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I Take Pictures Through The Viewfinder Of An Old Analog Camera
It is a shame when old cameras are slowly gathering dust. They need to be used. So I took my dad’s old camera and went on a hike.
Sadly, developing film is pretty expensive, so I improvised and took the photos through the viewfinder with a digital camera (but to be honest, in the end I bought some film to try real analog photography). The camera is a “Elbaflex VX 1000”. Here are some of my favorite photos.
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What do you think ?
Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago
I have a digital camera.... but it also has the viewfinder option. The difference is, my camera has the viewfinder positioned on the back instead of the top. What I find most intriguing about these photos is that you took a picture of a camera taking a picture. THAT was thinking outside the box, and caused me to stop and reflect - which is what art is supposed to do. Well done!
Oliver Hihn (Post author) 8 years ago
It's so much fun to take pictures with film cameras!
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John Kuki 8 years ago
I am interested to know what camera was used to capture the camera capturing the scene. And what did the post-processing involve? The scenes on the viewfinder have amazing dynamic range. But I suspect it having something to do with the post-processing. Amazing concept though.
Oliver Hihn (Post author) 8 years ago
The first photo was taken with my brother's Nikon D5200. I tool all the other photos with my Nikon D7200 either with a 35 mm or a 50 mm lens. I used Lightroom and Nik Filters to lighten up and give more detail to the scenes on the viewfinder.
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Ivana Kanhäuser 8 years ago
Its an Exakta!!! my first camera i ever got. this is soooo familliar view <3
Ivana Kanhäuser 8 years ago
( i see its not the exact same type. I got one which have an small lense over an matted glass and theres no any help with focusing, but your own eye....and..no exposition-time help...so i remember that my first three or four films developed where totally bad exposed and after some time i was able to estimate time and iris number just by eye...) oooo how nice an f*****g heavy camera...
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Ari Pinanski 8 years ago
Oliver Hihn, I don't know where you live, but here (Germany) developing film is really cheap :)
Oliver Hihn (Post author) 8 years ago
Okay, then I should do better research :D All the studios I asked were really high in price...
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Phillipe Knippel 8 years ago
I didnt get it. The guy mixed a analog camera with a digital one? Was it?
Kevin Camp 8 years ago
Shooting and developing film is not nearly as expensive as digital. Digital you pay for up front int he cost of camera bodies and lenses, and then the camera body wears out in a few years of hard use. Many of my film cameras are over 50 years and still function as they did when new. And film has about twice the latitude and dynamic range of digital when exposed correctly. I shoot both, digital is convenient and immediate, while film is like Christmas when to develop it and lay it out on the light table.
Oliver Hihn (Post author) 8 years ago
If you have no income, it is much more expensive. You only have to buy the camera body, lenses and SD-cards once just like the analog body and lenses but additional to that, you also need the film. It is true that old film cameras are very tough, but for an amateur photographer like me, it is much cheaper to use digital cameras. I am a student so I don't have much money to always buy and develop new film. And yeah it is true that it is like Christmas, when you can finally see the results, but in my case as a newbie in analog photography, I am pretty sure that my first developed pictures are all rubbish.
Load More Replies...
Yvonne Bernal 8 years ago
I have a digital camera.... but it also has the viewfinder option. The difference is, my camera has the viewfinder positioned on the back instead of the top. What I find most intriguing about these photos is that you took a picture of a camera taking a picture. THAT was thinking outside the box, and caused me to stop and reflect - which is what art is supposed to do. Well done!
Oliver Hihn (Post author) 8 years ago
It's so much fun to take pictures with film cameras!
Load More Replies... John Kuki 8 years ago
I am interested to know what camera was used to capture the camera capturing the scene. And what did the post-processing involve? The scenes on the viewfinder have amazing dynamic range. But I suspect it having something to do with the post-processing. Amazing concept though.
Oliver Hihn (Post author) 8 years ago
The first photo was taken with my brother's Nikon D5200. I tool all the other photos with my Nikon D7200 either with a 35 mm or a 50 mm lens. I used Lightroom and Nik Filters to lighten up and give more detail to the scenes on the viewfinder.
Load More Replies... Ivana Kanhäuser 8 years ago
Its an Exakta!!! my first camera i ever got. this is soooo familliar view <3
Ivana Kanhäuser 8 years ago
( i see its not the exact same type. I got one which have an small lense over an matted glass and theres no any help with focusing, but your own eye....and..no exposition-time help...so i remember that my first three or four films developed where totally bad exposed and after some time i was able to estimate time and iris number just by eye...) oooo how nice an f*****g heavy camera...
Load More Replies... Ari Pinanski 8 years ago
Oliver Hihn, I don't know where you live, but here (Germany) developing film is really cheap :)
Oliver Hihn (Post author) 8 years ago
Okay, then I should do better research :D All the studios I asked were really high in price...
Load More Replies... Phillipe Knippel 8 years ago
I didnt get it. The guy mixed a analog camera with a digital one? Was it?
Kevin Camp 8 years ago
Shooting and developing film is not nearly as expensive as digital. Digital you pay for up front int he cost of camera bodies and lenses, and then the camera body wears out in a few years of hard use. Many of my film cameras are over 50 years and still function as they did when new. And film has about twice the latitude and dynamic range of digital when exposed correctly. I shoot both, digital is convenient and immediate, while film is like Christmas when to develop it and lay it out on the light table.
Oliver Hihn (Post author) 8 years ago
If you have no income, it is much more expensive. You only have to buy the camera body, lenses and SD-cards once just like the analog body and lenses but additional to that, you also need the film. It is true that old film cameras are very tough, but for an amateur photographer like me, it is much cheaper to use digital cameras. I am a student so I don't have much money to always buy and develop new film. And yeah it is true that it is like Christmas, when you can finally see the results, but in my case as a newbie in analog photography, I am pretty sure that my first developed pictures are all rubbish.
Load More Replies... 
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