f/11 And Be There

One camera that I really hated when I was first handed one was the twin lens reflex (TLR). A twin lens reflex had two matched lenses, one you would focus and frame through and one your would use to expose the film through. This type of camera was good to catch if someone blinked when the shutter clicked. Compared to a 35mm SLR, they were just a slow and awkward beast. The TLR was hard to get accustomed to and use on fast moving subjects. The editor that assigned me the camera was old school and saw the medium format twin lens reflex as an improvement over the Crown Graphics and Speed Graphics when he started out with. I’ve got a couple Graphics and they are great for backpacking and landscapes. The instructions he gave me were simple “f/11 and be there”, meaning set the lens aperture to f/11, turn on the flash and show up to the assignment.

I used the Rolleiflex and followed the instructions until he would finally let me use my Nikon F2. There are places that a TLR work OK, I just didn’t think one of them was with sports photography. I do have a couple TLRs in my collection of cameras and will use every so often just to keep the in shape.

Blackbird Fly 35mm TLR Twin Lens Reflex Camera

You would think that in an age of digital camera no one would be still manufacturing a twin lens reflex camera. Today I found a new twin lens reflex, the Blackbird, fly a 35mm twin lens reflex. Color me amused. It looked like a minimalist TLR with a 33 mm wide angle lens and limited settings for shutter speed (1/125th and blub)and aperture (f/7 and f/11) in a nondescript black housing. It’s list to focusing down to 0.8 meters and can shoot in 24mm by 35mm format like every other 35mm camera or use the square (24mm by 24mm) mask to capture square format photographs.

This type of camera could be considered a ‘Toy Camera’ like the Holga. The Holga is an inexpensive, medium format 120 film toy camera with a user group that appreciates its low-fidelity aesthetic.

Sample photograph taken with the Blackbird, Fly taken without mask plate.

The Holga’s cheap construction and simple meniscus lens often yields pictures that display vignetting, blur, light leaks, and other distortions. The camera’s quality problems have become a virtue among some photographers, with Holga photos winning awards and competitions in art and news photography.

The Blackbird, Fly appears to have similar results. I would tell a friend to run out and buy this camera to take this year’s vacation photos or other important events. If someone was wanting to capture photos with a new perspective and reexplore the world with a fresh set of ‘eyes’ this might be your camera. You can still get 35mm film developed in most areas, where 120 film the Holga uses is getting harder to find quality labs to develop today.

Here’s another story that is related to photography equipment. Ritz Camera filed for bankruptcy today. The company has over a 1000 locations in 45 states. They operate with real world and online businesses that include ritzinteractive.com, Ritz Camera Centers Inc. owns brands such as RitzCamera.com, WolfCamera.com, BoatingOnly.com, Boatersworld.com, CameraWorld.com, FishingOnly.com, OuterBanksOutfitters.com, PhotoAlley.com, KitsCamera.com and Inkleys.com. The Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing stated:

“The loss of revenues and profit margins from the diminution in the photo-finishing business proved too much of a burden, coupled with the losses experienced by the Boater’s World business, for Ritz Camera to remain a profitable company under its current structure.”