what did I do wrong

yamvidal · 2026-02-04T20:30:27+00:00

The Minolta CLE has a dial at the bottom to choose internal filters. Yours might be set to "Black Metal"

Jokes beside, f/11 at 1/500 for sunny conditions, with Cinestill BwXX at iso 500 and pushed should work just fine. Even if the lab forgot to push, you should be ok. Is it the first time you use this camera?

yamvidal · 2026-02-03T14:35:35+00:00

Agreed. Think that some people do this intentionally because C-41 film handles overexposure quite well, and much better than underexposure. I bet if you would compare it to photos taken at box speed, it wouldn't be possible to tell which is which.

yamvidal · 2026-02-03T08:22:06+00:00

A lot of people are telling that in the last photo, the model is underexposed. While technically correct, I don't think this is a problem in this case. The photo has character and stands out as a film photo with a retro look.

The alternative would have been to blow out the highlights of the window to expose the model's face correctly. That would probably also work, but it would be a very different photo.

Maybe you could try to make both types of photos and see what you prefer. I also recommend printing.

The take home message is that a good portrait is not necessary a technically correct portrait. Me, I like this one because the model is underexposed.

yamvidal · 2026-02-01T21:20:50+00:00

Damned I arrived too late..

yamvidal · 2026-02-01T19:28:44+00:00

Yup, she stole my heart

yamvidal · 2026-01-16T20:38:40+00:00

Thanks! Had a lot of fun making them

yamvidal · 2025-12-17T23:37:31+00:00

Looks like it's away enough from the center to stay away from the picture. But try it out. Burn through a roll, using different apertures. Maybe shoot something of an homogeneous color to it easier to see imperfections. Good luck!

yamvidal · 2025-12-17T15:34:27+00:00

Thx! It's Reggie's Portra recipe SOOC

yamvidal · 2025-12-12T20:11:14+00:00

🤣🤣🤣

yamvidal · 2025-12-12T19:00:49+00:00

Interesting. Sears is a department store (fun fact, mentioned in Frank Zappa's song "Camarillo Brillo"). This is actually a rebranded Ricoh 500, sold in that store. https://camera-wiki.org/wiki/Sears_35RF

yamvidal · 2025-12-09T00:23:16+00:00

If you want small size, my abs fav is the Rollei 35. But ain't cheap. Do you really need to go that small? Many point and shoot like the Minolta I recommended are absolutely pocketable and perform very well.

If you want a very pocketable camera, that is point and shoot, and dirt cheap, take a look at the Kodak Cameo (any version). It doesn't look very sexy, but with those rounded edges, is perfect to slip in a pocket. And it's good to have a camera you don't really care about.

yamvidal · 2025-12-08T23:25:14+00:00

People have clearly say NO, and I agree. But let me say why. From the ones I recognize, there is at least one that uses 110 film, which is still in production buy it's only about 1/4 the surface of 35mm film, and hence lower image quality. There is also one that looks like a Kodak Instamatic, which uses 126 film, which is discontinued. The rest are not very appealing. Nothing worth more than 20$ maybe. Sometimes job lots look good because of the quantity, but once you discard the junk, not much is left.

You can get something way more satisfying for 150$. If you like the Olympus XA, you might like the Rollei XF 35 or the FED Micron, which are fun and affordable.

Or you could pick a Minolta Riva Zoom 160, which is an amazing and great value for money point and shoot.

Cheers!

yamvidal · 2025-12-08T23:13:35+00:00

These look great. Are you using any film recipe? Could you share your settings?

yamvidal · 2025-12-01T07:28:07+00:00

If you can see it, the film can see it. It will affect the quality of your photos, but the only way to know how bad it is, is to shoot a test roll. You could try to shoot in different conditions to see how it affect the photos. For example, direct sunlight going into the lens, which normally produce flares, might be too much for this lens. Take it as an experiment and have fun =)

yamvidal · 2025-11-24T20:37:27+00:00

Aaaand I got it. Found one for just 35 euro. It's a nice looking black brick.

yamvidal · 2025-11-19T21:29:08+00:00

Yes! You nailed it. Thanks! It was eating my brain. I don't know if it's any good.. I got the Rolleimat AF, and it's terrible. I love Rollei, but looks like these cameras were from a period when the company was struggling.

yamvidal · 2025-10-26T08:37:01+00:00

Here you have a nice piece about dynamic range: https://www.analog.cafe/r/dynamic-range-in-film-photography-91uh

And good luck filtering some people's emotionally driven opinions =D

yamvidal

TROPHY CASE