Bill Smith's Photography

The weather has gone all screwy in the Eastern part of North America. This past week we had the warmest day in Toronto in February at about +18c. The prior weekend I was skiing, even then it felt more like late March than mid-winter. We're in interesting times kids and I'm concerned what comes next.... Camera: Olympus OM-1n, Zuiko Lenses. Film: Kentmere 100, D76 1+1.

One of my favourite parts of the city in the off season.... Canon EF, FD 50 f1.8 S.C. and 28 f2.8 FD Lens. Rollei Retro 400S, HC110 B.

The Canon EF is an interesting camera, only made for five years it was a pretty advanced piece of hardware in the Canon line up. Slotted below the F-1 pro body, it was pitched to the market as the camera for the advanced amateur. The EF has the distinction of being the only camera with a vertical hybrid copal shutter in the Canon line up that was mechanical from a 1/2 second up 1/1000 and electroncially assisted one second and slower. Compared to the later A-1, this is a paragon of simplicity. I gave this camera a bit of a workout a few weeks ago with the Toronto Film Shooters FB Group meet up. The last time I used it was the Summer before and the meter was four stops off, recently it was pretty much on for accuracy, figure that out. I plan to use this camera more often this year with various projects and adventures. Camera: Canon EF (the film camera not the lens mount), FD 50 f1.8 SC lens. Film: Rollei Retro 400S, HC110 B.

I suffer from what is called Gear Acquisition Syndrome, there is no cure, just temporary remission. The black Minolta SRT 101 is a lucky buy, they usually sell for about $150 USD, mine was $110 CAD delivered. From what I have researched this SRT 101 is a later production model from the early 1970s, at some point I want to find an earlier chrome body from around 1967 or 1968. I re-sealed the back and replaced the mirror dampening foam myself which takes about an hour to do. It's a nice camera to shoot with and I can't wait to use it more. Camera: Minolta SRT 101, MC Rokkor 50 f1.7 lens and 28 f3.5 lens. Film: Rollei Retro 400 S, HC110 B.

I was gifted an MC Rokkor 58 f1.4 lens a few months ago by a friend, the optics are crystal clear and everything works as it should. Now I was told it misbehaved, I wanted to see if that was the case, so I popped the lens on my Minolta SRT 102 and took it out for a spin before and after skiing. January has to be the grayest on record and I should have used something like Rollei Retro 400S to build some contrast. The negs looked off but scanned nicely. You decide for yourself. I plan to retest later on when the conditions aren't quite, so, Scottish. Camera: Minolta SRT 102, MC Rokkor 58 f1.4 lens. Film: Ilford HP5 400, HC110 B.

Wandering around Oakville on a grey mild January...... Camera: Leica M3, 50 f2 Collapsible Summicron lens. Film: Rollei Retro 80s, Rodinal 1+50

It's been a gloomy January, and a mild one. I heard Vancouver and the Lower Mainland got our winter for a change. I got a chance to try out a freebie roll of Rollei Retro 80S courtesy my friend John Meadows. This was an Agfa aerial surveillance film, very fine grained, while not an infrared film, it's IR sensitive, meaning a slow speed lousy day film. Camera: Leica M3 DS, 50 f2 Collapsible Lens. Film: Rollei Retro 80S, Rodinal 1+50.