Fun with Film: Imation Chrome 100

One of the more interesting and encouraging bits of news that emerged a couple of years ago as I was getting back into film photography was the initiation of an effort to save machinery and restart production of transparency film by Ferrania in Italy.  Though the project has been fraught with a number of unforeseen challenges, it is moving forward at a better pace now, and is showing signs of emerging at some point hopefully within the year. 

As a result of this, the "Ferrania" name carries a significantly higher profile than it did during the 1990's onward, when it was largely a "private label" film maker that produced many "store brand" films until about 2007 or so, when its production lines shut down.  In addition, Ferrania produced branded film as well, but this typically was marketed under the "Scotch" and later "Imation" lineups. I took a lot of shots in the early 1990's on a private label "Seattlechrome" brand that I suspect may well have been made by Ferrania. 

While I've managed to find a decent amount of Ferrania color negative films over the past year under various labels over the past year, the slide film product that Ferrania now seeks to replicate for its new product had been pretty elusive in searches on ebay.  I HAD been able to find a single roll of Imation Chrome 100 early last Summer that I excitedly snapped up in hopes it would give me a vague idea of how the forthcoming film will look.  

I split the roll between my Ricoh 520M CDS and the Olympus OM-2, with shots on the former taken on a Maine trip, and shots on the latter taken locally.  I anticipated there may be an extreme amount of color shifting, and some loss of speed, so I rated it around ISO 80 and hoped for the best.  The results from this 12 year old film, while not pristine, were appreciably better than I'd feared they might be.  The film had a slight amount of grain, and some color shifting towards the blue end of the spectrum, but didn't look nearly as shifted as the 2008 vintage Ektrachrome I took along to Oregon in 2015.  Here are samples of 12 year old Imation Chrome with some degree of post processing...

Loaded first into the Ricoh 520M, I had a lovely day before me to see what the Imation Chrome would do.  The color rendering is exceptionally on the cold side, but contrast and detail remain adequate. 

Despite an overall cool cast, it seems that neutral areas carried a bit of a "parchment" tone on some images.  

Two images taken back to back show some differences in sky tones in particular, no doubt an offset of the scans, but both sort of remind me of a nostalgic faded Ektachrome slide. 

Interestingly, green and reddish tones rendered pretty well with this film.  The foliage in foreground looks particularly natural if a bit contrasty. 

Left to the color balance of the slide itself, this is how the Imation Chrome shot this particular scene.

For this one, I did a bit of remedial color balancing, and got a particularly punchy result.  The image is still a touch on the cool side, but the color vibrance is quite nice. 

A necessary reminder that this is land's end.  A bit of a rose hue permeates this shot. 

A scene which lacked a whole lot in the way of color rendered quite interestingly, almost looking like a selective color mode on a digital camera.  The boats in foreground and red apparel are the only colors that pop. 

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Switching to the Olympus OM-2 to complete the roll, and knowing nothing about what sort of results I might get, I hoped for the best with this shot, and was more or less pleased.  The result gives off an aged feel that complements the subject matter. 

A more vibrant scene under less intense light shows a pleasant softness to the color palette. The OM-2 nicely picked up both foreground and distant elements with proper exposure. 

An early morning shot shows a surprisingly vibrant rendering on this old film.  Had I known this, or had I a spare roll, I might have set aside the entire roll for dawn and dusk images! 

Or not... This late evening scene has lovely sky rendering, but a really flat and lifeless foreground. 

A pair of shots with differing focus points and apertures both show the slight parchment toning evident in many of the shots.  The result still manages to look pretty nostalgic. 

One last summer time shot taken in shadow came out surprisingly well given the lack of light. 

Although my results from this roll of film won't give me a verbatim idea of how the new film will render colors, this sample did make for a nice exercise.  I was actually quite pleased at how the colors rendered and while there was certainly a shift in color balance, it wasn't excessive, or towards an unflattering hue.  

I've periodically looked for another roll or two of this film and have had little to no luck finding much of anything.  For now, I guess I'll need to be patient as I continue the waiting game as I look forward to the forthcoming Ferrania color slide film to make its debut! 

Fun with Film: Cross Processed Ektachrome Elite 100

What two things will make me cross process slide film?  Well...

• Slide film that is expired and that I worry won't process accurately, and
• A mixed set of C-41 compatible chemistry from which I've gotten my desired rolls of color negative film developed. 

In these instances, the cost of running a roll of slide film through and processing it in the existing chemistry is really only a matter of one's time, and doesn't involve a financial outlay, so it's like the frosting on the cake.  

I had a 10 year old roll of Ektachrome Elite 100 that I put through my Ricoh 520M and dunked in the Unicolor chemistry.  Though it took a bit of trial and error to scan the results to a nice result, I managed to get some very vivid end products from this experimentation, that you can view below:

The rendition from this shot is reasonably close to life, aside from some pastel hues in the cooler end of the spectrum.

The greens on this shot look fairly close to normal tones, but contrast is high to make this scene really pop. 

On the US Capitol grounds, there were numerous botanical subjects to snap with the Ricoh 520M.  Out of focus rendering is more or less equivalent to other rolls I've shot on this camera. 

Apparently, this is not a tower or turret but an old vent shaft from the days prior to air conditioning.  

With the sun beaming down more in front of me, the contrast on the foliage only increased on the cross processed film.

A result that certainly fits the look of cross processed images: jumped up contrast and a hyper color palette that is pleasing if a bit jarring.

Under the veil of shade however, the color saturation takes a nose dive.  Note the vividness of the green trees in the backdrop, and the near black rendering of the foliage in the foreground. 

Another scan shows hints of yellow tones creeping into the green parts of the scene.  White tones in clouds and water look extremely clean. 

In my last shot, the scene portrays almost a lithographed look of sorts.  

My little rambles with the 520M using this slide film that I tossed into C41 chemistry were surprisingly fun.  This certainly doesn't mean I'm ready to do a significant amount of cross-processing in the future, but it certainly does make me more open to the thought of getting out and shooting more of my expired slide film stock that I have on hand during periods around when I'm developing conventional color films myself. 

All told, I'd certainly shoot some more Ektachrome Elite 100 and cross process it if the conditions warranted, though I'm always a little wishful that I could have the confidence that this old film would render a nice result when simply developed as intended in E-6 chemistry.  

Ricoh Rarity: The 520M CDS Rangefinder

Rarity and value in the film camera collecting world can often have no seeming relationship.  One can head over to ebay and see a huge quantity of "rare" cameras for sale at the same time, and see people snapping them up at extreme prices.  And then there are those unknown models with truly small production runs that appear for sale only on rare occasion, and for a comparative song.  Witness the following:

Simply adorned but easily navigated, the Ricoh 520M CDS, occasionally seen as a model of the Sears 35RF, is an infrequently spotted example of mid-late 1960's rangefinder.

The camera model depicted here is Ricoh's 1966 vintage 520M CDS, and it is a surprisingly rare find on the film camera marketplace.  Head on over to eBay, Etsy, or Goodwill right now, and I can largely wager that you won't find one for sale. Heck, even searching the web for ANY mention of this camera model or its older sibling that lacks the "CDS" suffix will yield a pitifully modest bit of results.  As such this review for this rare camera that few seem to care much about is likely to sit about as the only formal review of this camera model on the web for some time, provided that late 1960's Japanese styling doesn't suddenly become the must have in late 2017, and the 520M CDS doesn't become the next big hipster thing.



I had the good fortune to randomly stumble across this listing at a point where I was interested in the many Ricoh rangefinder offerings in particular.  I nearly passed on the opportunity to snap up the eBay auction listing, but elected to jump in at opening bid as its closing time drew nearer and see what happened.  As it turns out, there was no sniper waiting for the chance to grab this camera, so it wound up being mine for under $25 once shipping was added in.

Though the main selling point of this model in 1966 was the CDS style meter, I've yet to get any sort of response from the meter despite using vinegar on the contacts and trying new batteries.  As such, this camera was quickly relegated for "Sunny-16" style shooting or situations where I might have a little bit of help to determine proper exposure.  

Unlike many cameras from earlier in the decade that often feature a dizzying amount of markings pertaining to LV values, the 520M has a clean and straight-forward interface.  Note that turning both aperture and shutter speed rings in the same direction won't keep a consistent exposure value.

Specs of the 520M CDS would best be described as fairly typical of the era in which it was produced.  The 48mm f/2 Rikenon features 6 elements in 5 groups, and while the shutter lacks the external markings of makers like Seikosha or Citizen often seen on earlier markings, it does have settings winding all the way down to 1 full second before the Bulb setting.  Later models often stopped at 1/15 or 1/30 as an economy measure.

Finding an accurate word to depict the look of the 520M CDS is a bit of a challenge, but this is largely a by-product of the era in which it was produced.  It lacks the stylish feeling of rangefinder models of the 1950's and earlier, but also lacks the sleek modernity and compactness of later models.  It is thus caught in a sort of purgatory between classic and modern that seems to embody neither of these qualities enough to categorize it, but actually has hints of both traits.

"Sexy" is not the first word that comes to mind when I gaze at the 520M CDS, but it is by no means an unattractive camera.  Having owned this camera for just over a year, I've come to realize that to me, this is not a "love at first sight" camera like many others, but rather a "slow burner" that grows on you with each use.  It has become the embodiment of "like before love" in classic camera form.  

The viewfinder of the 520M is fairly typical fare, with a usable but not phenomenal rangefinder patch.  Shame that the meter doesn't work in this example, as the match line metering is easily seen in the viewfinder. 

It is a camera that does nothing remarkably, but simply does everything well.  The rangefinder inlays well enough into the viewfinder to make focusing fairly easy in most situations.  The aperture and shutter speed settings are changed easily enough and are not linked together by a "light value" coupling common in the era, but often cumbersome to use. In fact, the order of the aperture and shutter speeds are reversed from typical "LV" type cameras, which admittedly makes changing values on the fly a bit slower than others. 

It seems that each season in which I plan out my color film usage, I begin to yearn to use this basic camera once again.  And each time I use it, it seems to behave perfectly, delivering crisp and well exposed images on each roll.  Despite a decent selection of sexier cameras to choose from, I keep coming back to use the 520M time and time again.  In some ways, it comes as a surprise as to how much I've used this camera, but given how straight-forward it is, it seems only natural to grab the 520M time and time again.

I first started shooting the 520M in the Spring of 2016, and found it to quite simply be an easily used and well made instrument that requires only a modest degree of confidence in one's exposure settings, and it would admirably do the rest.  The 520M fits in between the small form factor of smaller and larger rangefinders of the era, so it sits comfortably in the hands and has a nice weight to it that is not too bulky.

Results from the 520M were generally quite good in nearly all cases. though I've found that I tend to use this camera more at smaller apertures than others in my collection that I like to shoot wide open, but this seems more a situational coincidence rather than any dislike of shooting the camera on the wide open end.  Color rendering of the Rikenon lens is exceptional, which does tend to make it a favorite choice for fair weather shooting. 

Some shots on Fujicolor 200 show off the sharp definition and clear color rendition of the Rikenon lens.  This is a camera that works fantastically in bright scenes. 

Another scene taken closer up shows that the camera does close focus admirably.  The bright conditions and 1/500 minimum shutter speed didn't allow for a wider aperture shot to explore the bokeh of the lens. 

The Fujicolor was able to get a passable result from a very contrasty scene on this camera. 

The f/2 lens allows for decent indoor photography with fair sharpness from corner to corner. 

The decent size and weight of the 520M makes hand held photography in marginal light a distinct possibility.  There is some motion blur evident. 

Despite the reversing of the aperture and shutter speed rings to allow quick changes at the same time, it is still pretty easy to make a quick setting for exposure to focus and shoot, such as when one alights a train and wants to snag a photo. 

There are occasional glitches in the results from the 520M, as seen in the blur from this image. 

But then there are times when the camera does exactly as desired and leaves a result that is memorable. 

Even on Agfa Precisa CT in scenes of challenging light, the Ricoh did a good job of controlling contrast and rendering color nicely.

Under moderate overcast, the Rikenon lens gives fair but not delightful contrast on the Precisa film. 

Though this is not a scene rich for bokeh, the out-of-focus rendering of the 520M isn't the most spectacular from most observations. This was mostly taken to test the accuracy of the focusing mechanism and rangefinder.

In a scene that better represents bokeh, you can see that most out of focus areas don't yield saucers or swirls, but more a muted rendition.   To be fair though, the bright light means that the lens isn't wide open.

My guesses at Sunny 16 measures led to some overexposure here, but still a decent result. 

Again, a scene of measurable contrast yielded a decent result on transparency film. 

Focus was again dead on target from the rangefinder as I snapped this shot. 

A bit of light leakage shows up on a shot I had one chance to get. 

A hopeful try at a low light hand held shot comes out disappointingly. 

Uh, oh - frame overlap.  A very occasional issue on this sample. 

This Spring, I shot some Ektar 100 through the 520M and it started out by giving me some good results.

From what I've noticed, this camera does well with water renditions.

Shot under mixed light, the camera again performs well.

The 48mm lens sometimes leaves me wishing it was a bit wider, such as this closely cropped scene. 

Another well handled scene where the camera's focus was perfect upon the fountain. 

Shot at about f/4.  Focus is excellent, but the bokeh again is disappointing.  

More light leakage spoils an otherwise well rendered shot. 

Where the 520M excels is vivid scenes like this.  While most cameras do well in these situations, it seems the 520M delivers just a little something extra at smaller apertures. 

Again, varied light and a vivid result. 

Yet again, a great sunny day camera. 

In a very bright setting such as above and below, the scene was slightly overexposed, but still rendered well. 

The 520M doesn't respond especially well to hasty shots, as evidenced by the motion blur here. 

Not sure why this camera in particular just seems to handle mixed lighting so well. 

The recess of the Rikenon lens allows it to handle backlighting better than lenses lacking such protection. 

Another well handled scene with backlit conditions. 

The Rikenon loves color and the Ektar supports that love. 

Some processing issues with my home kit, but a decent view to close out the numerous examples in the write-up.

The Ricoh 520M CDS is by no means the best camera in my collection, nor is it the best rangefinder in my collection.  I have models with faster shutter speeds, wider apertures, and better rangefinder patches.  But while the 520M doesn't seem to excel at any one thing in particular, it does excel in being a straight-forward and easy to use model that I come back to time and time again for an enjoyable outing in film photography.  And when it comes down to it, what more could one ask for?