There are dozens, possibly hundreds of similar cameras like this made by children in the same factory in some place a long way away from Hermosa Beach. What is striking, perhaps, is they all have the same fixed settings. 31mm lens w fixed focus, aperture of f11, shutter speed of 1/100.
And you know what? Often the pics come out ok if the conditions are favourable.
So it got me to thinking, why don’t we do a fun little challenge? Whoever is up for it - shoot one roll of iso 400 film at f11 and 1/125. You are not to deviate from those settings. The lens the cr@p cameras use is a 31mm, so the closest you have to that. I’m pretty much set because I have the Lomo Minitar 32mm but the rest of you can use your fancy pants Leica, Zeiss, CV stuff.
And one last nod to superior equipment - you can focus.
So basically one 35mm camera, one roll of iso 400 film, one lens in the 31mm area (28-35), aperture f11, shutter 1/125 for the entire roll. And have fun with it - don’t just take shots in ideal for it conditions. Pretend you are a youtuber and act mystified when pics shot at night of your friends eating tacos did not come out as you would have hoped.
FYI Pentax actually did/does make a 31mm lens…
FYI #2 just realized I cannot use my Minitar because the aperture does not stop down past f8… the person who built that lens must have been the same one who built my film scratching M6..
Ok, so I’ll be using my M-A w Brightin Star 28mm and HP5. 1/125/F11 here I come!
That describes how I use the Kodak Retina 1a. Set the aperture at f8, choose between a 50th, 100 or 250. At f8 there are two zones, 7 to 15 feet and 15 feet to infinity.
I might give it a try with the M4-2.
I mean, I know some of the pics will be duds, but the fact that these disposables do actually give decent results with ISO 400 film and 1/100 @ F11 for everything speaks to the flexibility of the film.
Plus maybe we'll get some cool results shooting at exposures we would not normally have selected.
There is a reason cr@p cameras have this one exposure setting - it plain works in daylight situations given the flexibility of ISO 400 film. First post of many to come. Basically the entire roll was ok.
A sample from my cr@p camera challenge - entire roll of HP5 shot at 1/125 and F11 in an M-A with the BS 28 2.8
Dud samples (Riley it's my fault not yours!):
Ok samples:
Noice samples:
Out of 36 exposures :
- two were completely blank - understandable as I shot them indoors in the evening with no strong or direct light. And to be fair to cr@p cameras they usually have built in flashes so would have done better. I was too lazy to pull one out..
- three were mediocre
- six were ok.
- twenty five were good.
And therein ends my challenge, now I have to think of another way to not be productive.
This is a fun experiment. I'll try on the upcoming week. I will use...
Nikon FM2, Zeiss 28/2 ZF.2, HP5 bc who doesn't use HP5, and some D76 1+1 when I'm done.
I realize this setup is as far from cr@p camera as one might get, but it's what I have that fits the requirements for the assignment. My cr@p lens is a 50mm...
Oscarsmadness wrote:
This is a fun experiment. I'll try on the upcoming week. I will use...
Nikon FM2, Zeiss 28/2 ZF.2, HP5 bc who doesn't use HP5, and some D76 1+1 when I'm done.
I realize this setup is as far from cr@p camera as one might get, but it's what I have that fits the requirements for the assignment. My cr@p lens is a 50mm...
It’s the perfect setup. The idea is to use your camera with the cr@p camera settings for the entire roll. 1/125 @f11 with iso 400 film and a focal length closest to the cr@p camera’s 32mm that you have.
Take the battery out of your FM2 so you are not tempted to use the meter!
It doesn't have batteries in it, I don't think. The camera was recently inherited and the deceased religiously removed batteries every time he returned home.
Maybe I will repeat this experiment sometime later with my cr@p lens, a Nikon Series E 50 that I dropped on hard concrete...
Now that I think about it, maybe it would be fun to put in the batteries and see how often the meter says "bad idea don't do it" and I take the shot anyway and the shot turns out fine.
Oscarsmadness wrote:
Now that I think about it, maybe it would be fun to put in the batteries and see how often the meter says "bad idea don't do it" and I take the shot anyway and the shot turns out fine.
The meter will say don't do it pretty much all the time. Do not be tempted - don't put batteries in!
Okay, postponing my portion of this experiment until next week. High temperatures are pushing 100F this week and I do not enjoy going outside.
Unless, however, we want to try cr@p flash... then I can do some of this indoors.
Oscarsmadness wrote:
Okay, postponing my portion of this experiment until next week. High temperatures are pushing 100F this week and I do not enjoy going outside.
Unless, however, we want to try cr@p flash... then I can do some of this indoors.
Yeah it's been about the same here, going out though, been getting nice stuff. And trying to stay hydrated.....
This might get me run out of the film board, but would 20D + 18-55 be OK? I don't consider them cr@p, but iso 400 at 1/125 & f/11 probably pretty doable, retro if not film
AmbientMike wrote: Oscarsmadness wroteOkay, postponing my portion of this experiment until next week. High temperatures are pushing 100F this week and I do not enjoy going outside.
Unless, however, we want to try cr@p flash... then I can do some of this indoors.Yeah it's been about the same here, going out though, been getting nice stuff. And trying to stay hydrated.....
This might get me run out of the film board, but would 20D + 18-55 be OK? I don't consider them cr@p, but iso 400 at 1/125 & f/11 probably pretty doable, retro if not film
eh why not, it's in fun anyway. Just don't cheat editing those images in post! Shoot jpegs and show em as they come!
Probably not what you had in mind, but I just hung out at the lake until ISO 400, 1/125, and f/11 were the correct exposure (one accidentally at 1/160.) Pretty good, had me there at golden hour. Shot RAW + S in case I really got something, these are S jpegs.
Probably not what you had in mind, but I just hung out at the lake until ISO 400, 1/125, and f/11 were the correct exposure (one accidentally at 1/160.) Pretty good, had me there at golden hour. Shot RAW + S in case I really got something, these are S jpegs.
Those look great. But also shoot throughout the day in mixed conditions. I mean, it’s not like you’re wasting film