove cameras in our faces - the results of these well-intentioned yet also quality-compromised moments were usually not particularly pleasing to us, of course grandmothers would coo over the results but these weren’t how we saw ourselves. For most of us our first encounter with professional photography would have been with school photos - the battery farm of photography where there was limited time and very little interaction between photographer and subject. The mobile phone has changed some of this - we now take more photos more often and indeed some of us have learned through repeated practice what our best angles are when taking a selfie - yet sadly this knowledge doesn’t help much with headshots except perhaps if we know which our “better side” is. The wonder of the human face is that it is asymmetrical - the two sides of our faces are quite different and so we are faced with a choice when it comes to headshots - which side we have facing the camera. This is where working with an experienced professional photographer is useful - the pro photographer is used to working with people, s/he can help us feel at ease and can also objectively tell us what kind of pose and positioning works best for the given application - note that I say works best rather than “that they like” - because like is not really a useful metric. Fulfilling a brief is the goal.
Cristina is a Finance Director in FinTech - a business that is very much online
What’s the brief?
Before we start with anything creative (and I include taking headshots in that) it pays to set out a vision of what is to be achieved - that comes in the form of a brief which has varying degrees of information on depending on what’s needed - it may be something as simple as: Business professional headshots, light background or it may go into detail about things like black and white, the exact shade of background, orientation, pixel size long edge and output format. Some people like to talk about some adjectives they want to transmit and for a photographer these are very useful. Headshots are a creative process and if you’re not a professional model it’s wise to take a little more time to work with your photographer, relax in front of camera and get the results you need.
How long does it take?
“it’s wiser to set aside an hour to work with a photographer ”
For a professional model who is used to working on camera in many cases 10-15 minutes shooting are enough - for us mere mortals who aren’t used to taking directions on camera who may get tense and start to overthink it’s wiser to set aside an hour to work with a photographer - In my experience it often takes up to 40 minutes for a subject to fully relax in front of camera so that we can get the kind of results that work in a professional setting.
What lighting is best?
As a photographer I will always suggest natural light as a first choice because it doesn’t look too forced - of course I do have a set of mobile lights that I use for certain types of shoot but that does somewhat limit the locations that we can use to shoot headshots. It’s worth noting that different cultures have different expectations for headshots so it’s worth checking out what others are doing and discussing how those types of images were created with your photographer.
Mariam is a Lawyer with the European Business Association in Georgia
“Good professionals usually have a list of great locations and know when the light will be good - listen to their advice to get the best possible results.”
How much is this all going to cost?
As with any market you’ll find a variety of offers - not all of them equal. As usual you will find that you get what you pay for - a true professional will not only be happy to talk with you and help you get ready but will also be doing the post-processing of the image to the required specifications - so that rush job 15 minutes for $40 won’t seem such a good idea when you get substandard results and need to repeat the process - as a run of thumb I’d suggest a budget of at least $150 to get absolutely perfect headshots taken in a consultative shoot that gives you time to review the results and shoot and re-shoot until you get the results you need. If you want to do a few costume and location changes then book a couple of hours with a professional photographer and make an experience out of it. Good professionals usually have a list of great locations and know when the light will be good - listen to their advice to get the best possible results.
What can Headshots do for me?
Good professional Headshots will bring instant attention - I’ve seen clients get many hundreds of likes when they share their new headshots on social media, this in turn brings with it an increase in opportunities. Lawyers winning new clients, musicians receiving new bookings, some people even get job offers after sharing their headshots. Sounds crazy? Maybe - but let’s just say that Facebook and Instagram are programmed to recognise and boost posts wither some people good quality headshots serve as a self-esteem boost, on more than one occasion I’ve heard clients say that they’d never seen themselves like this - and so of course self-empowerment is a beautiful thing for all of us - hmmm, maybe I need some new headshots?
What location is best?
The most suitable location for shooting headshots depends very much on your brief - however in my experience a casual setting with more interesting backgrounds or better yet a variety of potential backgrounds is a good idea so that you have a variety of type of shot to choose from.
What to do with headshots when you’ve go them?
There’s a huge temptation to share all the images you have at once - that would be a mistake - it’s far better to choose one or two images that you like to update social profiles with, then as time progresses you can swap your photos out with other shots you like thus prolonging the positive effects of your great new headshots.
Vazha is a computer programmer in Germany, his headshot helped him get a better job
If you’d like to get some fresh headshots or learn more about the process I’d love to have a chat with you:
Nikon F3 - is this the best of all worlds?
Nikin F3 with Contax Zeiss Planar (adapted to F mount)
I learned to shoot on a Minolta XGM. I still have that camera, it never fails. My Dad always had Nikons, mostly FE and FE2, I wasn’t much of a friend of the metering. When buying a camera and lenses in 1997 (I was 19) I made a foolish mistake in sticking with Minolta instead of buying a Nikon FM2N for the same price as a fully AF Dynax 505si. Maybe I just didn’t understand the Nikon magic back then. I do now.
Fast forward to today and I have an F3 and F4 and an F100 alongside my Olympus OMD-EM1 MKII and Pentax K1 and Rolleiflex 3.5E. For work I mostly use the Olympus and Pentax - but given the fact that I have to fly quite often it’s often the case that I have to prioritise what kit I want to carry. Largely that choice depends on the kind of place I’m going and what I think I’m going to need to do.
Green Bottle, Vera, Tbilisi Georgia: Kodak Ektar 100
I differentiate between work shooting and personal shooting because the requirements of these are very different. For work I need to be able to ensure absolute perfection and a fast turnaround. For my personal work I want to do as little editing as possible and for the shots to have emotion and a certain je-ne-sais-quoi. The perfection of digital photos doesn’t really touch me anymore. I get genuinely excited picking up the Rolleiflex or any of the film Nikons. For 35mm I really like the look of Kodak Ektar, whereas on Medium Format the colouration and “aesthetic” of Fuji Pro 400H really delivers due to the reproduction of greens and generally cooler hues.
Sabaduri Forest, Tbilisi National Park, Georgia: Nikon F3, Zeiss Planar 50mm 1.7, Kodak Ektar 100
Technically speaking the F100 is the best film camera I owned. It doesn’t suffer the dreaded battery drain and it was the F100 with a 50mm 1.4D that was my first fix of the Nikon magic. The F4 is a far superior camera to the F3 in technical terms, but it’s a veritable brick and I’m not sure I feel that I always need the features it provides me with. I was out shooting with the F4 this weekend on Portra 800 so I will be interested to see how things came out. Which brings us to the F3. For me the F3 represents sheer mechanical quality. Leica enthusiasts may have other opinions, but I’m talking about professional cameras - you know, the ones people used to earn a living with. The Nikon F3 may well already house a remarkable amount of electronics (it does) but the operation of the single lens reflex is fully manual or aperture priority if you wish. I personally prefer to use aperture priority in most situations and focus on composition - the F3 allows me to get on and do this whilst reliably delivering well-exposed images, the only caveat being the displays are not great to read in some light situations and the digital readouts can fail.
Gombori Pass, Kakheti, Georgia: Nikon F3, Zeiss Planar 50mm 1.7: Fuji Pro 400H
The film advance lever is wonderfully smooth, the first time I used an F3 I wondered whether I’d loaded the film properly, such was the effortlessness of the advance. The feel and sound of the shutter are quite ideal, it needn’t be any quieter - the way it’s weighted feels right. As you’ll note my copy is equipped with the HP (High Eyepoint) viewfinder which gives a 100% field of view - and is of course very bright. I’d hazard that mine feels brighter than the F4.
In terms of how the camera feels: it’s just the right weight. For using bigger lenses such as the 180mm 2.8ED the motor drive provides a better balance and grip, but I tend to put the 180 on the beefier cameras anyway. I feel that the F3 is best with a fast 50 or 35, the 24mm or 85mm, perhaps 135mm at a stretch.