That’s exciting stuff, even if the camera’s price isn’t. At $600, the Polaroid I-2 costs $450 more than the brand’s “standard” camera, the Polaroid Now+.

When the I-2 released in the fall of 2023, Polaroid’s marketing team positioned the new camera as a high-end tool for discerning photographers who care about nothing more than making instant images of the highest possible quality.

Hey, I thought. That sounds like me!

But I have a long and checkered history with modern Polaroid cameras and film. Often, I’ve found the quality of both to be sub-optimal, frustratingly failing to live up to their potential and price. The result is that I’ve never been able to write a review or article in which I can wholeheartedly recommend buying and using Polaroid cameras and film, unless the reader is ready to waste at least some small quantity of their time and money. Especially when so many decent Fujifilm Instax cameras exist.

Ever the optimist, when the I-2 was unveiled I put a call in to my friends at B&H, requested they send me one, and quietly wondered if the newest, fanciest Polaroid would be another instant letdown.

I’ve spent the months since then shooting the Polaroid I-2, and I’ve ended my time with it quite surprised.

Polaroid I-2 Spec Sheet

• Lens: 98mm f/8 lens (approximate 35mm full frame equivalent = 38mm f/3.2)
• Focus: LiDAR autofocus; minimum focus distance 1.3 feet (0.4 meters)
• Exposure modes: Manual and auto exposure modes (aperture priority, shutter priority, full program)
• Metering: Center-weighted metering spot covering 60% of the center of the image area
• Shutter speeds: 1/250 second to 30 seconds
• Lens aperture: F/8 to F/64
• Flash: Built-in, with effective range 0 – 8.2 feet (0 – 2.5 meters)
• Flash modes: Auto, Off
• Viewfinder: Optical with LCD info display
• Battery: Internal lithium ion battery rechargeable via USB-C
• Additional Features: Exposure compensation controls; Multiple exposure setting; Self timer; External OLED info display; 2.5mm flash port; Tripod mount; Bluetooth enabled (app for remote control and settings)
• Dimensions: 5.9 x 4.7 x 3.6 inches (149.9 x 119.3 x 91.2 mm)
• Weight: 1.2 lb (563 grams)

Main Features of the Polaroid I-2

Polaroid spent four years developing the I-2. The result of that effort is that they legitimately produced the most advanced Polaroid film camera ever made. Just compare the spec sheet to any other Polaroid camera; the I-2’s major features are really impressive.

It’s capable of shooting in all of the shooting modes that we’d expect to find in a modern mirror-less camera. Aperture priority, shutter priority, full auto, and full manual are all present and accessible with the press of a button. This means, among other things, that the user is able to control depth of field and exposure times, something that very few instant cameras allow.

The metering system employs a center-weighted metering spot which covers the central 60% of the image area. Exposure times in automatic and semi-automatic shooting modes allow exposure compensation in 1/3 stop increments to +/- 2 EV.

The lens is not glass, but rather a three-piece unit comprised of polycarbonate and acrylic elements which have been coated for anti-glare. It has a 98mm focal length (equivalent to a wide-standard 38mm lens in 35mm full frame terms), which has been touted as the sharpest lens ever put into a Polaroid camera. I sort of believe it. The I-2’s lens is certainly the sharpest lens in a Polaroid camera, post-bankruptcy.

There is no manual focus mode, but auto-focus is achieved via a LiDAR system, which works as it should even in dim light. The system has just a single auto-focus point, in the center of the frame, however the camera allows for a half-press of the shutter button to lock focus and exposure. After which, we are able to recompose our shot for subjects that may not be positioned directly in the center of a photos (where the AF spot is). Focusing is quick and accurate, though a bit noisy. Focus distance is displayed in the viewfinder and OLED screen.

Polaroid I-2 Instant Camera (Black)

Buy a Polaroid I-2 Instant Camera from our affiliates at B&H Photo. Casual Photophile will receive a small commission, with which we will be able to continue producing articles and reviews about the photo gear you love.

First Impressions

The Polaroid I-2 is a well-made machine, and holding it in the hand leaves no room for doubt; it’s the best-made instant camera on the market today.

The chassis and body are made of aluminum alloy and impact-resistant plastic. The lens barrel is made of metal with a metal screw-in filter ring. The shutter release button is an anodized aluminum touch point with a red, satin sheen, a detail which hearkens back to the red shutter release button of the iconic Polaroid SX-70 SLR. The external info display is an OLED screen. The strap lugs are metal.

The body is shelled with a sort of matte satin plastic, yet it doesn’t feel like the plastic of entry-level Polaroid cameras. It feels tight, solid, and dense, and the numerous panels are fitted together with  precision.

The controls are responsive and intelligent. The multi-function dial which lives behind the lens spins into its detents nicely, with corresponding changes to settings appearing near-instantly in both the external OLED screen and the in-viewfinder LCD display. The exposure compensation dial clicks into its 1/3 stop detents with a similar feeling of quality.

The film door flips open with a release lever typical of Polaroid cameras, and it locks into place nicely. Inside we find the brass and plastic gearing and the steel film rollers that are responsible for film transport and chemical dispersion. They’re nice and solid, and in my time with the camera I’ve not had a jammed photo or improperly squeezed chemical pack, things that happen too often with other Polaroid cameras.

Polaroid I-2 for sale | eBay

Get the best deals for Polaroid I-2 at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

The Polaroid I-2 in the Real World

The Polaroid I-2 uses either Polaroid I-type film or Polaroid 600 film, both of which are available everywhere cameras and film are sold (I often buy a pack alongside toothpaste at Target).

I-type film is less expensive (because it has no battery built in), but aside from this difference, I-type and 600 film are essentially the same (identical sensitivity, or ISO). The only advantage to using 600 film is that Polaroid often releases special editions of 600 series film which they do not release as I-type film. Round frames, black frames, multi-colored frames, duo-chrome film, etc.

It’s also possible to use Polaroid SX-70 film, however this film has a lower ISO compared with I-type and 600 series film, so users will need to adjust their exposures accordingly.

For me, I’m shooting I-type exclusively, because it costs less and works best. Except for when Polaroid entices me with something special in their 600 flavor.

What’s been really appealing about the I-2, is that I’ve found it can be whatever I want it to be. If I want a point-and-shoot Polaroid, it can do that. I set it to Auto and fire away. Whenever I used the camera in this way, it performed beautifully. Exposures were accurate, focus was accurate, and images were as high quality as any modern Polaroid images I’ve ever seen. In fact, they were higher quality, most likely a result of the camera’s lens and advanced systems (compared to other Polaroid cameras).

What sets the I-2 apart from other Polaroids, however, is the user’s ability to actually influence what’s going on in the camera.

In instances in which the subject was backlit, or when I wanted to blur the background, I was able to switch to aperture priority mode or use exposure compensation. If I wanted greater sharpness I could stop the aperture right down to f/64, and the camera handled selecting the correct shutter speed automatically. If I wanted motion blur to emphasize movement, I could switch to shutter priority and slow the shutter, knowing that the camera would select a smaller aperture to compensate. No other Polaroid camera does this.

Engaging in this type of photography successfully requires at least some degree of understanding of the photographic exposure triangle. Not a big deal, if you’re a camera nerd. But people new to this sort of thing will likely burn through a couple of packs of film before figuring things out. (After which, they won’t find a better Polaroid camera for making good pictures.)

Polaroid Color i-Type Instant Film (8 Exposures)

Buy Polaroid Color i-Type Instant Film from our affiliates at B&H Photo. Casual Photophile will receive a small commission, with which we will be able to continue producing articles and reviews about the photo gear you love.

The viewfinder is lovely. Crystal clear and absolutely massive, it’s been a real treat. Even as a wearer of glasses, it has been easy to frame and shoot, relying on the parallax frame-lines when shooting up close subjects. While this isn’t dead accurate, it’s good enough.

The in-viewfinder LCD display is a revelation which reminds me of the advanced SLRs of the 2000s. It shows all of the information we could possibly need to make a photo, without requiring the user to remove their eye from the finder.

It’s also reactive to our selected shooting mode. In aperture priority, it shows our selected aperture, the camera’s automatically selected shutter speed, and the exposure compensation value. In shutter priority, it shows the same information inverted. In full manual mode, it shows our selected settings, and a miraculous real-time readout which shows how close to a proper exposure our selected settings will get us. It also displays our battery life, number of exposures left in the loaded film pack, and other information for flash and focus distance, as is pertinent.

This wealth of in-viewfinder information is something that some of the greatest film cameras ever made sometimes fail to deliver. To have it here is simply excellent!

What I don’t Like

The battery is a built-in lithium ion rechargeable pack. Which is nice, because it lasts a long time between charges, and is easily chargeable without requiring me to buy more batteries.

However, the battery is inaccessible to the end user, so when it inevitably reaches the end of its life, it’s not possible for the user to simply open a door and replace the old, tired battery with a fresh, new one. This design choice has the potential to render our $600 camera useless in a few years’ time (unless Polaroid offers battery replacement service – and will that be free?)

And of course, there’s the camera’s high price. We get a lot for our money, yes, but there’s no denying that the I-2 is an expensive camera.

Consider that the next best Polaroid camera costs $450 less than the Polaroid I-2. Is the I-2 that much better than the Polaroid Now? Or an Instax camera, for that matter? Do the user controls and the nice lens justify the price?

For me, begrudgingly, it does. But I’m a freak, a camera nerd who lives and breathes these things.

For the average person who just wants to take fun, spontaneous instant photos, the cheaper Polaroid will do nicely and the Polaroid I-2 will be nothing more than overkill, a financial splurge. For more casual photographers, it’s probably not worth the price.

And how much film can I buy for $450?

Image Samples

Showing the range of exposure available with the I-2.

Image Quality, The Film Problem, and Final Thoughts

For the past fifteen-or-so years, the argument against Polaroid has been that their film produces images of low quality, especially compared to the Polaroid of days past. This reputation stems from the recent history of the company. The Polaroid of today is not the same Polaroid of the 1900s.

When the original Polaroid company went bankrupt in the early 2000s, the company’s assets were sold to fund the pensions of the former employees. Polaroid’s last remaining instant film factory was bought and resurrected by The Impossible Project, a small group of Polaroid die-hards who dreamed of keeping instant film alive.

They succeeded, eventually, even growing rich enough to finally acquire the Polaroid name and IP sometime around 2017. Polaroid, officially, was back. But for a long while, the quality of Impossible’s film, and then Polaroid Originals’ film, and finally, straight up Polaroid’s film, failed to live up to the high standard of the former Polaroid of Cambridge, Massachusetts in terms of image quality, sharpness, contrast, etc.

I suffered through these years, photographically, as did older photographers who fondly recollect the golden era of instant film and Polaroid, who clutch photo albums full of Polaroids from the 1980s and ’90s which look as fresh and punchy today as they did on the day they were shot.

And so, the complaints about new Polaroid have lingered, repeated ad nauseam by those of us who remember (accurately or not) “the good old days.”

So ubiquitous have these complaints been, and so internalized has been my disappointment with Polaroid film over the last decade plus, that I approached my time with the new I-2 expecting further disappointment. I expected to take pictures that were spongy and soft and washed out and under-exposed, some which didn’t develop at all, and others which developed with strange white streaks or weird tan blotches.

So sure was I that my review of this camera would have to include a sad, lengthy section bemoaning the fact that new Polaroid film just ain’t wha’d it yoosta be, that I reached out to my friend Ned Bunnell, former president of Pentax USA and lifelong Polaroid user, to collect some of his thoughts on the quality of the old film compared to the new.

He did me one better. He sent me a photo album.

It arrived loaded with original Polaroid photos from thirty, forty, maybe even fifty years ago. And the photos, true to the anecdotes of the olds, were vibrant, punchy, sharp, and beautiful these many decades later.

I stashed the photo album safely away, my secret weapon against the Polaroid I-2, and shot the camera for the next few months.

Imagine my surprise when some of the I-2 pictures (admittedly, not all) came out as sharp, as punchy, as contrasty and deep and rich as those which I saw in Ned’s album of original Polaroids.

Top row, left to right: Modern Polaroid photo made last year with a cheap camera from the 1980s, modern Polaroid photo made with the new Polaroid I-2 recently, modern Polaroid photo made with a 600 series camera four years ago. Bottom row: Ned’s classic Polaroid photos from decades ago.

Detail shot of modern Polaroid film made with the I-2 last week. Note the author, nonplussed, hating being photographed, suffering for science.

Could it be? Could it be that all we needed was a $600 camera?

I don’t think so. I think the answer is simpler than that. The truth is that Polaroid film has been steadily improving for years now, and I’m cautiously optimistic that the stuff (finally) works. It’s not totally, universally as good as it was, but these days, it’s pretty damn good. The I-2 certainly helps.

But even if new Polaroid film isn’t as good as the old stuff. Does that matter?

The counter-argument is this: The past doesn’t matter. It’s as true for the car you should never have sold as it is for the love to whom you should have confessed. And it’s true for Polaroids, too.

We can’t go back. Retrospection is pointless. All that matters is today.

And the Polaroid I-2 is the best Polaroid camera we can buy today.

Shop for your own Polaroid I-2 Instant Camera (Black)

Buy Polaroid I-2 Instant Camera from our partners at B&H Photo. Sales at our affiliate derived from this link will provide Casual Photophile with payment to continue producing articles and reviews.

Polaroid I-2 for sale | eBay

Get the best deals for Polaroid I-2 at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

Follow Casual Photophile on Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

[Some of the links in this article will direct users to our affiliates at B&H Photo, Amazon, and eBay. By purchasing anything using these links, Casual Photophile may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. This helps Casual Photophile produce the content we produce. Many thanks for your support.]

The post Polaroid I-2 Long Term Review appeared first on Casual Photophile.

Introduced at Photokina (rest in peace) in 2004, the Epson R-D1 can claim several world-firsts. It was the world’s first digital mirror-less interchangeable lens camera. According to DPReview’s original article on the R-D1’s release, it was the world’s first rangefinder digital camera. It was also the world’s first digital camera to natively accept Leica M and L39/M39/LTM screw mount lenses, the latter through means of an adapter.

What is probably most surprising is that all these camera world firsts were achieved by Epson, a company known more for their printing, scanning, and projector products, rather than a company like Leica. Epson even beat Leica, the king of the “Messsucher” (or rangefinder for the non-german speakers like me), in delivering the first ever digital M mount rangefinder camera for the consumer market; the Leica M8 arrived a full two years after the R-D1, in 2006.

Because the Epson R-D1 was the first of its kind, it has the distinct privilege, at least in my book and another for that matter (Camera by Todd Gustavson, pg 347), of standing out in photographic history as a monument to beautiful, classic camera design while simultaneously stepping forward into the burgeoning bloom of the digital age. 

Get your own Epson R-D1on eBay here!

Get the best deals for Epson R-D1 at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

Specifications of the Epson R-D1

• Camera Type: Rangefinder mirror-less camera
• Sensor: 6 megapixel APS-C CCD (23.7 x 15.6 mm); Max. resolution 3008 x 2000
• Lens Mount: Leica M
• ISO: 200, 400, 800, 1600
• LCD Screen: 2″ 235,000 dots
• Shutter: Max speed 1/2000 second
• Storage: SD card (2GB max)
• Dimensions: 142 x 89 x 40 mm
• Weight: 610 grams (1.37 lb)

Design

As far as outward appearance goes, if we clad the R-D1 in the legit street photographer livery of black electrical tape over all branding or labels, you would be forgiven for thinking it was a film camera. After all, the body design is based on the Voigtlander Bessa R platform. In fact, the R-D1 was developed in partnership with Cosina, the parent company of the modern Voigtlander brand. So, yes, the Epson feels very much like a film camera.

But once we take that imagined electrical tape off, turn the camera on, see the status dials energize to indicate important details like remaining shots and battery life, and flip that flippy screen around (not for live-view, but to review saved images and adjust menu settings), we realize that this is most definitely a machine with digital innards. 

The R-D1 sports a 6.1MP APS-C sized bayer-arrayed CCD sensor, the same sensor found in the Nikon D100. Its sensitivity tops out at ISO 1600. ISO is selected by lifting the collar of the shutter speed dial, just like many film cameras from the past.

Shutter speeds on the R-D1 range from 1 to 1/2000 second, with a bulb mode labeled “B.” Rotating the shutter speed dial to “AE” allows shooting in aperture priority, which is my favorite automatic exposure mode on any camera, and my preferred method of shooting.

Exposure compensation can be set to +2 to -2 EV with the shutter speed dial. There is also an AE lock button at the back of the camera where the photographer’s right thumb naturally falls. This button also locks exposure so we can be more precise with our metering, but I don’t find myself using it all that often, as I simply trust the center-weighted average meter for most of my shooting.

The camera can capture JPEG images in both normal and high quality settings, but it is also able to record in RAW. The .ERF files can be edited in post and still work in Lightroom to this day. All images are saved to an SD card, but the R-D1 will only accept SD cards that have a maximum capacity of 2GB. The R-D1X is an exception to this as that specific model allows the use of 32GB SD-HC cards.

The R-D1X also forgoes the flippy screen and offers only a fixed screen, making it more akin to a traditional digital Leica M or Fuji X-Pro 1 and/or X-Pro 2. Although I’ve never owned or used the R-D1X, I think I personally prefer the R-D1’s screen implementation because I can flip it away when not changing menu settings or reviewing images. And honestly, that is a good thing, because this screen is not an enjoyable viewing experience. It’s actually quite bad, but it’s hard to fault a 20 year old camera for having a low resolution LCD screen (a whopping 235K pixels to be exact).

There are actually two benefits that I see to closing the screen: 1.) closing the screen discourages chimping, and 2.) closing the screen reveals the awesome focal length equivalence table that is reminiscent of the ASA reminder or ISO selection wheel on the back of Leica M film bodies. For an APS-C crop factor table, it’s quite useful while not looking too out of place.

Even with the screen closed, it’s possible to easily adjust and understand our settings. The R-D1 has a cleverly designed interface that utilizes a lever near the user’s right thumb in conjunction with a jog dial on the top left hand side of the body where a film rewind knob would be on a traditional film camera. By using the lever to select either White Balance or Image Quality size, it’s possible to use the jog dial to make those adjustments without having to dive into the menu. Bravo, Epson! It’s these kinds of small yet intuitive details that impress me and make me grin.

The R-D1 is in my mind the perfect amalgamation of three important characteristics that make for an authentically analog experience for enthusiasts who wish to shoot digital: vintage mechanical precision, tactile handling, and digital workflow. 

[Some of the links in this article will direct users to our affiliates at B&H Photo, Amazon, and eBay. By purchasing anything using these links, Casual Photophile may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. This helps Casual Photophile produce the content we produce. Many thanks for your support.]

Shop for your own Epson R-D1on eBay here!

Get the best deals for Epson R-D1 at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

Vintage Mechanical Precision

The R-D1 feels like a proper camera. It is a “modern” image making tool that embraces a tried-and-true (if not very popular) focusing system which gives reliable results in the field.

To some, the rangefinder may seem like a vestige of a by-gone era, but its continued use in the current Leica M offerings, and even the Pixii camera, shows that there are some photophiles out there who appreciate a more mechanical approach and process to connect them to their photography. For people who have never used one, it may take some time to get used to rangefinder focusing. However, once practiced, this focusing methodology can become a very fun and engaging way of capturing photographs. In a world of phase detect autofocus, computational AI subject detection, and myriad tracking options for both animate and inanimate objects, the rangefinder can serve as a pleasant departure from such state of the art conveniences.

The viewfinder magnification of the R-D1 is notably nice. It uses a 1:1 magnification viewfinder, and although that is not unique in the world of 35mm film rangefinder cameras, it might be the only digital rangefinder camera to have one.

It’s often said by Leica shooters that the best way to use a rangefinder is to look with the right eye in the viewfinder and to keep the left eye open to look out into the world. But if the camera in question has a viewfinder with 0.85x or 0.72x magnification, like so many Leicas, doesn’t that confuse things? We’d be seeing the real world in a normal 1:1 magnification in one eye, and the same scene in a completely different magnification in the other (through the viewfinder).

Call me crazy, but I’m not a chameleon, and two different magnifications is hard for me to even think about without getting optically confused.

If you’re a “proper” right-eye dominant shooter, then the R-D1 will be an optically pleasant experience because both your eyes will be seeing the world in the same magnification! Just think, your rangefinder patch will be floating in the center of your real-life view of the world. It may not be the Apple Vision Pro level of augmented reality you were looking for, but a floating rangefinder patch is still pretty nifty if you ask me.

Just don’t ask me; I’m left-eye dominant.

In addition to the coupled rangefinder mechanism, the analog status dials on the top plate are another area where this camera oozes retro cool. For the watch enthusiasts out there, I think it is worth noting that the full company name of the Epson brand is the Seiko Epson Corporation. Yes, that’s correct. Seiko, as in the timepiece manufacturer. That’s probably why it is so satisfying to watch (no pun intended) the gauges snap to position. It’s like watching movements on a quality wristwatch. The dials actually remind me of those found on the Nikon 28ti and 35ti, which just so happen to be also designed by Seiko. 

There are, however, some parts of the R-D1 that might not feel as precise as, let’s say, a Leica.

There’s a tendency for the rangefinder patch to fall out of vertical alignment. My copy’s vertical alignment is slightly off, and I’ve lived with happily. But it’s not perfect.

Then there’s the manual frame-line selector switch. It doesn’t feel loose per se, but it doesn’t give me the same kind of clicked-in confidence as when mounting the same M-mount lenses on a Leica M body. Leica M cameras automatically snap to the appropriate frame-lines when different focal lengths are used, but with the Epson, we have to make sure we select the correct focal length for the right frame-lines to show up in the viewfinder. I can be forgetful every now and then, and have been known to leave the frame-line selector switch on 35mm when I actually had a 28mm mounted. I guess it’s not the camera’s fault, since I’m the one who forgot.

And lastly, the battery door can be a little fiddly. It does the job of housing the Fuji NP-80 style lithium ion battery, a battery that’s luckily still available from third party manufacturers on Amazon.

[Some of the links in this article will direct users to our affiliates at B&H Photo, Amazon, and eBay. By purchasing anything using these links, Casual Photophile may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. This helps Casual Photophile produce the content we produce. Many thanks for your support.]

Get your own Epson R-D1 on eBay here!

Get the best deals for Epson R-D1 at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

Tactile Handling

The R-D1 utilizes true and accurate film-era haptics and movements for user operations that don’t feel gimmicky. If you’ve ever used a 35mm film camera from the latter half of the 20th century, you’ll feel right at home with the stand out feature of this camera – the film advance lever, or rather, as it is more accurately labeled in the user manual, the “shutter charge lever.”

Indeed, if there was one feature to highlight about the R-D1 in this article, it is the shutter charge lever. Although it does not advance any film through a transport system, as this camera does not shoot film, it’s necessary to actuate this lever to cock the vertically traveling focal plane shutter for each exposure.

For me, this lever is what makes the camera so fun. In a word, it’s fantastic! I don’t think there’s another camera like it, and I don’t think there ever will be again. True, there are other options for cameras with digital sensors that incorporate shutter cocking mechanisms, but they are usually in the form of digital backs that are added to film bodies, making them larger and slightly more unwieldy, and not to mention significantly more rare and expensive.

Off the top of my head, the Leica R8/R9 with Leica DMR back and the Hasselblad 500 series with the CFV digital backs come to mind. But to my knowledge, the R-D1 was the only camera designed from the ground up with a manual shutter charge lever integral to the camera’s function and operation.

Let me put it this way: if you’ve ever shot a Leica M film body and craved that tactile experience but in a digital format, then I think the Epson R-D1 is as close as you’re going to get to that film-like shooting experience. At one point in my photography journey I purchased a used Leica M9 (with an updated non-corroded sensor) and it was a wonderful camera to use for the season that I owned it. And even though it had a wonderful full frame 18mp Kodak CCD sensor that produced beautiful files, I ended up selling it to get the R-D1 instead. I made that decision because I wanted that film feeling when shooting digital.

I admit that I haven’t used any of the other digital Leica M offerings, but in my hand the M9 felt, for lack of a better word, chunky. It just didn’t feel like a Leica M film body (I own an M4-P for reference). The M10-D looked pretty cool when it was announced, but to hear about the shutter lever just being a thumb rest was a major let down.

But I digress. Let me get back to the subject camera.

Smaller design details hearken back to the days of analog cameras. The jog dial, which I mentioned earlier, is able to be pulled up to a raised position for accessing secondary directional functions when reviewing images in a magnified view. It’s probably not something you’ll be using very often, but since this camera lacks a directional pad or any command dials, this small decision to have the jog dial work this way is really cool, without being cheesy. It’s something with which a film shooter would be familiar, too,  since this is a movement was commonly used for opening film backs. 

The main point I wanted to make here is that for photo geeks, like me, who really enjoy how a camera feels and operates in the hand, the R-D1 provides a truly unique analog experience in the digital realm. It authentically feels like a film camera.

And yet, in some ways, it feels better than a film camera.

Digital Workflow

As much as I love analog photography and using film cameras, there are times when I simply want to have a digital image immediately.

Sometimes, I just want to have the photograph right away, instant gratification and all, ready to be viewed, enjoyed, consumed, or shared with someone without having to wait for lab processing turnaround times or home development and scanning sessions. And after our fourth child, the dev and scan sessions have definitely decreased in our household. Also, I think my wallet would like me more if I shot just a little less film and a little more digital. Don’t get me wrong, I still really enjoy film photography. But since I am a casual photophile who wants that same analog experience yet with a digital workflow, the R-D1 scratches that itch.

I believe that there is a place in the market for vintage/retro inspired cameras. The recent release and sales success of the Nikon Zf is a testament to that. And over the years, I’ve been blessed to have been able to use some notable models that exuded that same aesthetic.

I’ve had the privilege and pleasure of owning a Fuji X-Pro 2, the aforementioned Leica M9, and even the Olympus Pen-F. Each of these models are all very wonderful and enjoyable cameras in their own right, but I don’t own any of them anymore. And I think this is why I hold the Epson in such high regard. As great as each of those cameras were, the R-D1 is in my opinion the only digital camera that gave me the most authentic feeling of shooting film without having to shoot film. And I think, for that one reason alone, it has remained in my stable.

Final Thoughts on the Epson R-D1

And this is perhaps where I should conclude my rather verbose sentiments on this singular camera.

The Epson R-D1 makes for a user experience unlike any other. For some photographers, the process and experience of capturing the photograph is just as important as the photograph itself. The act of looking through a real optical viewfinder, composing within parallax-corrected frame-lines, triangulating the distance between the lens and subject, pressing the shutter release, and that ever-so-satisfying flick of the thumb to actuate the shutter charge lever for the next frame – it’s all these little things put together that bring me pleasure. And there’s no other camera that does it all quite like the Epson R-D1.

I think it’s the unique nature of the camera’s form and function that lend to its unicorn-like status. Current market value is somewhat reflective of this, with used prices now looking awfully close to the range of a monthly mortgage or rent payment. Thankfully, I was able to buy mine for a good deal from a domestic seller. Though I had to wait a long time for that good deal to come up.

But there really is no other camera like the Epson R-D1, and I don’t think there ever will be again. The R-D1 was born in a time when digital photography was becoming a real feasible alternative to film, and since many photographers of its time were familiar with the mechanical nature of tactile camera operations, I believe Epson made the right move in incorporating these familiar movements and interaction points into the design of the R-D1. It may not have been a commercial success, but it was the perfect camera for a niche community.

As a photo geek, husband, and father (a dad-tographer if you will), the Epson R-D1 is perhaps my quintessential casual photophile camera. For me, it is the camera that most connects me to the act of documenting the moments that will become my family’s memories.

Get your own Epson R-D1on eBay here!

Get the best deals for Epson R-D1 at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

Shop for camera gear at our shop, F Stop Cameras

A classic camera shop specializing in cameras and lenses, film, collectible cameras, medium format, 35mm, and some digital. The retail side of Casual Photophile.

Our guest author articles are sent in by amazing photographers and writers all over the world. Today’s guest author is…

Nio Gomez is a husband and father of four hailing from the commonwealth of Virginia. His other occupations include audio/visual technician, bottle preparer, diaper changer, freelance DP, wedding photographer, and all around camera geek. But he is at heart a dadtographer.

More from Nio can be seen on Instagram.

If you’d like to contribute an article to Casual Photophile, please introduce yourself and send a pitch to contact@fstopcameras.com.

Follow Casual Photophile on Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

[Some of the links in this article will direct users to our affiliates at B&H Photo, Amazon, and eBay. By purchasing anything using these links, Casual Photophile may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. This helps Casual Photophile produce the content we produce. Many thanks for your support.]

The post A Digital Camera for People Who Love Film Cameras – Epson R-D1 Review appeared first on Casual Photophile.

I spent a week shooting a roll of film through this cute, little APS film point-and-shoot. It made pictures, which was neat. I held it, and it felt a certain way. I used its sparse features, some of which were interesting. And in the context of a review, such as the one that I’m writing and that you are now reading, I should probably touch upon all of that.

But let’s be real. We’re here for just one reason. The camera looks like an orange.

[Some of the links in this article will direct users to our affiliates at B&H Photo, Amazon, and eBay. By purchasing anything using these links, Casual Photophile may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. This helps Casual Photophile produce the content we produce. Many thanks for your support.]

A Brief History of APS Film

APS film (an acronym for “Advanced Photo System”) is a dead film format that was first produced in 1996 and discontinued in 2011 when Kodak and FujiFilm, the format’s last two manufacturers, ceased production. It was sold under a number of brand names; Kodak Advantix, FujiFilm Nexia, Agfa Futura, and Konica Centuria.

The core idea behind APS film was an intention to simplify photography for newcomers and amateurs, to create a smaller, easier film format than 35mm film. APS film came from the factories pre-loaded into sealed canisters, which could be more easily dropped into any APS film camera than could 35mm film be loaded into a 35mm camera. All APS cameras would then handle the “complicated” operation of spooling the film through the camera for use, and reloading it into the canister after exposure, and APS film cameras were significantly smaller than comparable 35mm film cameras. In size and ease of use, at least, APS film was a success.

But APS film’s image area was significantly smaller that of 35mm film, offering just 58% of the surface area of a 35mm film. This smaller image area had an unfortunate (if predictable) side effect; compared to images made on 35mm film, APS film’s image quality was poorer. The drop in quality would be especially egregious when APS film images were printed or enlarged.

While sales of APS cameras and film were initially strong, within five years the numbers dropped significantly. Serious photographers never liked APS film because of its inferior image quality, and the format’s target demographic, amateur photographers, rapidly eschewed film en masse in favor of digital cameras.

Today, no one makes APS film, and any rolls we find will be long-expired relics of a forgotten time. Shooting expired film is fraught with peril, as described here, and here, and here. And yet my darling clementine Canon begged to be used, so I loaded a roll and crossed my fingers.

Specifications of the Canon ELPH Shades Sunshine

• Camera Type: APS format point-and-shoot film camera
• Lens: 23mm f/4.8 (3 elements in 3 groups glass Triplet design); 23mm is equivalent to 29mm in 35mm full frame format
• Focus: Automatic focus from 2 ft to infinity (3.3 ft to infinity when flash is OFF)
• Exposure: Automatic
• Flash: Built in flash; modes incl. ON, OFF, Slow Synchro, Red-Eye Reduction
• Additional Features: Drop-in film loading; Automatic film advance and rewind; Three framing modes (Classic, Wide Angle, and Panoramic; Date, Time, and Title printing functions; Magnetic Information Exchange (IX); Self-Timer; Strap

Embracing the Gimmick

The Canon ELPH Shades Sunshine is a gimmicky camera that comes from a line of unapologetically gimmicky cameras. By their very nature, APS was a pandering format. It promised to sufficiently dumb down photography to a point that any dolt could succeed. That’s a gimmick.

The cameras were small, so Canon named them “ELPH.” Not “Elf” with an F, but rather a PH. That’s also a gimmick.

And then someone in a board room asked “What if we made cameras cute?” And a product designer, hours later, munching an orange to fight the flu, doodled an orange with a lens in the middle (possibly). Another gimmick.

The result is a camera that’s as fun to look at as it is to shoot. Actually, it might be more fun to look at.

From the moment I first laid eyes on the Canon ELPH Shades Sunshine, I was ready to drink the juice. Its packaging is reminiscent of a box of orange juice. It’s strap is a friendship bracelet of sunshine. It’s plastic shell is a delightfully textured matte rind which begs to be palmed.

Using the Canon ELPH Shades Sunshine

Like most APS film point-and-shoot cameras, the ELPH Shades Sunshine is tiny, lightweight, and simple to use. True to form, one only needs to point and shoot.

The protruding handgrip fits well in the hands, and the camera balances nicely in one-handed operation. The shutter release button is large and positioned readily so that a half-press focuses and a full-press fires. The viewfinder is clean and bright, though admittedly quite small. The camera’s buttons and levers are easily identifiable, and relatively simple to press (though the top mounted SELECT and SET buttons are tiny, the strap has a little tool attached to it for pressing these).

There’s an ON/OFF slider on the front of the camera which also serves as a lens cover. Slide it to ON, peer through the camera’s viewfinder, and press the button. Easy stuff.

The flash is powerful and bright, giving indoor portraits the early 2000s blown-out, ultra-white aesthetic for which Gen Z is currently experiencing vicarious nostalgia. Turning it off or cycling through the other few various flash modes is a matter of a button press, or two or three.

There’s a top-mounted liquid crystal display which is protected by a nicely convex shield of plastic. This screen shows pertinent information, such as how many exposures we’ve made on the roll of film, battery life, our TITLE mode and DATE information, and more. It’s a neat addition, though somewhat irrelevant, given the nature of APS point-and-shoot cameras. Typically, we just don’t really care about this stuff. We’re just going to literally point and shoot.

Remember? We’re morons.

There is no tripod socket. But that’s not really a problem. APS film users don’t own tripods.

The Canon Elph Shades Sunshine has the ability to print “titles” on the back of a print. By pressing the TITLE button on the back of the camera, we can choose one of six languages and one of five messages in each language; messages like “I Love You,” and “Thank You,” and “Happy Birthday.” How cute, though not of much use for those of us uninterested in printing low-quality APS film images (me).

[Some of the links in this article will direct users to our affiliates at B&H Photo, Amazon, and eBay. By purchasing anything using these links, Casual Photophile may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. This helps Casual Photophile produce the content we produce. Many thanks for your support.]

Canon ELPH Shades Sunshine for sale | eBay

Get the best deals for Canon ELPH Shades Sunshine at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

Image quality

There are two important things to remember when discussing image quality of APS film cameras.

First, in terms of image quality, APS film was always inferior to 35mm film.

Second, any APS film we find today will invariably be expired, which means that image quality is worse than ever.

Considerations considered, the Canon ELPH Shades Sunshine made decent photos in my week of testing. The expired film was indeed lower in contrast than it would have been when new, and some color shifts did present. However, sharpness and clarity from the little 23mm lens were fairly good when images were made in bright light or with the camera’s built-in flash.

There’s fairly significant ghosting, flaring, and distortion, as well as noticeably vignetting in my sample images.

The Canon ELPH Shades Sunshine is certainly not a good choice for times when image quality is important. But, hey, in times when a camera simply must look like an orange, there’s no better machine.

Final Thoughts

I suppose I could end on a metaphor.

If a camera is a fruit, then the photos are the juice. If that’s true, the ELPH Shades Sunshine is a bit spoiled. While not totally rotten or ready for the compost heap, it’s certainly past the sell-by date.

But I don’t think a camera like this needs to make great images. Or, to be honest, any images at all. It’s a gimmicky camera, a design exercise, a product to tickle the edge of our lips and remind us that, no, not all things have to be serious.

The Canon ELPH Shades Sunshine looks great sitting on a shelf in my office. It’s cheap and cute. I like its gimmick, and sometimes that’s enough.

Canon ELPH Shades Sunshine for sale | eBay Affiliate Link #ad

Get the best deals for Canon ELPH Shades Sunshine at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

F Stop Cameras

A classic camera shop specializing in cameras and lenses, film, collectible cameras, medium format, 35mm, and some digital. The retail side of Casual Photophile.

Follow Casual Photophile on Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

[Some of the links in this article will direct users to our affiliates at B&H Photo, Amazon, and eBay. By purchasing anything using these links, Casual Photophile may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. This helps Casual Photophile produce the content we produce. Many thanks for your support.]

The post Canon’s Fruit-Themed Camera, the Canon ELPH Shades Sunshine appeared first on Casual Photophile.

And yet the Minolta P’s’s interesting aspect ratio, punchy lens, and overall ethos make it a camera that I highly recommend to any photographer looking for a unique and rewarding challenge.

The Minolta P’s was made in 1991, a time when the automatic-everything point-and-shoot segment was running at full sprint. It was designed to be a consumer point-and-shoot, easy to use, and to shoot exclusively in a panoramic aspect ratio to capture landscapes and group shots. It was offered in a number of vibrant (and collectible) colors. Mine happens to be red.

It’s worth noting that one info-graphic inside the manual suggests that the P’s is the perfect camera to grab a vertical panorama of the Eiffel Tower (2024 Olympics, here I come).

Specifications of the Minolta P’s

• Lens: 24 mm f/4,5 lens, manually operated lens barrier
• Shutter speeds: 1/4 to 1/200 s. when flash is canceled
• Flash: Built-in, range 0.9—2.7 meters (at ISO 100)
• DX code speeds 100 & 400 ISO
• Motor wind and rewind
• Timer with warning light
• Power: CR123 lithium battery
• Weight and Dimensions: 185 grams, 11.6 x 6.2 x 3.4 cm

The Minolta P’s limitations are also the things that make it shine as a user’s camera.

As mentioned before, every frame made with the P’s is in a panoramic aspect ratio. The camera achieves this through a physically smaller film gate that only allows part of the film negative to be exposed. Many other point-and-shoot cameras of its era opt for this as an optional feature (for example, Pentax’s IQ Zoom series contains a number of models which have a Panorama/Normal switch that flips physical blinds at the top and bottom of the film gate). But the P’s leans hard into pano mode. You won’t be making a full frame image with this camera, no matter what, but being limited to this aspect ratio is the fun of it all.

The bright viewfinder is shaped accordingly, with frame lines and horizon guides so you can compose your panoramic scenes.

The flash, too, is limited, in that it can be overridden, but you have to press and hold the cancel it, meaning two hands are needed. This is rather annoying. Even the DX code reading is limited (this is an odd one that I haven’t encountered before). Take a look at how it’s described in the user manual:

“Film-speed setting: Automatically set to ISO 100 for DX-coded films rated slower than ISO 400, or to ISO 400 for DX-coded films rated ISO 400 or faster; ISO 100 set for films without DX-coding”

So, the Minolta P’s seemingly can read the DX code of a range of film, but defaults to exposing them at 100 or 400 only. At first, I was a bit confused and turned off by this. But in a way this can be a solution to another frustration found in most point-and-shoots; the inability to manually set our ISO. Depending on what film we load, this limitation can be somewhat hacked into an advantage – if we choose our film intentionally, it’s possible to overexpose our film of choice.

Minolta Ps for sale | eBay

Get the best deals for Minolta Ps at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

User Experience

I’ve spent the last few weeks carrying the Minolta P’s with me everywhere I went, intending to shoot it in all sorts of light. It was this everyday carry approach that really polished my opinion of the P’s, which is that I like this camera. It is so, damn, portable. Weighing almost nothing and being extremely slim, it’s among the most effortless cameras I’ve used.

And then there’s the cinematic aspect ratio.

I have a tendency to think of memories or moments in the form of cinematic scenes from a movie. The Minolta P’s’s aspect ratio quickly became second nature. It’s like plucking memories from my brain and placing them on film. Occasionally trying out a vertical composition worked in some cases, but I likely won’t go out of my way to do it again (unless I go to Paris sometime soon).

The lens is surprisingly good. It’s sharp enough, performed well in most lighting situations. It produced noticeable vignetting, but not obnoxiously so, and at times the vignetting added to the cinematic appeal of my shots. The wide lens does also produce some distortion toward the edges of the frame, though like the vignetting mentioned, it’s not too noticeable or offensive (unless we’re doing one of those vertical orientation shots with a person in frame).

I noticed that I reverted back to the days of my childhood, using a disposable camera. What am I talking about? Well, in more than a couple frames my finger made an appearance. Not a huge problem, and with the first roll out of the way I’m confident I’ll get used to proper hand placement, but readers with larger hands beware.

There are, of course, things that I don’t like about the camera. It’s not perfect, but that’s good. Perfect is boring.

My loudest complaint is that the flash is easily my least favorite part of the camera. It’s automatically ON by default, and though we can cancel it by holding down the flash cancel button, it’s not as fast or easy as it should be. To cancel the flash requires a workflow-freezing hold that lasts just a bit too long. A single press would have been better. But I’m really just upset that I ever have to use two hands with a camera this size.

Due to this first-world inconvenience, I opted to let the flash fly free for the majority of my first roll. Auto flash is something I’m used to with one of my favorite point and shoots the Kodak VR35 K12, which I’ve reviewed previously. But I quickly learned that the Minolta P’s has a deeply unflattering flash. It often seemed much too harsh for my taste.

Final thoughts

My favorite thing about The Minolta P’s is the creative challenge it brings. When I’m shooting a camera with every feature and setting under the sun, ironically that plethora of options can bring about an overwhelming abundance of choice and hamstring the process of simply existing and taking pictures. But the Minolta P’s is not a feature-packed fully-loaded beast of a camera. It’s just the opposite; an ultra-portable box that (literally) captures just a sliver of light. And it doesn’t hurt that it comes in a sleek, plastic, early-90s shell.

Limitations tend to enhance creativity. The boundaries of what we can and cannot control become a catalyst to finding ways to create something we may otherwise might not. The Minolta P’s foundational feature, the 35mm film panorama crop, usually gets the cold shoulder, or a snide comment that “You could just crop in post.” And that’s technically true. But picking up the Minolta P’s is a choice to accept the challenge of less. The challenge of limitations. It’s a choice to expose less of the film negative and not think it’s a waste. A choice to change your perspective figuratively and literally. Picking up the Minolta P’s is a choice to flex your creative muscle.

And More on the Minolta P’s:

• I have a video review, which you can watch here.
• The Instagram of Jeff Greenstein, a Minolta P’s fan who makes beautiful images.
• Here’s the I Dream Of Cameras episode that talks about the Minolta P’s.

Minolta Ps for sale | eBay

Get the best deals for Minolta Ps at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

F Stop Cameras

A classic camera shop specializing in cameras and lenses, film, collectible cameras, medium format, 35mm, and some digital. The retail side of Casual Photophile.

Follow Casual Photophile on Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

[Some of the links in this article will direct users to our affiliates at B&H Photo, Amazon, and eBay. By purchasing anything using these links, Casual Photophile may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. This helps Casual Photophile produce the content we produce. Many thanks for your support.]

The post The Cinematic Point and Shoot – Minolta P’s (Freedom Vista) Review appeared first on Casual Photophile.

While not exactly forgotten by true camera nerds (many of my friends in the camera blogosphere have written reviews of this relatively hidden gem), the Nikon N2000 certainly fails to garner the kind of wide acclaim foisted upon other SLRs from the era of manual focus SLR dominance. Its popularity doesn’t come close to that of cameras like the Nikon F3, the Canon AE1 or the Pentax K1000, to pick three easy comparisons.

Which is strange, since the Nikon N2000 is better equipped than an F3, just as small as an AE1, and far more advanced than a K1000.

Why, then, don’t people squawk endlessly about it on YouTube? No idea. Don’t care. Let’s move on, so that I can get back to what I love— squawking endlessly about cameras that I like.

What is the Nikon N2000

First released in 1985, the Nikon N2000 (known as the Nikon F-301 in Japanese and European markets) is a manual focus 35mm film SLR camera using Nikon’s ubiquitous F mount lens system. As a replacement for the earlier Nikon FG, the N2000 was (and remains) a truly capable consumer-level camera with a number of surprising capabilities.

In fact, the N2000 represents a number of “firsts” in Nikon’s lineage.

It was the first Nikon camera with an integral motor drive. It was the first Nikon camera to use polycarbonate plastic extensively in its construction. It was the the first Nikon with DX-coding capability, and it was one of only four Nikon SLRs which was able to support the advanced exposure modes made possibly by Nikon’s AI-S F mount lenses (the others being the Nikon FA, the Nikon N2020, and the Nikon F4).

It’s a compact SLR, lightweight, surprisingly robust, easy-to-use and easy on the eyes. It’s powered by a common battery type (either four AAA batteries, or four AA batteries with an optional extended baseplate). It meters well, has multiple shooting modes, is equipped with one of the most versatile lens mounts in the history of photography, and can even beep at us when it’s angry.

The N2000 was, and still is, a solid, well-equipped, highly capable film camera. That said, it was short-lived.

By the mid-1980s, the autofocus era had truly arrived. Nikon was more than happy to push their manual focus past aside as AF was embraced by buyers in the lucrative entry-level market. The N2000 was quickly replaced by the far more modern and AF-equipped Nikon N4004s in 1987. (Tragic, because good lord, is that camera ugly.)

Specifications of the Nikon N2000

• Camera Type – Integral-motor 35mm single lens reflex (full frame, 24 x 36mm image area)
• Lens Mount – Nikon F mount
• Exposure Modes – Program, Program Hi (for high speed shooting), Aperture Priority, Manual
• Exposure Metering – Center weighted TTL metering, EV1 to EV19 at ISO 100 with f/1.4 lens
• Shutter – Electronic vertical-travel focal-plane shutter
• Shutter Speeds – Stepless speeds from 1 to 1/2000 second on Program, Program Hi, and Aperture Priority modes; non-stepless Manual mode speeds from 1 to 1/2000th second; Bulb mode for long exposures
• Viewfinder – Fixed eye-level pentaprism; 0.85x magnification with 50mm lens; approx. 92% frame coverage
• Focusing Screen – Fixed Nikon Type K2 with central non-shading split-image rangefinder circle, microprism collar, and matte-/Fresnal outer field; 12mm diameter reference circle denotes metering area
• Viewfinder Info – Shutter speed LED readout; Over- and under-exposure warning LED’s; Ready light when using flash
• Exposure Compensation Control – Plus or minus 2 Ev in one-third stop increments
• Film Speed Range – ISO 25 to 4000 for DX-coded film; ISO 25 to 3200 for non-DX-coded film
• Film Advance and Rewind : Automatic film advance up to 2.5 frames per second; manual rewind
• Flash Sync – 1/125 second or slower with electronic flash
• Additional Features – Frame counter, film type window in film door, audible warning alarm for multiple events, self-timer, red indicator LED, hot-shoe for flash and monitor, tripod socket, exposure lock

Using the Nikon N2000 Today

I’ve temporarily owned a dozen or more Nikon N2000s during my time as editor of this site and owner of a camera shop. I’ve shot a few examples of the same, here and there, over spans of weeks and months, and what has always struck me about the N2000 is just how quietly good it is.

But don’t confuse that with actual audible quietness. It’s not a quiet camera. It’s loud. But I don’t mind that. Like a Contax G2 or any good camera in a movie from the early 1990s, the Nikon N2000 makes all the right noises for a camera-liker like me. Its shutter chonks hard, its winder whirrs brightly, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

In the hand, the N2000 feels amazing. With its geometric grip, it balances one-handed better than something like a Nikon FE or a Canon AE1, cameras which are slippery in their gripless-ness. With a compact lens mounted, such as the 45mm Nikkor Pancake or the Nikon 50mm Series E, the camera is compact and subtle enough to be used as a travel and walkaround camera.

The camera’s F mount is capable of mounting any Nikon AI or AI-s lens. Naturally any third party lens made for the same mount will work as well. Only a few exceptions exist (see the manual for those).

The Nikon N2000’s controls rest exactly where they should, and handling the camera becomes second nature within just a few frames. By the end of the first roll of film I’m able to set shutter speed (or exposure mode), adjust exposure compensation, use the exposure lock, frame, and focus, all without ever taking my eye from the viewfinder or fumbling about with confusing dials and switches.

Nikon N2000 for sale | eBay

Get the best deals for Nikon N2000 at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

The viewfinder is informative and among the brightest viewfinders I’ve ever seen in a manual focus camera. This brightness, and the ample focusing aids packed into the fixed focusing screen, make manual focus fast and easy. Additionally, the in-VF LED display does everything I want it to do.

In manual mode, the bank of LEDs on the right-hand side of the VF shows our set shutter speed as well as a flashing speed recommendation based on the camera’s meter. In Aperture Priority mode, it shows the automatically selected shutter speed based on available light and the lens’ aperture, and when using the exposure lock it displays the locked speed and recommended setting. In program mode, the camera takes care of everything and the LEDs let us know what’s happening.

What’s missing from the VF is an indicator to show our selected lens aperture. While this is something that becomes known by feel over time, I wouldn’t have been upset if Nikon had managed to shoehorn that feature into this otherwise perfect viewfinder.

Set to single shot, the camera advances the film one frame after each shot. Set to continuous mode, the camera fires shot after shot at a pace as fast as 2.5 frames per second. Film rewind is manual – we only must remember to slide and press the two-factor authentication that is the camera’s rewind switch, and then crank the crank like on so many earlier manual cameras.

For the way that I use film cameras (aperture priority is my preferred mode, I like manual focus and single lens reflex shooting) the N2000 is an uncomplicated hit. It just works.

The Nitpicks

But not all is perfect. The N2000 does fail me in certain ways.

To start, the On/Off switch is annoying. It’s a spring-tension collar that surrounds the shutter release button. To turn the camera on or to select our drive mode, we pull it up from its L (locked) position and rotate it to either S (single shot) or C (continuous), and the motion just doesn’t feel good, being kind of vague and cheap. This is admittedly a minor annoyance, at most, but its an annoyance that’s felt every time I have to turn the camera on or off, or change drive modes from single to continuous.

Next, the tripod socket is positioned almost at the very edge of the bottom of the camera, so that when mounted to a tripod, the whole thing kind of dangles precariously with all of its weight on one side. Another nitpick, for sure, and one that will rarely impact me or anyone else. But I’m paid to complain.

Lastly, the exposure compensation dial has an egregiously protective locking feature whereby it is impossible to adjust the exposure comp by even one increment without pressing and holding down the lock button.

My very favorite method of shooting is to shoot in aperture priority, and to rely heavily on exposure compensation control as I’m reading the scene. If the subject is backlit, for example, I like to use exposure comp, or if the metering circle of the center-weighted meter happens to be in an area that’s extra dark or extra light, I will typically notice that and compensate accordingly. But with this dial’s lock, the process becomes tedious and frustrating, so that eventually I end up attempting to achieve my exposure compensation through use of the AE lock (which is hit or miss, and even more frustrating).

Other minor grumbles include the following: There’s no depth-of-field preview; the camera won’t work without batteries; it’s made out of plastic; there’s no cable-release thread on the shutter release; there’s no mirror lock-up; there’s no shutter blind. None of these things bother me, but they might bother you.

[Above: The Nikon N2000 makes great shots with all types of lenses and in all types of light. It just works.]

Final Thoughts

We all love cameras. But the cameras we all seem to love best are the ones that surprise us with their capability and quality at an equally surprising low price. The Nikon N2000 is just such a camera. Fitted with a standard, compact Nikon lens, it’s hard to think of another manual focus camera that outperforms the N2000. Especially when we consider that a used Nikon N2000 can be bought for about $50.

However, there is one big reason that a certain type of camera-liker might not like the N2000. If you’re the kind of photo nerd who can’t abide manual focus, the N2000 is a non-starter. It’s manual focus only, and that’s the end of that.

But if the N2000 sounds just right in all ways but one. If the only thing holding you back is that nagging little lack of autofocus, worry not. Nikon made an almost identical camera, called the N2020, which is nothing less than the very excellent N2000, but with autofocus. Wow. What a time to be alive.

Nikon N2000 for sale | eBay

Get the best deals for Nikon N2000 at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

F Stop Cameras

A classic camera shop specializing in cameras and lenses, film, collectible cameras, medium format, 35mm, and some digital. The retail side of Casual Photophile.

Follow Casual Photophile on Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

[Some of the links in this article will direct users to our affiliates at B&H Photo, Amazon, and eBay. By purchasing anything using these links, Casual Photophile may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. This helps Casual Photophile produce the content we produce. Many thanks for your support.]

The post Nikon N2000 Review – a Stunningly Cheap Film Camera appeared first on Casual Photophile.

And there he was, on the TV screen, all highlighter bright shirts, denim shorts and sunglasses, pulling up in a white Lamborghini Countach, firing off that famous backhand right at our freakin’ faces and telling us that yes, image is indeed everything, and we absolutely needed a new Canon EOS Rebel to capture that image.

Agassi’s brash new-kid-on-the-block visage was the perfect marketing vehicle for the new Canon EOS Rebel, itself a new thing for the consumer SLR market. Gone were the angles of the 1980s, in came the ergonomic curves of the ’90s. Canon banked upon the same idea that propelled the AE-1 to stardom; the idea that they could make technology cheaper and more easily mass-produced, seducing the consumer and youth market with auto-everything and lower prices, thereby dominating the autofocus future for years to come.

Today we see that they succeeded, unequivocally. The radical design of the Canon EOS Rebels became the de facto, even hegemonic style of both consumer and professional SLR design to this day. But the thing about time passing is just that – it passes. Things get old. Over thirty years, Agassi’s once exciting, trailblazing power-baseline style of tennis has become the standard baseline game tennis fans complain about, his bright visual style has been parroted by Nike, Adidas, and every athletic wear manufacturer over the same span of time, and Canon’s once radically new camera design is just How Cameras Look Now, I Guess. What was once innovative became commonplace; what once was a landmark became just another part of the landscape.

But is that fair to a camera so influential?

I was confronted by this question one day when I found a nearly pristine Canon EOS Rebel XS on the shelf at my neighborhood thrift store. Cameras like this would usually be placed on display behind the counter along with the other film cameras (common practice, as the thrift stores in my area have gotten wise to the film renaissance), but for some reason this was just left on the electronics shelf, priced at a paltry fifteen dollars. I figured something may have been wrong with it, but, nope – the camera’s battery compartment was clean and clear of corrosion, and the body, shutter, and 35-80mm lens showed barely any signs of usage. I took a chance and took it home, stuck a couple CR123A batteries in it, and it sprang to life. The LCD display lit up, the plastic dials still had a brand new snap to them, and the lens’s autofocus was as quick and quiet as ever.

Just like that, I had a basically new autofocus SLR and lens for the price of a roll of Cinestill 800T (need B&H affiliate link).

I was initially surprised that such a famous-in-its-day camera was left on the shelf and priced so low, but then I realized that, even to people who know, this is the least exciting, least exotic camera. For over thirty years, companies have made a million other plastic autofocus SLRs, digital or otherwise, that look and operate almost exactly as this one. Even more primitive cameras like the Canon F-1 or the Canon AE-1 command more respect and possess more individual character – even within the Canon EOS lineup, the original Rebels seem boring.

But when we look at the design of the EOS Rebel line (especially this Canon EOS Rebel XS) in the context of the early ’90s, we find a radical departure from traditional camera design, and a remarkably well-executed exercise in extreme utilitarianism.

The design sensibilities of the previous decades aren’t just evolved or avoided. They’re jettisoned entirely. Canon’s EOS cameras instead maximize ergonomics and ease-of-use. The hand grip dominates the camera, while sleek lines curve around the control panel, pentaprism, and lens surround, flowing with no definitive stopping point. While these concepts weren’t new, they found themselves pushed to their conceptual extreme, making a totally new blobby kind of camera design to ring in the ’90s, the same philosophy that produced rotund machines like the 1990’s Ford Taurus and the Sega Genesis controller. But unlike those two, this camera seems to have escaped its associations with the era – it seems like it could’ve been made in the 2000s just as easily as it could’ve been made in the early 1990s. Even more curious, the design does not elicit the “timeless” moniker from camera geeks the way a Nikon F2 or a Leica M-series camera does, though it arguably shares a more direct relationship with modern cameras than either of those two. For however radical, important, and influential these early AF cameras were and are, they seem to now just be a part of the wallpaper of 21st century living.

Canon Eos Rebel Film Camera for sale | eBay

Get the best deals for Canon Eos Rebel Film Camera at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

1990s autofocus SLRs like the Canon EOS Rebel XS present many contradictions. Perhaps a bigger contradiction is one that James already handled in his paean for the so-called “Dorky AF SLR.” I’ll paraphrase – though indeed dorky, these AF SLRs from the ’90s represent the peak of 35mm SLR technology, and are the best pure user film cameras out there at any level. The EOS Rebel XS is much the same; it was marketed squarely at consumers, but offered an astonishingly comprehensive set of features which in the past could only have been found scattered across multiple cameras.

It has an electronically-controlled shutter with a range from half a second to 1/2000th of a second, full TTL flash metering, standard evaluative (Matrix) metering with a center-weighted AE lock override, auto film winding, one-shot autofocus, AI servo autofocus, and manual focus override, and full PASM exposure selection with specialized portrait, sports, close-up, and landscape modes. It even features a built-in flash for use in a pinch, a programmable multiple exposure mode, and a separate aperture priority mode that prioritizes deep depth of field. I know there’s a lot to be said for all-manual everything, manual focus cameras (and I will be the first to defend them), but almost every major technological advancement in photography up until 1990 is present in a Canon EOS Rebel, and for cheap. That’s incredibly hard to argue against.

It is then no wonder that Canon sold boatloads of these cameras. It adhered to the simple math that Canon previously used to sell the Canon AE-1, AE-1 Program, and Canon A-1  – make the most features available for the least amount of money (¥89000 with the 35-80mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, ¥59000 body only). The substitution of a mirror box instead of a full pentaprism, and the wholesale replacement of metal with plastic made it cheaper and lighter, making these technologies accessible to casual shooters as well as improving Canon’s bottom line. This is anathema to shooters who demand mechanical quality, but such was the deal Canon made to remain the rulers of consumer photography.

The experience of shooting an old EOS Rebel XS is one that is shockingly modern and simple. The full shooting experience is as follows: load some film and the camera will automatically roll out the entire film into the take up spool and wind it backwards with every shot. Pick a shooting mode, and watch the relevant adjustable values show up on the LCD screen. Pick either an aperture or shutter speed value using the single multipurpose dial (or not, if the camera is on a programmed auto-exposure setting) and look through the viewfinder, which provides a full LCD readout of the settings, plus a light meter display. Then half press the shutter button to focus, compose, and shoot until the roll’s done, at which point the film will have already rolled itself back into the canister.

The EOS Rebel XS’s design emphasis on extreme utilitarianism works – it’s ludicrously simple to shoot. Every immediately essential function of the camera of the Rebel XS lies perfectly under each finger and is accessible with the press of one distinct button or dial setting, with secondary functions (of which there are only a couple) accessible with two movements, maximum.

If AE lock is needed, just press the AE lock button. If the flash is needed, press the flash button. If the self timer is needed, press the self timer button. And if exposure compensation is needed, hold down the exposure comp button and select a value with the dial. The camera can be set to take the reins yet does not lock the shooter into a programmed auto-exposure mode – everything can be overridden, and overridden easily (even, to my surprise, the ISO setting). This shooting interface makes sense to me, even as a staunch supporter of mechanical dials and buttons. It keeps me feeling connected and in complete control, which is something that I can’t say for later automated 35mm AF SLRs.

The ingenuity and novelty of the EOS Rebel XS did, however, come at some price. The auto-everything, purely utilitarian design discarded the tactility and outright romance of the manual focus cameras of before, a move that again alienated purists and collectors. What’s more, this design philosophy eventually birthed the multi-purpose button, the practice of menu diving, and the endless fiddling with settings that drives digital SLR and mirrorless shooters crazy, and makes them seek comparatively simple and primitive mechanical film cameras as refuge. I suspect it is this quality that keeps the prices of these cameras low, and their cultural cachet being near nonexistent regardless of their actual performance.

However, the irony of the Canon EOS Rebel XS is that while it offers a modern user interface, its age ensures it is not as overwhelming to use as a modern machine. Even though the shooting interface is modern, this camera was still released in 1993 — time hadn’t yet given camera companies the opportunity to *ahem* transform these cameras into the feature-bloated, inscrutable, aesthetically anonymous cameras we’ve come to know as DSLRs in the 21st century. There are no menus, no hidden technologies that take over, no display hieroglyphics to decode before you take the shot. It is as raw and direct as one can get in this genre of camera, and a breath of fresh air.

But even if the Canon EOS Rebel XS was a total chore to shoot, it still would be worth its ludicrously low price simply because it mounts the full range of Canon EF mount lenses. The camera came with a perfectly versatile Canon EF 35-80mm f/4-5.6 kit lens, but really comes into its own with Canon’s professional lenses.

Canon’s L lenses are quite literally the industry standard (and have been for over thirty years) and can be mounted natively onto the humble EOS Rebel XS. The prospect of 50mm f/1.2L, the 24mm f/1.4L, the gargantuan 400mm f/2.8L, and more is a tantalizing (and slightly hilarious) one, and also points us to a key characteristic of these consumer EOS Rebel film bodies – they’re a ridiculously cheap way to access full frame in the EOS system, and can function as a second film body to full-frame DSLR’s. At prices consistently under $60 ($15 in my case – got lucky), it’s a no-brainer.

There are, however, three real drawbacks to the Canon EOS Rebel XS. The first is its construction which, as mentioned before, is nearly completely plastic. This is less of a big deal considering the low prices of these bodies, but still concerning if the camera is being used in rough environments and situations. As with any camera, try to find a good example and roll with it, and try to find a backup too. They’re cheap and plentiful.

The second is the quality of the autofocus. While the EOS Rebel XS does offer AI servo autofocus (which enables subject tracking) and a so-called wide AF zone (which enables a wider range of autofocus), this still is a very primitive AF system. Being from 1993 and being a consumer model, this early AF system hunts quite often and can miss focus if the shooter isn’t paying attention. It should be noted that I did miss a few frames with this initially, but got used to it as I got acclimated to the camera itself. Even though this camera bears a striking resemblance to newer AF cameras, prospective shooters should not expect the acrobatics of newer AF SLRs or DSLRs.

The third drawback is a little more subjective, but ultimately points to what I think makes this camera important to shoot today. For all the technology crammed into it, for however new it was at the time, this camera is almost disturbingly normal. Not unremarkable, not ugly, not inconsequential, but just… normal. Compared to other cameras, the big boys of the segment, the Canon EOS-1v, Nikon’s F6, the Minolta A9’s of the world, or even the Nikon N90s or later Canon Elan 7s, there’s just not much that makes this camera stand out, even though its design laid the foundation of consumer autofocus SLRs for decades to come.

But after pondering it for a while, one thing stands out about this EOS Rebel XS. Oddly enough, that thing (person, rather) is… Andre Agassi.

The marketing admittedly worked on me – I can’t look at the EOS Rebel logo without thinking about him and that ad campaign (which, for different reasons, actually affected Agassi himself). Agassi’s hard-hitting, power baseline style was once radical and new, but by the time his career ended, it had become the de facto style, and was even decried by some as “ruining the game.” Yet, when we look back at the actual highlights of Agassi in his prime we can see why everybody started to play like him. Look closer and we see, with every perfectly struck backhand winner, with every impossible return off the Sampras serve, that nobody was able to do it quite like Agassi. He moved the game forward.

The Canon EOS Rebel XS and the rest of the early autofocus SLRs could and should be considered along those lines. The EOS Rebel was revolutionary in its day, and today remains maybe one of the best and most influential consumer camera lines ever made, no matter what reputation time foists upon it. I don’t know what the future holds in the world of film photography, but it would be interesting to see these SLRs in the hands of shooters just as often as we see the Nikon F3 or Leica M6. It would only be fitting – after all, the man who to whom this camera was inextricably tied eventually grew up, shed his image-obsessed reputation, and made a comeback on his own terms.

Canon Eos Rebel Film Camera for sale | eBay

Get the best deals for Canon Eos Rebel Film Camera at eBay.com. We have a great online selection at the lowest prices with Fast & Free shipping on many items!

Shop for 35mm SLRs at F-Stop Cameras

Excellent prices on fully functional, clean, and tested 35mm film SLR cameras from Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Minolta, Olympus, and More!

Browse now!

Follow Casual Photophile on Youtube, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

[Some of the links in this article will direct users to our affiliates at B&H Photo, Amazon, and eBay. By purchasing anything using these links, Casual Photophile may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. This helps Casual Photophile produce the content we produce. Many thanks for your support.]

The post The Canon EOS Rebel XS – Anonymity, Autofocus, and Andre Agassi appeared first on Casual Photophile.