An old-camera adventure

The oldest camera I own is an Argus C21 from 1947. I bought this one rather cheaply last summer and it was in «unknown» condition. I tried a film in it back in last summer, but the back lid, fell off and the film got ruined. Then i forgot all about the little Argus.

Today I brought the old Argus back to life with a Kentmere 100, and brought it along as I went for a little drive.

A little documentation image of the Argus C21 and the film.

When the negatives came out of the tank, they looked farily evenly developed and exposed, but when scanning and working with the negatives, it is clear that the lens sufferes from some hazing and probably build-up of dust.

That said, I am really intreagued by the results, and they show that the old Argus still has a sharp eye.

Also, the Kentmere 100 shone with its traditional grain structure, and gives the images a really old fashioned look, even in Xtol. The development cycle for this round was Xtol 1:0 9 minutes 45 seconds at 18,5 degrees. Then I used a water stop, six minutes fixer, rinse and photoflo. Images turned out ok.

The camera does also scratch the film slightly as you can see in this photo. It might be mendable, but I do not mind a few scratches from a camera this age. Especially not at the price I payed, around 15£.

Also, I like how the Argus focuses, It gives a really sharp middle of the picture focus and a gentle unsharpness at the edges, making a vignetting effect which is pleasant.

As always, images in this blog are untouched by Adobe. Straight from the Plustek-scanner.

A cloudy-day with Kentmere 100

Analogue photography has this horrible reputation for being ridiculously expensive because of expensive films expensive equipment. One of my goals with this blog is to disprove this and show how great results you can get with cheap cameras, but also with budget films.

Today, I picked up a Kentmere 100, which i bought for very little money at my regular online store, and went for a little walk by a lake not far from where I live. I am normally a huge fan of the Ilford-films, and since Kentmere is made my Ilford, I assumed it to be a decent film.

I read a few blog entries and notes on Lomography before I embarked on this adventure, and I saw people complain about «immense grain» and «too grainy». I therefore chose to develop this film in Kodak Xtil 1:0, to have a limited development time to reduce grain.

Kentmere 100 shot at box speed, developed at 19,5 degrees in Xtol 1:0 for 8 minutes 15 seconds

At least in this development cycle, the Kentmere produced a really pleasant grain, and I like the soft, but vibrant range it gives. I will definitely shoot this film again, and use the same decelopment cycle which I find to give the results I want.

Furthermore, in 35mm film photography, grain is a part of the «game» and a force that makes your images interesting.

Also, I find the cheap Petri Racer so be one of my absolute favourite cameras. The little rangefinder has a fantastic lens and is truly reliable. More results are in the album beneath.

Analogue photography is not expensive, and with some skills and knowledge, you will appreciate this media. ‘

Colour is descriptive; black and white is interpretive.
Elliot Erwitt

More from the first Petri-test

From the same roll of Ilford PAN 400 as the previous entry. Ilford PAN 400 shot at 800 in an old Petri Racer.

Development: 75 minutes in Rodinal 1+100 17 degrees, agitation first 20 seconds, then careful agitation after 45 minutes. Scanned with Plustek Opticfilm 8100.