I Dream of Cameras

“I am sitting in the smallest room of my house. I have your review before me. In a moment it will be behind me.” — Max Reger, German composer (1873–1916), responding to a savage reviewJeff’s in Lisbon at the start of a month-long European trip; Gabe’s in LA developing his own film for the first time in years. But what’s obsessing them the most? Their first rotten review! Tune in for all the merriment and NO PRAISE!Jeff’s choice of cameras and film for a month-long European trip:the Hasselblad XPan with both the 45mm and 90mm lensesthe mighty Olympus XA4 macro24 rolls of Kodak Portra 400 and Portra 160Gabe’s eBay misadventure in pursuit of the Pentax 50mm 1.7: the “as-is” Pentax ME Super and S1 turned out to be nonfunctional, the lens was dented……but he did get a Watson bulk loader!He lent his Canon EOS 3 to Martin Starr… so he had to buy a replacement: the EOS Elan 7NE. Which was perfect — even better than our beloved Rebel 2000!More eBaying: Gabe also got the Nikon 85mm f1.4Dand he got his beloved Leica M3 repaired by our trusty dusty camera repair guy! whom he interviewed! and who may finally be unmasked in an upcoming episode!Jeff was on the cusp of buying an Olympus OM-3 when his cherished 12” Retina MacBook dropped dead… hence no OM-3Gabe went shooting with the Elan and his Rolleiflex and processed the film himself — it’s a new era!In Lisbon, Jeff visited Vintage Dream Cameras and took a hard, hard look at a Snoopy 110 camera and a rare Leica IIIc with sharkskin leatheretteWe got a terrible review!Gabe compared Rolleiflex TLRs with Dave Tada, but it turns out there are lots of differences between the 2.8E and the 2.8E2! Also, Dave’s has an RZ67 finder!Our friend Oliver’s exotic Chinese Pearl River SLRJeff experienced sudden XPan battery deathWe empty out our Prodigious Mailbag™ Some notes on our composer Fred Coury: his former band Cinderella’s Night Songs was released on this day in 1986; also, Fred just won his 6th Emmy!

A transformational live-on-locational supersensational IDOCstravaganza! First we go to a Los Angeles Photography Club Cameras and Coffee meetup in Koreatown to talk to folks about their cameras and dogs. Then we SPAN THE GLOBE to interview Jo Geier, proprietor of Mint and Rare, a phenomenal camera shop in Vienna, Austria. You won’t want to miss this one, so TOON IN!

Consulting Producer Tucker Sachs, the real brains behind I Dream of Cameras, has long lurked in the shadows with a bone and a chew toy, but in this episode he finally steps into the light. Also discussed: photo books, photo contests, photo walks and photo acquisitions, along with every syllable of your deathless prose from the Prodigious Mailbag™.  It’s a doggie-dog world!Daido Moriyama’s ’71 NY is an incredible photo book shot on an Olympus Pen WGabe had a blast at the latest Beers and Cameras feat. Joe StittSpotted: a Fujica ST 801check out Walker Evans' subway photo book, shot with a Contax II: Many Are CalledJeff entered an Epson pano competition - any favorite photo contests?Gabe really should get a Nikon SP, but in the meantime he finally snagged an ugly black-paint Nikon F from KEHour new cult favorite film: FPP Color 125bulk-loading and its discontentsGabe scored a slew of point-and-shoots at a yard sale for a total of $28:Olympus Infinity IIFuji DiscoveryPentax IQ ZoomOlympus Infinity Jr.Polaroid announced an upgrade to their B&W 600 film - kudos!The IDOC gang are planning a Polaroid-peel-apart-film-shooting festivalcheck out Sissi Lu's reels and IG live shotsJeff is performing at the Ruskin Theatre in Santa Monica on Mother's Day (click See a Show and then look for Library Girl)The Prodigious Mailbag™ features the Osmond brothers doing Crazy HorsesHank Haddock’s ISO 3200 stickers (designed by Suné Horn) will help you avoid arguments at airport security - find them at tinyurl.com/savemyfilmdo you make photo books, and if so how?and finally, Consulting Producer Tucker Sachs puts in an appearance

He wouldn’t…. Now that the long-raging and ill-advisedly-ignited Vivian Maier debate has finally died down, Jeff wouldn’t throw gasoline on those embers by expressing a Strong Opinion about some recent Viv-related news, would he? Well, you’ll just have to tune in to find out. Also discussed: the boys swap cities, Gabe in New York and Jeff in Los Angeles; recent shooting adventures with a slew of cameras both old and new; and the proper way to express your love of our smash hit podcast: through lavish gifts!we had a tremendous response to the last episode — clearly 69 is something people really enjoyheh heh heh, the folks at Camerosity took the bait — haven’t y’all read The Mouse That Roared?Gabe’s adventures in New York shooting his Rolleiflex and Leica M10 with Sissi Lu (shoutout: Katz’s Deli) and Chris Chu (shoutout: Salt’s Cure), plus drive-bys at B&H and picturehouse + the small darkroomJeff sold his Robot Royal 24, but shipping to South Korea was twice as much as what the UPS website originally quoted, so he realized a net profit of $3.32however, he still wanted a square-format 35mm, so bring on the Mamiya Sketch… which is delightful and quirky!shooting the Canonflex R2000shooting the Pentax MF with FPP Color 125 (see Jeff’s article in Casual Photophile)a hearty thanks to super-listener Jeffry Pittman, who sent us a Baby Rollei, a Hermes 3000 typewriter, and lots of filmiPhone iOS 17.4 now includes podcast transcripts so you may enjoy our soaring rhetorical flourishesJeff mildly reacts to some recent Vivian Maier newsGabe’s planning an all-medium-format film shoot with the Pentax 6x7, the Mamiya RZ67, and the Hasselblad 501CMa passing mention of new friend Peter Kagan, about whom you will hear morea bold voyage into our Prodigious Mailbag™ and finally, a fond farewell to the great Joe Flaherty

Paulina Porizkova joins the boys to offer her unique perspective on the art and business of fashion photography. How’d she get into it? What’s the most important thing a photographer should know about working with models? Why does Paulina call Irving Penn “Mr. Penn”? Does the fact that Jeff has a spreadsheet of when he last changed the batteries in his cameras render him more attractive? All this and much, much more in our sexy Episode № 69 — nice!how Paulina got into modeling at age 15, how she learned the crafther growing awareness of lighting and camerasthe dance between photographer and model, and how it’s altered by different types of camerahow a photographer’s behavior influences a model’s confidencehow real is the Veruschka scene from Blow-Up?do you know if the shot is good?how aware are you of camera equipment?can what you know about modeling be taught?pay attention to lighting! take a selfie when you look great!were you ever interested in photography yourself?her late husband Ric Ocasek’s interest in photographystudio vs. location shootingthe business of modeling is not what you think!does the fact that Jeff has a spreadsheet of when he last changed the batteries in his cameras render him more attractive?what is the most important thing a photographer should know about working with models?is it different working with a female photographer?working with Irving Penn and why P always calls him “Mister”Bill Kingthe one photographer she wishes she’d had a chance to work with: Helmut Newtonthe resurgence of 35mm point-and-shoots in fashion photography, e.g. Marie Tomanova’s shoot for Czech Voguecan you get a good shot of a model by being mean to her?what’s it like shooting with your boyfriend, former photographer of plants and buildings?the portrait by Jeff that P lovesher Top 5 photographers she enjoyed working with:Mr. PennArthur Elgort (author of Camera Ready and Camera Crazy)Patrick DemarchelierMarcus BardMarco Glavianowhat’s it like being constantly confronted with images of your younger self? do you have a favorite?

It’s an xlent xlerated xtralarge xtravaganza as Gabe and Jeff hack and slash their way to the bottom of the Prodigious Mailbag™, which features a slew of emails penned by celebrities under the pseudonym “Alan Peres.” Also discussed: cameras of ’55, cameras of ’24, Dune 2, SB2, SL3, FP4, HP5, Number Six and Zippora Seven! Tune in as we run the numbers!Cameras in Focus 1955:Olympus WideRolleiflex 2.8Dthe Nikon SP was in development (which prompts a reprise of Jeff’s astonishing SP acquisition story)PentaflexGraflex Stereo Graphica 1955 survey of 35mm cameras by price rangeJeff briefly acquired an Asahi Pentax SB2, rare variant of the H3/S3 sold only on Japanese military bases… but it was broken, so back it wentGabe launches the Under $40 Camera Challenge!The soon-come Pentax film compact camera will be a half-frame model with zone focusingFor the third straight time, Leica reports record revenue, plus the new SL3 is outGabe rhapsodizes about the monstrous GowlandflexDave Tada picked Gabe up a coveted Nikkor 28mm f2.8……but he still yearns for an ugly black Nikon FDune 2 was shot on a $50 Helios-44!Nikon is buying REDJeff watched the great Yu Tsai in action at the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue 60th anniversary shoot in Fort LauderdaleWe go XL to empty out the Prodigious Mailbag™ Our IDOC Discord channel is hoppin’! Join us!

“Pablo Larraín, the film’s Chilean director, felt [Jackie] Kennedy’s love of beauty was so integral to her character that he requested [Natalie] Portman utter ‘I love beauty’ at some point during the shooting of every scene.” This is absurd, but not as absurd as Episode № 67 of I Dream of Cameras, “Your Extra Time and Your Kiss,” in which we discuss cameras called Beauty and Kiss and Super. Tune in for all the mayhem!Jeff made yet another math error! 64 is 2 to the fifthGabe presents… Cameras in Focus, 1956:Canon VTPentacon FB / Contax FBMamiyaflex Automat BIIBeauty 35 Super(“I love beauty”)Beier Precisa IIABolta Photavit 36Duplex Super 120Flexora IIIKodak Signet 40original Leica MPJeff snagged a Canon EOS New Kiss Panorama (a.k.a. Rebel G, a.k.a. Rebel 500N) for $14.50 and gave it to his brother StevenAfter much equivocation, and after handling the lens at B&H, he concluded he does not need the extravagantly-priced 30mm for the Hasselblad XPanGabe did an all-film photo shoot with Claire Hinkley during the recent L.A. monsoonAlso shot Kylie Silkman and her sister Danica with the stunning Helios-44 lensJason Schneider's books on camera collecting are amazingPerplexity.ai is a useful tool for camera comparisonsWe will try to chat with y’all on Discord - check the #idoc-podcast channel under Sunny 16Don Goldberg at DAG helped Gabe fix the broken strap guard on his Leica M6 TTLAnd finally, a deep dive into our Prodigious Mailbag™!

It’s a voyage to the bottom of the Prodigious Mailbag™ on our Smash Hit Podcast™, but before that there’s talk of the year in photography 1957, the revived Southern California camera show, Jeff’s trip to the Caribbean with a sexy Swede and also his girlfriend, eBay execs sending pig fetuses to their critics, and so much more!Jeff made yet another major math error! 64 is 2 cubedSorry, but Parenting Hell is not a smash hit podcastGabe presents The Year in Focus 1957:Nikon SPIlford SportsmanHasselblad 500CKodak Retina ReflexConcava Tessina watch camera TLRLeica M2 (for real) which when new went for $276, or $2,884.37 in today’s dollarsArsenal SalyutAsahi came out with the original PentaxOlympus Wide EGabe went to the new Huntington Park camera show (very exciting) and nearly bought a Contax TJeff visited 5R Photo Lab in New York and met proprietor AlecA trip to St. Barth’s, French West Indies occasioned the return of the XPan, and a love affair was reignitedJeff shot with both Portra 400 and 160… and liked 160 better!Gabe visited Jeff and P in NYC, went to B&H Photo, bought nothing……but then ordered an Exa 1B and a Helios-44 lensMint unveiled their coming-soon Rollei 35AF — apparently anyone can license the name “Rollei” for a buck fifty — but who needs this thing?A bunch of eBay execs were creepy criminalsJeff got a cool Minox film slitter from camerhack.itCheck out RitchieCam, a camera app for iPhone with an XPan emulation modeA dive so deep into our Prodigious Mailbag™ that it requires a bathyscapheGabe wants to hear about online photography websites you love - blogs, magazines, whatever

You want more and you want it fast? Tune in to Episode № 65 of I Dream of Cameras, “Rebel Rebel,” in which Gabe and Jeff wax rhapsodic about the trash-table treasure Canon EOS Rebel 2000. How did this grubby chunk of plastic capture the hearts of two men devoted to the cult of Leica? Pluck this pod and find out! Also, we call out great cameras NOT from the big-name brands, recount recent shooting adventures, and take a shallow dip into the deep and prodigious mailbag!Jeff made a major math error! 64 is 2^8Cameras of ’58:Nikon S3Leica M2Rolleiflex TMinolta SR-2Mamiya Elca (and from ’59, the fascinating square-format Mamiya Sketch)Ricoh 519Zeiss Ikon IkonetteAnd now, the long-promised Minority Report (great cameras not from the big-name brands)Alpa 11si (of course)Pentacon SixPetri Color 35Plaubel Makina 67 (Gabe’s gonna get one!)RectaflexBalda Baldaxette IIVoigtländer Vitessa LWideluxThe trash-table Canon EOS Rebel 2000 is dirt cheap and packed with features — we both love ours!There’s also an even-cheaper EOS Kiss Panorama with a stupid panorama switch!The 40mm f2.8 pancake lens is delightfulCheck out Casual Photophile's impassioned defense of “Dorky AF” SLRs of the late ‘90sGabe’s been shooting portraits (?!) with Leica’s 28mm ElmaritAnd finally, a dip into our Prodigious Mailbag™ 

The big news in Episode № 64 of I Dream of Cameras is the release of Harman Phoenix, a brand-new experimental color film from the company we insist on calling Ilford ‘cause they didn’t give us free stuff. Also covered: notable cameras of 1959; fun with Lomochrome Turquoise; Gabe’s recent five-camera all-film photo shoot; the growing cult of the Minolta P’s; last-minute holiday gift ideas; and tons of blowback in the Prodigious Mailbag!Cameras of 1959:Leica M1Minolta SR-1Tele-Rolleiflexdebut of the Nikon Fthe original one-lug Olympus Pen (made not by Olympus, but Sanko Shoji)Asahi Pentax S2 / H2Zeiss Ikon Contaflex SuperThe Russian Mir (a simplified Zorki 4)Gabe went to The Darkroom for the exciting debut of Harman Phoenix, a brand-new film from a company we insist on calling Ilford ‘cause they didn’t give us free stuffLabs working with this film are running smack into The Scannenberg Uncertainty PrincipleJeff had a blast shooting Lomochrome Turquoise with his rare and exotic Mamiya/Sekor 2000 DTLMeanwhile, Gabe’s been shooting with his cheap ’n’ cheerful Canon Rebel 2000 + 40mm f2.8 pancake lens — the results blew him away!He also recently did an all-film shoot with the Contax 645, Rolleiflex 2.8E2, Yashica T4, Leica M6… and Minolta P’s! P's Mania rolls on! Directing NBC’s new sitcom Extended Family, Jeff did some set photography with his beloved Olympus Pen EE-3. 78 shots on a roll!Holiday gift ideas! Jeff recently acquired some excellent photo books:Apollo VII - XVIIHasselblad - The Camera System 50 Years 1948-1998New York in PhotobooksWhy not our new Alan Daly t-shirt, or something else from our burgeoning merch page? Or Rachel's Brewster-Wright’s Ultimate Film & Darkroom WorkbookA dip into our Prodigious Mailbag™, featuring:More Vivian Maier blowback from our 50th episode - as revenge, Viv will be getting a one-woman show at Fotografiska New York in May 2024An excellent photo club, The Slow Camera ExchangeA wonderful 1942 article from The Atlantic, The Dream Camera

It’s our third anniversary episode, featuring celebrations galore and talk of cameras past, present and future. Plus the return of our Prodigious Mailbag™, featuring NO PRAISE! Tune in for all the merriment!Cameras of 1960:Nikkorex 35Nikon S3Mthe original CanonflexPentax Spotmatic shown at PhotokinaRolleiflex 2.8FRolleiflex Rollei MagicZeiss Contarex SpecialYashica 35MLeica R5Gabe and Jeff got great birthday gifts!the original Kodak InstamaticKodak Retina IIICLego RolleiflexLeica IXMOOA golden Minolta P’sGabe’s been trawling eBay for early LIFE magazinesPlease tell Jeff he doesn’t need a Nicca IIILHe’s also fascinated by the ridiculous Contax PreviewGabe’s got some shoots coming up, and plans to use:Contax 645Minolta P’sand the super-cheap Canon Rebel 2000 with the 40mm pancakeJeff’s quasi-repaired Pentax ES II is cursed… never again!…but he’s loving his rare and delightful Mamiya/Sekor 2000 DTL…and will soon be shooting on set with his beloved Olympus Pen EE-3A deep dive into our Prodigious Mailbag™ and finally: Gabe throws out the Under $95 Camera Challenge!

Gabe goes to a celebrity wedding; Jeff appears in Vogue Portugal. Gabe has a birthday; Jeff has a breakdown. And all the while, they scour the globe in search of the world’s finest vintage camera shops. Tune in for pulled pork and wienerschnitzel and much, much more!Cameras of ’61:Olympus Pen EECanon 7Rolleiflex wide-anglePentax H1/S1A vintage Hasselblad 500c ad: What could possibly make a camera worth $550?Gabe had a birthday and received a photo-themed gift: Life Magazine and the Power of Photography, featuring his beloved Gordon ParksOur corporate retreat in Austin, Texas featured visits to The Camera Exchange and Austin Camera, followed by BBQ at Rollin’ Smoke, where you get a free beer with your tipGabe’s verdict on the Nikon 28Ti: he agrees it’s boring and prefers the Yashica T4!Jeff’s Pentax ES II mega-saga: if your stuff gets damaged by UPS, submit a claim! As for Electro Spotmatics of all sorts, never again!The new I'm Back digital insert for 35mm cameras is larger than it appears - would you do it?We were gifted a complete set of Atlanta Film Co. films from Bill ManningJeff returned to Vienna, which is vintage camera heaven! Notable stops included Camera 31, Westlicht, Jo Geier, United Camera and the astounding Photo BörseMore security hassles in Frankfurt - next time, lie about your ISO!Gabe’s been shooting with his Rolleiflex and Leica M6Jeff spent some time with Leica photographer Pat DomingoAlso a shout-out to Branislav Simoncik, who shot P for Vogue PortugalStarting with Episode 17, the subtitles on the episode page at idreamofcameras.com became delightfully obscure references, yet nobody ever mentions them. Y’all paying attention?

A rare treat: IDOC № 61 is dedicated to you, our legions of devoted listeners. In this XL episode, we take a deep, deep dive into our Prodigious Mailbag™, which as of recording ran 46 emails deep. Tune in as Gabe and Jeff respond to inquiries, sympathies, clapbacks and condemnations. It’s sixty-wonderful!Cameras of ’62:Minolta Hi-MaticNikon F PhotomicHasselblad 500C in space! Wally Schirra aboard Mercury 8Canonflex RMPentax SVMiranda DRFujicarexRicoh SinglexAfter we revealed our eBay watch lists, people did indeed skunk us! The mint Minolta P’s, the bulk roll of Panatomic-X, the rare Pentax SB2, the Alpa 10d half-frame and one of the two Nicca IIILs are all gone!and for the remainder of the episode, a deep dive into our Far Beyond Prodigious Mailbag!

In Episode № 60 of I Dream of Cameras, Gabe and Jeff stun the photography world by boldly revealing the contents of their fiercely guarded eBay watch lists. That’s right — you could go on the ‘Bay right now and steal their Precious right out from under them! What are the white whales and black beauties they’ve been eyeing hungrily? And which would they choose if a magical djinn offered them just one? Cross your arms and blink to find out now!Cameras of 1963:the original Kodak Instamaticthe original gothic Olympus Pen FCanon DemiPolaroid Polacolor film for Land camerasGabe promised a purge! there was no purgeWhich cameras did Jeff bring to New York in anticipation of a month of travel?Jeff’s Pentax ES II misadventureGabe shot with the Nikon 28Ti, verdict to comeGabe’s take on the new Polaroid I-2Jeff and Gabe boldly reveal the contents of their eBay watch lists — feel free to skunk us!If a magical genie offered you one thing from your watch list, what would you pick?The Prodigious Mailbag™ will be the bulk of our next episode, so please write to us at eye dream of cam rahs at gee male dot calmGabe recommends an excellent YouTube series: Wrong Side of the LensFred Coury’s beloved Amy Motta is a Canon film shooter nowDon’t praise us in an email — leave us a review on iTunes!

“So no one told you life was gonna be this way / Your Nikon’s in the shop, your XPan’s D.O.A....” Join Jeff and Gabe in Noo Yawk Cit-tay for a very special episode, featuring a schmear and a Dr. Brown’s and the most underrated Canon SLR of the modern era. We’ll be there for you! Cameras of 1964:the O.G. Leicaflexthe elusive Canon FXthe wildly undervalued Pentax SVthe freakish Nikkorex Auto 35the large and unwieldy Koni-Omega RapidGabe’s NYC photo walk with the great Sissi LuThe team’s visit to B&H Photo (and Russ & Daughters) with Chris ChuJeff bought a Canon F-1 Lake Placid Olympics edition, the only classic-era Canon SLR he’s never ownedComparing the XPan with the Minolta P’s: field of view and aspect ratio are quite similar!Another roll-the-dice segment! Adapting this lens for that camera, and the worst camera we’ve ever used — fight us!Plus a dip halfway down our prodigious mailbag!

There's fever in the funkhouse now for Episode № 58 of I Dream of Cameras, in which we introduce a startling new segment: we ROLL THE DICE to choose from a bumper crop of listener-suggested topics. Tune in ‘cause the deuce is still wild!Cameras of 1965:Leicaflex MK2Minolta Autopak 700Hasselblad EL/MOlympus Pen EMNikkormat FTand something else that came out in 1965Jeff saw the Terry O’Neill show at Fotografiska……went to Overland Photo Supply in Overland Park, Kansas……and bought a Pentax Spotmatic F for cheap! you K1000 devotees are crazy!Gabe did a nighttime photo shoot at Mel’s Diner on Sunset with his beloved Nikon D700, experimenting with flashJeff got the first roll back from his Minolta P’s, and likes the results… though he misses having backlight compensationRecommended documentary: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, about photographer Nan Goldin, streaming on Kanopy (free with your public library card)It’s been a year — how’s Polaroid Music going?A new segment where we roll the dice and pull from our list of undiscussed topics!Celebs with film camerasOur oddest cameras:Contarex BullseyeVoigtländer Vitessa LAlpa 11siWerraMinoxNikonosPentax Auto 110Ricoh Mirai ZoomMinolta 110 ZoomScale-focus cameras - Gabe can’t stand them!the prodigious mailbag!and finally: Chloe Kissner has a photography business, and her mom is buying a film camera

In Episode № 57 of I Dream of Cameras, we mind our P’s — Minolta’s little-known pocket XPan killer — and Q’s — diving into a particularly prodigious mailbag. Also, Gabe’s gone digicam kray-zee, and Jeff’s still obsessed with that Nikon Year of the Dog camera. Tune in for all the chitter-chatter!Cameras of 1966:The troublesome but alluring Rolleiflex SL66The unreleased yet tantalizing Pentax 220The well-named Petri RacerGabe’s recent acquisitions — he’s a digicam hipster!Nikon Coolpix S1000pj with built-in projectorNikon D700Nikon Coolpix P7000Jeff’s thoroughly besotted with the delightful panoramic point-and-shoot Minolta P's — it leaves the tab out when rewinding! And it comes in four other colors, red, blue, green and black — does he need 'em?Olympus Stylus, mirrored chrome edition — are these special finishes worth the premium?Revisiting the Nikon FM2/T Year of the Dog camera — the price continues to plummet, but the dog looks like the dogecoin Shiba Inu, so does that ruin it?Gabe’s recent use of the Leica M6 on the WGA picket line reminded him how nice it is to use a lighter, less bulky cameraeBay annoyances, suspicious sellers…and our super-prodigious mailbag!

“On Wednesday evening, at the start of the opera in the St. Margarethen quarry, the unbelievable happened: Carmen survived.” And this is just the start of Episode № 56 of I Dream of Cameras, which features a harrowing escape from certain death, an enigmatic Central European supermodel, exotic cameras from East Germany and Czechoslovakia, and Jeff Bridges! Tune in for all the intrigue.On the final night of his Central European trip, Jeff was almost killed at an outdoor performance of CarmenCameras of 1967:Olympus Trip 35Hanimex Praktica Novo I BZenit EMore on Jeff’s recent observation of fashion shoots, including two different professionals’ use of the Olympus StylusLook for many behind-the-scenes XPan shots on Jeff’s InstagramGabe finally found his long-lost Leica R6.2… he’d sold it to LA Film Camera!Our composer Fred Coury went to an LA Photography Club meetup and got hookedThe Argus C3 is terrible — fight us on this!On Alan Peres's recommendation, Jeff visited FotoŠkoda in Prague and it was incrediblePicked up a Zeiss Pentacon FM and a Carl Zeiss Jena 35mm f2.4 Flektogon lensIn Český Krumlov, Jeff visited the fascinating Museum Fotoatelier Seidel……and found a Czech-made Meopta Stereo-Mikroma at a local antique storeGabe got a black Olympus OM-2……and a Nikon D700……and is seeking a waist-level finder for his Contax 645The challenges of shooting film abroad: do you wrestle with unsympathetic airport security personnel? Ship your film home and risk it getting x-rayed along the way? Process it locally? After equivocating for days, Jeff rolled the dice and took 18 rolls to the lab at FotoŠkoda… and it was a smashing success!Also: Portra 400 is totally worth it, and the XPan is a great travel cameraExciting news: a new Widelux is inbound from Jeff and Susan Bridges and the team at Silvergrain ClassicsWhile the Widelux has a 126° field of view, the XPan with 45mm lens covers 71° — is that panoramic?What do we think of the Minolta P’s and other “fake” panoramic 35mm cameras which merely mask the frame?Finally, a dip into our prodigious mailbag!

Hello, oh-oh, Vienna calling! Jeff’s in the City of Dreams for Episode № 55 of I Dream of Cameras, featuring talk of travel, model shoots and being trailed by paparazzi. Do they swoon for the XPan? Find out in this globe-spanning dispatch!Jeff’s in Vienna, Austria for this one!Cameras of 1968:Petri Color 35Fed MikronKonica Autoreflex TPraktica Super TLGabe’s been going to a lot of camera meetups ‘cause Jeff has abandoned himJeff talks about the nature of his globetrotting adventure: Bratislava, Brno, Vienna, Prague, Karlovy Vary…Photographing picturesque cities, being trailed by paparazziThe cameras he brought: the Hasselblad XPan and the Olympus XA4 MacroThe XPan opens doors! photographers notice it — it’s not a dilettante’s camera — and this has led to some fascinating conversationsGabe’s had a similar experience with Rollei TLRsThe XPan is a surprisingly great travel camera — between behind-the-scenes stuff and exotic Central European cities, Jeff’s burning through two or three rolls of Kodak Portra 400 a dayKodak Ultramax 400 was cheaper but a bit disappointingalso in the queue: Portra 160 and FPP Color 125 (a.k.a. Svema)Jeff’s getting an extraordinary insight into the collaboration between model and photographer on a fashion shootyesterday’s photo shoot was with Leica Ambassador Pat Domingo, who used a Leica SL2 Reporter and a custom black chrome Hermes edition Leica M10-D with red leather and a 35mm Summicron that belonged to his fatherGabe had some struggles to get back in sync with his black-paint Leica M4Jeff’s pretty good at judging exposure — are you?Gabe’s also been out shooting with the Mamiya RZ67, the Hasselblad 501cm and the Rolleiflex 2.8E2And he’s fascinated by the work of Saul LeiterAnd he’s still enjoying the black Canonflex RM and Pentacon Six TLJeff’s favorite black-and-white film is Double-X 250, a GREAT stock which for some reason isn’t commercially available (except through Cinestill) — buy a 100-foot roll from Ultrafine Online and start bulk-loading!Jeff’s East Coast lab of choice: picturehouse + smalldarkroom in Chelsea, NYCand finally, a dip into Das Prodigious Mailbag!

We’re Feckless in Seattle for Episode № 54 of I Dream of Cameras, which features a visit to an amazing local camera shop, Gabe’s adventures at Los Angeles photography meetups, a dip into our perpetually prodigious mailbag, talk of Mamiyas and Pentacons and Pentaxes, and more!Gabe reviews a few key cameras of 1969:Pentax 6x7Olympus 35SPHasselblad 500 EL Apollo editionA dip into the prodigious mailbagGabe’s visit to a recent Los Angeles Photography Club meetupAlso, check out your local Beers and Cameras photowalkGabe's preferred shooters these days: the black Canonflex RM and Pentacon Six TLJeff's results from shooting the Heavenly concert in London: could pushed HP5 be better than Kodak or Ilford 3200?Jeff’s Mamiya 35mm SLR saga: the 2000 DTL improbably works perfectly, the 1000 DTL’s meter is dead, the 55mm f1.4 lens is radioactiveA Lacquer-Stik (black or white) is a very useful tool for restoring camera logosJeff's visit to the amazing Shot on Film Store in north Seattle, and what he bought there:a gorgeous black Pentax H3Konica 40mm f1.8 pancakeOlympus A16 flash for the Olympus XA seriesKodak Ultramax 400Preparations for upcoming Central European trip incl. fear of taking a loaded camera through airport security ‘cause they won’t hand-check ithow does Jeff post swipeable panoramas to Instagram? the Swipestagram appFred Coury got a Leica Q2!