Classic Camera Revival

We're back for Season 12! While we wanted to include a Mystery Camera Challenge as part of our 10th anniversary season, it just didn't work out. So James, Alex and Bill head into Toronto to kick off the new season with another Mystery Camera Challenge, our sixth! This time around, we each drew a name and used that person's camera, and then grabbed a roll of film from the other person! The cameras in this episode include Alex's Nikon F65 with a 24mm f/2.8 lens, which James used, and a roll of Ilford HP5+. From Bill came the Nikon F90x with the 35-70mm f/2.8D, which Alex shot on a roll of Bergger Pancro 400. And from James came the Nikon F6, which Bill used and loaded with a roll of Ultrafine Extreme 400. Also of note: this episode was recorded live on location at Union Station in Toronto!

Well, we all made it through another season, and not much worse for wear. The team had a relaxing time sitting around the table and discussing everything they did this year, the gear they acquired, the films they tried, and the developers they worked with. Plus a brief discussion of social media, AI, and more. Just some middle-aged guys chatting about photography. It's a little bit of everything to wrap up the year.

The one thing that will always keep a photographer humble is that we all make mistakes, some big, some small, some fixable. So join the gang as they talk about foul gear, forgotten steps, chemical mix-ups, and general issues that keep us humble. Yes, mistakes were made.

It's been a while since we've done one of these shows. It was back with the Nikon FA, and in that case, we just passed the camera around the table. But today we have something special, the Pentax MZ-S, the last professional camera from Pentax/Asahi with a rich history. The camera was provided by John Roberts (who is back on the show today). It was used by Alex, James, and Bill, along with the three limited-edition lenses that were released with the camera.

It's still 2025, and it's still Leica's 100th birthday. And as part of the global celebration, they recently released their first Leica-branded film, Monopan 50. And the Internet was abuzz with speculation about what the film was under the cover. Well, all signs point to Adox HR-50, which makes sense. HR-50 is sharp, fine-grained, and high-resolution. That got us thinking: why not discuss other ASA-50 films? This includes Ilford Pan F+, Adox HR-50, Ferrania ORTO, Velvia 50, and even a mention of Efke 50! We also discuss overexposure and pulling film in development, mainly because there are more 100-speed films out there these days that you can shoot at ASA 50!