Polaroid Withdrawn from Sale

Unfortunately I have had to withdraw the Polaroid from eBay, for reasons which I am not at liberty to mention for privacy reasons. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. The decision was not up to me and I had to remove the auction against my will.

Thank you for your understanding.

Want a Rolleiflex but Have More Sense than Money?

Most of today I spent making a vector Rolleiflex, simply because I wanted one! It was rather hard to find to get images of three sides of the same model, so this isn't accurate at all. Anyway, you can download the PDF and make one yourself!

Download Here (3MB)

Use Your Holga with 135

We all know that normal Holgas take 120 film, which you either have to develop yourself (and mess it up if your me) or send it off to an expensive lab. But it is actually very easy to temporarily convert it to take 135 film without buying the back! So let's get started.

You will need:

• Your Holga120 (mines the GCFN)
• A used 120 spool (I don't know why I put two in the photo)
  
• Electrical tape (gaffer tape will also work, but it leaves sticky gunk)
• Bits of foam
• Rubber bands (the thick ones work well)
• A roll of film (I know this one is already developed, it was completely over-exposed so I put it in a canister for tests like this)
  

Step One: Open the back of your holga. You will need either the 6x6 or 6x4.5 mask if you want to get the images printed normally.


Step Two: Get the spool and wrap the rubber bands around either end to leave a gap that is big enough the let the film through.



Step Three: Attach the film leader to the spool with tape.


Step Four: To make the 135 mask, get some black card stock (this is 160g) and cut out a square that's about 63mm square, then in the middle cut out a gap that is exactly 36mm wide and either 24mm or 36mm high (depending whether you want the sprockettes exposed).


Step Five: Place the spool in the right hand side, like loading the 120 film.


Step Six: Place the canister in the left had side and support the top and bottom with the foam. Layers of thick card might work, too.


Step Seven: Because 135 has no backing, you will need to block off the window with the electrical tape. I have only done one layer hear, but feel free to do more.


Also block it off on the inside for maximum light-proofing.


Step Eight: Close it all up and wind the film on a turn and a half and your all set. For even more security, you may wish to seal all round the edges with tape.


When you have taken a shot, wind the film on 21 clicks, if you want to try with wider shots, calculate yourself how many clicks you'll need. It helps to use a piece of paper or something.

What do the results look like? Take a look for your self.

For Sale: Polaroid 636 Autofocus

I've selling my Polaroid camera because I spent all my money and can't afford the film! If you are out there and want to be 'that guy/girl with the Polaroid' then here's a chance.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110300791189

This is a Polaroid 636 autofocus in very good condition. Built in flash. Takes Polaroid 600 PLUS film (still available!). The mirror is in perfect condition with no dust or scratches, viewfinder is very clean and lens is showing no dust of scratches. Neck strap, close up lens. Focuses for 0.6m-infinity. There is a slight sign of wear on one side, but otherwise perfect. I was assured it to be working but I have no film to test it, but I'm sure it does.

Damn my Greed!

I was curious about cine cameras, so I had a ponder on eBay and found a couple. I got a bit... wanty and put a couple of bids in. Now I'm going to end up spending £50 on cameras I didn't think I would win! So anyone out there (UK preferably, they cost a lot to post) want any vintage Double-8 cameras. Or it would be really great to swap one of the Double-8s for a Super-8 :-).

Presenting: The Blackbird, Fly

A new TLR has been unleashed on Japan. A plastic beast that takes 135 film; The Blackbird, Fly.

These little toy cameras are the latest thing to come from Japan. Well... there are only available in Japan at the mo, for ¥12,600 (about $127, £75 or €94).

Like the 35mm Holga back, it comes with different mattes, allowing you to take the classic TLR square images. 3 masks allow; standard 24x36 - for portrait shots, 24x24 - for small square images, and full frame - 36mm high and completely exposing the sprocket holes.

It can be used with the regular top-down view, or to achieve better landscape shots, rotated 90 degrees for use with a viewfinder.

The photos I've seen from it all look quite good, for a 'toy' camera. I really need to brush up on my Japanese and fly over there and try one out.

Stats
Focus - 0.8m - infinity
Aperture - f7 and f11
Focal distance - 33mm
Shutter - 1/125

Features
Bulb/Normal modes
Hot-shoe
Tripod mount

That's all I can get from my very limited Japanese, if you're better than me - http://www.superheadz.com/bbf/index.html translated it yourself.

Camera Collection

My entire collection, 66% retro. I'm also bidding on a TLR on eBay as we speak.


Camera Collection
Originally uploaded by Finn Margrie