Winter 2023

Now that spring has arrived I find myself looking back to winter - my photography last winter that is. So what have I been up to in the last three months?

45 Squadron Phenom 100 ZM337 landing at RAF Cranwell

Winter weather

Contrary to popular belief we sometimes actually have winter weather in Dutch winters. Not much, true, but I guess we lucked out. With actual ice and snow around my good friend Joeri and I dropped everything we were doing and headed out into the freezing cold.

Joeri trying out my Pentax 50mm f/1.2 lens

Skating at Lake Naarden

Just a few days before I managed to get my hands on a 45mm pancake lens. A perfect time to see what this could do. Joeri thought pretty much the same thing, trying out my Pentax 50mm f/1.2 lens on his Sony A7. Check out his thoughts on this combo.

My small automobile after the first snow

Snow on the meadows

More snow on the meadows

Sadly the snow thawed away after a few days, being replaced by rain...

Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 80mm f/2.8

Another find was a pristine Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 80mm f/2.8 P6 mount lens at a local photography fair. I was keen to put this lens through its paces so I called up Joeri and off we went.

No trespassing

Joeri toting his trusty Sony A7

The grey brick road

In this case I grabbed my Pentax 645Z and used an P6-Pentax 645 adapter. I am very satisfied with the way the lens performed, this copy is a keeper.

Canon EF 35mm f/2

Another lens I got acquainted with was the Canon EF 35mm f/2. I've had this lens for a while now but somehow I always reached for the 24-105 or similar lens when out and about with my Canons. This is the original 35mm, not the later IS version. I actually enjoyed the 35mm more than I expected. I shot both digital and film with this lens, here is an example of a film shot:

Soviet anti-aircraft gun at the Vesting Museum

Ihagee Exa Ia

This winter I bagged not only a few lenses but a new (to me) camera as well. 

Ihagee Exa Ia fitted with a Domiplan 50mm f/2.8

This really is a fun little camera. It certainly is different from the mainstream cameras and I guess that this is part of the fun. I did a write-up of my experiences if you're interested.

Cobra Warrior 2023

In the last days of March I decided to travel to the UK to catch RAF exercise Cobra Warrior 2023. With aircraft from faraway places like India and Saudi Arabia attending this made for an interesting few days in England.

An Indian Mirage 2000 in typical English weather

The flight line at RAF Barkston Heath

A Finnish Air Force Hornet in the evening sun

Flying daily patrols over eastern Europe is this RC-135W

All in all I am quite pleased with the shots I managed to take.

Camera review: The Exa Ia

The camera

This review is about the Ihagee Exa Ia 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 Ia fitted with a Meyer-Optik Görlitz Lydith 30mm f/3.5

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. Ihagee didn't manufacture lenses for their Exakta's and Exa's themselves, this was done by companies such as Carl Zeiss Jena, Meyer-Optik Görlitz and others. 

The 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 Ia

Built:                    1962-1977

Mount:                  Exakta

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 Ia built in the mid-1970s. It has the Exakta mount and was also built with different names (Elbaflex 175, Exakta 100 and VX-100). I managed to obtain my Exa Ia together with a few lenses and an Exakta camera which needs some TLC before I can shoot with it. The Exa is pristine and works like a charm. I love the simple smooth lines of these cameras and part of the attraction of the Ihagee cameras stems from the fact that they were built in Dresden as there is a family connection there.

Using this camera feels very intuitive apart from the shutter button, this 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.

I've used two lenses on the Exa thus far, the Meyer-Optik Görlitz Domiplan 50mm f/2.8 and the Meyer-Optik Görlitz Lydith 30mm f/3.5. I also own an Exakta-Pentacon six adapter that I wanted to use with the Carl Zeiss Jena Biotar 80mm f/2.8 but alas, this adapter doesn't lock into place in the mount of my Exa. I've got a few more 50mm lenses and a 135mm lens to try out in the coming days and weeks.

I've taken the camera to some of my local haunts, the Vesting Museum and the fortress city of Naarden.

Images

All in all I am pretty pleased with the performance of the Exa Ia. I expected this to be a backup for my Exakta but it has really stepped up to be the main camera for my Exakta mount lenses. In fact, I am thinking of adding an Exa Ib to my collection to use in combination with my M42 lenses. This is how much I like this little camera.

Camera review: The Kiev 60

The camera

This review is about the КИЕВ 60 (Kiev 60) single lens reflex camera. Built by the Arsenal plant this Soviet (later Ukrainian) medium format single lens reflex camera was the successor to the КИЕВ 6C (Kiev 6S) camera model. The Kiev 6S was introduced in 1970 and was produced until 1986. The camera design was no doubt influenced by the 1956 East German Praktisix and copied its lens mount. Not only the Soviets were enamored by the 'big conventional SLR' design, the Japanese Asahi Optical Company released the Pentax 6x7 in 1969 that shares the same design philosophy. In fact, when I first laid hands on a Kiev 60 I was struck by how similar is was to the Pentax 6x7 - my first medium format camera. In 1984 the Kiev 6S was replaced with the Kiev 60 and this camera was built to at least 1999. It was sold by Arsenal for much longer though thanks to a formidable stockpile of Kiev 60s. In fact, one can still purchase new Kiev 60s, rebranded as ARAX 60s, today from ARAX which took over the Arsenal stock after Arsenal closed down.

My Kiev 60 as it was when I obtained it, fitted with an Arsat-C 80mm f/2.8

Specifications

Camera:                        КИЕВ 60 (Kiev 60)

Built:                            1984-1999

Mount:                          Pentacon 6

Shutter speeds:             2-1/1000 seconds, B

Self timer:                    yes

Mirror lock-up:            no

Film type:                    120 film

Weight:                        1,950 grams with lens

Light metering:            no, add-on TTL prism with light meters available

Battery:                        none for the camera, 3x LR44 for the TTL prism

Shooting

Like the Pentax 6x7, the Kiev 60 is a big son of a gun. There is nothing delicate about this camera, it was built like a T-55 tank and it will last a lifetime. It is a very straightforward camera, anyone with 35mm SLR camera experience will immediately know how to operate it. It shoots twelve of those big and gorgeous 6x6 negatives on 120 film. But the best thing of all: It uses the Pentacon 6 mount! Hello Carl Zeiss Jena lenses! So we've got a simple, usable design and those superb Carl Zeiss Jena lenses. Is all good? Well, there are issues reported with this camera. Some have overlapping frames and/or light leaks. Not so desirable. Also it has no mirror lock-up (MLU) which could be quite useful.

My Kiev 60 dates from 1994 and is thus an Ukrainian rather than a Soviet camera. It was originally bought by my uncle Wolfgang and he very kindly gave it to me. It hadn't been used for a while and when I ran a roll through it it had developed a light leak. I decided to have it refurbished by ARAX and MLU added. I also had it redone in a black finish and the mirror box flocked to reduce flaring.

My Kiev 60 after overhaul and modification

My Kiev 60 with a Carl Zeiss Jena MC Biometar 80mm f/2.8 fitted

Images

I took my Kiev 60 into the field today to see how it would perform after the overhaul and modification.

Kiev 60 with a Carl Zeiss Jena MC Biometar 80mm f/2.8

All in all my refurbished Kiev 60 really delivers. After the attention it got from ARAX this camera doesn't only look and feel like new, it works like new! No issues with film spacing, no issues with light leaks and a fully operational MLU. And using the Carl Zeiss Jena lenses without having to manually open up, focus and then stop down again is, well, a luxury.

I really like this camera. I realize that not everyone gets one as a present but these medium format cameras are still affordable. I would however recommend investing in having it refurbished if you're serious about shooting with it.

Camera review: The Pentax SV

The camera

This review is about the Pentax SV single lens reflex camera. The SV is, one might argue, the last version of the original Asahi Pentax SLR series introduced in 1957. It predates the Pentax Spotmatic series and is, together with the lower-budget S1a released at the same time, the last of the first generation of Asahi Pentax SLRs. The SV was introduced in 1962 and remained in production until 1968 with 481.696 cameras built. There are two versions of the SV, the later one has an orange 'R' on the rewind knob to indicate that the camera can use the 50mm f/1.4 lens which protrudes further into the camera than other 50mm versions. The 50mm f/1.4 cannot fit on the earlier version.

My Asahi Pentax SV fitted with a Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm f/1.4 ZS

This really is a beautiful camera. This early SLR design has clean straight lines, not hampered by the boxy shape of a flash hot shoe, a clean body surface without extra buttons and an undisturbed view through the view finder. Yet it packs a self timer on the top of the camera, it has a high 1/1000th of a second shutter speed and can be fitted with an additional cold shoe for the use of a flash and an add-on light meter as the SV doesn't have an inbuilt meter.

Specifications

Camera:                        Asahi Pentax SV/Honeywell Pentax H3v

Built:                            1962-1968

Mount:                          M42

Shutter speeds:             1-1/1000 seconds, B

Self timer:                    yes

Size:                             140 mm wide, 92mm high and 50mm deep

Weight:                        600 grams

Light metering:             no, add-on light meters available

Battery:                        none

Shooting

I acquired this SV as part of my Pentax Project a few years ago. It is the later version with the orange 'R'. I loaded some Paradies 200/24 (which is rebranded Fuji) economy color negative film, shot a few images and then moved house. The SV was displayed in a small display cabinet in my new house and stood there until I realized that there was still film in it. So I took it on my first outing and finished the roll. I used two lenses with the SV, a Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 28mm f/3.5 and a Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 105mm f/2.8. The SV is a joy to use. I used 'sunny 16' for exposure but there are add-on light meters available, both vintage and modern, that can be used with the SV. The view finder is perhaps a bit darker when compared to later Pentaxes but focusing is a breeze. And after spending time with Soviet lenses and their eccentric ways it is so good to hold and use smoothly functioning lenses such as these Takumars. This SV found its way back to my camera bag and is there to stay. 

Images

All shot with a Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 28mm f/3.5

Shot with a Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 105mm f/2.8

All in all I am pretty pleased with how these shots came out, given that the film was in the camera for quite some time. I've since shot some black and white with it, these rolls will be developed once I finish the last roll.