Ilford Photo Global Film Users Survey 2018

IlfordPhoto, the blog by the makers of Ilford B&W film, released the Ilford Photo Global Film Users Survey for 2018.  This self-selected, online survey asked photographers about their use of film or digital, darkroom processing or printing and more.

Interesting stats, such as the fact that 57% of film photographers surveyed were either returning to analog photography or taking it up for the first time.  There were 43% surveyed whom never left film photography.

Over 90% of respondents used 35mm film, and over 77% used 120 format.  There were differences based on age, with the line drawn between under 45 years old and over 45 years old.  For example, 31.4% of those under 45 said they shot instant film, while only 20.7% of those over 45 said so.

Read on for more!

Kosmo Foto on Poundland Power Geek Film

Kosmo Foto reports on the new Poundland film, labelled Power Geek.  The film is suspected to be a Fujifilm product that has been rebadged.  At £2 for a 10-exposure roll, some question the dollar-for-dollar value of this offering.

For those not in the UK, Poundland is a discount retailer that aims to sell items for a pound sterling (the British unit of currency) or so.

Read on for details.

Kickstarter: The Continuing Saga of Film Ferrania

First, a nod to Doc Kaps on the full funding of the Save Pack Film campaign.  Hopefully, we will see colour pack film delivered to backers post-haste.

The Film Ferrania saga evolves with another posting which came out over the holidays that said... nothing.  Pretty much, anyway.  The upshot is that the project has more work to do, that perhaps their building is under more construction, and they will go silent until there is something more to report.

It would be fantastic if they could produce more P30.  Sales would help their cause, and your blogger would certainly buy this product if it ever becomes available again.

FPP: Interview on Street Candy ATM 400

FPP interviews Vincent Moschetti on his recently released Street Candy ATM 400 film.  It is a surveillance film still produced today that he hand rolls onto recycled canisters.  As a contrasty, wide latitude film, this emulsion is great for street photography.  It processes similar to Ilford HP5 for ease of handling and can be pushed one stop without extensive work in post.

Vincent switched to film photography only a few years ago and does not regret it.  His site and gallery can be found at http://www.onfilmonly.com/.

He has gallery of Street Candy ATM 400 photos from Iceland with a write-up.

Another year, another new film.  There is no shortage of choice in silver halide going into 2019.

The Progression of Camera Shutters

T Rand Collins, MD, maintains the blog, Through a Vintage Lens.  His article on the progression of shutters through history gives a glimpse at early attempts through to near modern times.  It seems that faster emulsions forced the need for accurate shutters, leading to the spring-powered shutters still used in large format photography today.

His article, simply titled "Shutters," has an extensive bibliography.  While the article is informative in itself, the bibliography does not have live links.  While it is possible to cut and paste the links, it is not as easy as clicking them.  These links will be reproduced below for ease of perusal after reading.

References by T Rand Collins MD, from the article, Shutters, on Through a Vintage Lens:

Cosens, Robert. “Photographers of Great Britain and Ireland 1840 – 1940: William England.” http://www.cartedevisite.co.uk/photographers-category/biographies/england-william/.

“Diaphragm or Leaf Shutter.” Living Image Camera Museum article. http://licm.org.uk/livingImage/Shutters-Leaf.html

“Early Photography.” http://www.earlyphotography.co.uk/index.html.

“Exposure.” Wikipedia Article. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exposure_%28photography%29.

Kingslake, Rudolf. “A History of the Rochester, NY Camera and Lens Companies.” http://www.nwmangum.com/Kodak/Rochester.html#Ilex.

“Leaf Shutter.” Camerapedia article. http://www.camerapedia.org/wiki/Leaf_shutter

Ludwig, David Tristram. “Antique Cameras.” http://www.dtristramludwig.com.

Lungov, Wagner. “Photographs of my Family and Other Adventures.” http://www.lungov.com/wagner/index.html.

Purdum, Ernest. Online posting for Large Format Photography Forum. 2006. http://www.largeformatphotography.info/shutters-history-and-use.html.

Reiss, Klaus-Eckhard. “Up and Down with Compur: The Development and Photo-Historical Meaning of Leaf Shutters.” http://www.kl-riess.dk/compur.eng.html.

“Reprinted Company Catalogs.” Craig Camera Web Page. http://www.daguerreotype.com/lit_catalogreprints.htm.

Urban Exploration Forum. “Wollensak, the Time capsule.” http://www.uer.ca/forum_showthread_archive.asp?fid=14&threadid=44384.

Wikipedia article. “Focal Plane Shutters.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Focal-plane_shutter.

“Wollensak Lenses and Shutter Catalog, 1919.” http://www.cameraeccentric.com/html/info/wollensak_13.html.

Profile: Rudolf Kingslake, Optician

One can read about Rudolf Kingslake, born Rudolf Klickmann on August 28, 1903, in this biography by The Optical Society. In fact, this article will consist of mostly links to follow to learn more about lens making, the early days of photography and the works of Mr. Kingslake, an eminent academician in lens design and figure in the field of photography.

Kingslake has published books on lens design that are still sold today, such as Lens Design Fundamentals (click look inside for tribute to Rudolf Kingslake), originally printed 40 years ago.

Of special interest is his article, A History of The Rochester, NY Camera and Lens Companies, that traces the early beginnings of the photographic industry in and around New York. Companies such as Kodak and Baush & Lomb, still around today, have their humble beginnings documented. Brands such as Graflex, Ilex, Wollensak and more, still well known by large format photographers, are included in the list.

Coming soon, an article on shutters, some of which is based on Kingslake's article, with plenty of links to follow.

Hope you all had a good holiday season!