camera equipment;

One of the most frequent questions I get is what cameras I use, and in my blog statistics l've noticed that some people have googled this question + my name lately, so here is a little line up of the different cameras I always use.

Zenit-B (with Helios-44 58mm/2 and Pentacon 29mm/2.8 lenses)

This is probably my all-time favorite camera (as you might have noticed). It takes regular 35mm film, it has no light meter and it is completely manual. The film I use with this camera is mostly Fuji Superia (iso 200, 400 or 800) or Kodak ColorPlus 200.

Produces photos like these:

Photina Reflex & Zeiss Ikoflex 1a

These are twin lens (because of the two "eyes" on each) medium format cameras that takes 120 film (6x6). The Zeiss belongs to Leo, and this is the camera he uses for most of his photographs. I use it as well sometimes since I think the sharpness level of the Zeiss-lens is much better than the lens on the Photina. The film I (or we) use with these are mostly Kodak Portra (iso 160 or 400) or Fuji Superia (iso 100 or 400).

Produces photos like these:





Polaroid SX-70

The ultimate polaroid camera, in my eyes. It takes various types of film - Time-Zero, Tz Artistic, Fade to Black, 600 film and the new monochrome and color shade films made by the impossible project; PX-70 and PX-100. I mostly use 600 film without any modification of the camera or ND-filters that some say is needed, since the iso speed of the 600 film isn't the same as the original SX-70 film. I simply set the lighten-darken control to the darkest point, and it always works fine. Besides the 600 film I sometimes use Tz Artistic, and I also have three packs of PX-70 color shade in my fridge that are waiting to be used.

Produces photos like these:





Polaroid Image System

This camera is quite similar to the SX-70 above (not when it comes to its apperance though), but the format is slightly different. While the SX-70 produces square prints, the Image System gives you more rectangular shaped prints. This camera takes Spectra, Image or 990 film, and there might be other types of film as well, but these three are the ones I'm familiar with and have used.

Produces photos like these:





Polaroid Colorpack II

This is a camera that takes type 100-film (and there's lots to choose from, take a look at some on the impossible project's shop), and this is a little different compared to the polaroid cameras above. It uses peel-apart film that you basically pull out of the camera yourself after taking a picture (in other words - the camera doesn't eject the print like other polaroid cameras usually do), then you let the sheet of film develop for a few minutes, and at last you peel off the developed photograph from the sheet. The results are often a little "smeared", especially if the film is expired. I've mostly been using 125i and 669 film with this camera, along with Fuji FP-100C and FP-3000B.

Produces photos like these:





Fuji Instax 210

This might be the ugliest camera of all time, it's huge and it's a little loud when turning it on and off, but it gives you very nice prints with great colordepth. It works like a regular polaroid camera - you take a picture and the print pops out. This model uses Instax wide format film.

Produces photos like these:



To scan negatives and polaroid prints I use an Epson Perfection 3200.

I have also been getting a lot of questions about where to buy polaroid cameras and film, so here is a quick little guide: You can find and buy both polaroid cameras and film on ebay US, UK, your own country's version of ebay (or tradera if you live in Sweden) or fleamarkets and thriftstores. I've also noticed some cameras on Etsy every now and then. You can also buy film from the impossible project. Just make sure to buy film that suits the camera you're using.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask!