Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-03-21)

subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 21 March 2020 21

620 film,whichis similar
to120,butis nowno
longeravailable.
Hence,I would
recommendthe(Post-war,
120)CoronetConsulhe
shows,andothervery
similarCoronets.Carryon
withtheblacktape,asthe
hingedcoveroverthered
windowis inadequate,and
allowsslightfoggingwith
black& whitefilm,or
reddishfoggingwithcolour.
However,I thinkthat
exposurenumbersonthe
negativesarisefromthe
filmbeingundeveloped for
a longtime.
DavidBowater

...andmore
JustwhenI hadbegun
thinkingthatAPhadgone
muchtooupmarketformy
taste,yougoandprintan
interestingarticleonthe
humbleboxcamera.I shall
cutoutandkeepAdrian
Gray’sexcellentarticle,
BoxingClever.
Somethingthatthe
boxcameragaveuswas
imagestakenfroma lower
levelthanis common
nowadays.Almostall
handheldpicturestaken
withsmartphonesand
compactcamerasare
takenat headheight,thus
givinganadult’sviewof
theworld.Butthebox
camerawithitsAlbada
viewfindermustbeheld
at thewaistandthereby
makesa picturefroma
muchlowerlevel,justthe
waya childwouldviewthe
world.Thisaddsa certain
charmtothepictures,
don’tyouthink?
I regularlyusedigital
camerasthathavean
all-moving screen; I

deliberatelyusethis

typeofcamerabecause

I canfiretheshutterat

waistheight,thusgiving

a similarviewtoa box

camera.I havethree

suchcameras– a Canon

PowerShotA630,a

PentaxOptio750Zand

a NikonCoolpix5700.

AndyesI evenowna box

cameraaswell:anAgfa

Clackfromcirca1955.

JohnWoodgate

Bridgequestion

Afterreadingyour

excellentandinformative

magazineonandofffor

manyyears,I eventually

signedupfora two-year

subscriptionat Christmas,

asmynearestnewsagent,

sixmilesaway,kept

runningoutof them.

NowI waitforthe

Saturdaypostinstead,

whichis great.

Workingasa lowly

groundsmanonanlarge

countryestateI readthe

reportsoncamerabodies

andlensescosting

£5,000,£10,000and

more.I currently

usea Fujifilm

X-S1,bought

eightyearsago

for£550.If

moneywasnot

a problem

I wouldhavea

F u j i fil m X - T 3 ,

X-Pro3,a Sony

Alpha7RIVor

perhaps even a

FujifilmGFX100,witha

selectionof lensesto

coverwhatmybridge

cameracando– butnot

uptoyourpro-standards.

I wouldliketoknowif

theSonyRX101Vis

worththemoneyorwould

yourecommend

somethingelse?I stilluse

medium-formatfilm

occasionally,witha Fujifilm

GF670,670wand

GX617butit is a hassle

withtheprocessing,so

I’mthinkingof selling

thoseandgetting

somethingdigital.

TimPatrick

TheSonyRX10IVis

probablythefinest

bridgecamerayoucan

buy,butyouwon’tgeta

lotofchangeoutof

£1,700.It’sa great

all-in-onesolutionwith

a superbzoom,butif

youreallyhankeraftera

FujifilmX-T3orSony

A7RIVandcanlive

withoutthelongendof

yourzoom,whynot

considergettingoneof

theoldermodels

second-hand?Youcould

buya FujifilmX-T1and

18-55mmlensfor

under£500,for

example.Oryoucould

buyoneofthoseanda

usedSonyRX10MarkIII

(stilla finebridge

camera)andhavethe

bestofbothworldsfor

little over £1,000.

Pat Whelen finds the Pentax Spotmatic F a joy to use

TheSonyRX10IV

bridge camera

EnterthecodebelowviaPhotocrowdtogetone

freeentrytoRoundOne– PointsofView

APOY34630681

YOUR FREE ENTRY CODE

Back in the day

AwanderthroughtheAParchive.

This week we pay a visit to March 1934

How I make my Exhibition Picturesfrom March 1934

WELCOMEtothe‘SpringandEmpireNumber’1934,

a bumper-sizedissuein whichthecoloniesgetto

enjoythelimelight.First,theresultsof theannualAP

OverseasandColonialCompetition.Theawardfor

bestcollectiveentrywenttotheJohannesburg

PhotographicSociety.Runners-upincludedthe

CameraPictorialistsof Bombay,PoonaCameraArt

CircleandDunedinPhotographicSocietyof New

Zealand.Oneof theSilverPlaquewinners,JNUnwalla

of Bombay,wasgiventhecovetedweeklyHowI make

myExhibitionPicturesspot,whichincludeda fine

portraitof a ladycalledRoda(below).

Alsoin thisissue,anevocativeillustratedfeatureonthe

challengesof photographyin theheatof colonialIndia:

PhotographyOutEast– Ice,MosquitoesandSnakes,for

SuccessfulDevelopmentbyWCFox.‘Developingwasdone

at night,’heexplained,‘tothesteadywhineof hunting

mosquitoes,andmysteriousrustlings,scufflingsand

squeaksfromtheroof,wheresnakes,mongoose and

rats played a deadly hide-and-seek.’

1934