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{Nikon for Girls}

October 27, 2017 9:15 am ⋅ 2 Comments ⋅ Amanda Raney

I’m a few years late in writing a post dedicated to this camera…

I got a Nikon EM in 2012. It’s a Nikon “for girls.” Oh yes, you read that correctly. When the EM was released, it was supposed to be appealing to women photographers who were newly entering the world of SLR photography. It is a small, simple to use “budget” camera.

From the Nikon EM Wikipedia page:

Called internally “the Nikon for women”, the EM was designed to provide style (exterior contours sculpted by Italian automobile stylist Giorgetto Giugiaro), convenience (a system of dedicated accessories), ease of use (as much automation as possible in 1979), low cost (simplified manufacturing process) and the prestige of the Nikon name (prominently displayed on the pentaprism housing) for initiates to SLR-dom.

Spoiler: Nikon’s strategy to snag female buyers with the EM didn’t work. They bought nicer, more fully-featured cameras instead…

Decades after its release, I picked up my EM for about $25. Which actually might have been overpaying, since it didn’t have a lens! (I already had lenses to fit it since I have other Nikons…)

A little about the Nikon EM:

It’s a manual focus 35mm SLR camera
Exposure is aperture priority, meaning the user selects the aperture and the camera selects the appropriate shutter speed
Auto shutter speeds of 1 sec. to 1/1000 sec. Bulb mode available by turning the mode dial to “B”
Shutter speed is indicated with a needle in the viewfinder
Warning beeps if the shutter speed needed for proper exposure would be out of range (over 1/1000 sec.) or cause a risk of camera shake (under 1/30 sec.)
Manually selectable film speeds of 25 ASA – 1600 ASA
A battery is needed for the automatic exposure system to work, but there is a manual shutter speed of 1/90 sec. available if your battery dies OR if using a flash. Bulb mode also works without need for a battery.

B (bulb)/M90 (1/90s)/Auto dial
Shutter button and film advance lever
Battery check button and LED light

Here’s something: I have owned the Nikon EM for over five years, and I just noticed this little silver button on the front. I had to look it up in the camera manual! It’s an exposure compensation button! According to the manual, the button adds about two stops of exposure in situations with backlighting. I wish I’d known that sooner!

Exposure compensation button near the top front of camera

Now, as to how I never got ’round to blogging about this camera on Shoot with Personality before, I think it’s because most of the photos I have taken with it were in England. It earned a spot as my main camera during two of my trips to England (2012 and 2014,) so those were posted on my “Amanda Goes to England” blog. I chose the EM as my travel camera because it’s relatively small and quick to use due to its exposure system (I choose the aperture, the camera chooses the shutter speed.) So I guess the things I like about the EM are the features that Nikon though would appeal to women buying their first SLR? Except I was far from a beginner when I bought it 🙂

Why am I finally compiling Nikon EM photos here now? I recently dusted the camera off, tried to replace the faulty light seals in the camera, and ran a roll through it. After using a beautiful Nikon F3 most of 2017, (THANKS DAVID!!!) I had forgotten how teeny the EM is! It’s so small!

Nikon F3 size version Nikon EM size:
According to Wikipedia, the EM is 86 mm (3.4 in) high, 135 mm (5.3 in) wide, 54 mm (2.1 in) deep and weighs 460 grams (16 oz)
According to its manual, the Nikon F3HP is 101.5 mm (4 in.) high, 148.5 mm (5.8 in.) wide, 69.0 mm (2.7 in.) deep and weighs 760 grams (26.8 oz)

In using the EM again, it was nice to have just a little SLR to carry around with me anywhere and everywhere. I thought I’d finally discuss the camera and share some of the photos I’d taken with it through the years. I managed to find a few on my computer that I hadn’t posted elsewhere before now too!

Memphis Zoo. Summer 2012

Memphis Zoo. Summer 2012 (I didn’t remember this photo, but I really like it now that I’ve seen it for the first time in five years!)

Memphis Zoo. Summer 2012

Summer 2012

Summer 2012 (Never-before-seen)

Summer 2012

Summer 2012 (Never-before-seen)

Summer 2012

London. November 2012

Merstham, England. November 2012

Brighton, England. November 2012

London. November 2012

London. November 2012 (Never-before-seen)

London. November 2012

London. November 2012 (Never-before-seen)

Merstham, England. November 2012

Merstham, England. November 2012 (Never-before-seen)

London. November 2012

Memphis Zoo. November 2012. (Never-before-seen SO THIS WAS A TREAT FOR ME! A photo of my niece from when she was younger that I have no recollection of!)

Memphis Zoo. November 2012 (Never-before-seen)

Winter 2013

Winter 2013 (Never-before-seen)

Mississippi. Fall 2013

London. May 2014

London. May 2014 (Never-before-seen. I accidentally opened the back of the camera because I forgot there was film in it)

London. May 2014

York, England. May 2014

London. May 2014

So, as you can see, the Nikon EM can be a versatile little camera and a great way to use the Nikon system and its wonderful lenses. Paired with my 50mm f/1.8 Nikkor pancake lens, I have found the EM to be to be a great everyday shooter, at home and abroad 🙂

Posted in: camera equipment, film photography, personal ⋅ Tagged: camera equipment, camera review, film photography, nikon em, retrospective

{Testing the Batch} Expired Fuji Sensia 200

August 16, 2016 8:48 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ Amanda Raney

As I explained in the “Testing the Batch” post for my expired Fuji Sensia 400, I also got several rolls of Sensia 200. Like the 400, the expiration of the Sensia 200 is also unknown to me. So I loaded a roll of it into my Lomography La Sardina and just crossed my fingers that it would be okay for cross-processing!

Double exposure

Annie <3

Double exposure featuring Arrow (R.I.P.)

Oxford, Mississippi near Christmas

Hernando, Mississippi

Motorcycle at work

Hernando, Mississippi

Senatobia, Mississippi

Cooper-Young, Midtown Memphis

Slanted view of Mallory’s stove

Lomography La Sardina • Fuji Sensia 200, expiration date unknown, cross-processed

Conclusion?

I probably shouldn’t have used a camera with fixed exposure settings to test this film, since I know the La Sardina is pretty “light hungry.” But, if you love grainy, cross-processed toy camera photos, you probably LOVED these! As for the film itself, I like the results, though I will probably use my remaining stock of it in cameras that allow me to set the exposure myself.

Posted in: film photography ⋅ Tagged: cross-processed, expired film, fuji sensia 200, lomography, lomography la sardina

Agfa Isola I {Two Rolls In. Again}

June 30, 2016 10:13 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ Amanda Raney

Photo borrowed from my 365 Project blog

The Agfa Isola I is a camera I have had for nearly ten years now. I relayed my backstory with this camera in a post in 2009, but to give you an overview: I bought it in 2006 at a camera fair during my first trip to England. I believe I paid around £10 for it. The Isola I is a medium format camera that produces 6×6 cm photos. I don’t know exactly when my Isola I was produced, but the camera was manufactured from 1957-1963. It is a basic camera with zone focusing, two shutters speeds (Bulb and 1/35s) and two apertures (f/11 and f/16.) There’s also a built-in yellow filter you can use for contrast on black and white film. Through my recent usage of Lomography Diana cameras and my Holga 120N, I thought I’d try to show people what can be done with a vintage camera that’s less plasticky than its more modern counterparts and not as expensive as the toy cameras a lot of us use.

Heretofore, I had only shot two rolls in the Isola I, both of which were black and white films. I had always been reluctant to try color in it because some of these older cameras don’t handle color very well due to the fact that they were made for black and white film (it has to do with lens coatings or lack thereof.) I decided it was high time I changed that!

Color Roll #1 was Kodak Ektar 100

Usually I couldn’t get by with ISO 100 film on an overcast day while using a fixed shutter speed camera, but because the Agfa’s fixed shutter speed is a 1/35s, I had some leeway there. The Holga and Diana F+ take in about half that amount of light as the Agfa, for reference.

Most of this roll was taken at the Memphis Zoo when I visited there with my family. Given the age of the Agfa, I thought “Back in the late 50s and early 60s, a visitor to the zoo might have used a camera like this.” So I tried to take “touristy” photos while I was there. So maybe not the most exciting photos I’ve ever taken?

Iconic animal statues outside the zoo entrance

Two above photos from the China-themed area where the pandas live

My family, looking at the polar bears

Part of the Northwest Passage area of the zoo

King and Queen of the Jungle in Cat Country

<3 this one of my mom lovingly looking at the lions

The zoo has Egypt-inspired decor due to the connection with Memphis, Egypt

NOT the zoo, but a photo of fleabane daisies (with an Instax mini photo of the daisies in the middle)

I struggled as to whether or not to include this one, because I think it’s not very good

Color Roll #2 was Kodak Ektachrome 64T that expired in 1997, cross-processed

Frames overlapped because I tried to work around the double exposure prevention. Oops!

Viewfinder issues. See below for more about that problem.

1961 Impala that has previously been seen in my 365 Project

Motorcycle in the rain

Colorful Memorial day

Also previously seen on my 365 Project

Conclusion?

This is actually my first proper attempt at reviewing the Isola I, though I have had it for nearly ten years. It’s got retro style (because it’s acutally vintage 😉 ), plus it’s inexpensive, lightweight, and capable of producing relatively sharp photos. But here’s what I don’t like about the Agfa:

The shutter speed of 1/35s is great, since it allows you get a good amount of light onto the film if you’re shooting a slower film. BUT I have found it somewhat tough to handhold this shutter speed. Depressing the shutter button often jars the camera just enough to cause motion blur because the shutter speed isn’t fast enough to prevent that from happening. I included some “bad” shots that I wouldn’t normally post, just so you can see what I’m talking about.
The viewfinder is not accurate, especially at the camera’s closest focusing distance, which is 5 feet. The photo from the zoo of the red door is a good example of this issue. Clearly I wouldn’t look through the viewfinder and compose that shot without including the entire door knocker in the composition! In the future, I’d probably compose my photo in the viewfinder, then physically take a step back to ensure the composition I want is closer to what I actually get.
The Isola I has double exposure prevention. A lot of people would like this, but I don’t. I will put aside the issue of actually wanting to take the occasional multiple exposure photo (because I do) and shed a light on the real issue with this: sometimes the shutter button gets pressed when the camera is in my bag, and once that happens, I have to waste a frame by advancing the film because once that shutter button is pressed, you can’t fire the shutter again until the film is advanced. I don’t even know HOW the shutter is fired when the camera’s in my bag, because the shutter button isn’t supposed to work while the lens is collapsed, but it somehow keeps happening!

Yes, I listed some cons that make it sound as if I didn’t have a positive experience with the Agfa, but the toy cameras I mentioned during the intro of this post have their own flaws as well (if you only knew how much gaffers tape I have to use on my Lomography Diana cameras to prevent light leaks…) The way I see it, the Isola I is just a basic camera from nearly sixty years ago. It is in no way a camera with modern amenities. But if you’re someone who enjoys toy cameras like the Holga or Diana and you see an Agfa Isola I for $10 or $15, I say pick it up!

Posted in: camera equipment, camera review, film photography ⋅ Tagged: agfa isola i, film photography, kodak ektar, medium format, two rolls in

{Crossbird}

December 4, 2015 10:39 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ Amanda Raney

In rekindling my love for m42 lenses this year, I decided that I wanted another 28mm lens to round out my Fujica ST605N kit. The beauty of m42 mount cameras is that there are LOADS of lenses available for them from many different manufacturers. Lots of research and an airmail parcel from England later, I found myself the proud owner of a RMC Tokina 28mm 2.8 lens.

While it’s certainly not ideal for testing a lens’s performance, I happened to load Rollei Crossbird 200 in the Fujica for my first roll with the Tokina. And, my, the resulting cross-processed photos were colorful!