Little and Large
My latest film camera purchase is the Contax Aria which I found in a dealer's at what I thought was a great price, complete with 6 month's warranty. To be honest the last thing I need is another film camera but I just can't resist when I find a "bargain".
I have some fantastic cameras which I couldn't afford when they were current but which now can be bought comparatively cheaply, although prices are beginning to creep up again as more people are experimenting with shooting film. I have never stopped shooting film but it's not the cheapest way to do things nowadays, particularly if you don't do your own processing.
My other Contax camera is the AX and the contrast in size between the two models is dramatic. For those that don't know, the AX is a camera which can autofocus with manual focus lenses. To focus, the lens to film distance has to change and in the AX it is the whole film box and prism which moves backwards and forwards inside the camera. That is the reason the camera is so thick. It is not the fastest way to focus but it works well in good light and is not as slow as you would think. In my experience it is very accurate and as you have a split image rangefinder in the viewfinder, you can clearly see if the image is sharp or not.
There are advantages and disadvantages. Wide angle lenses become almost like macro lenses because you can focus so closely. On the other hand the camera does not have enough internal movement to focus long telephotos. What you have to do is roughly manually focus first and the camera will do the fine focusing for you. Not very elegant but it works.
It remains to be seen how good the Aria is. It is obviously not built to the same standard as the AX but, as it is much lighter, it's easier to carry around.
Little and Large
My latest film camera purchase is the Contax Aria which I found in a dealer's at what I thought was a great price, complete with 6 month's warranty. To be honest the last thing I need is another film camera but I just can't resist when I find a "bargain".
I have some fantastic cameras which I couldn't afford when they were current but which now can be bought comparatively cheaply, although prices are beginning to creep up again as more people are experimenting with shooting film. I have never stopped shooting film but it's not the cheapest way to do things nowadays, particularly if you don't do your own processing.
My other Contax camera is the AX and the contrast in size between the two models is dramatic. For those that don't know, the AX is a camera which can autofocus with manual focus lenses. To focus, the lens to film distance has to change and in the AX it is the whole film box and prism which moves backwards and forwards inside the camera. That is the reason the camera is so thick. It is not the fastest way to focus but it works well in good light and is not as slow as you would think. In my experience it is very accurate and as you have a split image rangefinder in the viewfinder, you can clearly see if the image is sharp or not.
There are advantages and disadvantages. Wide angle lenses become almost like macro lenses because you can focus so closely. On the other hand the camera does not have enough internal movement to focus long telephotos. What you have to do is roughly manually focus first and the camera will do the fine focusing for you. Not very elegant but it works.
It remains to be seen how good the Aria is. It is obviously not built to the same standard as the AX but, as it is much lighter, it's easier to carry around.