Expired Paterson Acupan 800 35mm Film,The Olympus Mju 1 & The Epson Photo 1660 Scanner...

A camera that fits in your pocket, film that's a grainy masterpiece and a scanner that won't break the bank. Excellent!

You're probably familiar with the Olympus Mju II / Stylus Epic - a great, small 35mm compact film camera with a super sharp and super fast f/2.8 lens. Before the Epic there was the Mju I, again with a fixed 35mm lens, but with a slightly slower maximum aperture of f/3.5:

I picked up the above example, at you guessed it, our local car boot sale. Complete with a nice leather case, all I had to do was pop in a fresh battery and the Mju 1 was almost ready to shoot. I had a very old roll of Paterson black and white film knocking around in a drawer, but I wasn't sure whether to use it or not because it was severely out of date, 1999 to be exact.

The problem with ISO 800 film, or any high-sensitivity type film, is that it is more prone to time-related fogging than the lower types, but I thought it was worth a go, loaded it up, and put the Mju I in my bag ready for some opportunistic photography.

I think I got this roll of Acupan Paterson film in the bag that came with my Mamiya C33. Paterson are more well known for making developing tanks and systems, but they did use to produce all kinds of photographic chemicals too. I have got one of their colour print systems, including an enlarger, in the garage, so I'll have to have a go with that soon.

Being a home developer I've been at a loss since I had to send my V500 scanner back to Epson, but again, the car-boot sale came to rescue. An Epson Photo Perfection 1660, along with the requisite negative holders, power supply and leads, for a tenner, completed my hybrid work-flow.

On to the photo's themselves. I took the Mju 1 (also known as the Stylus in the USA) to work and shot some photographs when I was helping out in Southampton. Set in a semi-industrial part of Portswood, a fifteen minute walk uncovered some interesting views.

The Mju I is slightly larger than its more well known younger brother, the Mju II, but it still fits your palm perfectly. The sliding clam shell design is a classic, automatically turning the camera off or on as you pull it open or closed. Auto focus is quick, although the view-finder is quite small.

The joy of using this type of camera for me is its size and speed. A small 35mm film compact can always be in your pocket, and an auto exposure and autofocus model makes taking photographs quick and unobtrusive. The Mju could be the perfect street camera for the film photographer on a budget.

I took the Mju to the skate park when I was testing the Nissin flash and took the above grab shot. Being small and light, this type of camera is also a perfect accompaniment to your digital kit.

If you've read any other of my reviews, you'll know that I don't go into many details about the technical features of the cameras or film. I just have to say that I love the Mju, I think that the graininess of the Paterson Acupan 800 Film is full of character, and the Epson 1660 Scanner did an OK job of capturing the negs and converting them to digital. Photoshop added a little more contrast and cropping.

If you see a Mju I at a local car boot sale, thrift store or charity shop, grab it quick and put some black and white film in it. You can't beat the look of film, and I especially enjoyed this high grain 800 Paterson emulsion. Hunt it out and shoot it while you can.

Cheers, Rob.

The Olympus OM2n 35mm Film SLR Camera Review

(If you can't see the video, please click here.)

Suzanne, my darling Wife, came home from her furniture restoration course one afternoon and announced that she had a little something for me. Aye aye! I thought, but it turned out to be a couple of smart looking camera bags. One of her friends from College had heard that I was into photography and had given Suzanne an old 35mm Film SLR with a load of accessories - the Olympus OM2n!

Complete with 3 lenses, a power-winder, cable releases, and a pile of Cokin filters, this OM2n was the real deal. UV filters adorned every lens, and everything was very clean. As I point out in the video, OM2's need batteries to work, two LR44's, and if they're missing or flat it will appear that the shutter is jammed, so with some fresh power cells in place my Olympus fired up and started shooting.

Normally SLR's, even 35mm film ones, are a little on the heavy side. The OM2n bucks this trend and feels more like a large compact. With the super light-weight 50mm f/1.8 Zuiko lens attached this camera is incredibly light and small. Walking around Chichester with the Om2n slung over my shoulder in its natty leather cover, I didn't feel weighed down one bit. When people say that the OM2 is the Leica of film SLR's, they could well be right.

The Olympus OM2n was a follow up to the legendary OM1. The OM2n can work not only in fully manual mode, but also in aperture priority mode. The film-speed dial doubles up as an exposure compensation dial - unusual on a film camera, and especially on one of this age.

Focussing, is of course, fully manual. Don't fret though because the view-finder on the OM2n is absolutely massive, or at least appears to be to me. The finder is incredibly bright, and has a split-prism that makes manual focussing a doddle. 

What the OM2n was famous for at the time of its release was the way that the camera metered the scene layed out in front of it. Measuring the light from a special pattern off the shutter curtain, or off the film itself for longer exposures, the OM2n is renowned for its ability to meter accurately, and can even do long exposures automatically up to 2minutes (!).

I've had a blast shooting with the OM2n. If I had a Zuiko 50mm f/1.4, it could well supplant my SRT 101 as my favourite 35mm film SLR. The little Olympus, light and small, is tough, reliable, and that bright view-finder means that manual focus is not a problem.

So, spread the word, ask those relatives and friends if they've got any old film gear, and you never know, an Olympus 35mm SLR might well turn up.

Thanks, Rob.