Propeller Skies

When I purchased a Fujica 2X teleconverter on Ebay, several extraneous accessories I planned on reselling were included. One of these was a Fujica AX-5* that impressed me with its heft. To ascertain whether it still functioned, I needed a battery, so I headed off to Showcase. With a fresh battery, the meter turned on, the shutter tripped, and the camera appeared to work fine. I considered keeping the AX-5.

The next morning, I took it to Oakland Cemetery to for a safety test. Shooting with the AX-5 was a dream. Precision machinery like this old camera simply is not manufactured today. After running through a roll of Ilford Delta 400, I decided to keep the camera.

fujica x winder

Also included with the teleconverter was a motor drive, which advances the film at a brutally fast two frames per second (FPS). In contrast, my Nikon D70 will shoot at 3FPS and an F5** is capable of 8 FPS. However, for a manual camera, 2 FPS is fast enough. The X Winder is great, because it saves me the trouble of advancing my own damn film. Also, it looks supremely cool and business like attached to the camera. Finally, an off label use of the winder is beating down aggressive vagrants.

results

After picking up my film from Showcase, I was thrilled with the quality of the exposures. The Fujica AX-5 and X Winder was a great deal for a mere seventy clams***.

notes:

* For those readers not obsessed with obscure twenty year old camera equipment, the AX-5 was Fujica’s top of the line model introduced in 1980. Other models in the range included the AX-3 and the AX-1. All featured Fujica’s proprietary X mount, along with the entry level STX-1.
** I am aware the F6 exists. However, the F6 is a bullshit camera. The F5 is the last great Nikon, and as such remains the gold standard against which all others are compared.
*** In the days of way back (1981), the AX-5 retailed for $490.00 and the X Winder went for an additional $150.00.

Two weeks ago, I found an X mount Fujica 2X teleconverter on Ebay bundled with a Fujica AX-5, an X winder, and other junk. I did not want the extraneous camera equipment. I bid anyway, as Fujica brand teleconverters are not readily available and it would enhance my Fujica STX-1. The teleconverter arrived about four days after I won the auction, packed in newspapers.

On a partly cloudy Saturday morning, I took the teleconverter down to Oakland Cemetery for consumer product safety testing. Although the teleconverter will double the focal length of any lens attached, it extracts penalties in sharpness and the amount of light transmitted. Today, I picked up my photographs from Showcase and discovered the sharpness of the Fujica 2x teleconverter is acceptable. This was a worthwhile purchase. Propeller Skies readers lucky enough to own a Fujica 35mm body should consider picking one up.

Alert readers will remember that back in June I purchased a Polaroid 1200si from Amazon. I chose this camera because I like the vintage look of Polaroid photos and I have a fascination with obsolete technology.

After using the camera for a few months now, I am happy to report that it takes appropriately bad photographs most of the time. The built in exposure metering seems to work fine under decent lighting conditions. Autofocus is excellent, however glass will fool it. In contrast to my Olympus Stylus Verve, the flash is supremely powerful and often blows out highlights, which adds to the vintage feel of photographs produced by the 1200si.

Like all Polaroids, this one is extremely easy to use. Camera controls are placed on the back of the camera and labeled with clear icons. Film is easy to load, as it comes in a self contained cartridge. Conveniently, the aforementioned film cartridge includes a battery to power the camera.

The unique charactaristics of Polaroid film are essential for achieving the groovy old-fashioned look this camera is capable of. Due to poor color rendition under artificial lighting conditions, my favorite way to achieve the vintage effect is by shooting indoors.

The following example photographs were taken with the Polaroid 1200si on various dates:

• Remains of a BMW Z3;
• Clothing Warehouse in Little Five Points; and
• The Star Community Bar in Little Five Points.

I recommend this camera for taking vintage photographs of the modern world. View all photographs taken with a Polaroid 1200si.

Last week, I ordered a tiny little camera for recreational purposes. I chose the 5.0 megapixel Olympus Stylus Verve S, because of the incredibly compact size and previous positive experience with a film based Stylus.

After taking several shots with it, I determined that photo quality is good for this class of camera and what I intend to use it for. In contrast to my Nikon D70, the exposure metering is weak. I noticed the camera tends to overexpose, which can be corrected by adjusting the exposure compensation setting that Olympus engineers thoughtfully provided. Not surprisingly, due to the small CCD, the camera is extremely noisy at high ISO speeds. This is would be less of an issue if the built in flash was more powerful.

Camera controls are intuitive and easy to figure out. However, there is room for improvement. A dedicated erase button would be nice. Also, the stupid “all reset” menu option is extremely annoying and should be turned off by default.

I highly recommend this camera for documenting nights on the town or other applications where size and weight considerations trump photo quality and battery life. Speaking of battery life, order a spare with the camera.

[The following paragraphs were added September 26, 2005, by Smoove D - Ed.]

The following example photographs were taken with an Olympus Stylus Verve S on September 17, 2005, at the East Atlanta Strut:

• Raj Dixit of Charm School;
• Mary O. Harrison of Charm School; and
• Jenny Hutton of Charm School.

Back in January, I found a Fujinar 28mm f/2.8 lens on eBay. For the $25.00 I paid for it, this lens is a totally bitchin’ deal. Sharpness is all right, every properly focused photograph has come out with plenty of detail. The old school manual focus feel is top-notch and far better than any modern auto focus lens. This lens complements my Fujica STX-1 very well.

Examples of photographs taken with this lens and my Fujica STX-1 include the Alexander Family Monument and Twelve Atlantic Station. I highly recommend the Fujinar 28mm f/2.8 lens.

The Polaroid 1200si I ordered from Amazon just arrived in the mail. It appears to work fine. Stay tuned for further developments.

This lens is fucking sweet. It costs more than a full suspension mountain bike and is worth every cent. All those cents buy a constant aperature zoom that is faster than a blown Supra and sharper than a set of Henckels knives.

The lens also features silentwave autofocus that is is unfuckingbelievable. I first experienced the magic of silentwave while shooting the fashion show at The Hair Ball. Every single damn one of my shots came out in focus. Due to the low lighting and the movement of the models, I expected to lose about 70 percent of my shots. For photographers who are $1,700 worth of serious, I highly recommend this lens.

The week before last, I finally joined the space age and bought an iPod photo. After some initial issues, due to my inebriated state and general inability to follow instructions, I got it set up and working fine. Now, like American Express, I never leave home without it. If you have the means, I highly recommend this.

Astute Propeller Skies readers will recall that way back in January, my friend The Professor was kind enough to donate a Fujica STX-1 to me. At first, I was a bit disappointed with the quality of the photographs. However, after shooting several rolls of film I realized the camera, being vintage and all, was lending some sweet old school flavor to my shots. I adjusted my subject matter accordingly and am now convinced the STX-1 is a most excellent Freegan find.

The STX-1 is over 20 years old, completely manual, and totally lacks superfluous modern gadgetry. It does feature through the lens (TTL) metering that would be convenient if the light meter was worth a damn. The Fujica STX-1 uses an averaging meter, which ensures that the exposure is always wrong. Approximately two weeks ago the meter finally broke, which is fine, since meters are for posers anyway. In contrast to the bootleg meter, the manual focus system with ground glass, microprisms, and split image is fantastic.

No review would be complete without a few sample photos. This monument in Oakland Cemetery was shot with the STX-1, a Fujinar 28mm f/2.8, and Ilford Delta 400 film. This other monument in Oakland Cemetary was shot with the STX-1, a Kominar 135mm f/2.8 and Ilford Delta 400 film.

The Fujica STX-1 is a swell camera for general shooting. I particularly enjoy the simplicity and have been using it to expose black and white film. This camera is totally bitchin’ and I highly recommend it, if you have the means.

Apparently, the retards have taken over at Nikon. They just announced the D2hs, which is essentially the same as the obsolete D2h, except it costs twice as much. Way to go, geniuses.