Frugal Film Project 2024 - wrapping up the project

Wrapping up the project 

It is now Sunday afternoon, January 5th, 2025. It is two degrees C outside, raining and the snow that fell last night is slowly disappearing. A good time to reflect on the Frugal Film Project. Wait, I hear you thinking. Wrapping up the project? The last episode we saw was September 2024. Where are the final months of 2024? As it turned out, the September session of the Frugal Film Project was the last I would shoot in 2024 due to other commitments. 

For me the big plus of this project has been to just get out and shoot even when I wouldn't otherwise. I didn't always manage that but looking back I feel that I have shot some nice images and that was fun when out and about with my Canon. The camera I used was a very affordable Canon EOS 1000N but don't let the low price fool you, this is a fine camera and it does the job perfectly. The film I used was Agfaphoto APX 100/36. A fine film, just not always as full with contrast as, say, Fomapan. It worked well for the project and I think I've gotten some good results with it. I also got to know the Canon EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 lens quite well along the way. What I found was that the extra reach (24-85mm instead of 28-80mm) was nice to have. However I feel that it was holding me back sometimes too. The 24-85 is a good lens, don't get me wrong, but I have other good lenses too and it was sometimes frustrating not being able to use them because they fell outside of the budget rules set by the project.

My favorites

As I said I've had a lot of fun shooting images for the project. These are my favorite photos of each month:

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

The future

Moving forward I see myself using the EOS 1000N a lot in 2025 and beyond, just like the APX film. I don't think I will be using the 24-85 as much as I did this year. So what does this mean for the project in 2025? I've been thinking a lot about that lately. I could always switch to another camera/lens setup. However, that would still restrict me to one lens and as I stated earlier it is frustrating to shoot a certain image with a given lens knowing that you have a more fitting lens in your collection that would capture the image better. I have therefore decided to take a break from the project in 2025.

Frugal Film Project 2024 - September

The September edition of the Frugal Film Project saw me go abroad. I took my trusty Canon EOS 1000N plus the 24-85mm to the small town of Unterzeil near Leutkirch im Allgäu, Germany. Close to the town of Unterzeil lies Schloss Zeil, the subject of today's outing. 

Schloss Zeil is the home of the descendants of the Fürsten von Waldburg-Zeil and was built in 1599-1614 by Froben von Waldburg-Zeil. In recent history (1945) the Schloss shortly housed the Vichy-French government in exile after it was driven from France.

This last image was shot at the Mindelburg, 49 km to the northeast.

As usual, the film is Agfaphoto APX 100 which was developed at home with Adonal.

Frugal Film Project 2024 - March

I travelled to Lake Naarden (Naardermeer) for the March edition of the Frugal Film Project. For those new to the project, the aim is to show that you don't need fancy photo gear to get great photos so in order to participate you select a camera-lens combo under $ 75, some cheap, well, make that less expensive film and shoot a roll every month for a year. I've opted for a Canon EOS 1000N with a 24-85mm lens and Agfaphoto APX 100/36. I also develop the film at home using Adonal developer.

Wind mill De Onrust at the edge of Lake Naarden

Lake Naarden is a nature reserve in the 't Gooi area of the Netherlands. These former marshlands are the first nature reserve in the Netherlands, established in 1905. Before that, there were several attempts to convert the marshlands into dry land. This was almost managed in 1629 but to stop the advancing Spanish Army from reaching Amsterdam the whole area was inundated. During the reign of Louis Napoleon in the early 1800s another attempt was made, this time by building three wind mills to pump away the waters. These three mills together however did not have the capacity to pump away all the water. In 1883 a third attempt was made and a steam mill built. The costs to dry the entire area were deemed to high however and the area remained wet marshlands. In the early 1900s the city of Amsterdam then planned to use the area as a waste disposal area but local opposition was fierce, resulting in the creation of the preservation foundation Vereniging tot Behoud van Natuurmomenten. It was this foundation that bought Lake Naarden for 160,000 guilders and made it a nature reserve.

Of the mills, the steam mill building and one of the original three wind mills still exist. Wind Mill De Onrust (the Unrest) was built in 1809 and is still used to regulate the water level in Lake Naarden. It is this mill that I went to see.

Frugal Film Project 2024 - January

A few days ago I mentioned that I would be joining the Frugal Film Project for 2024. One film a month shot with a low-cost camera and lens (not to exceed $ 75). The idea is to show that even on a budget you can still get some great photos on film. My camera of choice is the Canon EOS 1000N, a 1990s camera that can be had for a song these days. I've paired it with a 24-85mm lens and am shooting Agfaphoto APX100 black and white film (really rebadged Kentmere Pan 100). I'll be home developing using Adonal.

I have since joined the official FFP24 FB page and found out that I'll be joining 410 other photographers. I am really interested to see what the others come up with. As for me, I've been able to get some shots in the snowy days last week. Enjoy!

Frugal Film Project 2024 - an introduction

Over the last few days I've been reading up on the Frugal Film Project. Started in 2018, the goal is to show that you don't need expensive stuff to get great photo results. The rules are simple: Get a camera and lens for under $ 75 and use a cheap film throughout the year. Shoot one roll a month and share the images with the other participants. I have decided to join in.

The camera

I opted for the Canon EOS 1000N. The EOS 1000N was released in 1992 as an improved version of the EOS 1000. The EOS 1000N, known in the Americas as the EOS Rebel II, is a no-frills SLR equipped with autofocus. It has one focuspoint and no in-built flash. Prices are about € 10 to € 15 these days although mine was a gift.

Specifications

Camera:                        Canon EOS 1000N/Rebel II

Built:                            1990s

Mount:                          EF

Shutter speeds:             30-1/2000 seconds, B

Self timer:                    yes

Auto DX:                       yes

Exposure modes:           Av, Tv, P, M

Film speeds                   ISO 6 - ISO 6400

Battery:                        one 2CR5

The lens

The lens I am planning to use is the Canon EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 USM. I bought this for € 60 and this lens gives me a little more flexibility than the 28-80mm kit lens.

Specifications:

Focal length:                        24-85mm

Minimal focus distance:        0.5 meters

Aperture:                             f/3.5-4.5 - f/22

Aperture blades:                  6

Diameter:                            67mm

Mount:                                EF

Manufacturer:                     Canon

Built:                                  1990s

The film

My first thought was Fomapan 100 but in the end I decided on AgfaPhoto APX ISO 100 black and white film which is most likely rebadged Kentmere Pan 100. It tends to have less grain than Fomapan and is only slightly more expensive at around € 5,50 a roll of 36 exposures.

The developer

I will be using Adox Adonal developer for the project.

Camera review: The Exa Ic

The camera

This review is about the Ihagee Exa Ic single lens reflex camera. Ihagee from Dresden in Germany is perhaps most well known for their Exakta line of cameras but they also manufactured the Exa line of cameras alongside the Exaktas. Three models were produced, the Exa (1951-1962), the Exa I series (1962-1987) and the Exa II (1960-1969). The Exa and Exa I are basically different versions of the same camera with interchangeable view finders. The Exa II was a simplified camera that was produced alongside the Exa and Exa I.

Ihagee Exa Ic fitted with an Exaktar 55mm f/1.4

All Exa cameras, with the exception of the Exa Ib and Ic, use the Exakta mount that Ihagee introduced with their Exakta cameras. The Exa Ib and Ic use the M42 mount, enabling the use of loads of M42 lenses from all kinds of manufacturers. As with the preceding Exa Ia, the position of the shutter button is located on the left side of the camera body. This is a leftover from the early Exakta designs, kept in place to be able to use the same automatic aperture lenses that the Exakta uses. As the Exa Ib and Ic use M42 lenses this was not a necessity any longer but in order to simplify production the shutter button stayed where it was.

These Exa cameras have a guillotine type shutter rather than the more usual focal-plane shutter. This results in slower shutter speeds than we are used to these days with a modest top speed of 1/175th of a second.

Specifications

Camera:                Ihagee Exa Ic

Built:                    1985-1987

Mount:                  M42

Shutter speeds:     1/30th - 1/175th of a second, B

Self timer:            no

Size:                     130 mm wide, 97 mm high* and 46 mm deep

Light metering:     no

Hot shoe:              no

Battery:                none

* with the pentaprism viewfinder fitted

Shooting

My copy is an Exa Ic built in the mid-1980s by VEB Certo-Kamerawerk Dresden under license from Ihagee. At that time both Ihagee and Certo were part of the VEB Pentacon conglomerate. Certo built the last series of the Exa Ib and all of the Exa Ic models. Certo built Exas can be identified by the letter C before the serial number.

I managed to obtain my Exa Ic together with an Exa Ib I have yet to shoot. All Exa Ic models have a beautiful black finish. This Exa is pristine and works like a charm. I just love the simple smooth lines of these cameras.  

Using this camera feels very intuitive apart from the shutter button which as mentioned is located on the left side of the camera body. I've fitted the Exa Ic with an Exaktar 55mm f/1.4 lens (no relation with Ihagee for as far as I am aware as I believe this particular lens was built by Sankor), loaded up some Fomapan 200 and went off to the Lake Naarden nature preserve.

All in all I am pretty pleased with the performance of the Exa Ic. When I reviewed the Exa Ia I stated that I was thinking of adding an Exa Ib (or Ic) to my collection to use in combination with my M42 lenses. I aquired both. :-) 

Images

Fellow photographer Pedro and his Exakta

Lens review: The Porst Color Reflex MC Auto 50mm f/1.4 G

This review is about the Porst Color Reflex MC Auto 50mm f/1.4 F lens. I must admit that I hadn't heard of this specific lens before I was doing research on its bigger brother, the Porst Color Reflex MC Auto 55mm f/1.2 F lens. As it happens, an eBay seller had both the 55mm f/1.2 (early f/22 version) and 50mm f/1.4 for sale. The f/22 version of the 55mm/1.2 went for € 139. I was however intrigued by the 50mm/1.4 so I bid on it and was able to purchase it for a mere € 56.

Like its bigger brother this lens was made in Japan for the German Photo Porst chain of camera stores. I have since managed to find that the Porst lenses in K mount were actually produced by Cosina, thereby confirming my hunch. It is no surprise that both lenses have the same kind of style, the later f/16 version of the 55mm/1.2 and this 50mm/1.4 look very much alike. 

The 50mm/1.4 has a nice solid feel to it. You can tell that these were lenses that were made to last. 

Specifications:

Focal length:                        50mm

Minimal focus distance:        0.5 meters

Aperture:                             f/1.4 - f/22

Aperture blades:                  8

Lens elements:                    7

Diameter:                            49mm

Mount:                                Pentax K

Manufacturer:                     Cosina

Built:                                  1970s-1980s

Use

This lens is equipped with the Pentax K mount. As with the 55mm/1.2 its focus ring turns to the left towards infinity. Again this may seem a bit unnatural at first for Pentax users as the Pentax lenses turn to the right.

Focusing is smooth and in general, the lens has a nice feel to it. I've used this lens with Pentax film cameras and with a digital Canon EOS camera via an adapter. Due to the design of the K mount these lenses will not fit APS-H and full frame EOS cameras, the mirror will hit the back of the lens. K mount lenses will only work on EOS cameras with an APS-C sensor (much like the EF-S mount). 

Images

The images you see below were shot with a Canon EOS 90D set at ISO 200. These images were converted from RAW to JPEG, slightly cropped (to just show the chessboard) and resized. No other actions were taken in Photoshop.

f/1.4

f/2.8

f/4

f/8

f/16

As you can see at f/1.4 subject isolation is great! Wide open it also shows chromatic aberration (CA) which disapears when the lens is stopped down. At f/4 it is almost gone and at f/8 there is no sign of it. Wide open there is also some vignetting, although this does not show on these slightly cropped images. As with the f/1.2 version I found it hard to focus with this lens on the EOS 90D which shows, the f/2.8 and f/4 shots are slightly out of focus. When using these lenses solely on AF cameras I do recommend getting a split-image focusing screen for better accuracy.

In the field

I fitted the Porst Color Reflex MC Auto 50mm f/1.4 G to my Pentax LX, loaded it with Fomapan 100, teamed up with fellow photographer Joeri van Veen and headed out for some shots. 

Photo: Joeri van Veen

In the field the lens is easy to operate, the fact that it focuses the 'other' way round did not hinder me in any way. And as for the results, judge for yourself:

The harsh winter light posed no problems for this lens. Only when shooting directly into the sun the back light bleached out the subject somewhat as can be seen below.

All in all I found this lens to be a solid performer, both wide open and stopped down. When using it with the Pentax LX I found focusing no issue at all, whilst using it with a digital camera without a split-image focusing screen was sometimes challenging wide open. For the price this lens is a fine performer for as far as I am concerned, this is a keeper.