aero ektar

...now browsing by tag

 
 

Oxford: Ensign Reflex test

Monday, September 16th, 2024

After replacing the ground glass screen in my Ensign reflex camera I wanted to test it out so I lugged it into town last Sunday morning and here are some shots from that roll. The image is clearer and brighter than before but I’m still struggling to nail focus. The mirror is anything but crisp and looks to be covered in a layer of hazy fog. I’ll have to send it off for re-coating. I can’t reach infinity focus which makes this setup more suited for portraits.

[Tech info:] Ensign Special Reflex, Aero Ektar lens, Delta 100 (expired), developed in Promicrol, 1+19.

20240915_Ensign_D100_AeroEktar_004_web 20240915_Ensign_D100_AeroEktar_002_web 20240915_Ensign_D100_AeroEktar_003_web 20240915_Ensign_D100_AeroEktar_001_web

Oxford: Ensign Reflex test

Monday, June 3rd, 2024

Test shots from my Ensign Reflex camera which unfortunately have failed because of the cheap reading glasses I was using to focus the dim image on the ground glass in the waist level finder. All the shots are out of focus to varying degrees and I can only apologies to the nice people I photographed. It was a fun session so not a complete loss.

[Tech info:] Ensign Reflex, Aero Ektar 7 inch lens, 6×9 roll film holder, Ilford HP5 (expired), developed in Promicrol 1+14.

20240601_Oxford_Ensign-Reflex_AeroEktar_HP5_Promicrol_01_web 20240601_Oxford_Ensign-Reflex_AeroEktar_HP5_Promicrol_02_web 20240601_Oxford_Ensign-Reflex_AeroEktar_HP5_Promicrol_03_web 20240601_Oxford_Ensign-Reflex_AeroEktar_HP5_Promicrol_04_web 20240601_Oxford_Ensign-Reflex_AeroEktar_HP5_Promicrol_05_web 20240601_Oxford_Ensign-Reflex_AeroEktar_HP5_Promicrol_06_web 20240601_Oxford_Ensign-Reflex_AeroEktar_HP5_Promicrol_07_web 20240601_Oxford_Ensign-Reflex_AeroEktar_HP5_Promicrol_08_web 20240601_Oxford_Ensign-Reflex_AeroEktar_HP5_Promicrol_09_web 20240601_Oxford_Ensign-Reflex_AeroEktar_HP5_Promicrol_10_web 20240601_Oxford_Ensign-Reflex_AeroEktar_HP5_Promicrol_11_web 20240601_Oxford_Ensign-Reflex_AeroEktar_HP5_Promicrol_12_web

Oxford: Aero Ektar lens test

Wednesday, December 7th, 2022

Here are a couple of pictures made with my Graflex Speed Graphic 5×4 camera and Kodak Aero Ektar lens. It’s been a very long time since I last used this set-up so I decided to test it out in Jericho, Oxford. I always envisioned this camera/lens combo for making portraits and was very fortunate to have a friendly couple that were willing to stand very still for me. The camera movements are very limited but I used some front swing to try to bring both faces into focus without stopping the lens down too much (I think I was at f4). The maximum aperture is f2.5 which gives a razor thin depth of field on 5×4 film.

[Tech info:] Graflex Speed Graphic 5×4, Kodak Aero Ektar lens, Fomapan 100 film (expired), developed in HC110 1+63 for 10 mins.

20221112_SG_AE_Foma100_HC110_01_web 20221112_SG_AE_Foma100_HC110_04_web

Oxford: Remembrance Day, 2015

Sunday, November 15th, 2015

Last year I photographed the Remembrance Day ceremony is Oxford with only 35mm film so this year I decided to change things up and only use large format. There’s no sense in repeating things, right? After much deliberation I opted to use my Speed Graphic 5×4 and 7 inch Aero Ektar lens (aka The Burnett combo). Using a lens from WWII seemed somewhat appropriate and I need all of the speed I could get because the sky was very overcast and the light level very low. Once I had packed my camera bag I only had space for 6 film holders (12 sheets of 5×4 inch film) so that’s all I took. Some of my shots ended up with very strange looking focus shift so I think in my rush to set up I must have moved the lens from being parallel with the film plane. Overall I think this camera and lens combo is well suited to this subject and hopefully I’ll get a chance to photograph some more military parades when I’m not rushing so much.

[Tech info]: Graflex Speed Graphic 5×4, Kodak Aero Ektar lens, Ilford HP5 developed in HC110 1+31 for 5 mins.