New Leica added to my collection
Dec7
Category Archives: Camera
Nov20
Shooting with Natura 1600
Just got my first roll of Natura 1600 developed and scanned. Not too sure if it's because the studio scanned it at fairly low resolution, I quite puzzled with the end colour and pixelation. I did have to do some minor tuning within iPhoto, but with that, the pictures are still over saturated.
It's a huge difference if I compare to the digital ones taken with a Olympus E-P1 using Voigtlander 40mm f/1.4.
Next step, I am going to try shooting with non Natura film, and maybe invest in a negative scanner to see if I can get better color out of the same roll of film.
Left: Fujifilm Natura Classica + Natura 1600
Right: Olympus E-P1 + Voigtlander 40mm f1.4
Nov15
Legoland Polaroid
Super rare Legoland Polaroid. Got it on eBay from a seller in Japan.
Sep22
HK Day 5: Tsim Sha Tsui, Stanley, Victoria Park
Let's take a break from delicious food for now.
We went back to David Chan's vintage camera shop in Tsim Sha Tsui as it was closed when we first went there on Sunday. This is the shop that probably has the most comprehensive vintage Leica collection in Hong Kong. It was not an easy find, read in some forums that it was at the ground floor of Kimberly Hotel, which turned out to be quite inaccurate. The shop is in this building call Champagne Court that's beside Kimberly Hotel and the new Mira Hotel.
The shop definitely has a good collection of Leica, on top of that, they also carry quite a fair bit of Rollei, Rolleiflex, Nikon and Canon. I actually spent most of time outside the shop admiring all the gear on display. There were no customer in the shop at that time and I did find the people in the shopping looking a little intimidating. Anyway, prices are not exactly competitive. I get a sense that they are probably priced at 2-3 times more than what I'm paying on eBay.
For second half of the day, we headed off to Stanley Market. Nice refreshing change and I'm just glad to venture out to somewhere new that I have not been before in Hong Kong after so many trips there. We took an express bus from IFC (about 30 mins), it was an enjoyable bus ride as it took the windy scenic route up Repulse Bay.
The Stanley Market itself is no big deal, targeting tourist who are dumb enough to pay premium for junks. But the area surrounding the market is nice. A good view of the bay, some cute old buildings, small lanes … The main street along the bay actually reminded me of the streets along Miami Beach.
As it was Mid Autumn Festival (中秋), and it being our last night in Hong Kong, we stayed out a little later and headed out to Victoria Park in Causeway Bay (銅鑼灣) after having dinner at Crystal Jade in WTC. There was a Mid Autumn Festival Carnival with some lantern display, performances and fortune telling. Veve was initially really excited about playing with her new Stitch character lantern, but strange enough, the minute we got there, for some reason she got really disturbed and insisted on being carried the entire time. She was crying a bit, held me really tight and was complaining about some shadow *spooky*. Not sure if she saw "something" or she was just being tired after a long day. In the end, we probably stayed there max an hour before we headed back to W.
Sep17
Konica Hexar AF Rhodium
Konica Hexar AF Rhodium – A really excited find on eBay, a rare Rhodium (pink) version of the popular Konica Hexar AF. This piece is in fantastic condition that's almost like brand new. The pinkish metal combined with the brown leather just make this camera looks so good. Paid a slight premium for this piece, but it's definitely worth it.
Sep3
Yes, camera can be green – Werra III
Saying the Werra is unique is probably an understatement. First of all, how many cameras actually come in green colour? This green is so … err … unique, that it's almost ugly yet adorable. Second, other than a shutter button, there is no other controls on the top panel of the camera. Everything you'll need is built onto the lens barrel. To advance the film, twist the barrel … interesting! And then there is the lens cap. Flip it around, twist off the top cap, and now you can screw it on the lens as a shade. Neat!
Designed in 1950s, it's amazing how 60 years later, this design is actually fashionable and *cool* today.
Aug29
Leica M3
My Leica M3, probably will be my biggest camera investment for a long time. This piece was made in 1964, that's almost a decade older than I am. Quality of Leica is simply amazing, after a good 40+ years, it's still working perfectly.
Aug28
Voigtlander Vitessa A
This came in today. Excellent condition, real beauty 
Fantastic seller, he actually packed in 5 rolls of pro films for free as a surprise.
Voitglander Vitessa A
50mm f/2.0
1950s West Germany
Aug21
Polaroid finally in colour
Just tried out the new PX 70 Color Shade on my SX-70 Polaroid camera from the "Impossible Project". While the color shade is rather pale as compared to the original polaroid color film, it does act a certain character to the photo. Will try to play around a little more with the contrast dial on the camera to see if I can get it a little bit more vibrant.
For the fact that the film is no longer that sensitive to temperature is definitely a plus, now I should be able to get it outdoor for some shots.
Aug11
It worked!
Took the Voigtlander Vitomatic Ia out to East Coast on a roll of Lomography Redscale Negative 100 over the National Day weekend. It was great sunny day, I was really praying hard that at least something will work and not having to waste an entire roll of film. Had no idea if there is any light leak on the camera, if the mechanical parts were going to work, furthermore the thought of shooting without a rangefinder convinced me that I'm will probably have less than 20% chance of success.
Surprise, surprise! Went by the photo development shop today, the first thing I asked the lady shopkeeper was "有东西吗？"
“有啦！全部三十六张都有出来。”
Not only that all 36 shots worked, with the exception of a handful, most of them came out pretty much in focused … woohoo! Love the whole vintage feel brought out by the Lomography film. Super!
