My Film Setup

My film setup is much larger then is probably healthy for someone who isn't a working photographer. They are all special camera and I love the character each one has. I have't shot anything from my large format camera but I am super excited about it. For each one of my camera's/gear I'll explain where I got them, why I have them, and what I think about their use.

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My first camera is my Nikon FM with a Nikkor 50mm F1.8. It's actually my father's camera that he gave to me to use for my first photography class. He originally bought the camera at the B&H flagship store in New York City while he attended Columbia University. It's my understanding it was easier to take images of figures and papers then it was to pay someone to hand copy these documents. Either way this is still an very popular film camera because of its simplicity and reliability. I love the portability of this camera and the look of the 50mm lens is exceptional. This camera has been and done everything and is still trucking away creating beautiful images.

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My next camera is my Mamiya C3 with a Sekor 80mm F2.8 blue dot lens. This camera I bought because I was lusting after the razor thin depth of field medium format cameras create. I knew that going from 35mm to 120 film wasn't much of a jump so I stared looking on Ebay. At the time all I had was $100 to spend so I waited and pulled the trigger on the old Japanese TLR camera. After it had arrived I dropped the camera and broke that lens. So long story short I bought a new lens tested it and was happily surprised with the result. All in all, I spent way too much however I absolutely love the feel of this camera and how it slows you down while shooting.

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Finally, my most anticipated purchase the Graflex Speed Graphic with a Wollensak 127mm F4.7 yellow dot lens in a Graflex shutter. I found out that this is actually a 1941 anniversary edition Speed Graphic. Right now I'm having issues mounting the lens on the camera as it is on the board. I haven't shot with this camera yet but I knew that this type of camera is only getting more popular and expensive as it rivals even the best digital cameras. Not only will it provide some of the most detailed images you can create but it takes portraits to a whole other level. The detail and fall off of this format is impossible to simulate. Can't wait to shoot with this camera and create amazing images.

This isn't a camera and I don’t have a picture of it, but it is a very helpful too for my two larger format cameras. It is a Sekonic L-398 Studio Deluxe incident light meter. It is used to find the exposure while in the field and it works quite well. It doesn't require batteries so it will always work and therefore it's an invaluable tool for created film images in the field. I again used eBay for this purchase as I find it's the best place to find used camera equipment, as long as you know what you are looking at.