Tag Archives: Yashica D

{Testing the batch} Expired Kodak Pro 400MC

Another day, another batch of expired film.

I just wrote a post about using some expired film that I got from ebay and talked about why using old film can be tricky. I love using expired slide film for cross-processing, but I tend to shy away from overly-expired regular color film. That’s because some of the effects of age can look worse on print film than on cross-processed film (as the latter is supposed to have kooky  colors anyway.) But I recently reminded myself about this one time that I had a few rolls of old Kodak print film and loved the results. I decided to take a chance on some Kodak Pro 400MC film I found on ebay. It expired in 1996. Yikes!

I actually started this test roll in my Yashica D TLR and swapped it over to my newly-acquired Yashica-mat TLR. And I think my film photography friends will be proud of me, because I took notes of what settings I used for these so I’d know what I’d done right or what I’d done wrong when I got the film developed!

I’d just taken a portrait of my Yashica D with my Polaroid SLR 680, then returned the favor by taking the 680’s portrait with the Yashica (+2 close-up lens used)

Our Christmas tree, with close-up filter attached to the Yashica (+2 close-up lens used)

My new boots. My “Christmas bonus”*

Sweet Lionel! From my photo session with his family at Christmas 

My darling new single cup coffee maker. Christmas pressie from my mom!  (+1 close-up filter used)

After this frame of film, I went into a dark closet, and presto chango, the film was out of the Yashica D and in the Yashica-mat!

The pretty jukebox at work

A few quick shots from the morning after we got some snowfall down here

 Conclusion?

In the aforementioned blog about expired film, I said that it can lose light sensitivity. I chose to shoot my test roll of Pro 400MC as if its ISO were 200. Meaning, I gave it one extra stop of light. This seemed to work well! I was expecting the colors to be a lot more “off” than they are – which they aren’t really – only a little softer in tone. I actually love the somewhat muted contrast. The only frames of film that weren’t “keepers” were a result of operator error. Namely, I didn’t steady the camera well enough during longer exposure times.  I’m so glad I have more of this to play with!

 

*I work for myself, so I gave myself a Christmas bonus. Of new gray boots. Savvy? 😉

Get a Little Closer

I love Twin lens reflex (TLR) cameras. I do.  They’re one of my favorite “genre” of cameras. But most TLRs only focus down to about three feet. While that might be close enough for some people, it’s just not close enough for me! That’s one reason I was pretty happy when an old photo buddy of mine sent me two close-up filters for  my Yashica D TLR in 2010. I admittedly haven’t used the filters that often, so last year I loaded my Yashica with the express purpose of shooting the entire roll with the close-up filters attached. Finishing this roll took months, because I didn’t exactly use the most versatile film for this little project of mine – Fuji Velvia, which expired in 1999, shot at 25 ASA,  with the intention of having it cross processed. This might just sound like a bunch of photog “mumbo jumbo” to most folks who run across this blog, but some of you will know that the technical details about the film I’ve just listed = “Yikes!”

This roll of “close-ups only” film was another one which I finished and didn’t have processed until months later. I’m bad about that when it comes to 120 film, I guess! I’m quite happy with the results though, so this is a good reminder that I need to slap one of the close-up filters onto my Yashica D and take that bad boy for a spin on a more regular basis!

 

 


Yashica D TLR • +1 or +2 Close-up filter

March 1, 2010